Monday, February 11, 2008

Friday Ceramah In Kota Bharu

In my Kota Bharu In Pictures Part 2 blog I did mention in passing about the ceramah (talk) which the local call as ngajar (preaching) on every Friday morning around the PAS Building in Jalan Dewan Pas. I did post a few pictures on the subject.
I will go deeper on this Friday morning preachings since it should be something interesting for readers to know abit more about it.
Today is another Friday and I was pleasantly surprised to hear my new blogger friend En. Hussin of HBO's Place answering my enquiry of weather he has found the nasi dagang for his breakfast today. It wasn't the answer whether he has found it or not that surprised me but the answer that he was around the area of Dewan Pas listening to Friday preachings by PAS leaders. Personally I think such preachings are not really religious talks perse but a political talk under the guise of a religious preaching. That is a cunning way of circumventing the law against illegal gathering as imposed by the current government. Anyway the basis of the talk will always be based on religious teachings but a reference will always be made on the perceived wrongs of the present Federal Government or the opposition in the state as an example to illustrate the points raised. Hopefully Hussin was able to listen to Tok Guru himself and not just from any others as it would be a great miss if he were to miss Tok Guru's preaching as his is more apt as an example of preaching though some insinuations and innuendoes were often used. They are very subtle anyway.
En.Hussin came to Kota Bharu with his family for a holiday. He has been doing it without fail once in every 2 or 3 years thus far. Yesterday I met him for the first time at the Sutera Inn and this is our picture at the Hotel Lobby taken by his son.
En. Hussin and yours truly.

We have been keeping in contact and he has informed me of his arrival and I kept my promise to meet him while they were in Kota Bharu. He himself often comes to Kota Bharu for business but I guess he has yet to explore the town. To Encik Hussin, I dedicate to you this blog.

I can't recall since when the preachings at Dewan PAS Kota Bharu started. As far as I can remember it has been going on for a long time. If it is a religious preaching I wonder why it is not held at any of the mosques around Kota Bharu where the compound is large enough to accomodate such a crowd without having to close sections of the roads in the middle of Kota Bharu.
The ceramah at Dewan PAS is a weekly affair and it is done on every Friday morning. In the earlier days the ceramah were done within the building and the attendees often spill into the street around it and often disrupting traffic. Nowadays the roads around it namely Jalan Dewan Pas, Jalan Hulu Pasar, Jalan Ismail and Jalan Suara Muda will be closed to traffic from early morning till the ceramah is over around noon.
On the day that I attended Tuan Guru spoke about the need to learn languages as a tool of learning and trade. He mentioned what the State had done to get the young to study Mandarin! Mandarin is second after English. A handfull has already studied under the state's sponsorship. More of the other languages of the world will be added according to the need of the time. How wise for a leader of one State under the opposition. We will have to wait for En. Husin's take on the content of his sermon on Friday the 8th of February. Let us see if he will concur on what I said.
Tuan Guru Nik Aziz has his own way of delivering a ceramah. His style is always to let others speak before him and build up the tempo and mood to such a peak that when his turn comes, the audience will just lap it up. He will come in with at a very low whispering level so much so that his audience will immediately turn quiet from the high murmuring among themsleves. This has never failed to bring the audience to rapt attention and quiet in order to hear what he is saying. Whatever political substance that need to be delivered has been delivered by the speakers before him. He will need only to subtlely touch on the politcal subjects just to lend credence to what has been said.

I heard that from as far back as 1995 bus loads of Singaporeans had been coming to Kelantan with the aim of listening to his Friday talk. I guess the crowd must have gotten so large that the hall inside the building were not able to accomodate the large crowd. The switch to the outdoors was most appropriate.

This occassion is an opportune time for small time entrpreneurs to seek a living by having something of a flea market. The following pictures capture the ambience of a Friday morning sermon around Dewan Pas which my friend Encik Husin and family came to witness during this Chinese New Year Break. Why not make it an attraction for Visit Kelantan Year 2008?



Tok Guru has his distinctive way of making his ceramah be it at such functions or at political ceramahs. He wil let others talk before him and he will be the last to deliver not matter what time it is. The fiery oratory of the others will set the mood of the crowd for him. When he coms on the crowd will be still abuzz. He will start very slowly in very subdued tone. That way te crowd will have to automatically keep quiet in order to hear him because he will speak in such a low level that you could barely hear him. The effect is stupendous. It will be a silence just likethe great orator before him, the late Asri Muda who helmed PAS before Tok Guru Nik Aziz.
Jalan Dewan PAS is closed for the occassion


Stalls selling all sort of things were setup at the fringe of the area.

The raised platform where the speakers speak from

Tuan Guru delivering his preaching.

The view from the muslimat side

The big poster displaying the who is who in PAS
Any place to sit will do.

Speakers are placed all around the building

Second hand clothing anyone?

Malay kuihs of multi hues and colour


Traditional cures.

She is the seller.

This is buah gorek (Caesalpinia bonducella). Havent seen these seeds for so long. We used these seeds to play the congkak, now its a traditional cure for kidney problem.
Ikan Linang
Ubi Jaga. Didn't ask the owner what can be cured by it

Bought a bottle of this oil of various woods. Used it to reduce my back pain.

A massage oil made from various sea creatures including the sea horse.
She sells honey. It must be pure honey from the wild bees.

Perfumes that are guaranteed to contain no alcohol.

Even the backlanes are not spared.

This cheeky guy is selling coffee that will give gentlemen the booster they need for a better performance.We call it buah katak puru (toad fruit). The white ones are of course duck eggs.

Second hand bicycles from Japan are being sold at RM280 a piece.

Whatever you want, we have it.

A chinese couple looking for Malay kuihs.
Ikan karin, the fighting fish are also sold there.

A heavy shower ended the ceramah prematurely.

The rush to get home

57 comments:

cakapaje said...

Salam Pak Zawi,

Perhaps one of these days, a blogger or 2 would record TGNA sermon and put it on you tube and their blog, insyAllah.

Unknown said...

Salaam Pak.
Whoa blogged already? Soooooo many pictures, but thank god, 3G in Bentong in full speed, all images downloaded in a swift. Glad I boot my lappie up :)
Tuk Guru has his own style that everyone, no matter what political party they are in, can accept. Only those who are...well, may I put it stubborn?...says no.
But for other big gunners, well, mostly, they like to bite each others' neck off, rather than speaking up their idea about developement, peace, political issues, whatever it is. But yu see, this is not Cheezel ads, where 'Everyone Want's a Bite!'. I don't.
Keep well ya Pak. Still waiting for my bro making the police report. A bloody Saga smacked his Wira SE's butt!

Anonymous said...

Salam Pak Zawi,
I know Tok Guru is a wise and good leader with many followers and how I wish our leader in our constiuency(Sarawak) organise such accassion.Some occassion "Pemimpin or ... bersama Rakyaat "if No TV coverage sorry forget it...Anyway,your picture of Mr Cheeky guy is selling Coffee(Segar Menyegarkan)and in Sarawak Mr Bujang Senang is selling "gambir Sarawak"

Pak Zawi said...

Shah,
Salam. Mereka jual CD ceramah tu. Kalau tengok dalam gambar dah siap pacak camera. Kalau guna U Tube tak leh cari makan ngan jual CD la mereka.

Pak Zawi said...

Akmal.
Wassalam. Waduh you ni mobile betul.
Alhamdulillah none of you were injured.
Some drivers are so careless. I never tailgate other peoples car and always keep my distance from the car infront. If I see anybody following closely behind me I will keep pressing the brake or let the bugger overtake. Being too close thay are bound to bump into your back.
Lucky thing my son reached KL safe and sound.

Pak Zawi said...

Awang,
What you say is true. They dont rely on TV coverage to spread their message.
Bujang senang selling gambir Sarawak? Hahaha that reminds me of those guye selling them by the riverside in Kuching. Betul jadi ke?

J.T. said...

Hi Zawi

As always, pictures speak a thousand words. The people, the atmosphere and the activity that is going on.
I like to look at pictures of kuihs, especially the pulut kind. I can get the taste in my mouth just by looking at them. haha

You wrote: "Anyway the basis of the talk will always be based on religious teachings but a reference will always be made on the perceived wrongs of the present Federal Government or the opposition in the state as an example to illustrate the points raised." I believe this is not only happening during ceramahs but at other religious gatherings as well. At least that is what I heard. ;)

Anyway, I wanted to thank you again for putting me in touch with Mrs Foo. I am now corresponding with her daughter and we are exchanging some photos of our families. See what blogging does! If not for your sharing of stories and pictures of KB, I would not have reconnected with friends of my late parents. :)

Pak Zawi said...

j.t,
I had to post this blog first due to my friend's visit to Kota Bharu ahead of my Foof of Kelantan. Otherwise you would be seeinf lots of mouth watering pictures of food including your pulut.
In any religious talks PAS will take a swipe at UMNO and BN. Last night (10th Feb) there was a massive political ceramah by Pas at Stadium Pasir Mas and UMNO had another function at a schol close to my home. UMNO had to resort to lucky draws with handphones, motorcycle helmets and hampers as prizes to draw and retain the crowd whereas PAS doesn't have to resort to any such gimmicks to get their crowd.
It seems that political rallies are allowed if it is done in an enclosed area, only street demostrations and gatherings in an open areas are banned. I would say they are quite fair on this.
I am glad that your contact with The Foo's family is developing very well. Mrs Foo promised to take you to meet Dr. Bates' family when you are here one day. They are close friends.
Let you have the honour of blogging about Dr. Bates. It would be interesting to know how he managed to come to the then Malaya and settled in Kelantan to practise. He is a very popular physician in Kota Bharu along the likes of Dr. Ezanee and Dr. Aziz. I guess both are not around anymore and only the clinic of Dr. Ezanee going by the name of Merican Dispensary along Jalan Hulu Pasar is still going whereas Aziz Dispensary has long been closed with the demise of Dr. Aziz.I presume it was after Dr. Aziz that the road Jalan Doktor was named.

Hussin said...

Sdra Zawi,
Thanks for the dedication (??), for the help and for EVERYTHING. So sorry I was not able to read it earlier. The internet access at Sutera is RM30 a day so decided not to hook up.
I'm now in Kuala Trengganu for one nite and the wireless internet at this hotel is free. I'm just breaking my journey to avoid the expected jam back to KL.
You are right. Tok Guru Nik Aziz has his own aura. After his ceramah, people rushed to shake his hands. On the day I was there, even a group of Indians were lining up to shake his hands.
I'll not take too much space here, suffice to say that I'll continue to make my occasional trips to KB for as long as I can and on those occasions your blog entries will definitely come in handy.
Thanks again.
Sallam
Hussin

Pak Zawi said...

En Hussin,
Sorry that the dedication was mentioned late in the blog (first para after our picture). I was coming up with a new intro as compared to my earlier postings.
Anyway I didn't do much for you to deserve so much thanks. I wish I could do more for you like taking you to Pulau Suri but can't do it due to my own situation.
RM30 ringgit is too much for a day of internet connection. They could have provided hotspot for free to all guests. Even Kesedar Inn in Gua Musang provides that facilities.
Now that you have seen the ceramah live, I hope you too will blog about it. It will be nice to see it from your perspective. You have seen even Indians queue up to shake his hand which I haven't.
Don't worry about taking up space in my comment site as you are providing lots of input to the main story. People will love to read your comment as it came from your personal experience. Afterall space here is free.
Hopefully you will come to Kelantan more often and I will be able to do more than just meeting you up.
Hotel Ansar is now known as Hotel Raudhah.
I hope you and your family have really enjoyed your stay here.

Berisman said...

Pak Zawi,
Thanks for sharing the photos of Friday Ceramah.I have been there once ,more to see than to listen.Your photos bring back my childhood memory of 'belaga ikan karin'.

~Pak Adib

Pak Zawi said...

Pak Adib,
I was there by sheer coincidence. I was on my round of Kota Bharu to photograph landmarks of KB when I saw the gathering. So I just shoot some pictures to blog about. Otherwise I wouldn't have attended it myself.
During my days we use ikan sepila. Why? Cos we catch them free. Ahhh those were the days Pak Adib. How nice to relive them in our minds.
Thanks for dropping by.

tokasid said...

Salam Pak Zawi:

I haven't leave any comments for quite sometime but savouring the delights of KB in pictures that you gave us, and trying to remember the places I've been to KB and Kelantan.

Kuliah Jumaat is not to be miss if I happen to be in KB on a Friday esp if its TGNA himself. But since i don't go to KB often,what I did was purchased hundred of VCd and cassettes of his kuliah at Dewan PAS. Got it from the bookstore at the ground floor. Whenever TGNA comes to Melaka I never fail to attend his ceramah. I find him special for whenever he gives ceramah, half of the allocated time(the 1st half) he will remind us of solat,of siyam,of zakat and of aqidah.The second half will be about politics.To be that is what a leader is all about. You must be a leader in faith(esp now with all sort of confusion on faith and all the ajaran sesat)to your subject and then a leader of the worldly world.TGHHA is not as close to that of TGNA.It is hard to find a leader like him again.

Ah...the ikan karin. I have one in my office now. In south Kedah it is called ikan semilai but north of Kedah it is karin like those in Kelantan.

Pak Zawi said...

Dok TA,
You said it well about TGNA. He will be difficult to replace. His son Nik Abduh preaches at his father in laws surau near my house every week. Sad to say that only a few people will attend his post Maghrib ceramah which I find to be really interesting and revealing. He interprets things correctly.
He will be another TGNA in the making.
Our ikan sepila is another kind of fighting fish as they are not as colourful and firce as ikan karin.
The next time you come to Kelantan please give me a tinkle. We could attend the kuliah together.
Getting the VCD's is good enough as you can listen it in the comfort of your home or office and can share it with many others.

pB said...

alhamdulillah

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Pak Zawi
Interesting "pasar malam". Do they have this only during the ceramah or can I find them on certain days of the week?

Pak Zawi said...

Fauziah,
The sale is held every Friday morning during the ceramah/kuliah. The number of people attending is so large that they created a big enough market for them to sell such products. They benefited in both ways as they get to listen to the ceramah too.

Pak Zawi said...

pb,
Yes we are thankful to Allah for providing such opportunities to our people to learn something while some can find some means of making an honest income.

ZABS said...

Salam Zawi,
I think it is only fair that Pas uses this forum for some political talk. Bukanke gomen sekarang guna semua mass media yang ada untuk agenda politik mereka saja!

Pak Zawi said...

zabs,
Anything is fair against the present government who misuse anything at their disposal. I know because I was one of them when I was in the service.
The media? They own them.

Hi&Lo said...

Pak Zawi,

Thanks for the insights into life in Kelantan.

Pak Zawi said...

hi&lo,
This is one facet of Kelantan that is really seen by others. I am happy if you find it enlightening. It seems to be a congregation that is looked foward to by many people.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Pak Z,

i'm not much into all these political turds but I have heard of Tg Nik Aziz's speeches and sermons. being a neutral muslim, i dont see any problem of putting every single word delievered into my head. To me, he is a religious teacher first, a political figure only comes second or third, whatever.

and those delicacies, i swear i've never seen them before.

*Pak Z, gambo etak mana? hehe...

Pak Zawi said...

Kerp,
What comes from the man himself and what is being reported about him are two different things altogether.
A humble man without any scandal at all. He may have erred in his judgements sometimes but who doesn't?
Come over to KB and I will feed you with all the kuihs after listening to his Friday sermon ofcourse hahaha.
Etak will be featured on the nect posting of Food of Kelantan and will be specifically dedicated to you.

Makcik Runner said...

ikan linang and belut are the same species? uh, i can never learn to eat that thing....so slimy! but i heard that it has good medicinal value.

on the other hand, i'm a non partisan, politics dont interest me. they're full of bullshits. anyways, i have deep respect for Tok Guru. he is one of a kind leader

Pak Zawi said...

kc,
The taxonomy of ikan linang and belut are really beyond me. From the look of it they must be from the same family. Those who have consumed belut would vouch for the goodness of the taste of it. I have yet to try and I dont think I will try unless they are made into kuah laksa without my knowledge.
I am actually looking such ceramahs as a point of interest to those who seek such things. For them it will be reason enough to come to Kelantan which is good for tourism. The likes of cultural activities like Mak Yong and Menora are found more in KL than Kelantan itself. Lucky people like me have experienced them in our young days but not the current generation and the future generations.
Thank you for stating your stand on such matters.

Anonymous said...

Salam Zawi,
So you want to know khasiat ubi jaga (Smilax myosotiflora)? Besides being used to alleviate general health and energy, ubi jaga is used to improve nerve as well as blood circulation. Most kampong folks would know that ubi jaga is an aphrodisiac.
Ikan linang and belut, aren't they the same thing? During my student days in Bandung, the Ibu (landlady) prepared sambal tumis belut for us. The belut, cut up into small pieces, and dried, looked like dried ikan bilis. It tasted good as I didn't know it was belut, until one of the boys mentioned belut. Eeeek.. never touched it again, terasa gelinya belut. It was "imported" from Medan as the Ibu came from Medan.
Would be waiting for your next pictures on Food of Kelantan.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

eh, no need for the dedication pak Z. just a bit of an info of this particular snack is good enough. first came across etak when it was featured in one of RTM's documentaries some years back. why it catches my attention was that someone actually had thought about turning clams into light snacks. to me, thats interesting enough.

thanks.

Pak Zawi said...

LadyZ,
How I miss all those books of Malaysian Herbs at my old office in Gua Musang.
Is there anyway you can check on the botanical name of buah beluru and buah gorek?
Belut are sold daily at pasar Pasir Mas. Ikan haruan and ikan keli are also available. They are from the fish farms.
Thanks for the info on ubi jaga.
The pictures on food of Kelantan will be in the next post which I am working on now. Need a few more pics to complete the post.

Pak Zawi said...

kerp,
Will keep that in mind. Watch out for next post.

Anonymous said...

Zawi,
Buah beluru is Entada phaseoloides and buah gorek is Caesalpinia bonducella. Buah gorek has been studied and found to have antidiabetic activity and the leaves antitumour activity. Hope this helps.

Pak Zawi said...

ladyz,
That is great! You must be a botanist or an ardent user of herbal medicine. I guess you must have a very good source of reference material. May need more help in future.
Actually I am working on a new blog about beluru, its significance in rural Malay lives and the fun I used to enjoy playing with the seed which we called buah beluru and buah gomok as mentioned in AG's GUIT. Using buah beluru as a skimming stone wasn't its only use. Now you have concurred on its use in alternative medicine.
There is another kind of seed which looks similar to buah beluru but it is smaller and slightly elongated. I cant recall where I place it or the name of the tree that produces it. Do you know another tree that produces such a seed?

Anonymous said...

Zawi,
More info on buah beluru. The bark of Entada phaseoloides has been used in shampoos for its hair cleansing and hair growing properties. It contains saponins. The fruit extract has been shown to have antifungal and antibacterial properties too. Its common name is gogo/gogu.
Zawi, I'm a biochemist not a botanist, retired now. At present my hubby (chemist, natural products) and I are involved in the MOH project writing up on medicinal plants based on scientific and clinical research. Quite interesting work. This is our retired part time job, at the same time I'm teaching part time too, during the day. Just to fill up the time, and get the brain to work actively.
Good luck on your beluru blog 'project'. I'll be sure to visit it once it's online.

Pak Zawi said...

ladyz,
That explains it, how you are so knowledgeable about such plants. I can still remember my mum hacking away the bark of the beluru tree to use as shampoo. Now that you have identified the active ingredient, it will be more interesting to blog about it.
I just came back from the town, (Pasir Mas) and chanced upon a traditional medicine seller selling among others kacang tanduk, kunyit emas, daun pokok mati hidup(?) cant't really discern what he pronounced. Another product he was selling was something like kayu 'tas'. Cant recall the name though due to excitement of an announcement by the biggest liar in Malaysia about parliament being dissolved saying that he just got the consent from The Agong today.

Anonymous said...

A great blog. Being a Kelantanese for more than 50 + years myself, it is so good to see someone writing about my hometown. Writes so well and with so many supporting pictures. Pak Zawi, thank you. I love all those food. =)

Btw, Ala Yummy sells Halal food. =D

mrsyclim@yahoo.com

Pak Zawi said...

mrscylim,
Welcome to my blogsite. Thanks for the info about Ala Yummy being a halal restaurant. I will make the necessary amendment if I have stated otherwise or emphasize the fact that it is a halal restaurant.
Just doing my bit for Kelantan :)

Anonymous said...

Zawi, did some search for the botanical name of the plants/seeds you mentioned, kunyit emas (Curcuma zedoaria), kayu tas (Gonithalamus sp). As for daun pokok mati hidup, could it be daun sambung nyawa (Gynura procumbens)? Couldn't find the name for kacang tanduk, probably imported from China. Sorry, so far I've not come across the name of the tree that produces the smaller version of beluru-like seeds. It would help if you can remember its local name.
LadyZ

Pak Zawi said...

LadyZ,
Thats alot of help already. Actually I was on my round taking photographs of Pasir Mas when I chanced upon this man selling medicine. This spot must be reserved for medicine sellers as it has been used by such people since I was a student in the primary school. None of the old familiar faces seemed to be around though. So that picture of the medicine seller must be featured on my next blog as it is an identity of Pasir Mas together with the old building behind the spot. I will display the photos of the things he is selling too so that you can see what are the things I am referring too.
I am keen to get a book of Malaysian herbs and medicine. Can you recconmend something?

NaNa said...

Pak Zawi,

Buah katak puru is also called buah nam nam. Sedap but quite difficult to get them now.

Well, put the political views aside, I think Tok guru is a wise person. Met him in person once as he is a friend of arwah my grandfather.

Pak Zawi said...

nana,
Thanks the info. My wife just told me the same thing. Forgot to ask her hahahaha. It is still available in Kelantan. Funny thing the fruit grow on the stems and even the root as well.
Personally I would say TGNA is a nice man. A driver of our organization went to seek his 'air tawar'for his ailing wife. Not only he gave the air tawar but gave him RM50.00 as well. By God's grace the wife became well and he is TGNA's fan till now.

zaitgha said...

Pak Zawi,

I had a pleasure of meeting Tok Guru in one resorts in terengganu last year. He had his breakfast beside our table and i almost choked on my food when i saw him smiling at us when he took a sip of his drink .....

honestly, i rather Kelantan stay with Pas for another 18 years ....saw KJ's bullshit on the news last night he he

Maverick SM said...

Salam Pak,

Ya, I always admire Tok Guru. To me, he is the only honest politician with the highest integrity and competency.

My only worry is that, if he retires, will the successor continue with his vision and mission with the same zeal, honesty and fairness.

The Chinese in Kelantan is the most luckiest and blessed lot because of one leader, who unfailingly ensured the state of Kelantan is managed by a just, fair, and honest system.

Anonymous said...

Doug, the kids and I will visit Kelantan next year, not to listen to Tok Guru's ceramah! Heheh, to see you la, and look see look see around KB!

Look forward to tasting the local delicacies! Like I said before, it has been 25 years, since I last stepped foot in Kelantan!

Pak Zawi said...

zaitgha,
You are lucky to have had such an encounter with TGNA.
It is rather funny when I see KJ playing the part of a hero eclipsing everybody else in BN save his FIL.
Rumour has it that when he was wearing the shoulder sling and collar brace purported to be due to a fall from the horses, they said the real reason was he was walloped by his FIL's bodyguards. This was after being caught fooling around with a certian Mayan Carin at a hotel. FIL himself did the check on him and gave the instruction to 'pukol dia'. Again thats purported to be told by one of the 4 bodyguards hehehehe. Khabar angin.
He is standing in Rembau you know. Lets hope the people of Rembau reject him for good.

Pak Zawi said...

maverick,
He has managed Kelantan well so far. He has instilled the fear of God in his officers. There are some drawback though like any projects must be on joint venture basis with a list of approved NGOs in the state. Some CEOs of this state do demand a bit more for himself too which put off some investors.
Let us ask KBGuy for his honest opinion. KBGuy is a chinese and he could enlighten us on this aspect whether his community benefited more under TGNA or not.
In my Pasir Mas, the chinese community blatantly showed their support to PAS in THe Pengkalan Pasir bye election which is a very rare thing for them to do. That much I can say.

Pak Zawi said...

Puteri,
Doug' the kids and you will be most welcomed to Kelantan. How I wish they will have a special reception for your family as Kelantan's newest ambassador at large for USA.
yOU CAN GO TO THE Friday ceramah not to listen to the ceramah but to sample the food on sale, to see the alternative (traditional) medicine and to feel the ambience. Some non moslems do go there to buy foods.
25 years is definitely a long time and you will be amazed at the transformation. Kota Bharu will still be rcognizable. If you have pictures of Kota Bharu of 25 years ago, please let us share them.
Please allocate ample time for Kelantan. You may want to stay longer.

Pak Zawi said...

hi&lo'
Made an error there. 'really' should be substituted by 'rarely'. My apology for the mistake.

gram.kong said...

Pak Zawi,

I learn more and more about Kelantan through your blog.Your first hand account of daily life in Kota Bharu is invaluable and brings to people like me a true picture of Kelantan and its people.The BN government always depicts Kelantan and its people as backward and poor.Your article and pictures is an eye-opener.

It amazes me about the weekly political sermon you mentioned by Tuk Guru and other PAS leaders on every Friday morning.Does it happen all the time or only when election is nearby?

I am not a politician nor am I a member of any political party.However, I have many politician friends and I am only interested in politics as an observer and a writer.

You probably know that UMNO reps only meet the people when it is election time and used their big buck to entice voters to vote for them.You can hardly see them going to their constituencies on regular basis.

That's why I am very impressed when you mentioned how PAS leaders conduct their politics by meeting the people regularly.

If that is the case, they deserve to retain Kelantan.

Anonymous said...

Salam Zawi
You can get these books (hard cover) for RM400 from the IMR (Institute for Medical Research), KL library:
"Compendium of Medicinal Plants Used in Malaysia. (2 Volumes)
The Compendium of Medicinal Plants used in Malaysia was published in 2002. It is a comprehensive documentation of traditional knowledge on two thousand and two medicinal plants used in Malaysia. This is a structured repository with 500 colour pictures"

Pak Zawi said...

HL,
Thank you for finding my blogs to be an eye opener to Kelantan. I just write what I see without any political inclination and I will always call a spade a spade.
For the election the BN government has prepared several propaganda stories being constantly aired via TVs. I don't know where they managed to find those people that lived the kind of life they depicted. Anyway what were they doing when they were in power before?
When my friend from TV3 asked me to locate a poor family from my area in Pasir Mas that they can portray on their Bersama Mu program
I couldn't find him one. Yet RTM could manage to find them. Such bad intention could backfire on them.
The weekly sermons programs has been going on for more than 20years. Peviously they were held indoors. They do it outdoors due to the huge turnout and their being in power, they were not harassed by the local authorities who helped them to close some roads. So it is not related to the election.
Tonite 3.30 am 16th February they will hold the Munajat Rakyat Kelantan bersama Tok Guru at the Stadium Sultan Muhammad Ke lV. The stadium will be full. This maybe related to the election. They will be asking Allah for the election to be held in a fair manner.
Can't say much about UMNO rep or any party's rep because I have never dealt with them. I guess they try to live up to the peoples expectation as much as they can.
May Allah decide on who is best to govern Kelantan.

Pak Zawi said...

ladyz,
Thanks for the recconmendation. Quite a heap for a pensioner like me to fork out. I guess I will have to sacrifice a few things to get those books you mentioned. it must be the best then.

Pak Zawi said...

I have checked with the people selling belut, they said belut and ikan linang are different. Ikan linang have wider and faltter tail whereas belut has almot rounded tapering tail.

kbguy said...

wow ! that's something new for me. You covered everything about the friday ceramah especially the scenerio overthere. I never know they have so much things to offer for sale.., i mean those traditional medicine. Is the oil you bought effective ? Usually, on friday, I will avoid that road because of parking problem and looks like jammed. I didn't know I missed so much of my own town. bye..

Unknown said...

The first photo of En Husin and the other guy.. which is En Husin and which is you ? The guy with the white round collar t-shirt.. is he once a lecturer at Unitar ?

Pak Zawi said...

KBGuy,
You must have missed alot. Tomorrow is a Friday, you can go there. Please dont wear shorts, you will definitely look out of place.
Look at the chinese couple there, they seems to enjoy themselves looking around.
The picture of En. Husin and me, he is in the white T shirt. I don't really know his background. You can ask him by emailing him or post it in his blogsite.

Anonymous said...

"I can't recall since when the preachings at Dewan PAS Kota Bharu started. As far as I can remember it has been going on for a long time. If it is a religious preaching I wonder why it is not held at any of the mosques around Kota Bharu....."

--- accidentally got some answer to that question from (tok guru's son) nik abduh's blog...

"Satu hari, seorang guru perempuan datang. Dia menepuk - nepuk bahu saya. “Tahniah, ayah menang. Kita kalah ya.” Saya tersengih tak tahu apa -apa. Lama - lama baru saya tahu, Pas kalah rupa - rupanya di Kelantan. Patutlah masa tu banyak sangat poster dacing dan bulan. Ingatkan tampal suka - suka saja macam main wau bulan lepas menuai. Pilihan raya rupanya. Saya perasan bila ayahanda tidak lagi berkuliah di Masjid Muhammadi. Kerajaan baru tak beri permit. Kuliah tafsir mingguan berpindah ke Pejabat Pas Kota Bharu. Dulu sampai loni"

http://nikabduh.wordpress.com/2007/06/14/saya-sebelum-hari-ini/

Pak Zawi said...

amnie,
Thanks for the response. I am extremely glad that you noticed my wondering and came up with the answer. Anyway I have yet to read all of Nik Abduh's blog though his is on my blogroll for sometimes.
Semoga Allah akan membalas budi baik anda.