Umrah 2004 - Medinah and Mecca

In 2004, my company was very generous to sponsor long serving staff to Umrah during the fasting month Ramadhan. I was a great pleasure for me to accept the offer bcoz it has been my dream one day I want to go to Mecca for Umrah and Haji.

In the first photo was (from right) myself, Kamal, Nik and his wife. The photo was taken when we were at one of the historical site in Medinah. At the back is the graveyards of Mujahideens died during of the great war between Muslims and Kafirin. The Muslims led by our great Rasulullah Muhammad S.A.W lost the war simply because the Muslims Mujahideens failed to adhere the advice by our Rasullulah.

This photo shows some of us on the bus during excursion around Medinah. I was right at the back of the bus - my favourite place. Generally speaking, Medinah is quite small compared to Mecca. However, the town is full of stories and history. At the end of the outing, we were brought to one of the famous market for shopping. Medinah is so famous of dates and other dried fruits like At-tin and Zaitun. Not to forget other dried nuts. The famous "Kurma Nabi" cost about RM25 per kilogram. Malaysian Ringgit and Saudi Riyal is almost the same value. So, you can really shop in Medinah and Mecca using any currency. The traders accept Malaysian Ringgit as it is. Also, most of them speak Malay as the second language. The reason is very simple. Other than Arabs, other nationals that come to Arab Saudi and spend a lots of money are Malaysian and Indonesian. And ironically, Malaysia and Indonesia shares the same language. Very interesting ..

After 3 days in Medina, we are getting ready for the real stuff. Doing the Umrah in Mecca. The photo shows the group right in front of the hotel Anwar Movenpick just around the corner from Masjidil Nabawi. Everyone is in their Ihram waiting for the bus. Its is going to be a very long journey back to Mecca and the time is approximately 4 hours.

The next photo shows my Egyption boss Khaled posing at the corner of the hotel. Right behind is Masjidil Nabawi where out great prophet Muhammed S.A.W lies in peace. One more point to note that, Muhammad spirit is alive everywhere in Medinah. You can see that every body is calm and very friendly. One of the traders hug me as if I know him for many years. Every body is well behave. It was really amazing. You just don't appreciate it until you go to Medinah and stays there. I could tell you that the feeling is different. Mecca could not beat Medinah on this sense.

If you have the chance to go there, don't forget to visit Rasulullah tombs. It is the best place in Medinah. Right in the mosque where you perform your solah. Wake up early well before Fajr prayer and go to Raudhah and do your sunat prayers. It is a small area in the mosque where it is used to be the original mosque during our great prophet Muhammad time. The area ia marked with light carpet and you could notice the different. It is just next to Rasulullah tombs. The area is between the "minbar" and the tombs is noted as one of the garden in paradise.

My Daughter Aini Syafiqah - First Few Days of Her Life

My eldest daughter Aini Syafiqah was born just after midnight on 16th September, 2003. Being childless on my previous marriage (12 years), the moment I saw her, I could feel that my tears ran down my cheek. I was very happy to see how beautiful she was. Weighted only 2.73kg, she was kind of small. Nevertheless, it was the happiest moment in my life.


The first week was horrible to her experience. She was diagnose to have jaundice and the reading nearly touch the upper limit where one would need a blood transfusion. I was nearly broke as my fiancial position was not good at that time. I have decided to sent her to Putrajaya Hospital. She was born in SJMC having the best doctors to attend to her and her mum.


While the charges was huge different, so are the technical knowledge between the pediatrician in both hospitals. For blood test in SJMC, they only need to get only fews cc of blood. You know if you take out the internal part of a Kilometrico ball pen, that is the size SJMC keep my daughter's blood. The blood was taken at the toe and not at the back of our palm as in Putrajaya Hospital where some *litres* of blood needed every morning for testing. The doctor probably around 20++ years old, while the pediatrician in SJMC was double the age. Just imagine that! Poor government.


I week later, she was released from the hospital but the jaundice keeps on until few weeks before showing sign of receding. I was relief. These are some of the photos taken by poor quality hand held device digital camera.



See...I told you she was beautiful and still is... :D

New Dream Job as Senior Software Engineer

1997 Asian financial crisis was the biggest hurdle in my live. I have no option but to close down my newly set up software business. I was a very tough time but I manage to go thru it chewing every bite of its bitter experience.

During that period, I manage to land several small projects and they are enough to meet my end needs. Once the project completed, I spend most of my time at home developing software for one of open source project on the internet.

Lucky enough, my beloved BMW E30 still went strong and did not give me much problems. It was a huge relieve knowing that most beemers give lots of problem. Somehow, I have lost the pictures of my E30. It was a good car but somehow the reliability was not that I would admire.

One night in September 1998, I received a phone call from one of local company specialising in IT solutions. I was surprised when the manager ask me to send my resume by the next morning. I never apply for a job !. She got my contact number thru one of my friend. To cut the story short, I started working for the company in October 1998.

I was very happy because I always want to work for a software warehouse but it was very difficult to get one. The main reason was that the economy was not that good. Secondly, my background was in Civil Engineering. I designed highways and not computer software. During old days, managers are sceptical about the idea of non IT graduate doing computer programming. It was a different story in US, Australia and Europe. So, at the end, my dream come true. Very happy and relieved.