Cambodia oh Cambodia....

Alhamdulillah, we arrived in Phnom Penh International Airport safe and sound yesterday. This Airport, formerly known as Pochentong International Airport, is relatively very small, having just four gates with aerobridges and another 2 with bus access to board a flight.

MP Dr Mousine (he is one of the MPs here!), who is the president of Islamic Medical Association of Cambodia (IMAC) was willing enough to greet us with the transport to Puncak Hotel, the place in which we will stay for the first two days. This is a fomerly Malaysian owned Hotel, just near to River Tonle Sap.

This is an interesting fact about how Phnom Penh got it's name: Wat Phnom Daun Penh (known now as just the Wat Phnom or Hill Temple), built in 1373 to house five statues of Buddha on a man made hill 27 meters high. It was named after Daun Penh (Grandma Penh), a wealthy widow.

After we had a fruitful 2 hours meeting in the Malaysian Embassy, and also we had met several medical students from IMAC. There is one brother named Ali, and the thing that amazed me most is that he has the ability to speak a very good Arabic and French, apart from
English and his mother tongue, Khmer language.

I can't online too long, as Internet canm only be used from 7 pm to 7 am, and now it is already 6.37 local time. And inshaAllah today we make a respectful visit to The Killing Fields, a place which no stands as a symbol to the horrible Khmer Rouge regime which killed 1.7 to 2.3 million out of a population of around 7 million between 1975-1979.

Smoking is bad!

"Smoking is not something bad. Its not taking drugs. The only concern is that smoking causes cancer"

That was a statement made by Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, after launching a Nur Sejahtera Programme hosted by the National Population and Family Development Board to raise awareness of breast cancer.

I do personally think this was a not so good statement made by a minister like him. We will never feel the heavy burden that a cancer patient feels until we be one. Cancer is bad, and it has been scientifically proven all over the world that smoking could leads to cancer, and human haven't found any absolute treatment for it.

So, to make it simple, avoid smoking, and if you're a smoker, kill it, or it'll kills you!

Finally, this is a very touching true story about a man who died from cancer. He wanted the world to know his story, so please spread the word. My lecturer, Steven Burr was the one who told us this sad story during one of our lecture, and this article was published in iluvislam.com.

The true story of Bryan Lee Curtis

Saudara Bryan Lee Curtis, pada ketika ini berumur 33 tahun, memangku anak beliau, Bryan Jr, 2, pada ketika gambar ini diambil pada March 29 photo. Curtis meninggal dunia dua bulan kemudian.

Inilah gambar beliau 2 bulan kemudian.
Gambar ini diambil pada hari kematian beliau pada 3 Jun. Isteri beliau, Bobbie dan anak lelakinya, Bryan setia di sisinya.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Cigarette smoke hangs in the air in the room where Bryan Lee Curtis lies dying of lung cancer.

His head, bald from chemotherapy, lolls on a pillow. The bones of his cheeks and shoulders protrude under taut skin. His eyes are open, but he can no longer respond to his mother or his wife, Bobbie, who married him in a makeshift ceremony in this room three weeks ago after doctors said there was no hope.

In Bryan's emaciated hands, Bobbie has propped a photograph taken just two months ago. It shows a muscular and seemingly healthy Bryan holding his 2-year-old son, Bryan Jr. In the picture, he is 33. He turned 34 on May 10.

A pack of cigarettes and a lighter sit on a table near Bryan's bed in his mother's living room. Even though tobacco caused the cancer now eating through his lungs and liver, Bryan smoked until a week ago, when it became impossible.

Across the room, a 20-year-old nephew crushes out a cigarette in a large glass ashtray where the butt joins a dozen others. Bobbie Curtis says she'll try to stop after the funeral, but right now, it's just too difficult. Same for Bryan's mother, Louise Curtis.

"I just can't do it now," she says, although she hopes maybe she can after the funeral.

Bryan knew how hard it is to quit. But when he learned he would die because of his habit, he thought maybe he could persuade at least a few kids not to pick up that first cigarette. Maybe if they could see his sunken cheeks, how hard it was becoming to breathe, his shriveled body, it might scare them enough.

So a man whose life was otherwise unremarkable set out in the last few weeks of his life with a mission.

* * *

Bryan started when he was just 13, building up to more than two packs a day. He talked about quitting from time to time, but never seriously tried.

Plenty of time for that, he figured. Older people got cancer. Not people in their 30s, not people who worked in construction, as a roofer, as a mechanic.

He had no health insurance. But he was more worried about his mother, 57, who had smoked since she was 25.

"He would say, "Mom, don't worry about me. Worry about yourself. I'm healthy,' " Louise Curtis remembers. "You think this would happen later, when you're 60 or 70 years old, not when you're his age."

He knew, only a few days after he went to the hospital on April 2 with severe abdominal pain, how wrong he had been. He had oat cell lung cancer that had spread to his liver. He probably had not had it long. Also called small cell lung cancer, it's an aggressive killer that usually claims the lives of its victims within a few months.

While it seems unusual to the Curtis family, Dr. Jeffrey Paonessa, Bryan's oncologist, said he is seeing more lung cancer in young adults.

"We've seen lung cancer earlier and earlier because people are starting to smoke earlier and earlier," Paonessa said. Chemotherapy sometimes slows the process, but had little effect in Bryan's case, he said.

Bryan also knew, a few days after the diagnosis, that he wanted somehow to try to save at least one kid from the same fate. He sat down and talked with Bryan Jr. and his 9-year-old daughter, Amber, who already had been caught once with a cigarette. But he wanted to do more. Somehow, he had to get his story out.

When he still had some strength to leave the house, kids would stare.

"They'd come up and look at him because he looked so strange," Louise Curtis said. "He'd look at them and say, "This is what happens to you when you smoke.'

"The kids would say, "Oh, man. I can't believe it,' " Louise Curtis said.

In the last few weeks, Bryan's mother has been the agent for his mission to accomplish some good with the tragedy. She has called newspapers and radio and television stations, seeking someone willing to tell her son's story, willing to help give him the one thing he wanted before he died. Bryan never got to tell his story to the public. He spoke for the last time an hour before a visit from a Times reporter and photographer.

"I'm too skinny. I can't fight anymore," he whispered to his mother at 9 a.m. June 3. He died that day at 11:56 a.m., just nine weeks after the diagnosis.

Bryan Lee Curtis Sr. was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Petersburg on June 8, a rare cloudy day that threatened rain.

At the funeral service at nearby Blount, Curry and Roel Funeral Home, Bryan's casket was open and 50 friends and relatives could see the devastating effects of the cancer.

Addiction is more powerful.

As the graveside ritual ended, a handful of relatives backed away from the gathering, pulled out packs of cigarettes and lit up.

Al-Fatihah

Grafik daripada NST

Jenazah Laskar Udara Muhammad Ridzuan Ahmad, 27, salah seorang mangsa nahas pesawat NURI yang terhempas di Genting Sempah.
Beliau meninggalkan balu, Raflah Hussin, 24.

Kronologi ketibaan jenazah Allahyarham di Alor Star;

7.45 malam: Jenazah Allahyarham berlepas dari Pangkalan Udara TUDM Subang dan diiringi sembilan ahli keluarga

8.55 malam: Tiba di Kolej Tentera Udara di Pangkalan TUDM, Kepala Batas, Alor Star

9.30 malam: Jenazah Muhammad Ridzuan kemudiannya di bawa naiki van jenazah dan tiba di rumahnya di Kampung Kelut, Mukim Jabi, Pokok Sena, Alor Star.

Jenazah Allahyarham berada kira-kira 15 minit di rumahnya bagi membolehkan ahli keluarganya memberi penghormatan terakhir.

9.45 malam: Jenazah Allahyarham kemudian diusung ke masjid Cik Mat Zain, Kampung Kelut untuk disembahyangkan yang diimamkan oleh bapa mertuanya, Husin Salleh.

10.45 malam: selamat dikebumikan pada pukul ini di tanah perkuburan Islam Kampung Kelut, Pokok Sena.

CRM on RTM

AQ, episod II

Rancangan Akademi Al-Quran musim kedua yang dihoskan oleh Abu Talib Husin dan Farrah Adeeba telah sampai ke penghujungnya semalam. Berikut ialah keputusannya:

JOHAN

Anuar Hasin dari Perak (gambar)

Kedua
Mohamad Hafas Ali dari Terengganu

Ketiga
Mohd. Muslim Ali (Kuala Lumpur)


Saguhati
Mohd. Mawardi Jamaludin (Kedah)
Hanimzah Jalaluddin (Pahang)
Nor Faizah Panut (Selangor)

(*kalau saya silap taipkan keputusannya, sila beritahu)

Anuar Hasin ni merupakan salah seorang peserta final tahun lalu, dan berjaya mendapat hadiah saguhati. Tahun, percubaan beliau tidak sia-sia- selain memantapkan bacaannya, dia berjaya mengondol hadiah tempat pertama!Anuar membawa pulang wang tunai RM30,000 serta barangan elektrik ECE bernilai RM20,000. ECE menaja TV dalam Buletin Utama terbitan TV3. Sementara itu, ada seorang peserta wanita, saya tak pasti yang mana satu di atas, wajahnya mirip-mirip penyanyi Aishah. Pada mulanya, saya ingatkan Aishah yang masuk bertanding. Pemenang tempat kedua dan ketiga, Hafas Ali dan Muslim Ali merupakan pasangan adik-beradik. Beruntung famili mereka ni.

Berbeza dengan program realiti lain yang berasaskan SMS (khidmat pesanan ringkas), juara AQ2 ditentukan menerusi konsep pemarkahan sebanyak 40 peratus untuk tajwid manakala 30 peratus masing-masing untuk qiraat dan taranum serta lagu. Bagus sangatlah tu. Dok guna SMS ni, banyak pembazirannya!

Para hakim terdiri daripada;

Zamri Mohd Zainuddin - juri tajwid
Nazri Abdullah - juri qiraat
Radzi Kamarul Hailan - juri taranum

Pertandingan akhir ini telah ke udara secara langsung dari Pusat Konvensyen Antarabangsa Putrajaya (PICC), Putrajaya bermula pukul 9 malam selama dua jam setengah. Memang lama betul siarannya. Saya sendiri tidak pasti bagaimana penerbit boleh membiayai rancangan sebegini. Memang alhamdulillah boleh menarik penonton, tetapi adakah jumlah penontonya cukup besar? Marilah sama-sama kita memberi sokongan kepada rancangan-rancangan sebegini. Tidak rugi...untuk ilmu di dunia dan saham di akhirat nanti!

CUCMS

With regards to our final preparation for The Cambodia Relief Mission 2007 next Monday, 14 of us will be having our second face-to-face meeting in Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS) on this Monday (tomorrow, 16 July). This will be my first visit there. I've heard this medical school so many times but I've never got the chance to see it for myself.

From what I know, it was founded in 2005, in line with our government's aspiration to further improve the healthcare of Malaysians. It has been said that it has a state-of-the-art educational technology and training in medical sciences. Well, we could expect all structure in and facilities in Cyberjaya is superb !

I'd hope this meeting will be a fruitful one, as the team still have a few unresolved problems. After our meeting, then comes this most interesting bit: Sunathon guide session at 5 pm. Muahahahahas... I just can't wait, although as I'm still a first-year-going-to-second-year medical student, and are not expected to do much on the circumcision, but I'm sure there could be something that I could learn and practice.

Syarahan Tun Razak

Syarahan Tun Abdul Razak yang bertajuk “Recipe for National Unity in a Changing World” yang berlangsung di Sunway Resort Hotel, PJ pada 11 Julai lepas memang sangat menarik bagi saya. Bukannya apa, dapat bertemu kembali dengan ramai rakan-rakan lama. Setelah tiba dari Alor Star pada jam 1725, saya terus bergerak ke Subang Jaya. Kali terakhir saya bertemu dengan kawan-kawan yang seangkatan dengan saya (kecuali Irina, Zaffan, dan Dodoe) ialah pada March 2004..hmmm… 3 tahun lepas. Lama juga tu…. Cumanya, tidak ramai yang tidak dapat datang. Terima kasih lah kepada Joon Her ( pakatr IT ni!) Yoga (sekarang di UTP), Hamidi (actuarial scientist), Josephine Jarit (UKM), Fadhli (doctor), Naza (yang memang dah lain sangat), Jauharah (physicist in UTM) dan Zaffan, Dodoe dan Irina. Seronok dapat berjumpa dengan semua, walapun sekejap sangat kerana saya terpaksa (bukan sengaja) keluar awal meninggalkan majlis untuk mengejar kereta api. Tak dapat nak berbual panjang. Kepada kawan-kawan yang lain di luar sana, inshaAllah kita boleh berumpa di lain-lain masa..terutamanya Kishan, Aslam dan Husairil…apa cerita korang yea….

Dapat juga berjumpa Abang Ayaz, Abang Harith, dan kak Aida dan lain-lain. Mereka bertiga ni antara facilitator kami dahulu. Selain tu dapat juga jumpa Wong, dan Fikri (kini bakal menjadi seniorita di KYUEM) Mus (Mukhlis Amir, Pengarah Urusan FXplode Sdn Bhd) dan lain-lain yang juga merupakan ahli Alumni Yayasan Tun Razak selepas zaman kami.

Pada malam itu juga, barulah saya mengetahui bahawa Yayasan Tun Razak (YTR) ini telah ditubuhkan hanya 5 minggu setelah Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak meninggal dunia, dan pada julai tahun yang sama, Parlimentelah meluluskan Akta Yayasan Tun Razak 1976 (Akta 178) yang telah mendapat perkenan daripada Seri Paduka Yang di-Pertauan Agong. Wow..siap ada peruntukan dalam undang-undang lagi….

Majlis dimulakan dengan ucapan mengalu-alukan kedatangan Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar selaku Pengerusi Lembaga Pemegang Amanah YTR, dan ikuti oleh ucap utama oleh bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri pada zaman Mahathir sebelum saya lahir lagi, iaitu Tun Musa Hitam. Tun rupanya ada Degree dalam Literature.

Sebelum bermulanya majlis, saya berpeluang mengiringi dan berbual mesra dengan beberapa tokoh terkenal negara. Bukan senang beb!!

Antaranya ialah Puan Azah Aziz, salah seorang ahli Lembaga Pemegang Amanah YTR dan juga merupakan isteri kepada Prof Diraja Ungku Aziz. Beliau duduk di meja 8. Selain itu, Tan Sri Dato’ Wan Mokhtar Ahmad, bekas MB Terengganu sebelum PAS menang di Terengganu pada tahun 1999. Kata beliau, kini beliau berualng alik di dalam negara sahaja sejak tidak lagi menjadi Duta Malaysia ke Kerajaan Arab Saudi. Bekas Duta, TYT Datuk Hj Ismail Ambia pula duduk di meja nombor 6, meja yangs angat susah nak cari. Dato’ Dr Firdaus Abdullah, Pengarah DBP kita juga menyatakan rasa seronoknya berjumpa dengan orang yang bernama sama. Samalah kita Dato’!

Seterusnya, turut sama memeriahkan majlis pada malam itu ialah Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak dan isteri, dan juga adik-adik beliau. Tidak lupa juga Dato’ Seri Abdul Kadir kita, yang lama tak nampak, namum beliau turut hadir dan duduk di meja nombor 2. Tan Sri Dr Jefferey Cheah, salah seorang billionaire Malaysia, juga turut hadir bersama isteri. Senator Tan Sri Datuk Jins Shamsudin yang baru-baru ini mendaftarkan diri sebagai pelajar PhD di UUM sepatutnya hadir, namun saya tak nampak pula malam tu. Mungkin sibuk belajar agaknya pada usia 70 tahun! Juga Tan Sri Aishah Ghani, yang namanya kita menjadi salah satu pilihan jawapan soalan kuiz kemerdekaan di televisyen tempatan, sepatutnya hadir, tapi saya tak nampak pula. Biasalah, dengan cahaya kelam resort tersebut.

Encik Khairy Jamaluddin nampak tinggi dan gembira pada malam tersebut. Khabarnya dia bakal menimang cahaya mata tidak lama lagi, bila yea? Dr Syed Ali Taufik Al-Attas, Ketua Pengarah IKIM pula mengisi meja nombor 9. HE Lt Gen (B) Tahir Mahmud Qazi dari kedutaan Pakistan pula duduk di meja nombor 3. Tinggi betul Jeneral bersara ini, dan bahasa Inggerisnya sangat bagus.

Alhamdulillah, makanan pada malam tersebut sangat sedap. Terima kasih kepada chef-chef dan pelayan yang baik budiman.

Semoga aktiviti yayasan pada masa mendatang akan terus memberi impak kepada rakyat. Jangan seronok sendiri sahaja. Sememang perpaduan antara rakyat Malaysia harus terus diutamakan dalam kita menempuh ulangtahun negara ke-50.

Surau Highway PLUS

I had at least 4 trips to KL in the past 3 weeks, and each time I made a stop at my regular R&R along the PLUS highway, this is my regular view:

Why do some of us choose to pray alone instead of practicing congregational prayer lead by one imam? Is the answer “we do not know”, or “we don’t care”?

Don’t be like this my friend. Congregational (al-jamaa’ah) salaah is a duty except for those who have a valid excuse according to the sharia’h. Even when we are on a journey, Muslims are must seek ways and means to do their prayer together. But think about it! We’ll gain more rewards from Allah with jamaa’ah prayer. Isn’t receiving €27 instead of just €1 for doing a job is a good enough reason for us to do the job properly?

Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:

Whoever hears the call (al-adhaan) and thereafter does not answer it (i.e. attend the congregational salaah) there is no salaah for him except for a valid excuse.

(reported by Ibn Majjah)

So, let us adhere to jamaa’ah prayer.

Cambodia Relief Mission