How to Activate Your Overseas CIMB?

Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

I had just activated the ATM card for overseas usage after dzuhr and lunch at the new restaurant in Sungai Dua. It's quite easy than what I had expected. I'm just doing it for a precaution if I really feel I need to step out of this area due to extreme boredom. Whomever could bear the boredom must be respected for that, hahahaa.

First of all, do like we always do to withdraw cash. Then choose lain-lain perkhidmatan or other services. Secondly, choose CIMB Overseas or CIMB Luar Negara. Thirdly, choose permanent or temporary. If you choose temporary, then you must state down the date you begin to be in the overseas and also the due date for that. I didn't choose permanent because no officer there to enlight me on what will happen next.

We may also activate it through CIMB Clicks but I had forgotten my password and I am lazy to deal with the hotline number to get back my password. We can't activate our card when we are already outside of the country. But it still could be done through CIMB Clicks if you have internet access. Do check whether there are also the branch outside there. Just afraid that they do not have MEPS system like in here. And don't totally depend on teller machine. We also need some cash in hand. I've got to keep small blade inside my shoes for precaution course.   

I have to settle few other things before this 22nd of Sya'aban (24th of July) as what had been planned. Gotta settle down rent for the room first. It's not even August yet, but they are so quick with money. I hate this kind of society without any consideration on others. Even when I wanted to shift to this current room, they had quickly chased me out of my room by grabbing the previous room's key from me. I had to pile up my stuffs and sampahs outside of the room like a refugee. 

Yesterday, I coincidentally met my ex-colleague during first degree in front of the hostel's entrance, Jaya who works at the office. He's not really close to me because he's from other puak (group) which is puak gigih ('good' students). We had several puaks in the class. Puak gigih (popular and well loved by main lecturers), puak kena outcaste (like me and Amir, anti-social, hidden life, underground and notorious), puak pathetic, puak Cina, puak Hindu or muka Hindu, and many others. I just feel like I want to burst out on his face for what the office had done to me but I must control it because it's their ridiculous policy, not his personal policy. I would just flying kick his sorry ass if it's his personal policy while he makes that mocking face at me. It's so insulting!  

Well, the main point of this post is as a social service. I can't really help all of the people outside but I hope that at least I could give some small anonymous contribution to others to please Allah. Thank you for reviewing. May everyone be blessed. 

Allahumma salli 'alaa Muhammad wa 'alaa ahlihi wa sahbihi ajma'in. Dear the God our Lord, please be in contact with noble prophett Muhammad s.a.w and his family and his companions and everyone. Sealed with prayers for peace, mercy, and love for brothers and sisters in faith, amin!

People Around's Experience: When Friends are Behind You

Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

Please forgive me Azren, I'm going to talk about your experience today as an example in our observation toward our society and environment around. I hope you forgive me but your experience also reflects the reality in the society. As what I always talked about and we know since the beginning we explore these studies, society is among the most complex subject matter and environment around keep evolving and is not static.

Your message about being back-stabbed by close friends, being used like a balai raya when friends wanted to talk about their problems and backbitten by friends you were hanging out actually happens to many people. I have few experience since I was a young kid but as always. I never assume myself as important or significant in anyone's life. Currently, I am just honoring people around according to their piety to Allah and the compassionate love for those people will come itself.  But I don't want anyone to know me, never.

People will always trying to find someone to pour down what is in their heart when they are stressed out, finding solution for problem faced in their life, depressed, or at least sharing the burden to ease it. It is normal for us, we are human-being and not angels. But most of the time we are also listeners and comforting others since it is our task and responsibility as the believers to help strengthen the faith of brothers and sisters in faith if not with physical help, might be with the prayers. 

I encountered the same thing where I just wanted to talk to someone because each time I try to talk to my family members and people around, it will turn to be that I am the one who is listening and hearing rantings. Sometimes I tried to talk to others but later I would feel ashamed of myself. I think staying silent is good sometimes, and talking more with the God is better. Unless if you can talk with others who you really could trust. It is not easy to find this kind of people, we sure know that.

I went to Buddhist temples talking with phra phor (buddhist fathers) and pinong (buddhist brothers) watching them practicing muaythai before I decided myself to learn about Buddhism and its practices during the time I was 'dumped' by parents to Perlis for almost the same issue. I have no one to talk to. Nobody in the hostel at the school accept me as myself. It turns me to be more rebellious and shaped me as myself today. A guy with low-self esteem, who can't even showing my face to others and feeling down with myself. 

I just don't know why I knelt at the teachers' statues or gods posters of bodhisatvas during secondary school studentship while when I was a little kid like seven to eleven years old, I used to dump idols into thrash can especially after I heard the qisaasul anbiyaa' (stories of prophets) about our patriarch Abraham, peace be upon him. I had also being chased by those fellow infidels themselves with fierce dogs because of my little kid naughty acts, hehehehhehehehe...

I understand how you feel, friend. You won't easily find a caring friend who will sensitively responds to what happened to his or her friend. When I first learned Central Thai dialect which is the formal Thai, there was a diction lesson with the title friendship. We call friendship as mittraphap. It says that good friends are few, while evil friends are many. Those who are good will lead you toward charity while those who are bad will drag you toward evil and bap/papa (sins). Malay philosophical phrase also says, kawan semasa senang tertawa memang ada sahaja disekeliling mung. Kawan semasa susah menangis mung, jarang lah ditemui. 

I don't believe in friendship as what we see today anymore as I am a loner although I watch many movies with friendship themes. I don't have any childhood friends, university friends, friends in difficulties or in pleasure time. I solely have my trust in Allah 'Azza wa Jalla as the sole Noblest Wali (guardian and companion) because I am meaningless in people's life. I can move easily without anyone know me. I may go to churches and temples and reciting holy verses there for the 'infidels' to be blessed by Allah 'Azza wa Jalla with His Mercy. I may also talk with hounds at the streets, those whom people never appreciate their existence.

Be patient friend. As long as we breath, Allah 'Azza wa Jalla will always giving tests to us. He knows that we can pass it through even though we sometimes think that we would better quickly die and see Him without having to wait. He tests us because He cares about us. Compared to worldly friends. 

We may have thousands of friends, but it is difficult for people to remember us even in their du'as (supplications). Or contacting us just to ask how are you? Are you ok? How is your imaan (faith)? Is it ok? Are you alive or dead? Or perhaps it would be too late like the poem that I had read in the last posting. It is just for silaturrahim and it doesn't need to be in form of wasting our credits with messages, phone calling, but it may also be through the usage of other technologies like wifi, messengers and email. Maybe through cards or primitive way which is letter... I did that with my lecturers even those who are non-Muslims receive cards or emails as long as I still keep their contacts. Maybe in term of supplications too when we remember our friends or brethren. It's not like we have to do that everyday. But at least for few years gap once if we are so busy with our life. For brethren in faith, it is more important to keep silaturrahim as everyone are a family in a faith to Him and His messenger s.a.w. I hate to be close to everyone because I will feel sinful after I have to break off silaturrahim when everyone goes separate ways :'( 

In my Aman desa memory, I tried to contact few friends too. Those who I mingled most of the time at the hostel. I love the hostel because I get to know them. But after our graduation, like a year after... I tried to contact them to establish silaturrahim. From their question like, sapa dia nih? And the answer that I received after having to re-introduce myself brings me to conclusion that they do not really remember who I am although I talked with them almost everyday in front of the TV and we have each other numbers. It shows that they do not really care or having any thought about people around. For people like these, I would just quit and deleting their contact because I know it would be a waste for my limited cellphone space. I don't know whether it is right according to the rites of community but it is somehow disappointing. As to say, different head thinks differently. Each time we are among people, we would just assume that we are musafirs (travelers) who will leave everything. Easy right? 

I have few pieces of advice from another friend who is also a loner to share among us. He called it as pieces of sheet, haha. This is the kind of friends that I have to always mingle with and still maintaining the contact but I have to turn every 'negativity' that they possess into positivity and to Him. His opinion might be a bit harsh but I can say quite useful. This friend said that it maybe is not in line with my principle. As for me, I always ponder on people's opinion regarding life and surrounding. It doesn't necessarily to be the same with my thoughts or principles. So, I don't think that it is a problem if he talks based from his experience or observation. 

He says that sometimes when we do physical (which we can see with our mortal eyes) charity to people, we need to also limit it or better be selfish in term of let people see us as selfish. Whatever charity that we perform does not always physically comes to us as good thing in our eyes. I am aware about this... It is better for us to just forget everything because when we remember unfortunate episodes in our life, it would be a heavy burden you'll piss off yourself. The damage is already done and to forgive is to forget. Whining like a bitch would be useless as nothing that we can do about the past. We could only take it as an important lesson for future.... 

His advice to me is actually filled with more profanities but I would celebrate his opinion. I had just filtered it to respect His Noblest Name and I can understand what he means through tasawwuf and purification of soul lenses although the usage of words aren't really suitable. I am performing jihad and da'awa to him too. We have to be patient and the result of jihad is not in one day : )

May the God forgives us our dirty words. May He strengthen us with His wisdom and patience to face our uncertain future. He knows about the future, and we give our vessel and soul to Him for protection. Laa takhaf, wa laa tahzan innallaaha ma'anaa. No need to be afraid, and no need to be sad as the God is with us. Sealed with prayers for peace, mercy, and love for brothers and sisters in faith, amin!

How does it feel when we have a good or close friend?

Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

Wayne Chia

I begin this post with praises to Allah and humility. May Allah bless me, beloved faithful brothers and sisters with bountiful of wisdom from His boundless Wisdom.

I had finished the paper for SAE515 European External Policy last Friday. I do not know whether I did well or not. But I guess I had tried hard enough to do well. The rest will be the Divine intervention to help me. I do not have any ability to excel without the help of Allah and everything is already decreed. I will harvest what I had worked on. I still have to represent my proposal and answering German paper level 100 (Beginner). 

I actually have no friends here, not even a close friend to be a company. So I can't help feeling lonely and envious looking at groups of people talking and laugh among each other at restaurant, or discussing about the affiliations or values that they share in musalla. I tried to develop relationship with people in musalla but it is not a close relationship. We just shake hands sometimes after the congregational prayers end in musalla and walk away. I feel so shy to talk to people, plus some of the congregation member in musalla is from Jama'at Tabligh. Although I learned religious knowledge in my three years secondary schooling time and for some times in Syariah stream before shifting to secular education but I still feel myself lower than others. Especially when I heard that they have more priviledge in front of Allah because of their efforts, and I have nothing to offer to Allah except trying to be sincere to Allah. I feel more down, with my experience which was not really good as others although I believe many encounters this kind of problem too. 

I do not intend to insult myself, I know this feeling is not good. But that is what I feel. I am not like a quiet person if I know people well. I could talk about many things, breaking out laugh with jokes that I feel comfortable to talk but when I encounter people who talk about religion or about God all the time like JT kids, it would be quiet difficult for me. Because some of them are still in the stage of learning. I am also afraid that I would hurt them with questions or comments that I have even though I do not care about what people want to think about myself or talk about me. I do think in a complicated way sometimes because of my past experience, so those who are not familiar with me might think that I have something broken in my head, hurting them or talking nonsense. Because of taking care about brothers feeling, I have to think many times and observe first before breaking the silence.  

I do not have problem to talk with congregation from the Mid East although I am not comfortable with some of their attitudes but those in the university mosque congregation are quite polite to people and they conduct religious lecture and readings from kitaab. I am familiar with Mid Easterners culture and customs but I prefer to talk to compatriot better. The congregation of Mid Easterners are in the university mosque and it is far from my hostel. That is why I have to pray congregational prayers in musalla in the lowest level of the hostel.

I remember the last time I had a good friend is when I was in standard four. At that time, my father served the state government office as a press secretary of the Kedah state chief minister. At that time, we also had a photo shop but it did not work well because of the capital shortage and few problems, so we have to close the shop. We are the only "bumiputera" who opened photo shop in Jitra competing with Chinese owned photo shops. I was schooled for a while in Sekolah Rendah Ahmad Tajuddin in Jitra. I had a close friend, whom I called as Saiful. He was the one who began to talk to a quiet boy who was me. I never start greeting anyone until others' greet me first except if I feel the need for me to greet then I would greet and be friendly like what happened with me and brother Idris during Ramadan 2010. I and Saiful had once been close friends in a year schooling time before I have to move to Selangor together with our parents. Particularly in Hulu Langat. There, I was schooled in Sekolah Rendah Batu 9. I have no close friend anymore since then because of the difference in culture problem and it always not easy for young kids to adapt with new environment, taking into account that we always moved here and there. I just have classmates whom I just meet when I was in the class but not for any other sharing activities anymore like before. 

Then, when I was in third year doing my first bachelor degree. I met my close friend when I was in standard four again which is Saiful. He is eager to continue having a contact with me but he had bring his girlfriend with him when we met at my neighborhood. I feel quite shy to talk with him because for such a long time we did not meet each other and he came with his girlfriend. 

And then the way he talk too is different to when we were kids because that was different thing. Now we are adults. I do not feel close anymore. So, I do not talk to him anymore after we met although for few times he tried to contact me. Maybe times changing him or perhaps it is me who is changing.

I do not have any good opportunity to build relationship with others because my parents especially my mother is quite stifling with me. Maybe because I am the only son. I did not have any chance to be naughty outside with friends although I was quite naughty at home. Now, I thought that I have not acquire the art to make friends anymore. But when I was in the first year bachelor degree, I made friend with a guy from Jitra. He was my colleague in our course. I treat him just like my blood brother or cousin although I have no brother nor I am close to my own cousins. We talked about many things including I listened to his exposure to me about music. But when holidays come, he never offers me to join him visiting his family like other friends did. Maybe he is shy of his family, I also have the same feeling because I have sisters. I could not bring male friend home, because of my sisters. Now I still contacting him, but it is not like before because of distance perhaps or maybe he has his own problem. May Allah makes everything easy for him.

When I am at home, my sisters can't be good listeners. When they have problems, I can be their place to say anything that they want. I just keep my problems to my self and chanting prayers to Allah may He be Merciful releasing me from psychological burden of the problem to befit in the society. My experiences of a confused background had shaped me to be like this and it is very difficult to express it out.

Now I just try to establish good relation with kids from Jama'at Tabligh in congregation although I sometimes do not feel comfortable when they are in high spirit and forgetting around. I saw them having good relationship and communicate well among each other that made me interested to be close although in the beginning it was not me who approach them.

But when I see myself, I just see a poor hermit in me. I do not know how to express it in words but I guess that is the closest picture that I have for my self. But there are certain barriers too. Like I am just alone, I have no close friend together like them in the movement. So, how does it feel when we have a good or close friend? I had forgotten it, or might be I never feel it at all.

Ending this simple post on Sunday, I would like to beg Allah to please do not leave me alone. I do not have anyone in this cruel world in its pretentious colors. I only have Allah 'Azza wa Jalla. Please Allah at least let me have a good friend to company me when I stay in rest in barzakh, since I have no close friend to talk about my sadness or my happiness in this world.

Let me stay with Your Words as my company when I go to see You. I am longing to see You my dear Lord. Please have Mercy on me O holy God, I am your poor slave. I have nothing to be proud of, I have nobody to talk with, I only have You. Please may my lowly prayers be heard O Holy God, only You are my Strength. Praises to Allah may it stop not from my unworthy lips.