i dua for patience + strength to help facilitate the kids in their social + mental + physical + emotional development and insyaAllah will become useful adults in the future. ameen!

^-^

doubt this dusty place receive a lot of visits so, hello myself, again! im 24 now, single and pretty much living my life as a vagabond aka semi employed/ fully ambitious? (see.. i know myself! :p) took me a couple of years to digest the fact that this life is so full of uncertainties and its instability is like.. its always missing an electron. i have this feeling its going to be this way till death sucks all of my electrons and then, an empty  nucleus i shall be…anywayyyy…

my uncle had a heart attack this morning. he cannot move. its sad to see him in that state. not a smoker, an active man, a loving father, a gentle husband. boom. heart attack. and then everything changes. things will not be the same again with such a painful experience, and we pray that the change will only lead to positive impacts in his life. life is, full of uncertainties. may Allah remove your pain, forgive your sins, and grant you strength in your deen and your health until your death ameen ameen oh lord of the worlds.

…..

errrm i wish there was more my brain could produce but …. i give up. this has got to be the crappiest entry ever because im going to end it this way (although i have a list of interesting topic to blog about)  cant help it. so loopy. so sleepy. so deprived of deep sleep and typing nonsense in the dark (which actually is a pleasant surprise for me!) hey! i can type without looking at the keyboard. amazing!

cant believe my brain still functions the same way as four years ago. have i really wasted four years of my life? noooo!!!!!!!!! entries displaying a higher level of maturity coming up! yeah right who am i trying to impress?

today a friend and i discuss religion. she is a devout catholic and someone very dear to me. i explained to her:

1) why the Quran is a miracle

2) the difference between Hadith and Quran

3) the difference between a Bible and a Quran

4) why islam is the right religion

5) the importance of seeking knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah

6) the importance of knowing one’s roots that go all the way back to Adam as (this world is not where we should hold our root)

and then she asked: “dont you find it difficult to go back to that? to remind yourself of Allah all the time in this society where everything is so always changing, everything is so [secular].. - well, thats why Allah has made solat obligatory. this is to prevent ourselves from forgetting who we are and why we are in dunia in the first place.

—

another story. had an SMS conversation with another malaymuslim client. she accused me of bribery. astaghfirullahalazim ya Allah you know the truth, you know whats in my heart. my conscience is clear. Ya Allah, if this is a test from You, please bless me with patience and knowledge to overcome this …. this fitnah. ameen. i am not going to go into details but as muslims, we are encouraged to think of 23902184012 reasons before accusing another muslim. subhanaAllah alhamdulillah for this knowledge… im not going to mirror her actions so may Allah bless me , make me a better muslim and save me from hellfire. ameen.

but i would like to urge all malays to be more open with new business models and if you feel that there are things that need improvement, choose your words carefully before making your point. all the feedback must be for the better of the business, for you and for the receiver and not to attack or belittle anyone. may Allah forgive you and may Allah give me strength to forgive you and grant you success in dunia and akhirat ameen.

yes, so the general election date is drawing near but have we, young, first time voters decided which side we are on?  on what grounds should our decision be based on? do you we really know about the party that deserves our xes? what are their credentials? do we know the impact of our votes? wait. do we care at all?

before we go into the nitty gritty details, please know this serious statistics: our vote makes up for a 1/4 of the poll results. that means kan, our vote counts and will make up for the development of our living conditions for the next years. so korang suka tak dengan apa yang ada sekarang? entah eh. ok ah. cukup makan, cukup minum, ada rumah. alhamdulillah  kalau gitu. alhamdulillah.

so  erm, do we really need a change? as young, grateful citizens of singapore, my friends and i have always appreciated the quality infrastructure of singapore: its pro-business environment (i own a start up funded by SPRING Singapore), health care system (subsidized fees but can make it more affordable for the ageing population or not? my parents are old and they visit the doctor so frequently you have no idea), transportation system (hello? air conditioned buses, short time intervals between buses, but sumpah i dont see a need for air conditioned bus interchange? erm, if you want to be nice, maybe boleh kasi duit to the aged to purchase mobility aids or maybe give tertiary students the same entitlement as a JC student in terms of  season pass…dont talk about COE please dont) and urm,  how wonderful it is to have three malls in a heartland (UK labels in a heartland wow thank you very much for bringing materialism amongst impressionable youths to a whole new level like aper sey should i wear to school tomorrow ah? huh how about _____ which my grandfather had to sweat to buy it) and yes the library – the ultimate source of free knowledge! with online search catalogues and reservations, feeding our brains have never been more convenient but korang semua mana baca bukukan semua online je hehe

and, living in a plural society, we have, beyond just accept, but embrace the different cultures and have found ways to co exist harmoniously. as muslims, we do not ask for more than just ease in practising our religion and alhamdulillah, we have that right. with this right, we are able to carry out our duties as muslims with no ‘secular’ body/gestapo to stop us from doing what Allah swt has commanded us. if such things actually exist, im pretty sure the si pitung/ hang tuah in all of us will unleash so better not get there ah, last warning i know of a country that is super nazi to muslims, they place mosques in the most inaccessible areas and force students to eat/ drink during ramadhan. *gasps* in singapore, its nothing like that. in fact, we are encouraged to be good muslims, we have plenty of mosques and we must adhere to the islamic law. but sometimeskan i question if our khutbah (sermon) is screened and scripted to suit political agendas and…. sometimes the  non muslim MPs go to mosques to break fasts with us, thanks.

but like everything else in this world, our systems have its flaws. as young citizens, despite the the loopholes and doubts on certain policies, we respect our esteemed government as they know more (they have tasted more garam than all of us combined) and have led us to where we are now. we are not detaching ourselves from our roots, our parents taught us better than that. so we are here to say thank you for giving us opportunities to grow into law abiding, sensible, responsible  citizens. we will continue to strive to develop into useful individuals to our family, community and nation. without proper foundation from our parents and support from the government, we wouldnt be what we are today. alhamdulillah.

however, today,we are not going to angkat no balls but to go to the crux of the matter and discuss in our opinions, the most pressing concerns for young citizens. we may not want change, maybe we are comfortable with the current status but we want to know whether our situations can be improved. if so, how can it be improved? if we have voted otherwise, will our ‘stability’ be shaken? will our assets be at risk?  how can we better sustain our future? so to know what and how things can be improved, we are here to share the common gripes we have as young citizens:

as muslims, we believe that marriage is half of our deen and children are blessings form Allah swt. most of us are not married yet but we are a few milestones away from that goal. one of the ‘must buy’ before settling into a family of our own is … a very expensive wedding yang tak perlu a home. penthouse living is not what we strive for  - all we ask for is the opportunity to live in moderation, so we need (not want) affordable housing.

one point kan kita nak prove to you all kan – we are not lazy tau. we are willing to work hard for halal money to achieve a comfortable discretionary income in order to have a secured standard of living. so here comes the question. erm if its true that housing is kept affordable and the ratio of housing price to income is low, then why are so many people still struggling to pay HDB loan? sumpah we dont mean to be rude but seriously, as young citizens who are a few years away to buying a home, we are afraid similar adversity will befall us. we do not want to live on rent and we certainly do not want to set up tents along changi beach. we understand that there are shared rental schemes to put a roof on top of those who are homeless, but isnt this just a temporary solution? *thinking worst case scenario and beginning to panic*

if we go back to the fundamentals, HDB is created to make home ownership affordable; not just as a roof per se but to allow singaporeans to feel like they own a stake in it. so if making houses an appreciating asset a priority above ‘affordability’, then, HDB may have just  failed to carry out its underlying mission, kan? kan? kan? correct us if were wrong.

we are always taught to put others above self and because of that, we are putting ourselves in the shoes of the lower income tier who cannot afford to pay the prices of housing that are pegged to market value. yes, we know that HDB is an asset and pegging it to the median income would mean the value will go down but … whats more important?

May Allah swt lighten the load of  all of our brothers and sisters who are facing housing problems. but let us remind ourselves that the best place to call home is Jannah, and any house here in dunia, your ‘own’, or rented, is just temporary. with every difficulty, there is ease insyaAllah.

ermm abe kan, kalau takde kerja, macam mana nak ada rumah, macam mana nak kasi nafkah kat bini?  jobs. haiz.  we are all worried about the rising cost of living. food prices are soaring, fees of anything and everything are increasing, everything is pretty much inflated except our pay. but as muslims, we are grateful to have food on the table, clean water to hydrate ourselves and we havent resorted to tayamum to carry out our ablutions yet. but no matter how small or how big rezeki is provided for us, we believe that Allah is the best provider of sustenance and to Him we seek for help and not…

we are not afraid of competition from the influx of foreigners. we are only afraid that our jobs will be taken away from us. unlike before, our forefathers have their own businesses, they grow their own padi, they go fishing, they rear chickens, to to fill their stomachs but now, things have changed. we do not have that kind of privileges – we only have a thing called job to sustain ourselves. so our question is: are we assured job security? if yes, how? if not, can we get our lands back so we can rear our own chicken and grow a rice field? kidding, kidding. sheesh.

on a related topic, we’d like to note that it is not uncommon for wives to supplement their husbands’ income to secure a positive ‘cashflow’ for the family. these women not only contribute to the economy but more importantly, are responsible for the nurturing of our tomorrow. so what incentives do you have in store for these superwomen? instead of overpaying politicians, can we give monetary compensation to them? *cheeky* working mothers, wa caya sama lu and may Allah swt give you strength to carry out your duties as a muslimah, mother and wife ameen.

so who should we vote for? can they help us create a better future? do they even understand our needs?  :) its actually, not up to them. it is up to us to determine our own future. they can have the best policies but if we are not running towards falah, how can they help us? so we are voting for……………. ..max keiser  kidding kidding. please make your votes wisely (but you guys should check him out hes the hero of our time fighting financial terrorists and banksters!).. learn more about each parties’ manifesto and think deeply if these oppositions’ parties alternative policies will truly help to alleviate our community’s problems and improve the quality of our lives. for those living in tampines, please read: http://nsptampines.blogspot.com/p/manifesto.html before casting your votes!

hmmm oklah (this blogger) has to do her maghrib. so lets conclude this entry with a dua:

Oh Allah, in you lie all power and only in you i trust. my strive, my solat is all for You. guide us to a better future, make us into good successful khalifahs and let us not fear men for all men are created equal and that those superior are those who have more taqwa (God fearing, consciousness) . Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil ‘akhirati hasanatan waqina ‘adhaban-nar. Grant us the good in the world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of hell.. ameen”

you know, i was watching this youtube video about the bermuda triangle and this man who has been researching on the disappearances of ships/ planes/ vessels which traveled within the doomed triangle said something that woke me up even though im not exactly sleeping? -_-’ :

“man knows whats on mars. man has been to the moon. but no man knows whats in the sea. the deepest oceans because nobody has gone there.”

its such a shame that we want to touch the moon but not know whats on our own ground. if its truly knowledge that we seek, it should start from ground zero and then move progressively towards ‘up’. but we like to accelerate everything, skip (and take for granted) what should be given more attention and go straight to the top that is deemed as important according to…us. But if only we realise that this planet is just a faded dot in the expanding universe (which means earth’s ratio to everything else continues to decrease exponentially?), maybe just maybe, we would take our own earth time to take a dive and appreciate whats truly meant for us.

so guess its time for me to take a deep dive into the ocean and stop aiming for the moon. i am going down but my aim remains high up (maybe even higher than the moon) insyaAllah

so yeah i think im in love with Hideaki Akaiwa. i mean i would totally not give him even a first glance in the train cos hes an apek but what he did made my heart melt and i wont mind making pancakes for this man every morning! he didnt wait for time, he just went for love sake. :’) so the point of this blog is….if anyone is reading… is….that this is the kind of man you want, girls! not those who comment on your facebook statuses regularly! tips to find great men? ..great men are easy to find, just dont let the not-so-great-men be in the way! thats all. haha

Read here >> http://badassoftheweek.com/akaiwa.html

everyday she prepares breakfast + lunch + dinner for all 8 of us and none of us are allowed to step out of the house with an empty stomach – ever. and even though we may have said/ done things that may have hurt her, she will forgive us instantly.

can i be like her? i dont think i can be half as good as her its impossible and i cant imagine how my life would have been without her.