25 December 2012

After the Reunion


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Soon after the historic reunion of the two old pen-friends described below, the North-East Monsoon arrived with vengeance. It has been raining for four days and nights non-stop. We wake up in the middle of each night listening to the wind howling through the casuarina trees, the rain beating the roof and window panes, and the terrifying sound of angry waves furiously smashing the shore. Yesterday morning we found a neighbouring coconut tree lying across one side of our chain-link fence, a tall papaya down with large green fruit strewn about,  and a banana tree with a huge bunch of fruit lying across  another side of our fence.

And this morning a group of contract workers were clearing a huge tree lying across the road a few metres away from our premises. A lorry sppeeding in the dark of the morning tried to avoid the falling tree and swerved sharply to crash into one corner of our fence.  

Living where we are , these are not beyond expectation. But the thrill of the recent reunion is still fresh in our mind. We are just sorry for many in the state who have to be evacuated because of floods. 

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

20 comments:

kaykuala said...

Dear Pakcik,
Nature came with a vengeance. Alhamdulillah nothing untoward happened to Al-Manar. It's been extra fierce going from the TV news reports. Apparently this time it's the worst in decades. I feel sorry for evacuees with school-going children. School is due to reopen shortly. Pray everything will be all right!

Hank

Anonymous said...

Salam Pak Cik,

The post brought back memories of my time living near the sea. I was in Dungun for three years doing my diploma. The sea during monsoon season always fascinated me but in those days the strong winds and waves had never cause any major destruction to the coast like what happened last year.

Ruzita

ahmad humairi said...

السلم عليكم ورحمة الله

Allah Maha Adil mengaturkan segalanya. Teramat sukar untuk kita mengertikan kalimah "ada hikmah pada setiap kejadian".

Apakah hikmah terhadap musibah-musibah yang menimpa???

Alhamdulillah....kita masih beriman denganNya, InsyaAllah.

Al-Manar said...

Hank,

The worst does not last more than a few days normally.

Al-Manar said...

Ruzita,

Coastline does not stay permanent to my knowledge. Currents change and they erode one part and leave deposit on another. Developments along the coastline causes sudden changes in the flow of cirrents. Terenganu have developed parts of the coasline and I, for one, firmly believe that this work is the main cause of sudden erosion at certain areas.

I fear the development near the KT airpot which haseen serious erosion at5 certain parts of beaches nearby. Alhamdulillah, there has been no adverse effect noticable near our home over the last twenty years. Your kampong is far away from the beach but has differenr sorts of problems. Again develoments without due consideration to adverse effects are the main cause.

Ismail aka Pak Mail said...

Salam Pakcik,

Mudah2an Allah swt melindungi kita semua dari segala macam bahaya.

Allah swt mengirim angin yang kuat sehingga menggerunkan hati manusia ada hikmahnya. Paling ketara, manusia yang beriman akan mengingatiNya.

MamaTim said...

Alhamdulillah my MIL and other in-laws are safe and dry where they are, but I pray those in hard-hit areas can get back home soonest possible. I can only imagine how difficult it is having to spend nights at temp-shelters especially for the women (we desperately need our private space - our aurat et al), what more those with very young children. My heart goes out to them, and my prayers..

Pakcik. Stay safe ya, good thing the residents at your house not harmed by the speeding lorry. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.

Al-Manar said...

Cikgu Humairi

WAS
Betul kata2 Cikgu - merenung dan mencari hikmat disebalik apa yang berlaku. Itulah satu2 yang diperingat oleh NYA kepada kita supaya menggunakan pemberian otak untuk berfikir.

Al-Manar said...

PakMail,

Seperti kata Cikgu Humairi diatas kita berfikirlah mencari hikmat disebalik kejadian.

Al-Manar said...

Mama Tim,

What is happening id not really something unusual this time of the year. Kalah biisa kerana biasa as the saynmg goes. All the same the more fortunate like the two of us, living in solid brick house, the fear is less, but seeeing the less fortunate around us we are indeed very sorry. And for many who rely on earning something daily from the sea it becomes a question of survival.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Pakcik,
It's been raining fiercely in the capital city as well and sometimes my Mama is guided home by the white lines on the road as it gets very dark too. We pray that you and Makcik will be spared from any disaster, whether natural or man made. purrr.....meow!

ninotaziz said...

After three days of clear skies, it is raining cats and dogs tonight.

The gentle kind that tells me my plants are growing well.

Alhamdulillah both you and Makcik are fine. I imagine the kettle bubbling, a hot teapot and nasi dagang on the table. And both of you chit chatting away after inspecting the mushroom that comes after the rain, the pepper plants and the tree-house.

Al-Manar said...

C-f-S,

So you are around, not up Gunung Kinabalu or somewhere. If you drive by the white line we drive by pot-holes, sending splashes or receiving them on our windscreen. Today we have sunshine and that makes me happy because I shall have hot water from the solar heater for shower.

Mengapa blog tak ada cerita baru? Jenhok jengok yang itu saja.

Salam to you all

Al-Manar said...

Ninot,

The rain seems to have shifted away, some to your place to water your plants. Our pepper is getting really bushy in the rain.

It is not 'ubi' season here. You would see real variety sold by the road side. I do nbot think I knoe all the names, ubi kayu, puteh and kuning, stela merah,stela puteh, stela kuning, ubi torok, keledek, ubi keling etc etc. So this is not nasi dagang tiem. It is 'ubi rebus' eaten with coconut and a bit of sugar, and hot 'kopi O'!

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Pak Cik,
More than 15 years ago, I was at Primula hotel at Pantai Batu Buruk during the monsoon and I can well imagine the same stormy winds lashing against anything standing in its way. For the west-coast inhabitants like me, it was indeed scary going through such a fierce storm and lashing waves. The only time I went through floods was in 1970 when KL was inundated by the overflowing confluence of the Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang. My sympathies go to those who had to be evacuated to safety. The cleaning-up that have to be done and the repair on household stuff would take a toll on their pockets. Let us hope such adversity makes them realise that nature's wrath is indeed a lesson to remind us of the frailty of mankind and enhance our faith in Allah.

Haslina said...

Dear Pakcik, glad to know that everybody is safe and sound at your place. My place was hit quite hard too but luckily no one had been affected by flood. Been so busy and only now I have the time to visit blogs on my bloglist. Still finding the right moment to pen down my thoughts on my own, hehehe..

Al-Manar said...


AHS,

The sight of stormy sea is indeed very scary; but I love the sight of it. It has all the elements that make one feel that nothing is big and mighty enough in our transitional environments. The real Absolute Power is is behind it all. As you very aptly said; '...such adversity makes them realise that nature's wrath is indeed a lesson to remind us of the frailty of mankind and enhance our faith in Allah.'

Al-Manar said...

Haslina

We are relatively safer because there is little developmet around and we are away from any river.

You can surely upload a few pictures for your visitors to see of vthe REAL thing in life around you.

ninotaziz said...

Pakcik,

I just saw the Form One Literature book featuring a Sherlock Holmes mystery in comic format. We had a big debate on it, my young adult daughters and I.

The grammar, due to the conversation style, consist of almost 100% present tense. What are they going to learn?

Books full of pictures? Then the girls went on to debate the curriculum of Singapore and Bahrain (International schools) etc. They could immediately see that Malaysian students will be left behind.

If young girls can see this, can't someone else see it?

Al-Manar said...

Ninot,

Was I right to belittle the books used for our secondary schools?

A few years ago one English man, an expert in teaching English, was 'on loan' to a school in KT. We sat discussing books used at schools when I commented that I used my own materials for teaching at Almanar because the books selected for our schools were poor. I was surprised but very pleased to hear his single-word comment - ATROCIOUS!

Now they have new 'blue print' and I read in the paper that teachers from India will be imported to teach English! Am I being racial?

Apa Mat Salleh kata 'orang buta pandu orang buta'?