Sales of Alcohols at Neighbourhood Convenience Stores

Lately there have been several news about the sales of alcohols at neighbourhood convenience stores.  Many Muslims, for whom alcohols are forbidden, are against this practice.  Some of the reasons for this are:

1. There are already many places where people who want to drink alcohols can buy them  such as at dedicated alcohol shops, restaurants, bars, etc.
   
   
2. Sales of alcohols in convenience stores, especially 24-hour stores, will encourage non-drinkers (including Muslims and especially teenagers) to try drinking them as it is now becoming more convenient to buy them.
   
   
3. Many staff in the convenience stores are Muslims.  The sales of alcohols in their stores make Muslims come in contact with products which they are forbidden to have any dealings at all.  
   
   There is a Hadith on this prohibition which is self-explanatory. Al-Tirmidhi (1295) narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed ten with regard to alcohol: the one who squeezes (the grapes etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who drinks it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who pours it, the one who sells it and consumes its price, the one who buys it and the one for whom it is bought.”  Further explanation can be found at Islam Q&A 
   
   

While perhaps it is the rights of the convenience store owners to sell alcohols in their stores, there are many actions that we, the consumers who are Muslims or who are against sales of alcohols in convenience stores, can do. Among them are:

1. We can choose not to buy anything from these convenience stores.  We may have to suffer a little inconvenience for our cause especially in times of emergencies when other shops may be closed.
   
   
2. We can encourage other consumers who have similar belief as ours to also not buy anything from these convenience stores.  
   
   
3. We can advise Muslim staff of these stores of the Islamic prohibition on dealing with alcohols.  We can give them leaflets explaining this matter.  We can encourage them to find other suitable jobs. 
   
   

 WalLahu'alam.

The Quality of Our Parlimentarians

For quite sometimes now we have read in the newspapers and seen in the televisions how badly some of our elected representatives in the Parliment (Member of Parliment - MP) behave.  The words they use, the gestures they make and the lack of respect they show to their colleagues make one wonder what kind of people are these!!!  And these are the people we have elected and trusted to manage our country.

Perhaps I am not wrong to say that the quality of MPs have deteriorated over times - the MPs in the 1960s and 1970s were better.  I do not know if any effort has been made to improve the quality of MPs - if there are efforts made, then the result is not yet seen.

I am not sure about you, but I am surely getting more and more fed up with these MPs.  I would like to suggest the following actions be taken to improve the quality of MPs:

1. Qualification - Ensure all aspiring election candidates possess proper qualification to become MP.  It is not enough for an aspirant to have medical degree, law degree, masters or even PhD.  As we know, even if one have all these degrees, one still has to learn and pass the driving test in order to drive a car.  Similarly, to become a parlimentarian, an aspirant must qualify the parlimentarian tests.  
   
   For this purpose, a college for MPs should be established and all aspiring candidates must obtain qualification from this college.  The college must train all participants in all aspects of being MPs - I am sure there are many area to be covered but it should include proper interpersonal behaviour, public speaking, research method, conflict management, anger management, etc.  Their psychological conditions should also be determined.  The participants must pass all tests in order to get their qualification and be able to stand for election.
   
   It should be the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure that a person must have a valid qualification from this college before the person is allowed to stand for election.
   
   
2. Enforcement.  Just as the traffic police will summon and penalise a driver who breaks the traffic laws, so must the Parliment have some system to penalise any MP who break the Parlimentary rules and laws.  At the moment, an MP who breaks such law can be suspended from the Parliment sitting for a few days.  I think this is not enough.  Perhaps the affected MP could even welcome such suspension, as he can then attend to other matters.  
   
   It would be better if these MPs be penalised monetarily, say RM1,000 for the first offence, RM5,000 for the second offence, RM10,000 for the third offence, etc. If they still continue to commit similar offences, then perhaps they should be disqualified from the Parliment forever and their seats be declared vacant. 

God know best.

Wassalam.

The engine oil

I worked in the lubricant business for quite some times.  Here are short verses on engine oil.

Engine oil (1)

Selected base oils
with specific additives
blended to pass stringent tests.
Ensure optimum performance
for the functions it is designed for. 

Engine oil (2)

Absorbing extreme pressures
to reduce frictions between engine's moving surfaces
ensure engine's smooth running
the oil slowly being sheared.

Absorbing extreme heat
to control engine temperature
preventing engine seizure
the oil slowly getting oxidised.

Absorbing the sediment
from fuel combustion
to keep engine clean
the oil slowly become dirty.

The oil sacrifices itself
silently
to keep the engine running smoothly.

Engine oil (3)

A can of used engine oil
Besides a workshop's post
Someone kicked it
The oil spilt to the ground 
Absorbed by the earth

Kali Terakhir Ku Lihat Wajah Mu

In the name of Allah, the Mercy-giving, the Merciful! 
  
Assalamu'alaikum and Good Day, 

Last Thursday 25 Sep 2008 was the day before my last day of work in PETRONAS prior to my retirement.  While driving home from work that evening, I heard this song over the car's radio/CD/MP3 player.

This song was popularised by Uji Rashid in the early 1970s.  The lyrics is as follows:

Kali Terakhir Ku Lihat Wajah Mu

Dalam dakapan senja
Kurenungi sinar matamu
Berat rasa melepaskan
Dikau pergi

Dingin hembusan bayu
Lemah longlai langkah kakimu
Lambaianmu kian jauh
Dari mata

( korus )
Malangnya…
Bencana menimpa
Kau telah pergi untuk selamanya
Tak kembali

Pada saat terakhir
Kumelihat paras wajahmu
Kau bisikkan hanya sayang
Kepadaku…

( ulang korus )

After working for PETRONAS for 29 years and 4 months, I have many fond memories of the people who, and place where, I spend most of my waking hours.   While there were some bad, sad or frustrating moments, I can mostly remember only the good,  happy and exhilarating moments.  

Thus, last Friday evening, as I stepped out of my office floor on Level 29, Tower 1, PETRONAS Twin Towers and, a little while later, as I stepped out of the building I can't help but looked back with a tinge of sadness.

I find this song, with minor modifications, very appropriate to describe my feeling at that time.  

Kali Terakhir Ku Lihat Wajah Mu
(with minor adaptation) 

Dalam dakapan senja
Kurenungi sinar matamu
Berat rasa meninggalkan
Dikau pergi

Dingin hembusan bayu
Lemah longlai langkah kakiku
Lambaianmu kian jauh
Dari mata

Pada saat terakhir
Kumelihat paras wajahmu
Ku bisikkan hanya sayang
Kepadamu...

My translation:

The Last Time I Saw You

In the embrace of twilight
I looked into your shiny eyes
And with heavy heart
I have to leave you behind

In the cool evening breeze
My footsteps became weaker
Your farewell waving and swaying 
Fading into the distance

At the very last moment
I looked back at you
I whispered
I have only love for you

WalLahu'alam

Preface / Muqaddimah

In the name of Allah, the Mercy-giving, the Merciful!

Assalamu'alaikum and Welcome,

I chose to name this blog Merungkai Senja to reflect the stage of my life.  I take Senja or twilight as the transition from day to night, from light to dark, from past to the future, from known to unknown.  

Life can be divided into three phases: the growing up phase, the working phase and the retirement (post-working) phase.  The growing up phase started when you were born into this world and the retirement phase will end when you die.  The duration of each of this phase is not the same, it varies from individual to individual.  

A person may have a short growing up period as he/she may have to start work early to support the family. On the other hand there could also be some people who remain in the growing up phase the whole of their life.

A person may have a short working phase and be able to retire early as the Almighty God may bless the person with abundant wealth and riches.

The retirement phase is always uncertain as we do not know how long we may live before God decide to take our life away.

I have just completed my working phase as my last day of work with my employer, PETRONAS, was last Friday 26 September 2008.  I am entering the retirement stage.  This is my transition, my Senja, my twilight time.  

I intend, InsyaAllah, to use Merungkai Senja to share my experience as I go through this transition.  I may touch on my work experience, I may touch on current events, I may touch on what the future holds for me.  I hope Merungkai Senja will, in some small ways, be beneficial to the readers.

I will try to do good works, to be fair, to be unbiased.  But my own human weaknesses may render many errors in the works I will produce. Up front here, I ask everyone who may be affected by the errors in my works to forgive me.

My capability, my knowledge and my experience have been shaped by many factors - my parents, teachers, family members, friends, mentors, coaches and superiors, the materials I read, the things I hear and the various shows I watched.  All these will influence whatever I may write in Merungkai Senja and, most likely, some part of what I may write may originally come from these sources.  Some may even call this plagiarism.  If anyone feel that what I write plagiarise some other works, again I seek your forgiveness and I hope you will give me permission to use the works.  I do not intend to gain anything materially from this blog.   

All the errors and weaknesses in Merungkai Senja are from me while all the good is from the blessings of Allah. If the readers have benefited from my works, I will consider it a great blessing and I pray to Allah for the best reward in the Hereafter.

Ya Allah Ya Rahman Ya Rahim
Berkatilah usaha-usahaku
Ampunilah segala kesilapanku
Berilah petunjuk kepada ku supaya dapat aku memperbaiki prestasi ku
Jadikanlah hari esokku lebih baik dari hari ini
Dan begitulah seterusnya pada hari-hari yang akan datang.

Amin, Ya Rabbul’alamin

WalLahualam

Allah Know Best

Wassalam and Best Regards.

    

Definition / Pentakrifan

In the name of Allah, the Mercy-giving, the Merciful!

Assalamu'alaikum and Welcome,

This site will mainly use Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) and English. 

Merungkai  is from the root word ungkai meaning unknot or untie

Senja means twilight

From Dewan Bahasa Edisi Baru Cetakan Kelima 1994:

rungkai; merungkaikan  menghuraikan (simpulan tali dll), membuka (bungkusan dll); -> ungkai

ungkai; mengungkai  1.  menghuraikan simpulan tali dll, mengorak, membuka (ikatan dll): tali yg memperhubungkan aku dgn engkau telah tersimpul mati, tidak dapat diungkai lagi;  2.  membuka atau menanggalkan (baju dll), membongkar (rumah), merombak;  3.  menganggap (menyatakan, menyebabkan) tidak berlaku atau sah, membatalkan (perjanjian dll), memansuhkan;  4.  mencari-cari sesuatu utk diselidiki, membongkar-bongkar utk menyelidiki (memeriksa dll), menggugat perkara yg sudah-sudah;  terungkai  telah (dapat) diungkai, terbongkar, terbuka, tertanggal, terurai: dia membetulkan kutangnya yang hampir ~ itu;  pengungkai;  ~ rantai guna-guna (jampi, mantera) utk melepaskan gari.

senja, = senjakala  waktu matahari hampir terbenam (lebih kurang pukul 7.00 petang), ketika hampir akan malam:  ~ hampir tiba, ayam dan itiknya kedengaran riuh rendah masuk ke reban;  berebut ~  Mn hari mulai malam;  ~ buta, = ~ raya  senja yg sudah agak larut (lebih kurang pukul 8.00 malam);  kesenjaan  sudah terlalu petang (hampir benar akan malam), kepetangan.

Wassalam and Best Regards