Hari Raya Kedua 2009: Menziarahi Sahabat Beragama Islam

Haji Abdul Rahman Nasir, bekas nazir Masjid Al-Ehsan

Pada hari kedua Hari Raya, saya pun mengadakan lawatan kepada beberapa sahabat Muslim saya. Saya bermula dengan lawatan ke rumah Haji Abdul Rahman Nasir (duduk di tengah), bekas nazir Masjid Al-Ehsan di Bandar Kinrara. Beliaulah yang mempertahankan nama baik saya ketika saya ditahan di bawah ISA dengan menafikan tuduhan palsu yang menyatakan saya melarang laungan azan. Yang berbaju coklat di belakang ialah bekas bilal masjid tersebut. Yang berbaju putih dan berdiri di belakang saya ialah Gary Chong, Pembantu Khas DUN Kinrara saya.

As soon as I woke up, I got ready to visit Haji Abdul Rahman Nasir (seated at the center), the former chairman of Masjid Al-Ehsan in Bandar Kinrara. It was he who defended my name when I was detained under ISA by denying the  allegations that I had forbidden the call of azan. The gentlemen in brown at the back is the bilal of the mosque. The gentleman wearing white and standing behind me is my Special Assistant for DUN Kinrara, Gary Chong.

Din, seorang ahli PAS di Puchong.

Seterusnya, saya melawat Din (berbaju biru dan berdiri), ahli PAS yang selalu memberi maklumat tempatan kepada saya di Puchong.

I then visited Din (in blue and standing), a PAS member who always feeds information about local issues to us in Puchong.

Ahli DAP cawangan Kg Lembah Kinrara, Saiful Alimin

Kemudian, saya pergi ke Hulu Langat untuk melawat salah seorang ahli cawangan DAP saya, Saiful Alimin. Saya agak terperanjat untuk melihat rumah papan Saiful yang terletak di luar bandar kerana beliau merupakan seorang cendekiawan. Menurut Saiful, dia tidak sanggup tinggal di kota kerana dia betul-betul sayangkan kawasan kampung.

Next, I went all the way to Hulu Langat to visit one of my DAP branch members, Saiful Alimin. I was quite surprised to see his wooden house which is located in the rural area because he is an academic. According to Saiful, he could never live in the city for he really loves the countryside.

Bersama isteri dan anak-anak Saiful.  Anak perempuannya petah berbahasa Cina kerana Saiful sengaja menyekolahkannya di sekolah Cina. Saiful percaya bahawa masa depan anak-anaknya akan bertambah cerah sekiranya mereka fasih dalam pelbagai bahasa.

With Saiful’s wife and children. His daughter is proficient in Mandarin because Saiful has intentionally put her in a Chinese school. Saiful believes that his children will have a brighter future if they are multilingual.

Dalam perjalanan saya ke kampung Saiful, saya telah mendapati bahawa jalan masuk tidak diselenggarakan dengan baik dan tidak berturap bagi sebahagiannya. Saya memberitahu Saiful bahawa saya bercadang menghubungi pejabat daerah untuk mengambil tindakan atas masalah ini.

Saya terharu dengan respon Saiful yang mengatakan bahawa itu tidak perlu kerana tidak banyak rumah di kawasannya dan ada ramai lagi rakyat yang mempunyai keperluan yang lebih serius daripadanya.

Namun begitu, saya akan tetap menunaikan janji saya kepadanya.

During my drive into Saiful’s village, I found that the roads leading in was very poorly maintained and were not tarred for part of the stretch. I told Saiful that I would take action by contacting the district office to take action on this problem.

I was very touched with his reply that that would not be necessary because there are very few houses in the area and he believes that there are many more people who have much more pressing needs than his.

Nevertheless, I will continue to proceed with my pledge to him.

~~~

Pada waktu malam, saya mangadakan makan malam bagi saudara-mara saya, khususnya kakak sepupu saya Connie yang mendirikan rumahtangganya di Taiwan. Beliau telah pulang ke tanahair bersama dengan dua orang anak perempuannya. Connie dan dua orang anaknya hanya berminat untuk memakan “signature dishes” kaum Cina di Kuala Lumpur, iaitu pelbagai jenis mee dan kueh tiao goreng. Anaknya malah mengambil gambar ke atas setiap mee dan kueh tiao goreng yang dihidangkan kepada mereka.

In the evening, I hosted a dinner for my relatives, particularly for my cousin sister Connie who is now married in Taiwan. She returned to her homeland with her two daughters. Conie and her two daughters were only interested in eating Chinese signature dishes of Kuala Lumpur, such as the many kinds of fried noodles and kueh tiao. Her daugher even took photos of every fried noodle and fried kueh tiao served to them.