engKALAK@indigenous fruit of Sarawak

Buah means fruit in bahasa Malaysia. So buah engkalak simply means engkalak fruit. Engkalak or Litsea garciae belong to the same family as avocado. I never like this fruit before but started to love it when I was forced to try it 10 years ago. The creamy avocado like taste becomes tastier when you consume it with salt. As the fruits mature, they will turn a bright pink. However, they are only ready to be eaten when they turn a deeper red and the flesh has become soft.
It has been many years back, since my tour of duty to other states and countries, I have missed the creamy engkalak.

BORNEO indigenous fruit::daBAI

In this release, I would like to share you one of the local fruit that I really obsessed with. The rich biodiversity of the tropical rain forest in Sarawak offers an excellent source of fruits and vegetables. Canarium odontophyllum or commonly known as Dabai is popular among people living in Sarawak and also to many foreigner who had stayed for some time in Sarawak. The domesticated plant can be classified as indigenous fruit to Borneo and has been consumed by the rural as snack food. In Brunei it is called kembayau. Sarawakians called it buah dabai (dabai fruit). It can be found mainly in Sibu a.k.a. Sibu “olive”, however, like anything that can reap profit this little fruit has made it ways to every market in Sarawak. It is now a highly demanded seasonal fruit, hence the relatively high selling tag price.
The way to eat it is first rinse it then soaks in lukewarm water until it softens. You will never ever soften it by boiling. And, if you find that statement was illogical, believe me; try your best to do it! You can either eat it straight (I mean after you have softened it) or season with salt or black sweet or salty soy sauce to enhance the yellowish fresh creamy taste. Another way to ‘cook’ it, as demonstrated by friend Jonannes, is by soaking it with black soy sauce for at least four hours. Some people prefer to preserve it with coarse salt after deseeding it and that to me is the byproduct of the Dabai fruit. Nowadays, many Malay restaurants in Sarawak commercialized it under a menu called Dabai Fried Rice…yummy…yummy..!!.however, for those who have unmanageable hypertension and cholesterol, my advice is think twice before you consume…cheers

...after 30 years I'd never even touch the ball..!!

I never like this game – tennis. The last time I ever hold the racket was in 1981, I think! However, during one fine boring evening at Damai Beach Resort Kuching after strolling along the over explored beach, we went around the premise exploring the old but managed facilities, my avid tennis colleagues Hassan and Haniff were practicing their swing and invited us – Frankie, Anuar and me to join them. Playing tennis!?..I must be kidding myself ……….and that would be my last thing to do!! After about 5 minutes of intensive coaching on how to hold the racket I was already on the court?!!..believe me, it was horrible of me. It was a good sweating out though.

After 42 years.............

Unfortunately sad to share, on 21st October 2011, Libya's ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after an assault on his birthplace of Sirte, officials say.

Acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril announced the death, and later said the colonel had been killed in a crossfire between Gaddafi loyalists and fighters from the transitional authorities. He confirmed that Col Gaddafi had been taken alive, but died of bullet wounds minutes before reaching hospital.
Video footage suggests he was also dragged through the streets.
It is unclear from the footage, broadcast by al-Jazeera TV, whether he was alive or dead at the time.

US President Barack Obama said it was a "momentous day" for Libya, now that tyranny had fallen. He said the country had a "long and winding road towards full democracy", but the US and other countries would stand behind Tripoli.

Col Gaddafi was toppled from power in August after 42 years in charge of the country. He was fighting his last stand in Sirte alongside two of his sons, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, according to reports.

Acting Justice Minister Mohammad al-Alagi told the AP news agency Saif al-Islam had been captured and taken to hospital with a leg wound.

A corpse that officials identified as that of Mutassim has been laid out in a house in the city of Misrata, where locals have been queuing to take pictures.

The body of Col Gaddafi has also reportedly been taken to Misrata.

Nato, which has been running a bombing campaign in Libya for months, said it had carried out an air strike earlier on Thursday.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said French jets had fired warning shots to halt a convoy carrying Col Gaddafi as it tried to flee Sirte. He said Libyan fighters had then descended and taken the colonel.

Proof of Col Gaddafi's fate came in grainy pieces of video, first circulated among fighters, and then broadcast by international news channels.

The first images showed a bloodied figure presumed to be Col Gaddafi. Later, video emerged of the colonel being bundled on to the back of a pick-up truck after being captured alive. None of the video footage has been independently verified though.

Mr Jibril, number two in the National Transitional Council (NTC), held a news conference in Tripoli to confirm the colonel's death.
"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed," he said.
Later, he told journalists that a "forensic report" had concluded that the colonel had died from bullet wounds after he had been captured and driven away.
"When the car was moving it was caught in crossfire between the revolutionaries and Gaddafi forces in which he was hit by a bullet in the head," said Mr Jibril, quoting from the report.
"The forensic doctor could not tell if it came from the revolutionaries or from Gaddafi's forces."

Earlier, some NTC fighters gave a different account of the colonel's death, saying he had been shot when he tried to escape.
One NTC fighter told the BBC that he found Col Gaddafi hiding in a hole, and the former leader had begged him not to shoot. The fighter showed reporters a golden pistol he said he had taken from Col Gaddafi.

Arabic TV channels showed images of troops surrounding two large drainage pipes where the reporters said Col Gaddafi was found.

Libyans gathered in towns and cities across the country to celebrate the reports of the colonel's death.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse has visited the drain where Col Gaddafi was reportedly found by NTC forces. Groups of young men fired guns in the air, and drivers honked horns in celebration.

World leaders urged the NTC to carry through its promise to reform the country.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who had taken a leading role in Nato's intervention, said it was "a day to remember all of Col Gaddafi's victims".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called it a "historic" moment, but warned: "The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges."
Officials said the NTC intended to announce the "liberation of the country" in the coming days, allowing them to begin pushing through democratic reforms that will lead to elections.

the never ending story?!@the symptom of insanity

I do not really want to share this kind of news, but the whole world knows about this commotion. To me this is just the symptom of insanity, greed and selfishness. And, sad to mention both are from Muslim dominant!! The news was quoted from BBC UK:

Turkish troops backed by fighter jets and helicopter gunships have pursued Kurdish rebels into Iraq. It follows overnight attacks on military installations in Hakkari province, near the Iraqi border, which killed at least 24 Turkish soldiers.
The attacks are thought to have inflicted the biggest loss on Turkish forces since 1993 and President Abdullah Gul has vowed to avenge them.

In recent months, violence between the army and Kurdish rebels has mounted.
The attacks come a day after a blast in the south-east Bitlis province killed five police officers and three others.
Dozens of members of the country's security forces, and at least 17 civilians, have been killed since mid-July.

Turkey has responded with a police crackdown on suspected rebel sympathisers and air strikes on Kurdish sites in northern Iraq. Scores of insurgents have died.
Guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, are seeking greater autonomy in the country's Kurdish-dominated south-east.
Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984.

The latest violence - thought to be at least two simultaneous ambushes - took place in Cukurca and the district of Yuksekova overnight.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 24 soldiers were killed and 18 injured, revising an earlier figure of 26 dead.
He said the army had launched "hot pursuit" operations. Security sources and Turkish media said commandos crossed the border by helicopter, and had gone several miles into Iraq.

Turkish planes were also reported to be bombing PKK bases in northern Iraq.
A spokesman for the PKK, Dostdar Hamo, confirmed that clashes had been taking place in two areas since 03:00 (01:00 GMT), the Associated Press news agency reported.
"No-one should forget that those who make us suffer this pain will be made to suffer even stronger," President Gul told reporters. "They will see that the vengeance for these attacks will be great."

According to some reports, 15-20 militants were killed in clashes with Turkish forces.
The prime minister and foreign minister cancelled overseas trips in response to the bloodshed, while the interior and defence ministers rushed to the border area, reports said.

The US and Nato issued statements in support of the Turkish government.
"As a friend and ally, the United States will continue to stand with the people and government of Turkey in their fight against the PKK, which the United States has officially designated as a terrorist organisation," said Francis Ricciardone, the US ambassador to Turkey.
"No political cause, and no religion, can justify terrorism."
This is the biggest attack in terms of soldiers' loss of life since 1993, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul, and the public pressure to respond is intense.

The Turkish parliament has recently renewed the law that gives Turkish forces carte blanche to pursue rebels over the border, our correspondent says.
The question is how long it can retain the support of the Iraqi and regional Kurdish governments, particularly as civilians inside Iraq have been killed in some recent operations, he says.
The move also kills any chance of political moves towards reconciliation, he adds.

my 1st ever high level function@Egypt

The photo was taken by one of the PICL staff in Egypt. It was my first ever high level function I ever attended during my first Egypt visit in August 2006. The function, organized by our Malaysian Embassy at Egypt hosted by His Excellency, TYT Datuk Zainal, Malaysian Ambassador to Egypt in commemorating Malaysia 49th Independence anniversary. The dinner with all Ambassadors in Egypt was held at El-Soraya, a floating restaurant on the Nile River.

She is Married. ...!!!

Congratulations to Humairah and Adam on their solemnization ceremony as husband and wife on 1.10.2011. Simple but a sunnah compliance reception. Immediately after the ‘akad’ or being solemnized by her father, Adam – Humairah’s husband performed a two rakaat prayer, seeking blessing from Allah swt. After the formal reception and doa, we were spoilt by Kak Ani elaborate menu.

It was indeed breaking news to some of us though and Adam’s father despite the excitement confessed to me that he is still at shock. He could not believe that his son has just got married.
Anyway, we would like to raise our hands and pray before Allah swt to grant both Humairah and Adam Rahmah, Baraqah and blessing. Wish you all the best and happiness until the end of time.

Ta'lim : PartXXXIV

Abu Hurayrah radhiyallahu anhu reports that Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said "Whoever performs Hajj for the sake of pleasing Allah and therein utters no word of evil, nor commits any evil deed, shall return from it as free from sin as the day on which his mother gave birth to him."

When a child is ushered into this world, it enters this life without any blemish and is free from any form of sin. Now, when the Hajj has been performed with utmost sincerity for Allah's sake, the pilgrim returns to that sinless state.

When we speak of forgiveness of sins as in the Hadeeth mentioned above, we actually refer to minor sins. However, the contents of this Hadeeth have been noted in such numerous Ahaadeeth that some learned Ulaamaa are of the opinion that minor as well as major sins are included in this pardon from Allah.

In this Hadeeth under discussion, three things are mentioned. In the first place we read that Hajj should be for Allah's sake, and that there should be no worldly object and no ulterior motive prompting this holy deed, neither should it be for the show of things, nor for personal fame. Many people proceed to Makkah for the sake of personal honour and show. Such people have indeed wasted whatever they have spent by way of wealth, health and energy. For them there shall be no reward. We admit that when a person has performed his Hajj even for the sake of showing others, his obligation has been carried out. But how foolish it is indeed that a person should deny himself such great virtue and reward (in the form of Allah's great pardon) merely because of his desire to be noted among some people.

Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam once said, "Near the time of Qiyaamah the rich ones from amongst my Ummah will perform Hajj for the sake of travel and holiday; (like having a holiday in Hijaaz instead of one in London or Paris). The middle class will perform Hajj for commercial purposes, thereby transporting goods from here to there while bringing commercial goods from there to here. The Ulamaa will perform Hajj for the sake of show and fame; (to outdo and surpass Maulana so and so, or any rival shaykh who had performed Hajj a certain number of times). The poor will perform Hajj for the purpose of begging." (Kanzul Ummaal)