D-Day

Today is the 9th of February 2010.

 

Within a few hours, the judges of the Federal Court are about to announce their decision on one of the most controversial cases this decade: Nizar vs. Zambry.

 

For the past few weeks, PAS has been conducting roadshows and organizing solat hajat, whilst BN uses the media extensively to portray how good the Zambry government is, despite it being an illegitimate government to the eyes of most people.

 

Although the judges would have already made their decision by the time I am writing this, I still pray that they make the right decision. Not to please anyone, but to uphold justice and democracy in this country.

 

Regardless, if Nizar is declared the rightful Chief Minister of Perak, I hope the Sultan would be agreeable to dissolve the Perak DUN. Otherwise, if Zambry wins, this struggle would definitely go on. Most importantly, Pakatan Rakyat needs to work harder to ensure that we get Perak back the next elections, and to prove that it is a viable alternative to BN.

 

And to Datuk Seri Nizar, whatever the decision is, you will forever be my Ameer! 

 

Meanwhile, the whole world is watching Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II trial which started last week. I wish the media would be more careful in saying things in the news – I fear that our children are listening to things they are not supposed to know at that age! I follow the trial quite closely, thanks to twitter, but to me, none of it makes sense. And of course, the trial is so obviously unfair to Anwar’s team – a trial without access to key documents????

 

But I will always remember what one of my good friends said to me, “It is okay. You don’t have to be too worried about the whole case. This is only justice in this world. When we all arrive in front of Allah, that is when true justice would be upheld!”

 

And I shiver at the thought of my past sins being played on the big screen too!

A Wedding, A Birthday and A Butterfly

We attended the wedding of Zaid and Aminah last Saturday.

 

Zaid is Tuan Haji Asmuni Awi’s eldest son who is currently pursuing his MBBS. He has another two sons, Fitri, a lawyer; and Hafiz, who goes to the same school with my children.

 

Tuan Haji Asmuni is a famous lawyer in Ipoh, and he also holds a very high position in PAS.

 

It was a grand wedding indeed, and the food was good (ada kari kambing!)

 

To Zaid and Aminah, Semoga dikurniakan rumahtangga yang bahagia dan dikurniakan zuriat yang soleh dan solehah, dan semoga kekal hingga ke syurga.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, we finally celebrated Abang’s 32^nd birthday. We had earlier celebrated Mom’s 65^th birthday, which happens to be on the same day as Abang’s i.e. 19 January but Abang was working on the night shift that week. So on Sunday, I took Abang and the kids out for lunch at Restoran Simpang Tiga, a new eating place in Ipoh. The food was good, though a bit on the high side. And we later bought a cake and mom came over to cut the cake with Abang. Happy birthday Mak, happy birthday Abang.

 

By the way, last week, upon returning home, we came across a huge, beautiful butterfly (which could also be a kupu-kupu… I am not too sure), but the kids got so excited about it!

Self Motivation

I attended an in-house Personal Knowledge Management Workshop on Wednesday.

 

It was an enriching experience since KM has always been one of my favourite topics. Plus KM is now one of the organization’s priorities, considering that we are moving into a knowledge-based economy + we are a university.

 

Anyway, during the introduction session, one of the participants discussed about self-motivation, which I think is worth sharing. How does he motivate himself at work? It starts when he moves out of the house to go to work. He rides a motorcycle, but he imagines that he is driving his dream car – maybe a C-Class Mercedes Benz, a 5-series BMW or once in a while, a Jaguar. He knows that this is completely out of reach, but he finds that just thinking about doing it motivates him greatly. And he can perform his best at work!

 

I wish I could do the same. I should try believing that what I am doing now is my dream job. But then again, my dream job is to be a stay-at-home-mom!   

Don’t think THAT will motivate me at work!

Who says being a parent is easy?

Someone sent me an email today on raising children.

  

I am not sure who actually wrote the following words, but it had a great impact on me:

Children aren’t adults, don’t expect them to behave as though they are,

Children learn by doing, don’t expect to approve of everything they do,

Children are more likely to do as you do than to do as you say,

It is often less important for adults to control children’s behavior than to control their own,

Children react to anger; they respond to love and affection,

The pain you inflict on them will probably be inflicted on others.

 

 

Children aren’t adults, don’t expect them to behave as though they are.

 That is why, statements such as “Dah berapa kali cakap ni, tak kan tak faham-faham? Dah besar kan?” Actually, I personally think that those words come out too often from my mouth. I always have to keep reminding myself that they are just seven-year olds and they are still kids. Seriously, when either of us says that, the twins would sulk the whole day.

  

Children learn by doing, don’t expect to approve of everything they do.  

“Kenapa main air sabun ni?” “Kenapa bubuh cat dalam benda ni?” “Kenapa main tanah ni, nanti kotor baju!” “Duduk diam kejap tak boleh ke? Asyik melompat aje.” Kenapa this… and kenapa that. Seriously, I should learn to let them explore. Takpelah comot or kotor, as long as tak cedera. I guess this point also relates to the first sentence. I sometimes forget that they are kids, and thus expect them to think before they act. Kids don’t do that too often.

  

Children are more likely to do as you do than to do as you say. 

How true! “Kenapa kakak or adik buat macam ni??” (in an almost screaming voice) They would stare at your face for five seconds. “Hari tu, kakak Nampak abah dan mama buat benda sama. Kenapa kakak tak boleh?” Ouch. It is like a big slap on your face. I usually become speechless when such statements come out. We are our children’s role models, whether we like it or not! And as parents, we are forced into showing good behavior all the time!

  

But the one that really got to me was the last sentence: The pain you inflict on them will probably be inflicted on others, simply because children react to anger and respond to love and affection. Maybe it is correct when people say that children who were raised in a very ‘hard’ environment (i.e. selalu kena pukul dan marah) will end up doing the same to the people around them and especially their children.

 

Is that why there are so many ‘intolerable’ and ‘unbelievably atrocious’ incidents occurring around us?

  

I have read somewhere that a good parent would use 80% encouragement and only 20% punishment. And yes, it is because children react to anger and respond to love and affection.

 

My struggle to be a better parent continues to be my priority in life and my earlier posting on 10 Resolutions for Parents has been printed out nicely and pasted in my notebook (because I am becoming more forgetful by the day!)

Who says being a parent is easy?

Struggling

I am struggling to finish this book. No doubt, the topic is very interesting + it relates to my research area + the author is the guru of organizational culture + my supervisor has reminded me to finish this by end of this month. And yes, I can read through the pages quite quickly. The problem is; I have another 164 pages to digest AND get something out of it for my PhD.