12 hours and 30 minutes at Doha

Arrived at Doha pronounce as Dawhah at 3:30 am in the morning. We went to the Premium terminal by the Qatar Airways coach. Subsequently, reported ourselves to the help desk with our predicament and seeking their help to best resolve our case amicably. After about 20 minutes, we were ushered to the Main terminal to clear up the immigration and other administrative matters. It was very fast and efficient service rendered by the ground staff, that we were finally departed the terminal to the Movenpick Tower & Suites three minutes before 4:00 am. At around 4:15 am, we arrived at the reception of the Movenpick. Albeit the feeling of frustration, exhaustion and to certain dehydration due to the oven-like Doha weather bogged our disposition, we were energized by the sincere smile and warmth welcome of the concierge, security, the reception, and the rest of the crew. We were ushered to the junior suite after 5 minutes deal with the registration matter. Superb indeed!
After our Fajr prayer, we slept for about 4 hours before we took our breakfast at the ANOMOTO Restaurant. There we met a group of Moroccan who were on the way to Mecca for Umrah. Mabrouk..!! We took our opportunities to apply our local Egyptian dialect skills with them. Alhamdulillah, not even average though, but we managed to communicate with them fairly. Well, language is an art be itself. One must have courage to practice it. Practice make perfect.

Most of them as we observed are at least in the late 40s and above. Our prayer for them to be blessed by Allah swt with good health, enhanced faith, and fate.
Nana, with her well-known people-friendly attitude approached and invited them for a couple of shots as a remembrance.

Movenpick Tower & Suites standing tall facing the Arabian Gulf also known by the Iranian as a Persian Gulf (some sources simply refer to it as the Gulf).

After breakfast, around 10:50 hours, amid the hot 42 degrees centigrade weather, we took 10 minutes walk to the nearest Shopping Mall. Once a while, the Gulf breeze chilled us a little bit. To the Qataris, the weather was rather normal! What an adventures

We checked-out from our 512 room at 12:55 hours and at 13:00 hours sharp, we were driven to the Doha International airport Premium Terminal. At the lounge, we met Nina again. She was very excited and grateful meeting us. We missed our lunch at the hotel, but we had a good lunch at the lounge served by very efficient staff with varieties of oriental, Middle East, and Indian cuisine.

I must say, we really had a good twelve and half hours experience at Doha. The short experience had killed our frustration and had taught us good lessons. We must be thankful to Allah Rabbul Jalil always for what He had given and blessed us. We plan Allah disposes.

We Were Here : 1989-2001

I was here since April 1989 until April 2001. Nana joined me a year later, followed by ‘Afi in 1991. We had been in Bintulu for about 12 years, watching not only the people but also the town, its infrastructure, and the socio economy growing dramatically in parallel with the oil & gas industries.

This summer, we spent a day trip to Bintulu visiting our friends and witnessing its latest development phase. It now, has new hotel, apartments, new townships, new airport, new highways, and improved infrastructure.
However, the As-Shakirin Mosque or Masjid As Shakirin literally means Mosque of Gratefulness to Allah swt, is always in my heart. It is one of the Bintulu prominent landmarks, which has contemporary unique architecture, designed by Hijjas Kasturi Associates - www.hijjaskasturi.com.my one of the most prominent Malaysian architect. The Open concept and its intrinsic spiritual values give you calmness and soothing experience.

The As-Shakirin reminded me about Terawih prayer during the holy month of Ramadhan in Bintulu. It was well organized, participated by hundreds of people around Bintulu including Abd Hakeem and I.

Bintulu General Hospital (BGH) – this is where Afiqah born 8 years 7 months ago at around 4:30 am, Tuesday morning. At that particular moment, I was at home looking after the four boys – ‘Afi, Muhammad Afiq, Muhammad Asri, and Muhammad Aiman. After performing the Fajr prayer, and preparing the three boys to school, Nana, who was alone at the hospital called me informing about the safe arrival of Afiqah. Only Allah swt knows how excited I was then. Eight and the half years had past though, but the hospitality of the BGH staff especially at the children ward, will always be in our memory.

Asean Bintulu Fertiliser or in short ABF is where I first entered the PETRONAS world in April 1989, about 5 years after it had been in operation. The first five years was not easy for all of us, especially us in the urea operations. We were considered fortunate if we managed keeping the plant running more than a month. ‘Fighting fires’ everyday during the 8 hours shift was really exhausted, frustrated and demoralized. Providentially fortunate, we had a good team players, supportive management, and lucrative package that had kept us alive and kicking. Sometime, we played MacGyver act to keep the plant kicking as well! Nevertheless, this was the place had taught, groomed, and developed me to what am I today.

The Great Almighty Allah swt

Allah is Great. Allah is the most Gracious and Merciful. He is the Ultimate Creator of the entire universe and its inhabitants. Amid the sunny weather, summer in Egypt is very pleasant with it’s greenly scene decorated by varieties of trees and flowers chill by the Mediterranean breeze. This helps to reduce the ultra-violet penetration to this lovely land, shelter to at least 40% of the friendly people who is working under the sun, sustain food and water supply to their livestocks and farms/plantation especially at the Delta.
Also, during summer, you may found abundant supply of fruits – locally planted peach, grapes, plum, water melons, cantaloupes, banana, ‘tin suQi’, figs, dates, and many types of mango. These fruits, which contain and rich in Vitamins and other nutrients, help the population to stay healthy and energetic.
Last but not least, this summer, I proudly share you Nana’s successful attempt (after series of attempt, trial and error) in the making of ‘pau’ or ‘Alex-dumpling’ (honestly, I am not too sure the English) filled with chicken & potato curry. She succeeded finally. Congrates Luv! I took three yummy ‘pau’…and bet you, it was delicious, really. Next in the queue – Chicken Sate.

His Nek Bol's DNA

Ayman looks more Chinese than the Chinese does! Nina (from the mainland China), the Qatar airways staff whom we met at the Premium Terminal Lounge, Doha was supportive enough posing with Ayman and shared us her 2 months experience working at Qatar.

The End of the Breakaway

22.7.2009 is the end of the 2009 summer breakaway. It is about time for us to leave Malaysia to continue another year stint in Egypt, I hope. What ever it was, the past 24 days – 17 days in Sarawak and 7 days in KL, had surely made us better persons, insyaAllah. Amid the humid and hazy KL weather, Zailan, assisted by Suardi, mobilized us through KL-Putrajaya bypass to KLIA around 10:50 hours from his house at Prima Villa (photo below), Kemensah in less than 45 minutes.
After spending about 130 minutes inside the MAS Golden Lounge we boarded the Qatar Airways plane around 3:45 hours. The MAS Golden Lounge is one of my favorites, which is better than the Doha Premium Business or First Class Lounge, better than the Dubai Business Class lounge; much better than the Cairo Business Class Lounge and off course, no comparison with the El-Nouzha Alexandria First Class lounge. It serves varieties of good foods and beverages. The service and the hospitality of the staff are very commendable. Albeit its superb facilities and service, unfortunately, I could not find its name in the top 50 of the world-class lounge.

Our flight - QR 621 – KL-Doha was forced to delay due to threatening weather (the term ‘threatening weather’ reminds me of Tuan Syed Muhammad Syed Jaafar, the former CEO of ABF. Back in 1997, when I hold the Shift Manager portfolio in one of the PETRONAS operating unit, it was the task of the night crew to prepare all sort of reports and one mandated to us was the Daily Plant Operations report. It was part of the ISO requirement that when the weather is cloudy and windy, we will force the urea loading operation to stop temporarily. Subsequently, we recorded it in the report that, the loading operation was interrupted due to the ‘threatening weather’ condition. Upon reading the report, Tuan Syed was not happy with it, I mean with the term used - threatening weather. He advised us to call a ‘spade a spade’… whatever it was, it was never our intention to blame the weather, left alone the procedure. We were just reporting the fact of the matter).

We took-off about 30 minutes later. During the 7 hours 20 minutes trip, we spent about 55% of our time quiescent dozing our mind & soul; 25% watching movies & listening to all range of music; and 20% entertaining our stomach plus adhering to the airline procedures. The 25% portion of the time, as for me, I spent watching a Chinese movie entitled CJ7 – released on 31 January 2008 in Hong Kong, is a science-fiction/comedy film, co directed and co-written by Stephen Chow. Again,… it is a science/comedy film! I mean it is not a religious film or an education film neither a motivation film. But, the film had shed tears from both of my eyes while my mouth mincing the Malaysian-Arab breakfast served by Asha. Honestly, I was literally crying. The story plot was quite straight forward, but the essence of the story reminded me about my life – the arduous side of my life. It was about a poor family – a son Dicky and his father Chow Ti a poor construction laborer. They live in a partially demolished house. Despite of their grueling life, Chow is eager to save money so he can continue sending his son to private school, to ensure that his life will be better in the future. However, Dicky is often bullied by other children and his teacher (mainly due to his lowly status), and he usually finds comfort with a young teacher, Ms. Yuen. To cut the long story short, in the nutshell, life is not just about money but rather, love, determination, perseverance, integrity and respect. Nothing comes easy in life; we must put our best and sincere efforts to achieve success. And, like money, success should not be defined as materialistic gain. Life is about networking, teamwork – doing and achieving things together and above all, life is about our commitment to Allah swt.

The saddest thing was, I have miscalculated the Fajr prayer time; thus, I performed the prayer slightly beyond the ‘shorouk’ time. O Allah, please accept my apologies and pardon my ignorant.

We touched down at Doha International airport at 07:22 hours and arrived at the Doha Premium First Class Lounge around 07:32 hours. Our next ETD was at 16:00 hrs, which entitled us 3-star rooms at the lounge. However, I managed to get two rooms out of the five rooms. Well that was sufficient for us, because most of the kids spent the time on computers – internet; Playstation 2 & 3 consoles; and foods.

Albeit the 15 minutes delay, Alhamdullillah salamah, we arrived at El-Nouzha airport, Alexandria on time – 19:20 hours. Nevertheless, the whole excitement was put off by the behavior of many impatience passengers and the enforcement of the system. Things seem to be disorganized. My friends always say; ‘welcome to Egypt’. To me, sad to mention, the phenomena happened in many Muslim countries, though it is obvious in Egypt. The holy Qur’an nul Qareem and el-Hadiths teaches us to become better person in all aspects, left alone performing the five times compulsory prayers – to be more proactive; to respect others; honesty; to love and help others; to be more pleasant; to eat good foods; etc., but why we choose the opposite sides of it?

The Meet and Assist guy was waiting outside the immigration office, while Sheriff and Hisham waited unwearyingly outside the main building. All the 17 pieces luggage weighted 220 kilograms were safely unloaded from the Qatar Airways Airbus A320. Alhamdullillah. The lessons learnt, in anything that we do, do it for Allah swt and like what had been shown by His Messenger prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him), insyaAllah, with His will, the actions will be blessed by Him. As a matter of fact, we plans, Allah disposes.

Before I wrap up, on behalf of the kids and Nana, I would like to beg you all – the Yayasan Yusuf fraternity – Kak Hjh Rahmah, Bg Hj Rosli, Bg Hj Abd Khalek, Kak Zahrah, Bg Hj Hamim, Kak Hjh Halimah, Kak Hjh Hamiah, Bg Hj Sulaiman, Bro Abu Bakar aka Chote, Bg Hj Ma’som, Nurliza, Zailan, Hanim, Aerol, Khuzaimah, Jojo, Erni, Bg. Hj Sazali, Kak Hjh Lela, and all the Brunei Clan, millions apologies for all our shortcomings. I invite you all to put our mind, soul, and hands together, supplicating before the Almighty Allah Rabbul Jalil, seeking His blessing for good health, Baraqah, Rahmah, for keeping us united, and above all for enhancing our Iman.
Last but not least, wish you all Ramadhan Kareem, kullu sana wa antum tayeebiin. May this 1430 Ramadhan shall be our best ever.

One of the Most important places @L3 Pavillion

In contrary with many Malls in the Arab countries, in Malaysia, most of the shopping Malls, big, medium, or small, amid their luxurious contemporary design, patronized by all walks of life, provides prayer rooms for their Muslim clients.
Therefore, there should not be any reasons or excuses for all the Muslims for not able performing their obligations to Allah swt.

What They Did This Summer?!

They are our greatest assets. I wish and always pray to Allah Rabbul Jalil that later they will contribute to the development of the Muslim socio economy, communities, and be part of the solution of any problems.
After, spending part of their time cleaning and doing housekeeping, they distressed their boredom at the Taman Ikhlas Children playground 150 meters near our house. Perhaps they never experience these sorts of ‘things’ during their early days!
Afiq showing his skill with the spring horse, which is actually not fit for him! wat la .. dude?

Kids, like what I always said, what is important to me are your attitude towards success and efforts that you put to achieve it, is more important than the results. You are just excellence thus far, but please do not sit with your laurels and be complacent with your little success. Instead, always make efforts to improve yourselves everyday. Above all, whenever or wherever you are, remember Allah swt always, and, He will be with you. As much as possible, thinks and do things like the great Messenger Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) did, and do it for Allah Rabbul Jalil.

Sector 2: To KL from Miri

Gate A2 of Miri International Airport hesitantly allow us to board the flight MH 2565. Well, life must goes on!.We departed Miri for KL to continue our second part of Summer 2009 tour.

17 days in the Borneo Island had been very fulfilling. The experiences that we had gained from the Borneo Tropical Rainforest adventure, Bintulu trip, Brunei courtesy call, Naty’s auspicious wedding, and the heritage Miri in general, will surely improve our knowledge, thus enhance our maturity (especially the kids).
Accompanying us at the airport, Bg Hj Alek, Kak Zahrah, Kak Hjh Rahmah, Bg Hj Rosli, Bg Hj Masom, Kak Hjh Hamiah, Bg Hj Sulaiman, Khairullah aka Aerol, Khuzaimah, Jojo, Arni, Chotey, Asmah, Aishah, Alesha, Fahmy, Izian, and Faiz.

Zillion of thanks to all of you. And, as a humble imperfect human being, we seek your forgiveness and beg you millions apologies for our unpleasant behavior, words and shortcomings.

Splendid Dinner at 'Sajian Warisan'

Sajian Warisan or literally means Heritage Cuisine is one of the latest Malay owned restaurants in town, I mean in Miri. Situated within the Miri Malay Association’s building perimeter in front of Dewan Suarah Miri, Sajian Warisan serves varieties of cuisines – Malay, Chinese, Thailand, Brunei, and Western, with very reasonable price and commendable service.

Doha – the local band called the Heavy Duty x-singer. He has a very powerful voice similar to Amy Search and other popular singers. One could stretch your leg, sit lazily while leaning your back on the wooden custom-made chair or benches, while kids can just exploring around the decent pleasant area. The owner Anuar Sinong is one of my good friends is always there looking after his 49 staff and customers from all walks of life. They also provide catering services for any functions.

As for us, I must put in this record, the informal but splendid-superb dinner reminisced us those old days, 25 to 30 years ago, staying at the old Lutong Mosque’s quarter and ‘Batu Satu’ or One Milestone.

The Asam-Nyonya Sea Bass was simply delicious and a set of Satey will lure you to visit them again. For reservation, you can call or sms them at 012 885 1911.

Enhancing Rapport: the Brunei Chapter

One of our agenda was visiting our relatives in Brunei Dar Es-Salam.7.7.2009 at around 09:40 hours, under the gloomy weather, which in a way is good for us, we departed the TwinzBites. Our always-supportive brother, Hj Ma’som drove us, Nana and I, through the Miri-Kuala Baram one-lane highway (which is not actually highway) and Kuala Belait-Bandar Seri Begawan highway, with his superb Altis.
The last time we went to Brunei Dar Es-Salam was during Eidul Fitri 2006. Despite the H1N1 pandemic alert, we made up our mind to bridge our relationship with our relatives in Brunei Dar Es-Salam.
Hj Ma’som is one of the prominent figures in my life. He never had an opportunity pursuing his study in any higher academic institutions and he is not a millionaire yet, but he has sacrificed his life for his brothers and sisters to achieve their goals and destiny. He was posted with Shell Oman in 1999-2001 and recently, he was promoted to a more senior position in one of the subsidiaries of the world largest Oil & Gas organization, Sarawak Shell Berhad. When you desperately need help, he will be the first person lending his hands to assist. This reminisce me sometime 27 years ago, when I was in Kuching, waiting for my MCE result. One find morning in May 1981, he made his effort and troubled himself, calling (telephone was a lucrative subject then) me and proud with the result that I had achieved. It was not 10As though, but alhamdullillah, the best Malay (top 10 out of about 70 students in the science class) ever achieved flying colors at MCE level. Subsequently, I managed to pursue my study and obtained a seat in the University Technology of Malaysia, KL. At that point of time, I hardly kept RM 10 in my pocket, left alone any picture of what KL is. I performed solatul Hajat and prayed to Allah swt for help – to settle the fees, accommodation, to purchase the airplane tickets-which to me something impossible to get, foods and drinks, etc. Alhamdullillah, helps came in from Allah swt, and I will always remember Hj Ma’som’s words; ‘don’t worry, I will help to arrange for the plane ticket…….’, which reduced my worries then. He was one of the backbones of my so-called success. Allah swt asks us to seek help from Him even though, for that matter, you need a new shoelace.
With the existence of the two bridges on the mouth of Kuala Baram (the second longest river in Sarawak) river and the Kuala Belait river in Brunei, travelling to Brunei or to Bandar Sri Begawan in specific, which is about 125 km from Miri is less hassle. Driving with normal speed, took us less than 2 hours to reach our late beloved sister’s house Kak Hjh Zohren at Jerudong.
At ‘Baitu Saadati Zohren’, Jerudong, Bg Hj Ismail, his family members and all his brothers greeted us with warmth welcome. We were touched with their VIP treatment.. The lunch was superb. Among others, the prawn cooked with durian, hot chili and coconut milk was the killer item. The three seasons Grouper and other local cuisine were really scrumptious and delightful.

Kak Roslia aka Kak Yak and her only daughter Nadhirah were there cheering up the day.

Our charming niece, Irma and Suria with their cute babies giving us their gorgeous pose.

Suria, Irma, Norlen, Kak Hjh Rosnah and Nana posed slothfully after the superb scrumptious lunch.

Naufal in MU T-shirt and the rest of his cousins were supportive and prone to camera. They are chubby, gorgeous, and lovely.

The exquisite Kak Hjh Fatimah and Kak Hjh Mariam sharing us their evergreen divine pose.

Bg Osman, Hj Ma’som, Erwin, Awg. Hj Mostafa, Awg. Hj Arifin, Pehin Hj Aziz and Awg. Hj Ismail posing while enjoying the locally made delicacies and cakes during the high tea.

We stopped at one of the mosque at Jerudong to perform our Dzuhur-‘Asar prayer before we depart for Miri. The mosque is air-conditioned, well maintained, aesthetically pleasant, and managed. This is one of the things that I personally salute the Bruneian; they are really concern with the housekeeping and maintenance of their mosques. Tip to all Muslim travelers, anywhere you go, one must make an effort to look for any mosque or Islamic Centre before anything else. As we all knows, Mosque is the ‘House’ of Allah swt and He like most and bazaar is he dislike. Thus, engaging or linking ourselves with the ‘House’ of Allah swt, will assure you success with His Blessing.