Monday, August 18, 2008
Playlist Di-Raja
Aku ada satu rahsia yang champion nak kongsi. Moga boleh jadi inspirasi untuk memulakan hari kau, kau dan kau.

Kalau rasa malas nak mandi pagi, aku pasang track Know Your Role sambil berjalan masuk toilet – style jalan tak payah ceritalah, ala ala People’s Champ baru lepas layan Rock Bottom kat Triple H.

Untuk effect lebih ganas dan elegan, kening diangkat sebelah – menimbulkan pertikaian, kening siapa lebih menangkap, The Rock atau Ziana Zain.

Lebih champion kalau buat depan cermin yang bersaiz super.

Lepas mandi, lagu Exists biasanya akan mengambil alih, sengaja menimbulkan effect syahdu supaya effect The Rock dapat dineutralkan. Rahsia Pohon Cemara lah biasanya.

Dan hidup bermula bila LFO rampas waktu siaran. Alexi Murdoch pun kadang-kadang bikin haru biru Playlist Di-Raja. Bertumbuk dia dengan Liam Gallagher sebab rampas mikrofon. N’Sync cool je, tak mahu kacau orang tua bergaduh.

John Lennon perhati dari jauh. Paul, Ringo dengan George stand-by kat belakang dia, macam cerita Pendekar Bujang Lapok.

Masa tu aku cakap, hilang punca semua lari bertempiaran. Akon yang gangster pun goyang. Eminem lagi lah, sekali John petik terus demam.

Bila John dengan kawan-kawan tidur, Adam Levine rampas mikrofon. Lepas puas buat suara charming, Jason Mraz dengan Gavin DeGraw pula test market. Line-line ini memang gentleman, sebab lepas perform stage mesti kekal in order.

Tapi kalau Axl Rose dengan James Hetfield pegang mikrofon, siap lah aku nak mengemas stage. Si Mark pun sama, lagi lagi kalau Tom dengan Travis dah start buka baju.

Awie, Amy dengan Aris Ariwatan pun kadang-kadang try nak buat samseng, tapi selalu dia orang kemas balik stage. Sebab air mata penuh siapa nak lap. Aku kesian tengok line-line ini, struggle gila nak masuk playlist orang lain - tak market dan tak fashionable katanya. Menangis-nangis line-line ini merayu kat aku nak feature dalam Playlist Di-Raja.

Kesian dia orang jadi mangsa seni subjektif.

Tapi ada satu time Duta ikut Ahmad Dhani datang. Pasha dengan Ariel senyap-senyap ikut dari belakang. Dia orang ini memang steady, sampai Freddie Fernandez kucar kacir cari alasan kenapa dia orang tak boleh datang dah.

Dalam Playlist Di-Raja, orang jual Char Koay Teow pun boleh feature, asalkan suara boleh challenge Ebiet G. Ade. Nak diskriminasi pergi Palestine. Alah kat sini pun boleh, pandai-pandai lah cari port.

Dan baru tadi Pasha dah check in secara rasmi, bawa sekali dua tiga track. Tapi ada satu yang aku ingat, Kekasih Gelapku. Tercipta Untukku pun boleh tahan dia punya naik.

Pergh itu time, aku sure sudah tarik selimut.

Agak-agak mata aku pun dah nak padam, aku suruh dia orang semua balik. Boleh tengok dia orang tarik muka kat aku macam mana. Macam budak budak.

Basuh kaki, clear tekak, gosok mata, tarik selimut – lepas tu layan doa sebelum tidur. Tiga kul menyusul kalau sempat, mana lah tahu, esok dah tak tengok dunia.

Tidur.

Esok The Rock nak bangun sebab ada benda lagi tak settle dengan Triple H. Nasib baik dia ada Playlist Di-Raja, supaya The Rock lupa nak tarik muka dan benci membenci sesama umat.

Kadang-kadang aku try juga nak feature dalam Playlist Di-Raja, tapi skill tak cukup Satriani dan suara tak cukup Freddie lah. Roslan Aziz sure rasa nak tepuk je belakang aku sekali aku petik. Paula Abdul pun agak-agak boleh hilang sabar dengar aku cuba jadi V.E.

Petik pun sekadar tak nak bagi berhabuk. Tak apa, sedap telinga aku, sedap lah Playlist Di-Raja.

Playlist Di-Raja ada dimana mana, mungkin belakang window IE komputer kau ini pun ada. Cuba tekan minimize tengok, sebab kalau tekan close macam mana kau nak baca blog orang lain pula kan.

Tapi ego aku mengatakan Playlist Di-Raja aku yang paling champion. Habis emosi aku kena main dengan Playlist Di-Raja. Okaylah, at least Playlist Di-Raja sudi nak mainkan emosi aku.

You define your own Playlist Di-Raja. Jangan tarik muka kalau Raihan tiba-tiba buat comeback dalam Playlist Di-Raja aku.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Seni itu subjektif.

Aku ada satu rahsia yang champion nak kongsi. Moga boleh jadi inspirasi untuk memulakan hari kau, kau dan kau.

 
posted by Sanza at 6:37 PM | Permalink | 3 comments
Friday, August 15, 2008
Hari Ismail
Lu apa pasal angkat kening.

I went to watch Ismail The Last Days last night. By right I wasn’t entitled for a student priced ticket, as my college days were over – and my ID was incised very neatly using a scissor when I was signing out from the college, a very ironic yet cumbersome way to end my days studying there, while chunking quite a hefty privilege I had of being a student when everything is quite cheaper when you have a student ID.

Malay College saved the day, as I used my Malay College ID instead – and for sure, with pictures of me sikat rambut belah tengah and yes, facial hair free.

And with RM20 and extra RM5 for nasi lemak Kelab Sultan Sulaiman Kg Baru, I’m in.

That is just another reason to hate my previous college.

Well the show was fine, except for some stretched out redundant storyline, with some flaw in the actors’ delivery and diction – where some real Malaysian essence I was looking for was nowhere to be found, missing.

Tiny little details on the accent and deep understanding about the relationship of the people of Malaya in 1940s should really be taken into account, just so to make it more real and authentic – not just another raw and experimental piece of musical.

Kudos to the musicians, for live music, and brilliant piece of arrangement, which was essential in building up the mood and was quick to draw my attention back to the play when I was computing about the depth of the lyric, and set me free on the flight of imagination, especially the part when Tun Dr Ismail was reluctant whether to take care of his wife and family or to commit himself to the country.

Though the play was not entirely a true account of once an acting Prime Minister of Malaysia, it was sufficient to tell quite a whole chunk of the live of a great hero of this country.

I think I’ve learnt so much from this doctor turned politician, whom Robert Kuok regards as the most non-racial Malay man in the history of the nation.

Thanks, Tun Dr Ismail.

What is more, he shares the same forename with my father, my ayah who celebrates his birthday today.

He is my ayah, a person credited to any of my greatness, and a person who is there to empower my limitations.

You can never be concise if you are writing about your dearest father, and I know to honor him in a blog post is never enough to show your respect and high regard to him. And all I can say is, he’s my man.

You are forever in my heart, not just in my blog's address.

Happy Birthday Ayah.

I am proud to be an Ismail.

Kasi turun lu punya kening sekarang.
 
posted by Sanza at 6:44 PM | Permalink | 6 comments
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Red Giants No Blusher
Let me start this post by thanking Dino, who were there in the crowd with me – who spent RM29 to buy Selangor jersey few minutes before the kick-off. I was surprised to have a man born in Sarikei to do such feat, and he told me he did the same thing when he visited Stadium Alor Star. Hats off to you man.

The crowd has nothing to be compared when Malaysia took on Chelsea at Shah Alam. It was an easy ride along Federal Highway, and I got to park just a stone throw away from the ticket booth. Maybe to buy ‘The Dark Knight’ ticket would take longer time and que than last night’s match.

Just look at how cool the face I pulled while queuing with not much pressure mounted.

Final score, Selangor won 2-0 in what would have been an easy 5-0 run out.

Safee Sali had the worst jeer, albeit scoring the first goal for Red Giants. It should have been a hat trick for him, save for his two clear chances in front of the goal went begging.

With Shukor Adan being Shukor Adan, the central department was clumsy and hopeless. I just hope he will sign-out and work as a Char Koay Teow seller instead.

And we were lucky to have Evans Chisulo as the spine of the defence to deny Johor FC’s well executed yet lacked finishing moves of attack. No doubt, my man of the match.

Two goals is a fine deficit as Johor FC is monstrous in Pasir Gudang – when they thrashed Khairy Jamaluddin’s UPB MyTeam 5-1 before coming to Shah Alam. I just hope they will keep up the momentum, as the dream final is looking good to be true, as Kedah easily went the first hurdle by beating Terengganu 3-0.

Good luck in Pasir Gudang, lads.

Ah yes, thanks to Frank Seator for goals, Elie Aiboy for dazzling runs and crosses and Evans Chisulo for iron grip guards all this while. We will miss you guys just like how we miss Chris Kiwomya, David Mitchell, Mehmet Durakovic, Bambang Pamungkas and Brian Fuentes. You guys are no casualties but a living legend for us in Shah Alam. Thank you, awang import.

Gambar yang lagi best daripada poster Sure Heboh.

Bukit Jalil, here we come.

P/s - Khairy Jamaluddin just accepted my Facebook friend request. Boleh lah aku main poke-poke dengan dia.

 
posted by Sanza at 8:12 AM | Permalink | 3 comments
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
NST
Aku terkejut beruk bila dapat satu message ini daripada seorang member of the floor.
“Pergh, test market orang putih nampak”

Aku reply mudah,

Apa yg kau cakap ni? Taste awek melayu pun tak tercapai tangan dan poket aku.

“Gila apa awek. Gua layan google, jumpa artikel lu kat NST”

Dengan pantas aku bergegas ke NST, Jalan Riong untuk mendapatkan naskhah original. Tapi sayang, edisi lama dah hantar recycle, jadi hanya boleh difotostat yang original.

Tapi fotostat kat library NST bukan macam kat sekolah menengah. Lapan ringgit satu page. Boleh dengar wallet aku punya menjerit. Ah, tak kisahlah. Janji boleh cerita kat orang kampung.

Click sini untuk gambar besar gajah.

Apa la aku buat sampai miss benda ini. Oh dulu aku sibuk kat kolej apa ntah nama dia. Koyak yang ini, burn lapan ringgit aku.

Thanks editor, sebab betulkan grammar aku yang haru biru tu – barulah handsome sikit bila juta-juta rakyat Tanah Melayu baca.

P/s – The New Straits Times are believed to be serving as a propaganda tool for the Malaysia government and its proxy owner, UMNO, which is a right-wing Malay political party (Source: Wikipedia). What better way to reach them, after my letters to Khairy Jamaluddin and FAM people were not replied?

 
posted by Sanza at 10:37 AM | Permalink | 3 comments
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Big Week for Big Reds
Indeed.

Liverpool will kick off the optimistic off-Anfield at the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland this coming Sunday. Nothing against The Black Cats, but I am sure, as far as being a Kop is concerned, what we need is a strong jab of incentive by winning comfortably in the first game. The Reds are well-known of their sluggish season starters. And usually, they would bounce back late in the season, just in time The Kops were leaving the stadium and all too sensitive to bid adieu.

Its been a busy transfer market in English football lately – all too quick to bewilder me, upon knowing Deco is now a Blue, just the next day I knew Luka Modric is now heading to Spurs. I didn’t expect Giovani Dos Santos to leave Barcelona until a friend told me he is now joining Modric as well. What was he thinking when he decided to leave Bojan Krcic and Lionel Messi, just a split second after the trio were tipped to be the new ‘it’ power force. It was not all, after I learnt David Bentley was soon to sign for Juande Ramos regime, a month after Samir Nasri joined Arsene Wenger day nursery, to play alongside young football gems of Arsenal.

And so I thought how Rafa Benitez would fare the battle of transfer saga this season? I was on tenterhooks, hoping him to amaze me with some magic, just the way he did a year ago when he brought El Nino to Anfield – not to mention some 20 million pounds for more than 20 goals a season, making him the first Liverpool player to score 20 league goals in a season, since Robbie Fowler in the 95/96 season campaign, when I was still supporting the Red Devils.

I think he did, when he unveiled Robbie Keane as our new Number 7, a dreadfully big number to wear, previously worn by the great Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan – much to the contentment of Aliff Adha, taking pride of the two who had the honor of playing for Newcastle United.

Personally I like Robbie Keane, and seeing him donning the red shirt (and yes, the miserable away grey jersey) would be a nice fixture, provided that he will be playing alongside Torres up front. There are talks everywhere, agreeing that Torres-Keane partnership is looking to takeover the Premiership and looking good to grab at least one silverware back to Anfield this season. Let us pray that Robbie is not transforming as another form of Craig Bellamy and defying the odds of becoming Liverpool's best attacking alliance since John Aldridge and Peter Beardsley.

Other than that, I think we are at least as strong or better in some departments than we were last season, with Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel are back from injury to make a very big impact on the back four, where we don’t have to call on Jack Hobbs anymore.

Reina, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres are establishing a very strong spine to the team, while Babel and Lucas, both a year older in the Premiership will hopefully come on leaps and bounds this season.

Jamie Carragher, well, is not actually my cup of tea. He might as well join Kewell and Crough somewhere, together with Itandje and Pennant whom are set to be listed and transferred out.

I thought I am going to miss John Arne Riise following his move to Roma, but the arrival of the 7 million pound Italian Andrea Dossena was quick to wipe my tears. His pre-season campaign was delightful and promising. He is no doubt the undisputed first choice on the left of the defence, and the rightful heir to Riise’s seven seasons spell as the left guardian of the back four. A wonderful bargain, I must say.

Ah the youngster N’Gog looks like a dangerous understudy. Even his name is a trivial one to pronounce – but he scored a goal earlier in the pre-season which had a touch of Henry in it. I hope will develop that way, not just by sharing the same physique with the King.
All in all, we now have the quality; we just need luck and the right mental approach. And yes, some fair referees when we are up against Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal.

We are a better team than last year. An improved league position is all I need. To win the premiership is a bonus and I don’t mind having any of FA or Carling Cup in the process. Lifting the Champions League is a dream.

We always said we had the best two teams in Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool
reserves. - Bill Shankly
Good luck Liverpool. Good luck The Reds.

And the other Reds will also wage the ultimate battle for supremacy. Red Giants, Selangor, will take on Johor FC in the first leg of Malaysia Cup semi-final tomorrow night at Stadium Shah Alam.

It will be the last chance to catch Frank Seator, Elie Aiboy and Evans Chisulo in action, as they have to surrender to FAM new policy of foreign players next season.

And another chance for you people to be at the stadium to watch local football, our own football scene.

Ticket prices in Shah Alam is fluctuated, but one thing for sure is you can get a ticket for not more than RM33, RM53, RM83, RM103 and RM303 – except for a week ago.

Good luck Selangor. Good luck Red Giants.

Let’s paint the world red this week, lads – because football is back.
 
posted by Sanza at 2:26 PM | Permalink | 0 comments
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Stamford 'Seksyen 13' Bridge
Walaupun aku bukan makhluk tuhan paling seksi, tapi aku rasa handsome letak bendera Malaysia kat belakang aku - walaupun orang kulit sama warna dengan aku sendiri sudah pandang tajam sebab aku tak sokong team dari London tu. Oh lupa pula sekarang ni orang putih ada iras-iras Melayu.

Eleh, kalau Liverpool datang, berasaplah kau pula kena maki dengan blogger Chelsea.

Ya tak ya.

Eleh, tapi itu kalau.
 
posted by Sanza at 4:47 AM | Permalink | 4 comments
Friday, August 08, 2008
Trailer Minggu Champion
(Iklan - ala ala trailer wayang, suara macam Don LaFontaine)

Lu ingat bercinta kena ambil nombor macam kat post office?

Aku bantai gelak dan snap gambar ini, teringat kata-kata kawan aku tu.

(Cerita dah mula)

You know you are having a good week when someone is back in your life – your childhood sweetheart.

Breakfasts, lunches, driving, roaming, wayang, and yeah rock climbing – this is without any uncertainty the best week of my long 3 months holiday – if not of my life.

Like any fairy tale, the flight has an ending, and I hope this one doesn’t have one.

But god is fair enough to give me only a week for this – and a future to move about pondering.

I hope she is doing fine, and will do fine.

Dear God the only thing I ask of you is
To hold her when I'm not around,
When I'm much too far away

- Avenged Sevenfold

Aku dah kata, aku dah jumpa benda yang lagi cantik dari bulan, again.

(Cerita dah habis, kalau pelakon dah tak nak berlakon - kena tengoklah sambutan market macam mana)

 
posted by Sanza at 1:39 AM | Permalink | 5 comments
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Futsal 101
Some parents might not agree of having their kids to play futsal late at night. A basic rule of thumb, if you ask any football enthusiast, is that futsal is contagious. The nature of futsal which is very simple to play – and the fact nowadays there are futsal centers built at about every corner of the city, made us hard to resist the temptation of saying “yes, I’ll be there” upon answering a call from the night’s tokan (an organizer, the person in charge to call and gather players and the person who collects money at the end of the futsal session).

Being a tokan sounds like a very stringent and strenuous job to do – provided that you have to forgo your worthy mobile phone credit to make at least 9 calls or messages to get the ball rolling. But, it will be all worthwhile, when there are surplus of money collected, in result of each of players have to pay equal amount of money – and the tokan will enjoy the ‘incentive’. But being a considerable team player, we would not make a big fuss about it – he earned it. Now you can have a lesson on transparency and accountability by just playing futsal.

It would be a case of a competition, when there are more players than needed in the team. There would be a person or two, voluntarily or reluctantly who have to make way for 5 players to play first. Every second on the bench is a misery, a torture, and silent agony, and utmost a woe to your dignity, when you are all set in your outfit; with a pair of shoe (we called it futsalor) made up chiefly of rubber resin with reinforced well-designed couture (if its an expensive newly-advertised Nike one, of course), but found sitting on the bench.

Don’t worry, there’s a way not to lose any of your well-groomed self-esteem.

I would pretend to check for my phone if it is ringing or walking back and forth to the counter as if I’m buying a Gatorade but forgot to bring my wallet. You have to look like you are not waiting to be in the court. That’s the trick.

It is all worth it when you step into the court and the ball is coming to you, allowing you to have short but enough time to show what you have, not just a cute little Nike shoe.

With smaller ball (but of the same size) than the traditional soccer ball, futsal lay down a clear emphasis on improvisation, creativity, technique and yes, like any sport, teamwork. I think it worked well to make you more composed – hence you will be all fired up to want the ball more, so you can do something with it.

Dignity is very much an important deal to wage. Nutmeg, quick decision making, tricks and composure are all weapons of pride exploitation. Being able to do it is like winning a battle, and to be at the receiving end of it is devastating. I myself can get my whole day ruined just by having someone to do a nutmeg through my legs. But a signature rabona always thrive as a sweet payback for me. Ha ha, masuk bakul angkat sendiri. Shh.

Ah yes, tripping, jumping at, charging in dangerous manner, holding or pushing an opponent are not some of the way to show how muscular and manly you are, but a woe to you dignity as it reflects on how short-tempered and lack of composure you actually are. We don’t need any shirt-pullers or any wrestlers around. Go home and watch WWE or any sick videos if you need your doze of brutality. Please, this is a game for gentlemen.

At the end of the day, friendship is made, friendship is strengthened, Malaysian football will benefit, and the love of football will be widespread.

Although Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are not my favorite players, they both credit the skills-based game with making them the players they are now. It is no coincidence that the countries who do extremely well in futsal like in the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Spain and Portugal – also prominent figures in the FIFA world rankings. Chances are - with widespread futsal centers and highly sensitive passion among Malaysian youth on the game – we could be somewhere in between the top-list.

Futsal is definitely here to stay in Malaysian culture. It is better to have our kids to indulge themselves in inflicting chaos on the road, faking your ID to get into nightclubs, getting drunk when you have class to attend the next day and involve in any black organizations.

Aksi-aksi yang pernah dirakam setahun dua dahulu.

Aku sudah gian. Tolong lah.

 
posted by Sanza at 5:47 AM | Permalink | 4 comments
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Heroism Is Not A Joke
Sometimes it takes a bad character to convey the message we all could do with - a very simple note but with an immense weight of significance.

It would cleanly suggests that we can learn from just about anyone, be it a sought after felon, an astute and successful businessman, a bright student with full-ride (and mostly deserved) scholarship to study abroad, a well-liked politician, an out of favor rock band, a hopeless boy who have been dumped by his girlfriends for a record of 6 times, a blogger who sounds exceptionally genius and critical on the web but in reality a mute, an average football fan who thinks he is better than any player in the Premier League just by watching them play on live telecast, a hardworking Char Koay Teow seller, anyone you name it.

But us being us, we stick to the customary fixation of learn from only the best and brightest, until our mind made too one-dimensional to see the other side of the coin, the story, the cost that we fear to be one.

Our concept of heroism is indeed a pathetic one. A short example is about the fuss of the short tempered Hang Jebat and camaraderie turncoat in Hang Tuah who were raised as the epitome of Malay heroism (I can help of being with this unreasonable arrogance, but this is how I see this) – when we care more about the defenders of the throne, counterfeit loyalties rather than the focal point of the triumph of the throne itself, the embodiment, the idea that makes today as what it is in reality.

A hero is not what we really need. All we need is to have, or nurture the hero potential, the quality in our own self, and with our own line of ways.

Dignity, responsibility and passion should be the ingredients in nurturing the hero we all need, or want to be. You are a hero by just owning up to your mistakes and take responsibility for your actions.

That would snap a clear photograph on why we don’t have many of those around – because we think failing is a failure, rather than a way to learn.

Thanks Joker for this one (although it came on screen only once albeit the movie’s stretched show time). No doubt, if not the decade, the year’s best movie catchphrase.

Why so serious?

P/s – I don’t think I sound political. Tak baik tuduh tuduh.
 
posted by Sanza at 3:51 AM | Permalink | 0 comments
Friday, August 01, 2008
Sabar Yang Berhormat
Kalau aku anak raja, tak payah susah susah lalu traffic jam. Tapi nak buat macam mana, aku orang kebanyakan – tak ada polis bermotor lead the way macam ambulans bawa orang nazak, tak ada nombor plat yang huruf sikit sikit.

Sabar lah, kereta depan dah nak jalan tu.

Okay.

P/s – Kan aku dah kata, berfikiran positif satu ubat. Ah, leganya.
 
posted by Sanza at 4:15 AM | Permalink | 0 comments
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Dari Hulu Kelang ke Walham Green
They say,
We are going to watch Chelsea playing tonight.

My say,

I'm going to watch Malaysia playing tonight.

They say,

It's a rare opportunity for us to witness one of EPL's
Big Four in action before
the official EPL season starts next month! C’mon,
Petr Cech , Michael Ballack,
Deco, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Frank
Lampard are all here in KL!
Save for the last four which were nowhere to be found in Austria & Switzerland a month ago.

My say,

It’s a rare opportunity for you people to be in the stadium when our national team plays.

My RM53 will only be worth it when Chelsea board our own MAS home shamefully losing – and Jose Felipe Scolari seriously considers to buy Shukor Adan over Kaka.

Anway, to John Terry and co, welcome to Stadium Shah Alam.

Ah yes, to you too. Welcome to Malaysian football.




Sumpah gambar ini tiada kena mengena dengan mana-mana parti politik. Sumpah. Tak baik tuduh-tuduh.

P/s – Blues sudah tiba, Reds bila lagi? Oh ya, aku dengar tambang MAS mahal.

 
posted by Sanza at 4:15 PM | Permalink | 5 comments
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Palsu
My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.
- Mitch Hedberg

Jangan ambil mudah. Ingat senang ke bercinta.
 
posted by Sanza at 9:04 PM | Permalink | 4 comments
Monday, July 21, 2008
A50
I don’t usually like the idea of writing a tribute - over someone’s achievement or important dates. Maybe it is just me who just couldn’t agree on anything un-boyish. But I think I have to make an exception for this one, because today is the birthday of a person who very few I consider as a good friend.

I don’t expect him to read and cry over this entry, but since I couldn’t spend the whole midnight hanging out with him, I think a Quiksilver shirt and a sweet entry will do.

He is the first of many thoroughbreds (the term – hence the respect - ‘awarded’ the people who enter Malay College from Form 1) who happens to be in the running of being my best man, from the moment he greeted me the day I walked in Dorm 3 in the evening of 26th January 2004 up until today. When everybody was busy sketching plans and childish antics of ‘welcoming’ the newcomers, he kept his cool and offered his hands as a friend rather than a person who get 5As in UPSR. He is one of the very few people who get a hold of my respect not because who he was, but how he earned it – at least for the short two years of my being there.

An avid supporter of Newcastle United (for some weird reason of course – who the hell would want to root for other than the top fours?), he has a jaw-dropping catholic grasp of football knowledge. He can recognize a player just from the way the player walk. He even knows what colour of underwear players wear on matchdays. Okay, I maybe exaggerate a bit. But his football encyclopedia is just awe-inspiring – at least for those who cares about football.

Love life? I shall not go into that, but I think I share something similar with him – he believes in childhood love. Enough said.

But he is my friend for what he is, not because how similar he is to me.

And no matter what it is, no matter what happens – even if it involves girls, I just hope our friendship will last forever. Good luck in your life, man – and as agreed, you deserved someone better to complete your life.

Happy 20th birthday, Aliff Adha.


With my brother standing by

I said brother, you know you know

It's a long road we've been walking on

- Alexi Murdoch

 
posted by Sanza at 1:42 AM | Permalink | 1 comments
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Asah Siasah Sebelum Belasah
It was an unfamiliar ambiance in the air of NZ Curry House tonight. I felt no particular sense of delight in the presence of hundreds other football enthusiasts looking for some footie action live, or delayed telecast. Everything seems to be gloomy and the setting was dead serious – even the mamaks were working way out of tune by making awful mixture of national drink teh tarik, and soggy tauhu bakar added to the night’s weird disorder.

The crowd was way too strange for me, as if I was in the wrong place. The place I called home turned out to be somewhere too uncanny and unfamiliar to me. My idea of sitting next to a group of people wearing the colour of their team, chanting in unison of their favorite star and jeering of any unsportsmanlike behavior shown on the pitch were crashed to pieces.

Not until I realized that the place was contaminated – by a LCD projected screen featuring live telecast of an open debate between two prominent Malaysian politicians, thrashed each others out over a so called central issue in Malaysia’s rickety economic development. My abode of live football has now been contaminated by an ugly yet important force of politics, in the form of a live political debate telecast. There were actually no football enthusiasts tonight.

I am not going to take on the debated issue – at least for now – but more towards the attitude of our people, which is quick in resembling a bone of contention to my eyes.

There were still cheering, chanting and jeering all over the place – and most of them were sadly misplaced. They cheered for something they themselves couldn’t even clarify and they jeered for some unclear, cheap and blurry details.

At any rate, however, there seem to be people in the world who like to judge who has the right to complain - or really, to speak at all - and who does not. So what makes a person eligible for those privileges? My say, audacity to stand behind their words or in simple English, responsible of what they have said.

It is patent that improvements start with complaints. Just because things could be worse sometimes doesn't mean they couldn't be better – and that is why solutions should be clipped together with it. It happened to me all the time, when I often cross over heated discussions between some friends of mine, whom bother to grumble more about their hitches than taking proper labors to get to the bottom of it.

I am not going to wrap this post saying that showing your eagerness towards keeping yourself updated with interesting current Malaysian politics is superfluous and act of futility – as a matter of fact, it is good to be politically aware in this crucial state of time. But eagerness should come with knowledge and understanding of the matter – and there is no point of shooting without any targets and don’t have any idea of what your bullet is made of.

That is why supporting your football team is an easier deal - it only takes 90 minutes to settle any argument.

I hope NZ will recover this coming August, as the real deal is coming home. EPL will be back to mamak stalls nationwide. Check your local listing.

Ah politics, please don’t get me started.


Gambar masa itu hari aku berlagak macam Dato' drive around Putrajaya. Sekali buka wallet duit sepuluh ringgit ada dua keping je.

 
posted by Sanza at 1:48 AM | Permalink | 2 comments
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Nota Padang Pasir
Lu balik nanti contact gua. Gua nak open table, mana
tau dapat berkat.

Aku delete mesej yang sudah sebelas hari tertinggal di dalam handphone burukku. Hiatus lagi? Cukup cukuplah.

Arab Saudi aku jengah, buat kali kedua – selepas 10 tahun. Terus terang aku takut hendak menjejakkan kaki ke Tanah Haram kali ini. Takut apa? Macam macam cerita aku dengar. Literally kaki aku goyang. Tengok Selangor main kat Shah Alam pun tak berdebar macam ini. Nasib baik tambang free, kalau tak, lama dah aku divert ke NZ Curry House.

Jiwa kosong mesti diubati. Mungkin di sana ada jawapan.

Samar samar aku ingat kata-kata Ustaz yang bagi ceramah semasa kursus dua minggu sebelumnya. Loghat utaranya membuatkan mesejnya lebih menangkap. Mungkin sebab aku dah biasa dengar mak aku berleter. Aku terlena sepanjang perjalanan – terlepas peluang mengintai pramugari berbangsa Arab (yang sememang muhrim dan boleh dikahwini). Bumi Arab tidak seperti dulu – at least untuk 10 tahun yang dulu. Macam orang kampung masuk One Utama jadinya aku.

Keliling aku meriah orang berjual beli, pekik lolong dan mungkin maki hamun – thanks to skil Bahasa Arab level tingkatan tigaku yang semakin berkarat, cukup sekadar pekik lolong dan maki hamun yang aku faham. Kebanyakan mereka pakai jubah, jika tidak kesemuanya – dan mungkin aku seorang sahaja yang berlagak cool memakai t-shirt Padini dan yakin mengenakan jeans Levi’s – tanda sokongan aku pada pembangunan lahiriah negara-negara Arab. Tapi aku silap. Berbekalkan 60 riyal, aku beli jubah pertama aku – yang jangan diharap akan dipakai di bumi Melayu.

Bangunan tinggi mencakar langit. Hotel-hotel mewah di sana-sini. Lobby mengalahkan Balairung Seri istana-istana negeri Melayu. Kalau aku tidak tertipu, chandelier dan lampu bertatahkan emas dan berlian ibarat perkara wajib di setiap hotel. Aku keluar mencari kepastian. Aku di New York kah? 45 darjah celcius walaupun di waktu malam keras menampar kulit Melayuku, yang kononnya sensitif dengan cuaca panas.

Trafik sesak, lebih sesak dari trafik di Shah Alam di waktu Selangor ‘ter’tumbang di tangan Kedah pada final Piala FA beberapa minggu lalu. Kereta yang lalu bukan calang-calang. Semuanya kereta idaman aku. Oh, nak bayar duit jubah pun berpeluh. Nantilah aku beli. Seingat aku, dulu ramai orang berniaga rempah di tepi jalan dan meminta sedekah mencari nafkah. Kini mereka sukar dijumpai. Yang ada hanya kedai-kedai jam tangan ekslusif (yang aku tahu Uptown Danau Kota pun ada), perfume-perfume authentic, hanookah yang real lagi menangkap dan kurma-kurma yang dibalut di dalam kotak, tak ubah seperti kotak Playstation 3. Senang cerita, aku kagum dengan pembangunan negara pengeluar minyak ini. Oh ya, ini negara Islam – lagi lah aku kagum.

Tertanya aku sambil meneguk 7-Up sambil berdiri – agak agak Kuala Lumpur boleh jadi macam ini tak? Ah aku patriotik, mana boleh dibandingkan kota lain dengan Kuala Lumpur. Kita paling hebat!Mungkin aku terlalu sentimental, membuatkan perkara sekecil semut diperbesarkan, tapi dah adat orang over-romantik, nak buat macam mana.

Tapi ini memang buat aku betul-betul jadi gila. Keimananku bergoyang, kelelakianku menjerit, duniaku pusing, hidupku tak tentu arah – perempuan Melayu dilupakan, bila perempuan Arab melintas di hadapanku. Ada sesuatu tentang mereka, yang mungkin perempuan Melayu perlu take note. Mereka graceful, mereka elegant, mereka ahh segalanya. Dan yang paling penting, mereka tidak malu menjadi diri sendiri. Kalau tidak adanya hukum hudud, mahu sahaja di ajak minum di lobby hotel (sambil minum satu lagi 7-Up). Kebetulan aku ke Jabal Rahmah, tempat Adam dan Hawa bertemu buat kali pertama sejak di usir dari syurga. Ustaz aku kata, itulah Paris bagi umat Islam. Kubu cinta mereka bergelar muslim – dan tempat paling sesuai berdoa mendapatkan jodoh. Aku pantas mengambil peluang, harap harap jodoh aku yang iras-iras Gisele Bundchen dan Jessica Alba akan meninggalkan mesej bila aku pulang ke Malaysia nanti. Biasalah aku, orang Melayu, taste mesti tinggi.

Ustaz yang menjadi teman aku di sana namanya Indra, berasal dari Medan. Ilmu agamanya tip top. Tokoh ilmuwan Islam diketahuinya macam aku tahu pemain bolasepak. Tempat-tempat bersejarah di Tanah Haram ibarat shopping complex baginya. Peristiwa penting sejarah Islam begitu penting baginya, hingga dia betul-betul lupa tarikh harijadinya. Kenapa aku Tanya tarikh hari jadinya? Sebab dia lahir pada 1988. Aku sebaya dengannya. Ok, sebenarnya aku lagi tua daripadanya. Dan dia sebenarnya lagi ‘tua’ daripadaku. Aku malu. Tapi aku control sahaja.

Arab bumi Islam, dan sesiapa yang bergelar Muslim halal untuk berada di sana. Aku ambil kesempatan berkenalan dengan mereka yang selama ini berkongsi kiblat denganku. Bahasa kadang-kadang menjadi pembatas tapi niat murni penjalinan ukhuwah ibarat membenarkan aku berbahasa dengan mereka. Setiap waktu solat aku cuba mendekatkan diri dengan mereka, walaupun bau badan mereka tak seindah kaum wanita mereka. Dari Yaman, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria – itu yang aku ingat. Tapi yang pasti, mereka tidak ada Facebook. Dan mereka tak tahu apa itu Facebook, dan mereka tak malu untuk kata mereka tak tahu apa itu Facebook. Aku pun malu sebab pasal Facebook di dalam masjid suci. Tapi mereka tahu siapa itu Mahathir Mohamad. Mereka kata itu Perdana Menteri Malaysia sekarang. Besar mesej itu.

10 hari terasa terlalu sekejap buatku. Alhamdulilah tiada apa-apa yang buruk terjadi kepadaku – selain terlepas peluang mengintai kecantikan pramugari Arab akibat tertidur. Aku terpesona dengan keindahan yang ada di tanah Arab, yang aku sendiri tak tahu yang mana satu. Kuala Lumpur tak akan boleh bagi aku pengalaman ini. Mungkin sebab Kuala Lumpur ada caranya tersendiri. Allah Maha Mengetahui. Aku dapat sahabat baru, pengalaman baru dan mungkin, semangat baru.

Nah gambar sikit sebagai bukti.





Sumpah lepas bergambar aku sembahyang.


Guard dah usha tajam. Nasib baik aku pakai jubah.

Buat aku tambah sayang pada saudara Muslimku.




Oh ya, beberapa malam sebelum bertolak. Syabas Kedah buat kali ini. Syabas Selangor selamanya. (Maaf gambar ini mengganggu - ia terdesak cari waktu siaran)

Jiwa kosong mesti diubati. Mungkin di sana ada
jawapan.

Ustaz tu mesti tersenyum. Okey ustaz, kau menang.


Ada orang nak open table malam ini. Aku mesti imarah, mesti memenuhi jemputan. Makan free memang laju.


Ceh, aku ingat mesej dari jodoh. Tak mengapa, mungkin lain kali.


Over-romantik – biasalah, 10 hari di perantauan.
 
posted by Sanza at 7:12 PM | Permalink | 6 comments