Plan 2013

Australia
I may/may not travel to Perth in January 2013. In South Como, Perth I may get to meet Kak Rahimah, Megat Khas's adopted daughter. I don't know her address or contact. In Mandurah, I hope to meet Daisy Yvette, Dr Che Lah's youngest daughter. I don't know whether I will get to meet Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Mohamed Ibrahim's second or middle son. I will also drop a copy of my books at the Reid Library in University of Western Australia, my alma mater. I may drop by WAIMR (Western Australia Institute of Medical Research) and Royal Perth Hospital, to meet some old friends.

I also need some photos of Adelaide University Medical School for Dr Ruby's biogrpahy.

I also need some photos of Melbourne University Dental School for Dr Nuruddin Mohd Salleh's biography.

I have to be back in Kelantan as I have lectures on 7 January 2013 onward.

Middle-East
I may travel to the Middle East in March 2013 to get stories from that region for another book I plan to write and which I teach a class in first year medicine.

Europe
I may travel to Spain and Morocco. I have read about the nuts, oils and life there. I've seen documentaries of the oils and life there.

Great Britain
I may go up north to Great Britain to photo shoot institutions in London, especially the hospitals and the LSHTM (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). I asked around but nobody could supply good photos of the LSHTM.

I have to draft my manuscript before I travel. That way I don't waste time during my travel.

So that is my plan wrt my books and my travels for 2013.

Plans for 13 December 2012

It is not pay day yet even though Christmas is near. Since it is not pay day yet, my husband advised that we will only go to Kuala Lumpur and not down to Malacca. We will do Malacca another time when we don't have anything to do in KL.

Kuala Lumpur - Klang Valley
 I plan to go down to Kuala Lumpur this Thursday, 13 December 2012, insyaAllah. I have a meeting that afternoon from 2.30 pm to 4 pm. I will leave after the meeting and travel at night. I will try and bring down the books and deliver them to Nizam. You can collect your orders from Nizam. He lives in Serdang, opposite UPM campus, near the big pond. I will probably stay at Hotel Putra near Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) as it is near Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia (PNM) and I can deliver a copy at PNM. I will also stop by Arkib Negara Malaysia (ANM) to drop a copy there. I may have time to visit Universiti Malaya (UM) and I may get to meet Prof Jamaiah Ibrahim (Dr Pandak Ahmad's granddaughter). I will also need to deliver to Datuk Ariffin Ngah Marzuki as it is urgent and he's unwell. I will need to deliver the book to Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail. I don't know if I can meet the son(s) of Tan Sri Dr Mohamed Din. I would also like to meet and deliver the books to Dato Abdul Mutalib Razak (ex-TV3 Chairman, grandson of Dr Ismail Ghows, nephew of Dr Latifah Bee Ghows) and Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Khas (son of Dr Megat Khas).

NS
I don't know if I can leave the books for Dr Azlan (Seremban) and Dr Hamdan (Tampin). I may have time to visit Tampin as I plan to return to my hometown for the first time in many years.

Malacca
In Malacca, I hope to meet Dr Siti Fathimah bt Datuk Dr Haji Abbas and deliver the book to her. I have not met her.

Penang
After I return from KL, I will pick up more books from my house in Kelantan and travel to Penang. I will put up at my sister's house in Minden Heights, Jalan 7. I hope to deliver the books to many Penang residents who helped with the book. I hope to meet Kamaruddin Che Lah (Dr Che Lah's son), Assoc Prof Sr Azlan Raoffudin (HBP USM; Dr Nuruddin's son), Datuk Zubaidah CM Hashim (married to the son of Sir Kamil Ariff), Puan Rukiah Hanoum (Sir Kamil Ariff's granddaughter), Dato Anwar Fazal Mohamed, etc.

Singapore
I don't know if I can travel to Singapore. There are 3 doctors' families in Singapore. There is also Wardah Books near Masjid Sultan. I may just visit Singapore for nasi biryani and visit the hospitals and mosques there which I didn't get to see at my last visit in 2011.

Doa Ibubapa

Another theme that I blended into my writing for Biography of the Early Malay Doctors was the respect and prayer we must accord to our parents. For this I have included information about the parents of each doctor (where possible). That way you can see how parents brought up their children to become our early Malay doctors. From the accounts I wrote in the book, almost all the doctors had a hard life but they persevered and made it. Shouldn't they be grateful to their parents? The same with us today, we should be grateful to our parents for everything they have tried to do and have done for us.

This is the prayer for parents. I found it in Ustaz Don Daniyal's Facebook:


Ustaz Don Daniyal:

Like This Page · 1 November

Jom Aminkan doa ni... :)

"Ya Allah, Ampunilah bagiku segala dosaku dan juga dosa kedua ibu bapaku dan kasihanilah mereka keduanya sebagaimana mereka memelihara dan mendidikku di masa kecil."

This is the same prayer that my eldest daughter made which attracted me and I used it for class lectures.

Silaturrahim

One of the reasons for researching and writing on The Early Malay Doctors was the harmonious relationship between humans, a term referred to as "silaturrahim". When I first heard the term, it made me wonder what it was and why people mentioned in at family gatherings or when friends met. For a long time, I wondered and tried to search for the meaning of "silaturrahim".

Today, I found Mohd Nasir bin Ismail, a relative who wrote about the meaning and context of that word in Facebook. I'm copying it here for everyone to read. He is also following up on his relatives and therefore fulfilling the meaning of "silaturrahim".

Mohd Nasir Bin Ismail:
Dari Malik bin Rabi'ah as-Sa'idi Radhiyallahu 'anhu, katanya:
"Pada suatu ketika kita semua duduk-duduk di sisi Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam , tiba-tiba datanglah kepadanya seorang lelaki dari Bani Salamah.
Orang itu bertanya:
"Ya Rasulullah, apakah masih ada sesuatu amalan yang dapat saya amalkan sebagai kebaktian saya kepada dua orang tuaku setelah keduanya meninggal dunia?"
Baginda Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam menjawab:
"Ya, masih ada. Iaitu mendoakan keselamatan untuk keduanya, memohonkan pengampunan kepadanya, melaksanakan janji kedua orang itu setelah wafatnya, mempereratkan hubungan kekeluargaan yang tidak dapat dihubungi kecuali dengan adanya kedua orang tua itu serta memuliakan sahabatnya."
HR Abu Dawud [Riyadhus Solihin, Imam Nawawi, Bab42#342]

From the above text, I think we can safely say that "silaturrahim" is abount human relations and bonding of relatives and friends. So that is why I have added "Family" and "Friends" for each of the doctors' biography for my book, Biography of the Early Malay Doctors. And that is why this book is special. The element of "silaturrahim" is a strong theme throughout the book and is meant to bring family and friends together.