The Making of Alex Pau

Successful! The first attempt was really successful – the shape; the taste and the aroma were just commendable. Unfortunately, sad to mention though, the second and the third tried were ended with something that we called thin flat Alex Pau!

Well guys, as far as I am concerned, it was not the results that I look for, but the efforts that does matters. There is no short-cut in life and failure is just the symptom of success.

Anyway, in case anyone would like to try the Alex Pau, below are the recipe and the process for you all to consider. On top of that, you have to be a little bit creative and blend it with passion:

1 kg flour
8 gm dry yeast
18 gm baking powder
100 gm sugar
30 gm fattening
10 gm bread improver
2 tea-spoon ovalet500 gm water

Mix all the dry ingredients together: Pour in the water gradually: Put in the dry yeast and sugar. Softly dough the Fattening. Again remember - your creativity.
The potato chicken curry mixed for the main content of the Pau.

A Trip to Mansoura

We had been planning to visit Mansoura since a year ago, today, alhamdullillah, Nana and I finally unchained ourselves from other program to Mansoura, another small town North-East of Alexandria within the Egypt Delta.
We departed Alexandria at 10:00 hrs passed Damanhur, Tanta and finally reached Mansoura at 13:30 hours. It took us 3.5 hours tiring journey because we were using Benha-Mansoura highway instead of Tanta-Mansoura highway. It was tiring journey but another experience for us though!
Mansoura has new town area which they local called it Mahafdzah but otherwise it is a disorganize town with small streets and mismanaged corniche. Nevertheless, the people are nice, kind and pleasant. It is famous for cheap Jalabaya and other women dresses.
There are few hundreds Malaysian students studying Islamic related studies and medical in various universities at Mansoura. We met Dayang Nabilla the grand daughter of the Sarawak Governor, TYT Abang Salehuddin Abang Bareing, who undergoing Medical twinning program with Manchester University, UK. She was with Akidah and Aisha from Selangor. We left Mansoura at 14:30 hours with new experience and knowlede about another part of Egypt.

Alex Belated Raya Gathering 2008

No matter where and who you are; where you come from; what color you are; what flag you bear; what accent you speak, Syawal will be the moderator of all Muslims around the globe to celebrate moderately in one language with one Goal. This year, we PETRONAS Secondees would like to put in record our sincere thanks to Kamarul and his family for voluntarily and sincerely accommodating the Alex Raya Gathering 2008. The whole objective is to translate the PETRONAS Brand’s slogan: Energy receive Energy return; Aspiring other everywhere. On the other side, I think we should be thankful to the AlMighty Allah swt for giving us His blessing and wealth through PETRONAS. Subsequently, the wealth should be shared with all appropriate parties. Henceforth, our target this year was the Medic and AlAzhar Students in Alex who celebrated their Eidul Fitri away from their beloved family in Malaysia. About 120 students were invited together with our families’ members during the auspicious occasion.

The occasion had also provided space for the students to learn from us our experiences, tips and tricks on living abroad. Adnan, CEO of ELNG, took the opportunity to share his experience and advised the students on two main things: the image of Malaysian and study smart. This was Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Hassan Merican said during his recent Policy Address: "PETRONAS has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations throughout its 34 year history. A PETRONAS’ success is largely attributed to a workforce that is dedicated, committed and loyal to extent that there are willing to sacrifice for the corporation. While not all of us have gone through the full history, it does not mean that we cannot completely appreciate what PETRONAS stands for. In the light of the recent political development, PETRONAS employees, young and old, came together in support of PETRONAS. Again, I would like to thank you for your efforts in reaching out for your community, in what ever, directly or indirectly. It is the display of solidarity that will take us to greater heights in today’s fluid and challenging environment".

Eidul Fitri is synonymous with set of sate pronounced as Sa té in Malay, without which is just like song without lyrics. Though, we are about 7000 miles away from its origin, sate is always available as long as there are Malays. Imported from Rumah Kedah Cairo, transported by Zaidi, this scrumptious set partnered with ‘korma kambing’ and ‘rendang ayam’ anchored everyone to their chair. In Egypt, there are many sate twins but taste slightly different, such as, 'Kofta' - grilled chicken or beef. Sate came in set of hot peanut sauce, red onion, cucumber and 'ketupat' - traditionally cube compacted rice cooked inside weaved coconut leave.

Special Edition : Time Flies

In this series, I called it Time Flies; we feature our 2 years valuable experience in Egypt. Special mentioned to PETRONAS http://www.petronas.com.my/ who had been here since 2001.
Yes, time flies…just like with a couple of eyes blink, oops, here we are in October, the month when we first stepped our feet in the land called Misr in Arabic or Egypt, which stores many astonishing histories of the past ten thousands years civilization.

But first, let me start with PETRONAS venture to Egypt, without which we will not be able to gain this valuable experience.
PETRONAS’s foray into Egypt began in 2001 when it signed its first farm-in agreement with Royal Dutch Shell plc to explore and develop gas fields in the North East Mediterranean Deepwater (NEMED) concession areas. PETRONAS took a 16 per cent stake in the concession, while Shell, as the operator, held the remaining 84 per cent in the deepwater block.
However, the breakthrough came two years later, when PETRONAS acquired 35.5 per cent interest in the Egyptian LNG (ELNG) http://www.elng.com/ Project at Idku, and a 50 per cent working interest and joint operatorship of the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) concession block offshore Egypt from Edison SpA of Italy.
Subsequently, in July 2005, PETRONAS inked a cooperation agreement with Tharwa Petroleum Company of Egypt to create and add value to the oil and gas resources in and out Egypt, and to help develop the human resource capability of its Egyptian partner.
The ELNG Project provides an important international source of LNG that has positioned it to establish a foothold in the Atlantic basin market.
ELNG has been awarded Tri-ISO certification, that is, ISO 9001:2000; ISO 14001:2004 & OHSAS 18001 in 2007 by SGS.

Quoting the President of PETRONAS, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Hassan Mohamad Merican during LNG 15 Conference in Barcelona 2007, under the theme of “sustaining LNG Business through Partnership”, he says: “The LNG industry is built on a strong foundation of partnerships. Relationships fostered in the early days of LNG market still prosper today”.
“The flexibility and importance of long-term mutual benefits is a prominent feature in the relationship anchored on mutual understanding, respect and trust”
“These elements and values have stood the rest of time and I strongly believe that the long-term relationships will continue to be the foundation for a robust and healthy LNG industry”. Unquote.

Thank you PETRONAS.

Time Flies

2 years ago, when the first time we touched the Pyramids of Giza. Wonder why people from around the globe came here for? There are many stories and theories about these Pyramids. However, up to date, none could proof their theories right with solid and concrete evidences or facts. One said, the Pyramids were built to provide employment and some said it was built by alien. Well, to me it just a solid rocks layered together to form a unique grave that signified power and influence. Some scientific fact proved that the architecture is a means to preserve human body from being bitten by time and nature. I think flies are much more amazing creature than the Pyramids. 1 day all of us will be demolished from this temporary world.

2 years had passed us by. Time flies. Now, we are in October 2008, our 3rd round of winter game that we are going to face. Thank you Kafr Abdou; for accomodating and accepting us here with no discrimination and biasness; for being so kind to us since we moved to you; for giving us experiences that had made us new us; for teaching us many significant lessons about life that we never learnt in the previous chapters of our journey. Our zillion of thanks to PETRONAS for providing us an avenue to experience working and living abroad which is a dream of many people back in Malaysia. On top of all, our heartiest thanks to the Al-Mighty Allah Rabbul Jalil for giving us all His Blessing, Nikmah, His Rahmah and Baraqah. Without Him, who are we?

Today, we had been here for 2 solid years. Alhamdullillah, Allah swt had given us good health, good environment and many infinite countless things. Alhamdullillah, we managed to adapt ourselves well with the culture, environment and the local foods. The hospitality shown and rendered by the Kafr Abdou people had touched us in many ways. With no experience living abroad before, Alhamdullillah, we manouvered the four seasons with less obstacles but enjoyment and lessons learnt.

Time Flies I: Siwa Adventure

Siwa Oasis located on the western side of Egypt, about 75 km from Libya's boarder, 6 hours drive from the second largest town in Egypt, Alexandria and well known as the oyster of the Sea of Sand of the Western desert. We spent 3 days and 2 nights at Siwa Shali Resort. Organised by Kamarul, there were Zahrul & his family, Ahmad Sharifuddin & Wife, Zaidi and Kamal (Palm Oil Officer). It was really a different and unique experiences for all of us. We were actually went to the past Egypt where taxi is driven by donkey, houses are still made of clay and hardly you see people wearing jeans and suits or modern dressing except Abaya and Gamiz. Surrounded by the Sea of the Sand, Siwa oasis is popular for its great dates and rich olive oil. Sand boarding is a great experience that you must not leave Siwa without trying it (please refer to May 2008 Archive for the rest of the fascinating photos and videos). You will find few historical spots like temples of Amoun, Mountain of Death, Siwa Palace and Hot Springs. Some of those are surrounded by evergreen palm trees plantation. It was quite exhaustive though.

Time Flies II: Malaysia 50th Independence Day

Last year, we celebrated the 50th Malaysian Independence Day in Cairo. The first ever grand celebration organized by the Malaysian Embassy and funded by partially PETRONAS to commemorate the 50 years of harmony. Blessed with pleasant ambience, the ceremony was attended by thousands of Malaysian students, Ambassadors from various countries, PETRONAS staff, other Senior Officers of various Malaysian companies in Egypt and the guest of honor was Senator Dato’ Seri Muhammad Muhammad Taib with his Wife.

Malaysia stands at the threshold of a new age. We are afforded opportunities in life that our parents and grandparents only dreamt of. But we also stand in danger of forgetting our past – the values that have defined us as Malaysians for a half century.
This sentiment resonates deeply within the heart of PETRONAS. For over 3 decades, PETRONAS has held the nation’s oil and gas resources in trust for its people and is deeply committed to the future of all Malaysians. Hence the 50th Merdeka Celebration, PETRONAS put forth a single important message to all Malaysians: One Legacy, One Destiny.

We were entertained by some Malaysian cultural features and cuisine in which were looking forward by many. Afi, Muhammad Afiq and Muhammad Asri joined in the match-pass participated by all Malaysian States and few students associations which were very compelling. The colors of Malaysia were really felt by all and it was concluded by the Friday sermon lead by Lt Col. Datuk Ariff. We love you Malaysia.

Any seasoned Merdeka veteran will tell you that the nation’s independence was won through unparalleled dedication and commitment to the task, and the coming together of the various races in the then Malaya to chart a common destiny.

As PETRONASIAN, one should always remember the Energy Receive, Energy Return.

Time Flies III: Down the Memory Lane

Catacomb Al SafaQa

Ain Sukhna - Stella D Marie

Rasheed - Nile mouth

Zag Aziq

Khan Khalili

Moqattam

Port Said

Porto Marina

Time Flies IV: Cairo Muzeum

Actually the whole Egypt is the muzeum by itself. Egypt has many histories for you; civilisation started 10 to 30 thousands years ago under the reign called Upper Paleolithic. However, egyptian history is divided into 8 periods:

• Ancient Egypt - 3100 BC to 525 BC
• Achaemenid - 525 BC to 332 BC
• Ptolaemaic - 332 BC to 30 BC
• Roman - 30 BC to 639 AD
• Arab - 639 AD to 1517
• Ottoman - 1517 to 1805
• Muhammad Ali Dynasty - 1805 to 1882
• Modern Egypt - 1882

You must be here for at least 6 months to learn and experience the history. 6 months? well, to wrap up the amazing histories to a one day affair - the Cairo Muzeum. My family spent about half a day exploring the muzeum of which to them in general - boring!

16.10.2008 minus 16.10.1992

Keep it Up..................................

Cheerful and active are the words that describe this little baby. His arrival 16 years ago was just like a lyric to a song. Just like his brother ‘Afi, born in Miri, Sarawak – the land of the hornbills and orang Utan, but grown up in Bintulu for a solid 11 years and moved to Terengganu in May 2001.

5 years in Terengganu has made him a really different person. His unique character – he is quiet but sometime he can be an extraordinary extrovert attracted many people from all works of life. Deep inside his mind and small heart, you will find great potential, creativity and the 6th sense. His smart and intelligent brain the hidden asset given by the Al-Mighty Allah swt has always made him superior if not distinction in many fields that he involved. He achieved black belt 1st degree from Gemilang Tae Kwon Do after 2 years joining the club. In academic, like his brother, he was selected by the elite Islamic Primary School to continue his primary level in 1997.

Today, 14.10.2008 is his 16th birthday, Alhamdullillah…. inside the same ship with his brother 'Afi, heading towards the same destination, gone through tough and strenuous journey, crossed all sort of obstacles, watched series of dramas with the good and bad episodes. The experiences that he owned had made him a much matured, sensible soft hearted macho young man and obedient kid. Happy birthday Muhammad Afiq!!

This term he is going to face the IGCSE “O” level examination. We wish you all the best and InsyaAllah, you will pass with flying colors. And, on top of all, do it only for one reason………………………………………………..for Allah Rabbul Jalil

14.10.2008 minus 14.10.1991

Yes........You Can

17 years ago, he was just a cute and adorable little baby born in an oil rich town Miri. About one month later, he moved to a gas rich town Bintulu and was grown up there for 12 solid years before he transferred to Chukai, Terengganu – a small district in an Oil & Gas state Terengganu.

Today, 14.10.2008, 10 years down the memory lane, I remember his first day in school – Tadika AnNur – one of the best Preparatory school in town funded by PETRONAS – a Fortune 500 company, he was a little bit reserved, isolating himself from his new kinds but well-behaved. He started his school life a little late. However, alhamdullillah, he managed to cope with the school curriculum distinctively which was proven when he passed an assessment test of elite Islamic Primary School owned and funded by the state government with flying colors. Zillion of thanks to our friends, the teachers, the school, the State Government and the top most the Al-Mighty Allah Rabbul Jalil. Honestly, I did not believe it myself! That was bad of me.

I must admit that, I’m not a good Captain maneuvering this humble ship of the bumpy challenging and exigent journey, but still better than the legendary Titanic’s Chief, I hope. Oh Allah………give me strength, show me the right path and please pardon my ignorant and stubbornness; give us Your Blessing….oh Allah ‘Azza wa Jala the most Gracious and most Merciful. Amiin.

Being a senior of his four siblings, he has gone through a tough strenuous journey.
Suitable with his name - Afi, literally in standard Arabic means he who give forgiveness and in Egyptian accent – “I do accept it, please don’t mention”, he has a very positive character and behavior; diligent, obedient, honest, helpful and charismatic. I must say, through out our journey as a normal human being, he never bluffs me and he never says NO to me. He watched all the bad experiences that we faced; he patiently went through the hurricane and the stormy water that we confronted due to the poor navigation skills; once he was the mentor and counselor of the sick old Captain and his Assistant; he was depressed by what he watched but he never took it negative – he never take heart!; he used to absorb the blame of mistakes made by his brothers and sister; he was bullied but he was strong and assertive.

A blend of all those tough experiences, stringent process and his distinctive character has made him more matured, creative and respectful person. Continuing his journey, he has owned many significant achievement; won the Kertih-Chukai cycling tour; champion during the 16 km Montaza-Quitbay marathon; best Art Award from his British School of Alexandria; awarded blue belt in his Gemilang Tae Kwon Do and many others.... I must put in record our heartiest congratulations for what you had done! And, keep it up..son!

Today, 14.10.2008 is his 17th birthday, a transition period for him to be more by himself to continue his new episode of his story. On his birthday as what we treated the rest of our family members, as usual, we celebrate all our birthday in a very simple low profile. It is better to remind ourselves the life thereafter rather than the day when we were born into this temporary world.

After performing relatively well in his IGCSE O level, he is now gearing himself to achieve a better A level series. Inspired by his uncle Zailan – the DRN tycoon and his passion with art, he wanted to be a successful architect one day. May Allah swt granted his wish.
Well ‘Afi, you know my standard, do not sit with your laurels and don’t be complacent with whatever that you have achieved thus far. Work hard and do your best for Allah swt.
Once again……………………………………………Alf Mabrouk from us all.

Alex Fruits aRts .................................Nana69

Summer 2008 Excitement: Our latest attempt on work with fruits. It was during the summer 2008 end in Alex in conjunction with Eid Fitr Open House at Apartment 41, Building 46, Kafr Abdou. The raw materials are Tufah:Balah Najwa:Rotab:Guava:Anab....all the local produce of Egypt. Another essential thing is your creativity:passion:the 6th sense and sharp knife. The taste maybe the same, but the presentation from your heart will make the different.........Enjoy!!

Raya Open House 2008: Part I

11th Syawal, after visited the Malaysian Ambassador to Egypt, TYT Datuk Zainal and family, Malaysian Embassies’ staff, students and PETRONAS families, today was our first series Raya Open House 2008. Munir, his brother with all their family members were our guest of honor arrived from Cairo at 12:30 hrs. Sharing us the festive blissful mood, were Kamarul & family and Ahmad Sharifuddin. Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.........dan.......... Maaf Zahir Bathin

Soft Launching: July 2008

Another Yayasan Yusuf's vision realised

Their Product is Yours

TwinzBites: What they do?

• Bakery
• Pastery
• Cafe

In random order TwinzBitess' menus are:

KwayTiau Goreng*:All sort of Fresh Juices and Ice Blended Dragon Fruit*:Red Bean Bun:Home Made coconut Bun:Butter based Bun:Bread Loafs:GingerBread Cookies:Chocolate Bun:Cakes:Sarawak Layered Cakes or Kek Lapis Sarawak*:Ice Blended Capuccino:Soft Drinks:Local Made chips:All sort of Tarts:Biscuit:Their Mom's touch DODOL (sweet delicacies made from some local produces like pumkin,red bean, etc.:Hot Drinks

*: Their Favourites

To know TwinzBites is To try their Product.

TwinzBites

Our latest product........the TwinzBites. Alhmadullillah, after about one year, started small their business at their humble place at Pujut 3, now, they have owned a two storey corner shopload at a new township in Miri, PermyJaya. Congratulations..!!

Raya 2008 : The Egyptian Chapter

We started our day, fulfilling Kamarul’s breakfast invitation, of course after Eidul Fitri Prayer at Mostafa Kamal Masjid at Khalil Hayat Street, Kafr Abdou. Kamarul’s Satay was the killer menu that had pampered us all during the Eid morning

Immediately after we spoilt ourselves with Kamarul's menu, we went to Cairo, stop pit at Yusmadi's house at Maadi before we went to Ayman and Dina's house at Suez town. The visit was our second trip to Suez. By the way, this was our first time meeting TiTu, the Persian cat.

"Jauh di mata dekat di hati" literally means even though we are far apart from our families, friends & relatives, but they are always much closer in our heart.

This year we spent one night at Cairo visiting our friends, fellow Sarawakian student at Asrama Kenyalang. The weather was nice not too hot and not too cold...the trafic was not as its usual habit. However, Cairo's hot spots such as the Zoo, Shopping complex, Cinemas, Pharaonic Village and other public places were jammed by people. We were not dare to approach such places as it will wreck havoc our migraine.

Alhamdullillah, we were quite fortunate this year, TYT Malaysian Embassador, Datuk Zainal Abidin organised their Open House during the second day of Eid Mubarak. And, we were the first day batch arrived to their Open House and were entertained and spoilt by Datin with our missed Malaysian cuisine. The hospitality of the Malaysian Embassy were felt when Datuk and Datin invited all of us to a photo session and voluntarily dropped their protocol. Eid Sayeed, Kol Am Wa antum Bi Khair.

Just One of the way....................to Distress

Art: name it; painting, cross-stitch, sewing, gardening-Bonsai, carpentering.....is part of me. In essence, creativity is something given by Allah swt since I born into this globe called earth. Alhamdullillah. Time, though, is always not on my side to enhance and utilize that special feature. My third tour of duty at Egypt is full of challenges and excitement. Sometime it wrecked havoc my mental. Thus, stress is always the consequent. And, to console the chaotic ambience I released it through my set of arclic paint and its brushes...............the result can be priceless. Summer of ELNG.

Attarine Mosque : Its Significance

The Attarine district is considered to be one of the most interesting areas in Alexandria. It is a sprawling antiques district. There are antique shops piled high with European furniture and trinkets that date back to Napoleonic times. Here, also, the intriguing belongings of many Europeans who fled the 1952 revolution are up for sale. Yus, the wife of my friend Zahrul, bought few items from one of the shops here.The Attarine Mosque is located in the middle of this unique area, on Attarine Mosque Street. This mosque was originally a church dedicated to Saint Athanasius in 370 AD. When Islam came to Egypt, the church was converted into a small mosque, which was built up and eventually became known as the Mosque of a Thousand Columns. As time passed, this mosque started to get old and some of its ceilings were damaged at the beginning of the Fatimid period.
Badr El Gamaly, the general of the army, came to Alexandria to put down the revolution started by his older son, Muzafar El Dawla, who was trying to create an independent state apart from the Fatimid rule in Alexandria in 1055 AD (447 H). Badr placed the city under siege for an entire month before he was able to enter Alexandria, after which he took his son Muzafar prisoner. Badr punished the people of Alexandria, because they helped his son in his revolution, by ordering high taxes to be collected from everyone, Christians and Muslims alike.
Badr took some of this money and restored the mosque of Al Attarine in 1057 AD (449 H), after which it became a congregational mosque for Friday prayers. At the time that the Attarine Mosque was rebuilt, Alexandria had two mosques. One was the western mosque, or old mosque, built by Amr Ibn El Aas when he conquered Egypt. He named it the "Mosque of the Thousand Columns. The second was the eastern or new mosque of Attarine, so named because of its location in the Attarine area in ALexandria. The word Attarine means 'the spice dealers'. It had, at the time, not been a congregational mosque for some time. It was only practiced in the western mosque of Amr Ibn El Aas before the period of Al Nassir Ibn Qalawun, who ordered the practice of Friday prayer in the Attarine mosque continued once again.

The mosque has suffered much damage and renovation throughout its history. In 1370 AD (772 H), one of the columns of the mosque was broken, although this didn’t cause any major damage. In 773 H, the mosque was renovated and there was a small garden placed beside it, which was a custom in mosques in North African countries and Spain. However, in the Mamluk and Ottoman periods the mosque was neglected. Therefore, the ceiling and the walls of the mosque were damaged. When Abbas II became the ruler of Egypt in 1901, he ordered his men to plan a whole renovation process for the mosque. What we see today is the result of that renovation.
The mosque was designed in a rectangular shape that appears triangular from outside, with the minaret in the corner of the triangle in the southeastern part of the mosque. The mosque actually has two facades. The first one is in the northeast portion of the mosque where the main entrance door is located. The other entrance door of the mosque is located on the eastern side of the mosque, and it leads to the mausoleum of the mosque. The southern part of the mosque consists of eight commercial stores. The profit from these stores is used to pay for the expenses of the mosque.
However, perhaps the most alluring element of this mosque is its minarets, which many believe to be one of the most beautiful in Egypt. It consists of four levels. The first level or base of the minaret is square in shape. The second level is an octagon shape. The third level, where the Imam stands and call for prayer, is circular shaped and has accurate, marvelous decorations all around it. The fourth level is a wonderful small circular dome with astonishing decorations.The interior of the mosque consists of two floors. The first floor hosts the prayers of men while the second floor is only for women. The first floor of the mosque is a rectangular shaped area with four huge stone double columns that in tern support arches that support the ceiling.

A visit to the Attarine Mosque is very interesting for various reasons, one being to see how this historic mosque has transformed through time. The only remaining original item is the stone stating that the mosque was built by Badr El Gamaly. Another reason for visiting the mosque is to see the wonderful architecture, including one of the most beautiful minarets in Egypt. Enjoying the variety of shops while walking through the Attarine district is also always appealing.

Lessons Learnt : A Test for Us All

It was about 23:45hrs (+/- 2 minutes), cool summer night, I was browsing my email in the living, my elder son was doing his art thing in his room, my wife and the two youngest kids were watching movie – Children of Heaven, my 3rd kid was easing his nature’s call upstairs and my second son was helping himself with his chai in the kitchen, he observed smoke came out from the Main Circuit Breaker (MCB) panel. He rushed out from the kitchen and alerted me about the situation. I went immediately to the kitchen, yes, there was heavy smoke. Minutes after that, the MCB busted into fire and gradually became bigger with sparks, snapped out the main line. Black smoke from the burning MCB and cables clouded our humble kitchen. And, this entire thing is one inch near to the kitchen wooden cabinet.

Subsequently, I asked my son to alert everyone, instructed them to grab the nearest standby torch light, our emergency 'go ahead' luggage (where we keep our passports, important documents and some other important things) and to standby for the worst. As the situation worsened, while watching the fire, I directed them to grab all our laptops & its accessories and few clothing (expecting the worst).
One of my sons went down asking for our Security’s help while I negotiated with my neighbors looking for extinguisher and helps. None of them kept one and I went back to my house searching for one in case any. Unfortunately, I did not find one especially during the emergency situation like that…..
There were black smoke everywhere in the kitchen and we purposely did not open the windows and doors as this will allow oxygen boosting the fire and escalating the situation. Well, just imagine the aftermath?!
All of them responded and rendered their hands. One of them with some alcoholic smell from his mouth was very brave putting-off the fire by himself 'nakedly'. We shouted and reminded him this is electrical fire (luckily he didn’t bring us a pale of water to extinguish the fire). At this point of the time, the power was cut-off, the house was in the dark but the main cable was still dangling ‘naked’ with bluish fire of the breaker switch. About 10 minutes after that, our Security used a plastic broom to kill the fire and alhamdullillah, the fire extinguished.
Ahmed Sharifuddin came with his family at about 00:30 hrs to give us moral support. Electrical contractor came about 50 minutes after that. He assessed the condition and isolated the whole connection.
We slept at about 3:00 am in the morning conditioned by the soft breezily Alex Summer wind. It was not really a good sleep though.

Fortunately I was a trained On Scene Commander & Fire Fighters and had experienced few real life incidents that have made me calm throughout the commotion. The knowledge and experiences somehow or rather had automatet my reaction to do the following:
- Did not Panic – this is essential
- Assessed the situation and know the source of fire
- Prioritized what to do first.
We must be sensitive and alert at all time and some Proactive steps are essentials:
- Keep important and items in a place which is at lease heat proof and easily assessable during emergency
- Keep at least one fire extinguisher especially for electrical fire at home – which I didn’t. And, make sure the family member know how to apply it.

Next day, I called a discussion session with all my family members, briefed them on categories of fires and how to deal with them, what lessons need to be learnt out of the incidents and really, we had a short drill in the evening. It was fun for them. Well, on the good side of it, it was easier for me to explain to them why we should not take SAFETY for granted! For that matter health and environment.

We suspected the smoke (eventually fire) came from old wiring cable in the conduit which might have been caused by high load. Honestly, even the electrical specialist was not able to identify the culprit.

Thanks to all of you especially Ahmad Sharifuddin, Eng. Saber, Abd Moneim Shehab and Eng. Mohamed Fikry for the moral support.
Thanks to our Bawab and our landlord for their prompt support and actions.
Thanks to the electrical team for resolving and repairing the damaged MCB, etc. in a very dedicated manner.
Thanks to my family for being very cooperative and responsive
Last but not least and above all, zillion of thanks to the Almighty Allah azza wa jala for still keeping us all in good health and fate.

No Mountain is High When there is a Will

Durian is one of the Malaysian local fruit aka King of all Fruits. Well, that is not really the point of my story. It is all about the orchard owned by DRN – Zailan located at Gombak suburb KL, to be specific the border district between Federal Territory and Selangor. During last summer vacation, we spent couple of hours, refreshing and rejuvenating ourselves with the fresh air photosynthesized by the Durian trees; Rambutan trees, Mangos teen trees, Langsat trees, Duku, etc. and energized by the breeze ionized by the Gombak stream bordering the orchard with the road

The gist of my story is about the significance of the two photos - the orchard and the Porché - about one’s hard-work, perseverance, enduring the unpredictable challenges with determination. Both are owned by Zailan, my brother-in-law whom had started his business life really from scratch. Dared himself to fail, he went through high and low; without pay for many months during the early phase and with his little old 3 doors Honda, he struggled his way up without fear achieving his vision. And, now, alhamdullillah, I must say he has achieved it and no one would argue with me that he deserved it. No mountain is High, when there is a Will, and when there is a Will, there will be a Way

We Know What you did Last Summer

As usual, we spent our holiday at Lot 536, Piasau Jaya, Miri, my late mother-in-law Hjh Baidah aka Nek Bol’s residence. The nostalgic house was bought from late Mahari (Bg Hj Abd Khalek’s father-in-law) in 1988 when my late father-in-law, Hj Yusuf Johari ‘resigned’ from his task – the Imam, literally means the Prayer leader of Lutong Mosque. When she departed this temporary world in 1999, the Yusuf’s clan agreed and decided to place the house under the custodianship of the Yayasan Yusuf. Whoever staying there, shall be responsible with the administration and housekeeping of the house and whatnot. Now, since Sis Hjh Hamiah is tight-up with the TwinzBites about 3 years ago, the house is left empty and sad to mention, nobody are really keen to take care of the house. The condition of the house, interior and exteriorly was a little bit mismanaged and rundown.

On the 5th of July 2008, amid their long summer vacation, ‘Afi, Muhammad Afiq, Muhammad Asri and I ‘invaded’ the house desperately. With limited ‘ammunitions’ like sickles, grass cutting machine & chainsaw borrowed from Hj Masom, cotton gloves and long daggers, the ground incursion was relatively speaking, successful! Alhamdullillah, we managed to lift off the old scrapped Honda machine, which was an eye soar, out from the house compound. Fruit trees were trimmed down, some were grounded and all the unnecessary metals like the galvanized pipes, zinc roof materials, etc. was sold as scrap metals. The 3 days invasion was rewarded with satisfaction and RM 600 which we gained from the scrap metals of course for Cik Lomon.
On the side of the story, the mission was an experiential learning for the three musketeers. According to many scholars, 80% of our knowledge and skills nurtured through experiential learning approach. Life cannot be equate mathematically, it is a blend and a composition of many other aspects, psychologically, spiritually, mental and ultimately religiously.
The aftermath: neat, clean and refreshing. The neighbours were happy with the new image.
As for Afiqah, she spent most of her time with the TwinzBites Bakery & Café learning from her cousins (Kak Fauziah, Bg Fauzi & Bg Faliq) and aunties (Mok Mah & Cik Miah) on the making of few types of breads & ginger cookies. She rendered her hands and creativity diligently, also helped the team in the organizing of Muhammad Asri’s birthday gathering cum thanksgiving.. Indeed, she had enjoyed the short stint with them. See you all next summer, InsyaAllah. May Allah swt always give us His Blessings, wealth and health. Aamiin