it’s.far.better.to.learn

On the journey of knowledge

my yogic two cents

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i was asked by a young buddhist friend from a recent workshop, about Yoga.
of course this part of the world was knocked with the issue of yoga being haram-ed in the neighbouring country.

oh no, i am not going to give some academic opinions with hujahs and dalils, well, not yet. but one thing came across my mind.

quite simply yoga is a religious ritual for religions like hindu and some buddhist practices, and when included with mantras and the recitings, of surety, it will affect the state of a muslim’s faith.

but at the same time, yoga has been ‘new-aged’ and most yoga practices only involved body movement and the state of mind and inner peace. most yoga practitioners will not identify themselves as hindus, because of their take that yoga is a practical exercise, aid and not a religious ritual. but this of course, in western perspectives, who have found good in some religious ritual, although wanting to avoid being affiliated to a religion, causes yoga to be ‘neutralized’. so what makes yoga yoga?

if you are to be in a sitting position, breathing properly, and putting your mind in a clear form, would that be yoga? or is it JUST a relaxing practice? is it just a state of mind? if you’re sitting, closing your eyes, trying to relax your mind, however reciting the zikrs instead, will that be a form of *bhakti yoga* on its own? the concept is quite similar doesn’t it? so why not just do zikr? you get your rest, inner peace + some afterworld rewards.

i think it’s just a sensationalied term. y-o-g-a stripped of its hinduist origins. sounds chim right? when actually it’s just a state of mind, a form of meditation. but how do you actually separate the physical movement from the spiritual essence of yoga? is there a point where you can say, ok i’m doing this yoga thing up to this, beyond that it’ll be syirk. would you know that border point? and really it’s very much vague what yoga really is without going through its process. just like sufi being vague and confusing to most because of not experiencing it. but that’s another story altogether.

i have always respected yoga practice as a special hindu ritual, and thus never thought of taking it up. leave the hindus alone!

look at it this way. solat without the spiritual essence. so any person can do solat just to gain some inner peace and tranquil state. that wouldn’t be solat you say right? it’s just any form of ‘exercise’. but how can you do the solat acts without the readings and being in a state of mind you need to be, the state of faith you are in.. it’ll be null.

so yoga without the readings and being in a state of mind you need to be and seek even, then it wouldn’t be yoga. it will only be yoga if you put in faith in doing it and there’s bound to be some reads/mantra you read through even if it’s only “oummmm” which by the way, refers to hindus’ concept of god. yoga comes in a whole package if you haven’t notice already. no matter how agnostic or atheist yoga practitioners are, they are, well, in a state of belief to the ritual. the whole paganistic nature and surroundings elements that go with it.

so, to do or not to do? i’ll just stick to my inter-faith respect towards it but at the point of conflicting my aqidah, i don’t risk it.

on to new prologue

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i have been staring at this screen for far too long. with null productivity.
i do have a few tasks left to do but my mind has been a total blank today! which is not good!

i guess it must have been the anxiety of starting at a new workplace this monday. for a year and a few months working at mu*is, i have really become so used to seeing the same faces, going to the same office, and well, sitting at a record of three different workspaces in the same office room. i really enjoyed it and i have to say, i am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in such a place. would especially miss the people in the unit.

still, life has to move on. and i pray that being at a new workplace, with new challenges and meeting new people, will give me a whole new breath and spirit, new perspectives and new experiences. it’s almost a scary thought but this is the choice i have made. although i know i can do so much more (trainings, editings of curriculum, things which i really enjoyed doing) i have a feeling i will still have more of these chances. insya Allah.

there you go, my very first job, very first workspace, very first working experience…will be missing it.

let’s get going seri!

and yes, been to full-of-energy 3-day workshop on youth training. now, here was something which i have always wanted to have- an assessment or evaluation of myself while training. well in this workshop, after 2 days going through the theories and many ideas of games and energizers, we also had a recording sessions. ie. we record our selves during first introduction and on the 3rd day, in a group, conduct a mock training session and got reviews from our peers and the trainer.

well, i found out i did too many time-feelers (aka ‘hmm’ ‘ah’ ‘ok’ etc etc) although i have a good posture and hand gestures, and yes, the contents bit also need a lot to brush up. now i know how i ‘look like’ while training! haha! i got a lot of tips from the trainer and made some new friends. a nice experience really.
going to workshops like this always make me excited to start the new year and apply what i’ve learnt! motiveated seh!

and yes, let’s get going! :))

recuperating

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i guess today was one of the best recuperating day i ever had. resting at home, without ever going out (for once!) and had the whole day indulging myself in a funny chick flick novel (for once!). i purposely chose to read something light to humour myself. well, apart from cleaning up my room which had been left untended for the past few weeks. yes, the last time i had a thorough cleaning was during Ramadhan. and now it felt more homely with a touch of Bodyshop cranberry sweet smell. barulah nampak mcm bilik 3 anak dara. haha 😉

the week had been a whirlwind. believe me when i say it’s whirlwind with a good connotation to it. i had some fun dinners with my girlfriends and happy days revisited. truly. precious memories those are. looking at the pictures shared at facebook, the good memories are immortalised.

and the whole week had been busy with content trainings. apart from being a participant, i also contributed in some ways as an assistant to the main trainer and alhamdulillah, going through it is a learning experience in itself and getting to share my experiences with new teachers is what i’ve always wanted to do. thanks to Y.E. unit for giving me this opportunity. i’m looking forward to more trainings hehe.

and apart from that, my system’s fighting with the reality that in two days, i’ll be leaving my comfort zone for good, and for once, will be going for something permanent and full time and committed at last, at one workplace. i am really leaving and i’m not good with goodbyes. like this is it! but truly, it really is fortunate that i was given the opportunity to work and gain experience in, i think, the best place to learn. and practically learn being in a working environment. it opened up one’s eyes.

and for now, i’m trying to change my biological clock since, at the new workplace, i will have to reach there by 7.30 am!! so i have to wake up approximately 5 am and go on and on till 5.30 pm. wah liau, got to start by this week. wake up at 5!

glass castle

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i just finished reading the book The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and i loved it. it gives a very different non-stereotypical portrayal of a family who have very educated and talented parents (stereotypically it would be big house, academics career, and glossy looking smart children)who chose to go against the norm and live like wanderers, adventurous and vagabond, moving from one place to another.

really, i can’t stop reading it, and at almost every page, i would be expressing “what??!!” “seriously??” “what kind of a parent is this??” “what the toots?” and “WOW!” but it has nothing to do with violence or psychological disorder, or “My name is Dave”-like stories. it’s just that the Walls parents (yes its based on real life story) have a different way of teaching their four children, imparting values from a different angle. for example, letting insects and pests practically breed in their rickety house because you don’t have the right to kill or destroy other living beings. despite the noble values the parents taught them, and the education they gave from home (the Walls children are geniuses) it’s the standard of living which is almost ridiculous. the children eating from leftovers or surviving on margarine or corn for whole days on end, being on a hunger strike because their father is away looking for gold and mother unable to keep a teaching job because of her eccentric nature of teaching.

but i envy the children much because of their independence and smartness, up to the point that they tried ways and took up menial jobs(paper runs, babysitting! when they themselves need babysitting! collecting tins and bottles) from the age of as young as five just to get a morsel of food. and the thing is they don’t rebel and indulge in gangsterism/drinking/drugs/friends’ bad influence. they just don’t. and that’s what amazes me. of course, being children, and eventually teens, they build their own perspectives on things, but they didn’t blame their parents. they very much love their parents still and instead, in whatever it is they were doing, their agenda would be to make less burden for their parents. and yes the parents had their own flaws.

because, if it’s in some community, oklah, my community. it would be a totally different story right? give the same scenario and you get different reactions. of course, i’m not generalising, but in most cases.

just this week, we got a whole list of thumbnail pics on BH of youths involved in physical conflict. and for what?
TheTasteofInk
_____________________________________________

i’m writing this just so to get my mind working, because something else has been bugging me and suddenly i’m starting to think of what’s going to happen to me in the future. honestly, i was never a long term planner and i have been in the comfort zone of being single and free for a long time with having my siblings and girlfriends and acquaintances as meaningful company. i know my age is already a quarter of a hundred years, and even after seeing friend after friend after friend got married, i was never ready for this.

what if all these have to change? what if suddenly i have to start thinking about a significant person? what if suddenly i have to start planning for a marriage? it’s just that, at this moment, it’s totally beyond me. there’s A LOT of things i needed to do and achieve and having a significant partner was never part of the picture. my future was always a picture of career, and travels and books. yes, books. it was never a wife or a mother. although thrown in the rare images of a faceless significant other.

still, being an imperfect person, those tendencies to be loved and wanted is inevitable, i envy my friends who’s married, found their soulmate/ partner, who’s had years of loyal relationships, engaged and so on so forth, of course i dreamt of having those (put in Affa as the imaginary boyfriend, haha!) but i never expected those to come true. not yet.

truthfully, i’m just not ready. despite the age, despite the need. i’m not ready for change.

i’m not ready for a glass castle of my own. but i have to start from somewhere, right? maybe THIS could be IT.

ke-sidang burung-an

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si*dang bu*rung was a theatric (i don’t think you can find this term in the dict) performance, an attempt to adapt for Fariduddin Attar’s Conference of the Birds. in malay, directed by sa-ni hus-sin and playwright by is-a kam-ari.

everytime i went to the library, i will come across a version of Attar’s translated Conference of the birds but i have never took the effort to even read it and now i wish i had! because only then would i know where the flaws would be. not that i’m coming to a theatre to rant out comments. but then i would be more critical and not blindly accepting the whole performance….

…because even a person like me, amateur to the arts line, could sense that the actors and actresses of the play might not even understand what they are reciting~ but i’m sure they have done their research. and kesidang burungan, being an originally a sufistic literature, is spiritualistic and mystic, i believe it’s a poem of love to the Lord.
and Attar, being a sufi, must have gone through many stages to obtain even an idea, a slight image of Him. and i’m afraid the actors and actresses don’t really get that. they’re just, well, acting. there’s only one actor whom i think understand the spiritualistic process of Attar’s.

kesidang burungan quite briefly:
a hoopoe bird aka hudhud desires to search for the king of kings known as Simurgh all the way from across the lands, seas and mountains. and he urged other kinds of birds, like the merak, the parrot, merbuk, even a duck and rooster, bat and a rajawali, and many others, i suppose to follow him on this quest. but all these birds had their own reasons but it turned out they all followed him through highs and lows.

now they have reached the gates of a Qaf mountain, believed to be the abode of Simurgh. out of millions who have followed them all the way, many have failed and left only thirty of the birds who have strived on. the gatekeeper of the abode welcomed them. the birds asked to see Simurgh. however, the answer given by the gatekeeper was simurgh refers to themselves. for simurgh means 30 in persian. and they are only searching for themselves.

well you know what? i’m going to look for Attar’s Conference of the Birds and read!

anyway, i hate the costumes worn by the actors/resses. i don’t think the expressions given by them suits the lines. and i almost thought a Hindu song was played! but it turned out to be a Persian song named Simurgh. (that’s only because i ASKED THE DIRECTOR, read: sa-ni hus-sin)

however, i think kesidang burungan is a huge good step in the Malay arts. a performance which wanted to bring meaning. i’m sure the play didn’t start out to be portrayed as Islamic. and people might get confused. but i guess it will somehow open up people’s minds, especially the mainstream people, the play is not too difficult to understand if you do away with the details and the original work of Attar. the physical movement, the little humours, the brief songs and musics, it will be stamped to the mainstream’s minds, and tell them: Look! there is this sufistic islamic artwork known as the Conference of the birds, full of meaning and wise teachings, which you can apply to your life, read it and realise it. your love is for God.

well, i can say, i enjoyed ke-sidang burung-an and it has opened up my mind and create a critical channel in my thinking system. we definitely should have more of this genre in the arts scene.

murabbi

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the ignorant me have always thought teaching is…well, teaching. you have a book to teach, read to class, explain here and there, give them students homework and grade it..after which they will go through exams and if they study, they’ll get good grades and move on.

but that’s on the superficial level of teaching. after a year and a few months teaching, i have realised how so much more teaching is. and note: i’m not even a full-time teacher, like say, Mary and kak Dewi. but i’m sure they will agree with me on this.

i have taken up this teaching at a mosque madrasah rather impromptu. i really wasn’t planning to teach when i graduated. but after relieving a number of times, i somehow got stuck with it. haha.

and you know how the world sometimes conspires to let us achieve a dream. it was not my dream but somehow it is, because circumstances paved that way. i got a temp job at youth education unit, and then the accidental relief jobs i took up, and meeting with people who have the passion and the talent to teach. i’m inspired alright. and with the exposure and some reading i did in due course, i realise teaching is a whole system that revolves the world. you’re nowhere without knowledge they say, now who’s to get that knowledge if no one’s teaching?!

just as the Prophet seeking knowledge and receiving them direct from the Lord, who by the way, goes by the name Rabb. it means a lot of things: teach, nurture, educate. and for me, i have been searching myself. teaching, i believe, regardless of what subject, is almost holy. and to teach, means to make MYSELF better, because i’m not just any working person, but i’m a teacher. a trainer nonetheless, as how i would prefer to be known informally. still. the mechanisms of teaching starts from myself.

and the Lord, being a Nurturer Himself, has paved the way. well, for one thing i have a personal mentor who’s helped along the way. but i had the fortune to attend a closed session with one of the Muslim world’s experienced and knowledgeable Muslim educationist. Dr Dawood Al-Hidabi.

if i could summarise the whole discussion, it would be The Heart. teaching is from the heart. and there’s the spiritual element to that.

how does teaching comes from the heart? well, IKHLAS is one. and two, the realisation that trasmitting knowledge is, to develop them intellectually, and utter ‘shaping’ of the whole being of the students. is not easy, man. i’ve always known that in order to teach, there must be something in me which is almost perfect. of course being mere human = imperfection, but if we’re on that strive, we’re almost there. and thus, Dr Dawood has given a list of what being a teacher means:

-> a murabbi = shaping personalities. also meaning, the teacher as a good example.
-> a counsellor = competent in giving advices and lending a shoulder, as well as, a helping hand
-> a researcher = aware of what’s going on in the surrounding
-> a leader = an agent of change

these, i should cultivate within myself.

I had 4 pages of my journal filled with notes from the discussion but there’s only 4 things which young trainers/teachers need to remember. while teaching is not just about syllabus and knowledge, it’s also building meaningful relationships with the students. only with this relationship will knowledge be truly transmitted through example.

1. Admire – there may be something which is truly unique to the teacher that allows the students to admire her/him
2. Trust – when there’s a level of trust built, knowing that there’s someone a student could turn to without risking being embarrassed. and i guess a sense of respect towards the students’ needs
3. Love – after much time, love can be developed
4. Obedience – and this is when whatever the teacher says or taught, there won’t be much trouble for the students to listen to us, because of the trust and love, they know we, the trainers/teachers are here for them.

and since then i’ve been having this 4 things in mind, almost like a mantra for me to teach. i’d be building up the 4 ‘hearts’ to motivate myself.

and one more thing, which, also pretty much sums up of being a teacher.
companionship.

so help me Lord.

last ramadhan khutbah 2008

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My dear brothers, may you be blessed by Allah,
The Holy month of Ramadhan will leave us in less than four days time. Let us make full use of what remains of this month. Let us strengthen our taqwa to Allah s.w.t. May we always be blessed with His protection in this world and the next when we truly are conscious of Him, Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.

My dear brothers,
When Ramadhan leaves us, Syawal greets us. Syawal marks the victory for Muslims after a whole month of fasting.

Certainly, many of us celebrate Syawal with joy and happiness. For some of us, the preparations for Syawal have been done much earlier. We decorate our homes, we prepare new clothes and a variety of delicacies to offer our guests. We await the coming of Eidulfitri.

But before we are overcome by joy and celebration, we should end our training and schooling in the month of Ramadhan with several important questions.

What did we actually set out to achieve and celebrate? How then should we celebrate these achievements?

My dear brothers,
I would like to remind us all that fasting has a clear purpose and objective; to develop mankind to become individuals who are fully conscious of Allah through taqwa. Allah s.w.t. says in Surah al-Baqarah verse 183:

Which means: “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.”

My dear brothers,
Do we still remember how we prepared ourselves early on in the month? Do we still remember how we spend our days in the month of Ramadhan?

We started our day with the pre-dawn meal with our family members. We performed our obligatory prayers in the congregation at the mosque. We did a lot of charity. We trained our eyes to look at, and read the Quran. We enlightened our hearts with understanding the Quran and listening to religious advice. We break fast with family and friends. We stand in prayer every night in the terawih congregation. We strengthened our relationship with our families. In the last 10 nights, we stand before Allah s.w.t. in prayers.

Therefore brothers, think about it. These are the sweet moments we had spent in the month of Ramadhan. But now, Ramadhan will leave us!

Should we rejoice at its departure?

The real rejoice and celebration is when we have succeeded to uplift our taqwa to a new level when Ramadhan leaves us.

This is the true achievement and success in the eyes of Allah. Thus, if we cannot make enough preparations for Syawal, we don’t have new clothes, or our homes are not as beautiful as last year, or we don’t have enough Hari Raya delicacies, we should not be remorseful.

But we must cry in sadness, we must be remorseful, if Syawal arrives but our hearts and souls are devoid of spirituality and taqwa. We must be sad if fasting has still not shaped us to become good Muslims. A whole month of fasting has still not elevated and uplifted us. The Holy Prophet s.a.w. said:

Which means: “There are many who fast in Ramadhan, but get nothing of it except hunger. There are many who stay up in prayer at night but get nothing except tireness because of no sleep.”
(Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad)

My dear brothers,

I am sure we do not want to be among such people whom the Prophet described in this hadith. We do not want our fasting to go to waste, devoid of meaning and quality. So, how do we ensure that the impact of fasting on us lasts beyond Ramadhan?

My dear brothers,
First: We must continue with all good deeds and with efforts to uplift our devotion to Allah s.w.t. even after Ramadhan. Let us not become those whom Allah describes in Surah An-Nahl verse 92:

Which means: “And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly.”

For example, we have trained ourselves to fast and perform night prayers for the month of Ramadhan. So continue with these good deeds. Do not entirely abandon these actions once Ramadhan leaves us.

So let us remain steadfast. In the month of Syawal, we are encouraged to fast six days. Don’t waste this opportunity.

My dear brothers,
Secondly: When we celebrate Eidulfitri, do not ever forget to praise, thank and glorify Allah s.w.t. We praise Allah for His blessings by reciting the takbir as much as we can on the eve of Eidulfitri. When we recite the takbir sincerely, it shows that we are grateful to Allah and it is the best way to celebrate Eidulfitri itself. Allah s.w.t. says in the Quran:

Which means: “and (He desires) that you should complete the prescribed period and that you should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you and that you may give thanks.”

Another sign of our gratitude is when we pay the obligatory act of zakat fitrah. Let us pay this zakat before the prayer of Eidulfitri. This act, if done sincerely, will complete our deeds and fasting in the month of Ramadhan.

Thirdly, we celebrate Eidulfitri by visiting our family members and relatives. This strengthens the bonds between us. But in visiting each other, we must not neglect the ethics of doing so.

For example, we must take care of our health. For the whole month, we have consumed good and healthy food. Do not be excessive during Eidulfitri. Be moderate in our consumption. Choose healthy food, such as fruits, and try to avoid sweet drinks. Remember, that fasting has enhanced our health, so do not reverse the process by consuming anything and everything after Ramadhan.

When we do our visits, we must ensure we stick with the ethics. Visit others at suitable times. Do not stay at one’s house until late at night, as usually, people need to rest, but may be shy to indicate that to you. Take care of the rights of our neighbours, so do not let waste spill onto their doorstep, or noise coming from our homes to affect them.

These are some examples which will demonstrate to us how far Ramadhan has able to shape us into good Muslims. Because Ramadhan offers us a comprehensive education. It strengthens our relationship with Allah. It also inculcates in us good relations with others.

InshaAllah, when we truly understand the significance of Eidulfitri, our fast will be impactful and powerful, and will serve us good on the day of judgement. We ask Allah to accept all our deeds and to grant us His forgiveness Amin Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin.

the force

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I’m putting this video not so much for the pride of Rsaf, but rather the trailer’s words. I mean, so nicely said, that there’s only One which i think of everytime i saw this commercial on tv.

and reminded of one Hadith Qudsi, well not the same words, but the meaning can be quite similar.

On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Allah the Almighty said:

I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.

It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).

2 worlds

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Radiohead’s MTV official video clip for their song All I Need.
it affected me. much.

a pair of shoes connecting two different boys from different sides of the world.
at one side, a young boy seem to have everything he could have wanted, a good life, education, play, proper food. when at the other end, a child of the same age could have such a different life, working for the sake of having some food to eat a day, a roof to shelter. i have the sudden thought that the very pair of shoes i wear are somehow the work of a young child.

let’s learn to be more grateful, ok, Seri. people and children are suffering somewhere around the world. we should not whine and complain when things don’t go our way or we can’t get the things we want. some children don’t even get the basic things they need! they won’t even know the very concept of ‘want’ just because their ‘need’ are not met~

i’m reminded of this prose: if we think we have a problem, other people have problems too. there will be no end if we are to measure who has the bigger problem. just move on and get over it.

ps: if you’re from catholic jc and staying in hougang some years ago, say in the year 2000-2001, could you drop a word or two…..because someone who used to study there has something which was mine, and i need it back. and the problem is, this someone is beyond reach.
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fat chance. escapist!

their life

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reflections was one of the themes in teens aL.I.V.E. and that was what most teens aL.I.V.E. classes would be having this time of the year. but then i found myself in somewhat ‘reflections’ mode the whole weekend myself. like whatever i see, or read, i would stop to think, and felt my heart ripping because of either, i was just so touched, or plain effected.

1. i had been reading Tariq Ramadan’s The Messenger on the bus, and it came to reflecting how the first followers of our Prophet faced all kinds of hardships and especially tortured by the leaders in Mecca. one of them was the well known story of Ammar and his parents Yasir and Sumayyah. the first mujahids. died in the course of defending one’s faith, no matter how hard life was. i don’t know why, but it touched my heart at that very moment, causing me to shed uncalled for tears. having read that, i got to share bits of it with my students. here is a family, poor yes, but rich in faith and strong in their hearts to what they believe in, would go through thick and thin together. suffer together. here is a family promised of paradise.


2. life of ryan, a reality tv show of a young professional skater. you know about his life, his skater-career. what got me hooked to the show is not so much about skating or his life per se, but more of the portrayal of a young man, no matter how popular and ‘glamorous’ his life could be, at the end of the day, he’s just a normal guy with needs and responsibilities as a big brother, a son to divorced parents, and a friend.

but here’s the deal, which made me, literally, fall in love with ryan, his love for his youngest brother. for a 17 year old, ryan showed honest and sincere, truly responsible towards his brothers, Shane and Kane. the love between these brothers, it just shows throughout.

there’s this one episode, kane started to think he got left out by the family, since everybody seemed busy with their things. ryan, having found out kane’s feeling down, decided to bring kane out. so the scene was showing ryan asked kane to accompany him (as a favour to ryan!!) and kane who was playing his PSP, without one second thought, put away his PSP, with an immediate OK! they went to this Legoland, and you could just see how happy kane was to be spending the day with his brother ryan, it’s so sweet and brotherly. and how ryan kept saying thanks to kane for accompanying him, and kane would say yeah no problem, but with pride, he’s just glowing!

and kane would be cuddling and hugging his big brother like second nature, ryan, on the other hand, was never embarrased to express some brotherly love to his brothers in the public. i’m just amazed at this guy. untypical of what we used to ‘think’ americans are.

they were so close that when ryan told kane he wanted to move out, kane actually cried and said “but i’m going to miss you!”. i cried too. haha. it’s just so touching la!

i hope brothers out there would watch and learn from ryan in some ways. well, it applies to everybody who have a young child under their care. which brings me to another thought.

3. some young parents who don’t seem to give much love and respect to their young children. sometimes, i would see young couples (tattooed hands, dyed hairs nonetheless. i’m not stereotyping, but they just are, you know). i would start to think oh what a happy family, beautiful parents to beautiful children. and then the young son did one ‘budak2′ thing, you know, like running around, touching things, and the parent would actually scold the young guy right there and then. not enough with that, would even start shouting swear words at the poor little child! i couldn’t even put those swearing words here. and sometimes, i thought i could see hate in the parents’ eyes.

it’s just so sad to grow up being sweared at. how is the environment the little child is growing in? i just wonder, what are these children exposed to?!

4. i’m putting this video, watch and reflect. intepret it in your own words and thoughts. if you’re not touched by this. i have no say, but have a look.