Monday, December 31, 2007

Malaysia’s National Water Festival 2007: Labuan International Sea Challenge


Great competitions make up the highlights of the annual Labuan International Sea Challenge (LISC), which is part of Malaysia’s month long National Water Festival 2007. The merriment is characterised by water-based activities during the month-long celebrations which take place nationwide.

The Cross-Channel Swimming Challenge, Rolex IGFA International Game-Fishing Tournament, Round-Island Kayak Challenge and Labuan International Extreme Kayak Challenge were the ever popular and thrilling races, held at Labuan, the Federal Territory off-shore banking island along Sabah state’s southwest coast.

The LISC has drawn tremendous of local and international teams and individuals besides spectators from all over the world in conjunction with the country’s 50 Years of Nationhood and Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

The Cross-Channel Swimming Challenge is a popular event which requires participants to swim 5.4km from Labuan to the island of Pulau Papan and back. Contestants vie to break speed records in the domestic and open categories.

The highly prestigious Rolex IGFA International Game-Fishing Tournament features the only long-range deep-sea fishing competition and is considered as the region’s most challenging angling sport. It is part of the global Rolex IGFA Offshore Championship. ‘Fishingline’ was the last year’s winning team that caught a whopping 205kg of catch.

The Labuan International Extreme Kayak Challenge is the longest and toughest kayak race in the region, racing over a distance of 84km across the Brunei Bay. Individual and double categories are offered for the passionate and courageous ones to thrash it out with the sea.

Various shows, concerts and side activities were also organised such as a Shore Fishing Tournament, Battle of the Bands and the ‘Juara Cilik Labuan FM’ singing competition.

Known as Labuan the Pearl of Borneo, this territory is officially nicknamed ‘Pearl of Borneo’ during a formal launch in conjunction with the LISC and to commemorate Malaysia’s happy 50th Anniversary of Nationhood.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

So Domes and Minarets make Mosques...?
Al'salam. Terima kasih kongsi berita Troy ni. Terharu dan sukacita mendengar perkembangan sdr. Muslim di 'kampung' kita di US sana. Saya sendiri meninggalkan RPI 1989 berbekal dua degree dalam subjek yang belum ada orang Malaysia lain ambik situ sejak tu, setahu saya.

The article mentions that the new mosque in Troy will be expensive to build, and it'll have "a dome and two minarets". As an Architect who has studied Islamic Architecture on an RPI exchange program to Istanbul, I can assure you that nowhere in the holy Qur'an or Hadith is there any requirement that a mosque must have a dome and minaret, much less two or more.

Recorded history from the Sahabah shows that our Prophet's first mosque in Madinah was a plain building that was only partially roofed, let alone domed! It was the faith and love of the early Muslims that made it an important structure - fully utilized regardless of the design.

Likewise, original mosques in our Malay World were the timber multi-tiered square pyramidal roof forms that still exist in charming old kampung mosques such as in Kelantan, Pahang and Melaka (above). These were simpler and more suitable for our climate. NO domes needed. We have been Arabized into building expensive domes that have to be cleaned after the tropical rains have deposited their inevitable soot, not to mention the leaks.

If our Troy brothers forego the non-essential dome and minarets, they can save money for possibly more useful expenditure, like education and da'wah. Wallahu'alam.

Nonetheless, I certainly pray for our Troy brothers' success with their mosque.
-nadge-

--- In xrpi@yahoogroups.com, Iznan Husainy H wrote:
>> Aslm ww,

> > http://asbah30.wordpress.com/2007/07/28/my-beloved-masjid-al-hidaya/

> > /izne

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Tulisan Jawi, Bahasa Melayu/B.Malaysia, sikap orang Melayu dan 'salah Kerajaan'.
[Penulisan ini merujuk-balas e-mail di bawahnya]

Salam.

Padaku, kau selalu asyik negatif lah Yoq. Kerajaan saja tak boleh nak dipersalahkan untuk segalanya. Lihat kesalahan pada kita sendiri.

1. Kerajaan takda pun haramkan tulisan Jawi. Malahan aku ingat lagi masa kita di sek. rendah dulu ada siri belajar tulisan Jawi setiap hari di RTM. Aku ikut dan la ni fasih baca & tulis Jawi. Tapi lama-lama lenyap sebab didapati tak ramai orang Melayu lain minat. Begitu juga Utusan Melayu (keluaran Jawi) dulu. Bini aku hairan aku selalu beli dan suruh anak-anak baca. Tapinya tak cukup ramai org Melayu beli sampaikan ia terpaksa bungkus.

Orang Melayu sendirilah yang tak daulatkan Jawi, bukan salah Kerajaan aja. Sekarang akhabr Jawi sekali seminggu aja, itupun org Melayu tak ambil pudul. Tau, di Indonesia akhbar Jawi satu pun dah takda, langsung pupus. Kau mau kritik Pemerintah Indonesia karenanya?

2. Bahasa Melayu tetap rasmi, tapi salahnya orang Melayu sendiri yang tak agungkannya. Banyak Melayu 'intelektual' dan berpendidikan ala-Barat guna B. Inggeris dlm bualan harian dan tulisan e-mel. Lihat aja e-mel2 group kita... Jadi, nak salahkan siapa? Aku contohnya tetap sebut "Bahasa Melayu" bila merujuk bahasa ni.

Mungkin orang tak tau, tapi aku sering cakap Melayu dgn Bukan-Melayu. Mereka akhirnya ikut sama jawab dlm Bahasa Melayu. Sedangkan aku bukan orang Melayu, dan jelas aku mengakui pada sesiapa yang tanya - aku bukan Melayu lagi. Aku bangsa sendiri. Tapi aku memilih untuk menyebelahi orang Melayu krn saudara se-Islam, dan ada kebaloian dalam ciri-ciri tamadun Melayu yang aku fikir layak dipertahankan, bukan kerana Bangsa.

Kita yang kena tolong naikkan antara kita sendiri. Itu sebab contohnya bila aku dulu ternampak makalah tentang kau dalam majalah, aku hebahkan pada yahoogroup kita, dan aku sanjung kemunculan kau dalam majalah tu serta pencapaian kau. Itu satu contoh kecil dari banyak lagi yang aku sokong orang kita. Dalam diriku tiada hasad dengki, kerana aku bukan Melayu lagi.

Pokoknya, kita kena hebatkan dan daulatkan jatidiri kita. Secara sendirinya, orang akan hormat dan ikut siapa yang kuat. Hakikatnya itu yang berlaku dengan Orang Putih. Mau tak mau, kita terpaksa 'ikut' depa sebab depa kuat. Kita ambil iktibar...

Tak yah salahkan pihak lain atau Kerajaan aja.

Make our own destiny! Tentukan sendiri hala tujuan - jangan harapkan Kerajaan.
-nadge-

----- Original Message -----
From: mohd yahya ysp3737my@yahoo.com Date: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 11:23 am
Subject: [mc7983] SEMBANG MERDEKA 2 - Cikgu Saad Tg.Karang
To: dpims , dpimpusat , mc mcoba , kiolek mc , yspgroup , PIBGSEMASHUR SEMASHUR , pibg skue , sahri sahri mailto:sahri@yahoogroups.com

Assalamualaikum wbkt,

Ahad baru ni 26 ogos 2007 saya sempat balik kampung di Tg Karang. Lepas solat Isya berbual dengan Cikgu Saad, dia dah pencen lama. Sembang pasal famili adik beradik dan macam-macam. Saya tertarik untuk kongsi cerita pasal pengalaman dia sebagai Cikgu dan sekolah.

1. Cikgu Saad cakap dulu zaman British orang Melayu boleh belajar tulisan Jawi dengan baik malah orang British, Orang Cina & India pun turut belajar dan pandai tulisan Jawi. British tak mansuhkan pun tulisan Jawi tapi bila kita sendiri perintah kita mansuhkan tulisan Jawi. Kita undur kebelakang.

2.Dengan penuh teliti saya mendengar luahan dia yang dengan penuh semangat keMelayuan walupun dia jawa. Dulu kita ada bahasa Melayu sekarang kita sendiri dah tak ada bahasa, yang ada bahasa Malaysia. Mana ada bahasa Malaysia, orang putih tu kat Amerika, Australia, England pun dia guna bahasa Inggeris manaada bahasa Amerika, manada bahasa Australia... kita ni dah jauh terpesong daripada perjuangan..kita kebelakang kata cikgu saad.

3. Banyak lagi luahanya, pasal bangunan sekolah, pasal biaya sekolah, pasal cikgu, pasal kurikulum dan pasal Menteri. Bualan bersama beberapa rakan arwah bapak saya hingga larut malam sekitar jam 11.45 malam sejak daripada lepas solat isyak. Kami beransur dengan bersalam antara satu sama lain.

4. Banyak erti dan pengalaman saya peroleh daripada orang lama.

Yahya Sahri
- MCOBA 2290 (batch 7983)
- SU Kehormat DPIM Selangor
- AJK PIBG SEMASHUR
- MD YSP>
- 012-2839957