Kopi

Salah satu tabiat baru yang aku dapat setelah 2 tahun di sini adalah minum kopi. Bukan setakat minum. Kat Malaysia pun minum kopi macam biasa. Tapi sekarang dah macam ketagih. Sekurang-kurangnya sehari kena perkena sekali. Tak kira waktu. Kalau tak dapat pagi, petang masih ada. Tak dapat petang, malam mesti dapatkan. Tak kira sama ada cari di kedai atau buat sendiri di rumah. Tapi tak lebih dari 2 kali la setiap hari.

Di sini, kedai yang menjual kopi bertebaran dimerata-rata. Al-maklumlah..Starbucks pun lahir di sini. Dan rasanya pun bermacam-macam. Mungkin itulah yang membuatkan aku ketagih kopi di sini. Dan kalau ke gas station pun, aku biasanya tak akan melepaskan peluang untuk mengangkat secawan kopi. Tambahan pula ketika musim sejuk sebegini, kopi panas memang nikmat untuk sepanjang masa. 

Ketika winter baru ini, kopi tidak terlepas dari menjadi subjek pelancongan aku dan rombongan. Sanggup berjalan hampir setengah jam di tengah bandar New Orleans di malam tahun baru untuk mencari kopi Cafe de Monde di French Market. Alhamdulillah..usaha kami tidak sia-sia. Itulah rasanya kopi yang paling ‘kaw’ pernah aku nikmati. Dan ketika di Miami, kami sekali lagi keluar memburu Cuban coffee. Rasanya pun boleh tahan bagi aku. Tapi masih tidak dapat menandingi kopi di Cafe de Monde.  

Satu perkara yang menarik aku perhatikan ialah cara orang di sini minum kopi. Jika di Malaysia, nak minum kopi kena ke kedai. Ambil order dan tunggu beberapa lama sebelum dihidangkan. Ia tak habis disitu. Sambil minum, sambil borak. Bagi yang merokok, sambil minum, sambil pekena sebatang. Akhirnya, masa yang dihabiskan di kedai kopi boleh sampai sejam.

Berbeza sekali dengan cara orang di sini minum kopi.  Kedai kopi di sini sangat tidak kondusif untuk anda melepak. Di Starbucks contohnya, kopi tidak dihidangkan dalam cawan kaca, tetapi di dalam cawan kertas. Meja di starbucks biasanya kecil dan kerusinya pula keras. Di dalamnya tidak dibenarkan merokok. Dan sememangnya bukan budaya orang disini minum  kopi sambil melepak. Kopi yang dibeli biasanya disediakan sendiri dalam cawan kertas dan dibawa ke tempat kerja untuk dinikmati. Kalau di kampus, mungkin ke perpustakaan atau ke kelas. Ya. Ada juga kedai kopi yang menyediakan tempat lepak. Tapi jumlahnya amat kecil dan kedai kopi sebegini sememangnya menghadapi persaingan dengan kopi yang ditawarkan di premis segera seperti Starbucks, McD dan Dunkin.  

Sama ada anda setuju atau tidak, budaya minum kopi di sini bagi aku sikit sebanyak menggambarkan cara penghargaan dan penggunaan masa masyarakat di sini.

Sekian..

 

Black Gold
dokumentari menarik tentang ekonomi kopi

Layoffs Here, Layoffs There

The companies making the biggest job cuts include:

• US technology firm Texas Instruments, which makes chips for mobile phones and other gadgets, said it would cut 3,400 jobs, or 12% of its workforce, because demand for electronic devices had fallen.
• Dutch banking giant ING, which said it was to cut 7,000 jobs as it seeks to save 1bn euros($1.29bn; £949m).

• Steelmaker Corus confirmed that it was cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide, including about 2,500 in the UK. The firm is a subsidiary of India’s Tata Steel.

• Consumer electronics giant Philips has reported a fourth quarter loss of 1.47bn euros and said it would cut 6,000 jobs.

• US retailer Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, said it would eliminate 7,000 jobs, or 2% of its work force, as it closes its Expo home design unit.
• US mobile phone service provider Sprint Nextel says it plan sto reduce its workforce by 8,000 as it seeks to cut costs.

• US drugmaker Pfizer said it planned to cut up to 20,000 jobs after it announced a $68bn (£50bn) deal to buy rival Wyeth.

• General Motors said it would shed 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio and cut production at several plants over the next six months.
• Last week Microsoft said it would cut 5,000 jobs, while Intel said it would eliminate 6,000.

Taken from BBC News

Glory of Islam

Taken from the compilaton of Dr Mahathir’s speeches entitled Islam, Knowledge and Other Affairs. Page #44.

We shall all be well-equipped with the knowledge and the skills to administer and develop our countries, to strengthen thm with the defence capability that we are enjoined by our religion to have, and to dedicate ourselves to the service of Islam and the ummah. We should fine common grounds between our different sects and diregard or tolerate the differences so that we could be united again and strong.

All these may sound very idealistic. It is easy to talk about doing what Islam enjoins upon us but it is not going to be easy considering the nature of human race whatever may be the religion. But it must be remembered that even the Prophet, the messenger of Allah did not convert three quarters of the known world of his time in one day, or even in the 23 years of his prophethood. He suffered many failures and setbacks for years. Even when he succeeded he did not live to see the full extent of the spread od Islam. He saw only a minute fraction of the Islamic world he intiated. His successors worked for centuries to build glorious Islamic civilization.

If the Prophet cannot do it in his lifetime, can we expect to do better than him? Only the most arrogant among ourselves would dare to say they can. 

AIA

Lama tak dengar..

Rarare rare rare ra
Rarare rare rare ra
Rarare rara rera rara rare rara

Janganlah engkau menangis lagi
Yakinkan aman ibu di sisi
Wahai intan seluruh raga
Hadirmu membawa seribu warna

Kini kau lupakan ibu
Lupakan juga ayahmu
Mengapa kau begitu
Setelah sinar kau ketemu

Tidakkah kau kasihan
Ibumu sendirian
Di sini bukan syurga
Patut kau campakkan

Ayah, ayah jerit kecilmu
Setia bersila di bendul pintumu
Tangis tawa bukanlah duka
Jadi ingatan mengusik jiwa

EAS Essay

A Challenging Path Toward Energy Independence.

                For centuries oil has put American economies in prosperity and keep Americans moving forward as the world superpower. Since the first drilling of crude oil during 19^th century in Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, the crude oil has become our main source of energy that move our cars, light our streets, heat our home and keep our industry running. Oil and other fossil fuel alike such as coal are compatible with our economy. They contain high amount of energy per BTU, cheap, abundant and relatively easy to be extracted from ground by drilling or mining.  Moreover, these fossil fuels could be transported easily throughout the year with low costs by integrated pipelines and railroads across the country. All these factors have brought our country into dependency on oil across 20^th century.

Dear Mr. President,         

               Throughout the period, our addiction for oil has driven us towards several economic and political crisis. One of them is during World War II where oil has become a strategic concern for two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. As the production of petroleum form oil wells is crucial, the development of synthetic gasoline and unconventional oil also took place extensively to meet the demand during the war. Another big example is during 1973 oil crisis where Arab nations placed an oil embargo against the United States as a result of the military support we gave to the Israel. This has resulted in spike of oil prices together with 1973 stock market crash, the first America had since the Great Depression. Besides that, oil also one of the keys for our success in Korean War and Cold War. As 13th US President, Calvin Coolidge stated in 1924, “The supremacy of nations may be determined by availability of petroleum and its products”. But, all these events aren’t good enough to give our people a big lesson on the potential threat posed by our dependency on fossil fuel especially oil.

             Another negative side of fossil fuels is the fact that they are non-renewable resources. We have to face the reality that these resources will not last forever. The most famous theory or concept presented on depletion of oil is Hubbert peak oil curve. This theory which has been proposed by Dr King Hubbert, could be interpreted as the point where oil production reach its maximum level and start to decline afterward. This theory formed an asymmetrical bell-shaped curve. More importantly, the decline and depletion of oil production in the future could create a severe supply shortage in the future that will eventually lead to soaring energy price, collapse of industrial civilization and worst, global depression. Though the world reserve might be far away from the peak point, the United States oil reserve has reached its maximum level of production in 1970 and declining until today. On the other side, our consumption rate continues to increase starting from 1980 and show no sign of decline or static though the prices of crude oil in the world market fluctuate over time. This could pose a serious threat to our national economy in terms of trade deficits if the trend persists and we continue to import oil from abroad to meet the soaring demand.

               The effect of fossil fuels towards environment also shouldn’t be taken for granted. This is a serious issue which needs determined actions from the world community. Undeniably, fossil fuels are great pollutants to the environment in various ways. Oil for example if exposed to human mistakes, terrorist attacks or natural disaster could cause it to spill in large scale and contaminate the ocean, river, land and bays. Moreover, oil, natural gas and coal also pollute our air in many forms. The burning of coal, oil and natural gas produce high amount of greenhouse gases especially carbon dioxide. Other greenhouse gases produced from coal are nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and some heavy metal. In fact, 90% of greenhouse gases produced in the United States come from the combustion of fossil fuels. Also, according to Wikipedia, “the burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tons (21.3 gigatons) of carbon dioxide per year, but it is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount”. Besides that, fossil fuels extraction also disastrous to topographic of land. Mountain top removal mining to extract coal for example, also caused great environment disaster on land. This form of surface mining that involves extreme topographic change to the summit also destroy biodiversity at the mountain valley and its sludge ponds (used to store waste slurry) pose a threat to private residences.

Dear Mr. President,              

                 As the cost of consumption for fossil fuels increases and their reserves decrease, it is paramount for the United States to have an alternative plan from now to seriously reduce our dependency to fossil fuels. One of the best options is to make use of our capitalistic nature of economy in commercializing renewable energy resource as our main source of energy. By definition, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA), renewable energy resources are energy that virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time. Among renewable energy resources widely use are wind, tidal, solar, wave, biomass and geothermal.  Most of these energy are converted into electricity before could be used by the users. Data from EIA shown that in 2004, electricity generation is about 70% of total renewable energy consumption.

                 What’s more, 9% of total US electricity generation comes from renewable energy resources. In fact, the United States has made a great progress on developing renewable energy. For example, the largest geothermal plant in the world has been built in Mayacamas Mountains, San Francisco. Several solar power plants also built in Mojave Desert and generate 354 MW which is the largest installation in the world. Also, wind energy has a great potential for the United States in the future. Based on current infrastructure and technical feasibility, U.S Department of Energy has made a clear target and plan for wind energy to provide 20% of total energy consumption in the United States by 2030.

                  Certainly, renewable energy is the best alternative for fossil fuels we have so far. The fact that renewable energy sources are known to be clean, naturally replenished  and cheap make them great potential to be exploited as replacement for fossil fuels. Nevertheless, Americans have to be informed that switching to renewable energy is not as easy and simple as they might think as the resources themselves have several deficiencies.

                 One of the disadvantages of renewable energy sources is that they are difficult to product in high amount of electricity like fossil fuels have done for use for decades. Most of the renewable energy like thermal, solar, wave and wind could only be generated in small scale. Therefore, its low energy intensity of electric generation compared to oil, gas and coal means that large amount of generators and areas are required to meet the amount of electricity demanded by the users. This is bad for the environment for example since it could cause interference to the biodiversity and animal migration.

                 Of course, some of these renewable and alternative energy technologies have been established decades ago such as nuclear and hydro and they are relatively competitive with fossil fuel technologies in terms of cost. However, there are still several that are still new and thus require expensive cost of initial development such as solar, wind and geothermal. For example the installation of photovoltaic system to generate solar energy at home costs around $8000 to $12000 per kWp installed. Geothermal power plant also cost relatively high compared to natural gas or coal plants which cost around one third of geothermal cost.  Its highly capital-intensive technology since it involves high risk exploration and requires installation of other supportive equipment such as cooling system and power conversion. The initial high cost of their development hinders energy companies, investors and households to put their money into renewable energy projects. 

               Like fossil fuels plants, these energy plants also exposed to the risk of attacks, natural disasters and human errors.  Nuclear power for example could cause a catastrophic disaster if exploded or being attacked. Radiation exposure result in from nuclear explosion could destroy human genetic code and caused mutations for future generations. Though the possibility of such disaster to occur is extremely low, this danger is good enough for many concern groups to oppose more nuclear development in the United States by making protest towards local authorities which have control over site permitting. Fears and strong emotions demonstrated from environmentalist groups create and provoke many opposing terms like BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything), NIMBY(Not In My Back Yard) and NOPE (Not On Planet Earth) which show their strong oppositions towards development of renewable energy facilities near their residences.

Dear Mr. President,         

               Admittedly, developing and transforming into renewable energy resources pose a very high price. We have to face all these challenges. We have to face the realities. New things always come with their own trade-offs. Positively, as we continue to promote them, this tradeoff could be countered and reduced through research and development breakthroughs. We have to act now rather than wait for a disaster to knock on own door. Oil depletion, climate change and soaring costs of fossil fuel resources are enough to push our government to take a strong political action on this matter.

              In order to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, the United States has to start reducing the use of fossil fuels aggressively and beginning to focusing on alternative fuels. The ideal ones are nuclear energy and hydrogen. Nuclear plant could replace coal and oil for electric generation in the United States.  It is a great potential for the United States to increase its usage of nuclear power from the current level of 19% from total electric generation. Moreover, nuclear power is relatively clean resource as it produces no carbon emission and it really sustainable as uranium is still abundant and could last for centuries. For transportation, Americans could start using hydrogen as their alternative fuels. Hydrogen, generated from electrolysis of water, could help in reducing emission of carbon dioxide and thus tackling our climate problem. Though the cost of generating hydrogen, storing and converting it into energy forms (like electricity) is relatively high compared to fossil fuels, the cost could be reduced significantly as economies of scale took its place.

                     Equally important, drafting right policies that promote smooth transition and shift from our current trend of energy usage is very critical in your administration. Profound technological changes towards renewable energy resources could not be achieved without sustainable energy policies. This surely requires a lot of trade-offs and short term loss during your tenure.  Definitely, mitigation strategies should be the based principle for the government in drafting the right policies. Through mitigation strategies that offset peak oil, the government has to promote fuel conservation by increasing mileage requirements, developing integrated public transportation systems in major metropolis and lowering the taxes for hybrid or electric transports. If necessary, the government has to take bold action like increasing the taxes on gasoline at gas station in order to reduce its usage and drive people towards clean and cheaper alternatives. Besides that, development of nuclear energy and unconventional oil like stranded oil, oil shale and tar sands. This could be achieved by providing incentive like taxes for building new power plants and allocating more funds into R&D that increase the production of unconventional fuel. Nuclear energy and unconventional fuel are important to achieve mitigation effect and prepared us sufficient time to develop alternative energy from renewable resources. As government, we also have to make some sacrifices by losing lot of revenues from tax incentives as well as losing popular supports from environmentalists and people in the main street that strongly oppose development of nuclear energy and unconventional oil. 

                In addition, Americans also need to be informed about their responsibilities towards future generations. Without a doubt, they have to make to make some sacrifices and changes in their life. They have to realize that the future is bleak and cheap and abundant oil will not last forever.  Unquestionably, this awareness have be instilled on our young generation earlier through childhood education at schools where kids beginning to shape their mind and attitude.  To make this happen, syllabus of science subjects in high school have to emphasize on students’ responsibilities for the environment and what practical changes they could make to help building a better future for America.

Dear Mr. President,         

               Lastly, one of the most important actions needed in order for a smooth transition to take place is to resist the lobby of special interest groups in Washington DC. These groups historically have strong tie with our government and pump up a lot of money during congressional and presidential elections. For example, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, oil and gas companies in the United States has contributed around $82.1 millions to candidates, parties and political action committees. As a result of their action, the government has failed to act independently on drafting sound policies for renewable energy. A lot of funds for research and development on this field have been taken out from the bill and the law that significantly increase our transports fuel efficiency standard could not be passed through the congress. In brief, all lobbying activities in Washington especially the ones that involved energy legislation have to be dealt effectively.     

                        On the whole, solving our energy problem is not an easy task. Though we have a lot of alternatives and options, they usually come along with trade-offs and short run losses. Therefore making a lot sacrifices is necessary for our long term gains which are the security of our nation and sustainability of our environment. The government, the industry and the American people have to know their roles and make serious efforts to have energy independence a reality for our nation, not just a dream or a political rhetoric.

MPV Proton

Muzakkirah.

Assalamualaikum

Sekadar mahu berkongsi buku yang baru sahaja selesai aku baca. Muzakkirah: Sebuah Autobiografi Suku Abad Menerajui Kerajaan terengganu tulisan Dato’ Seri Amar Diraja Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar Ahmad. Aku baca buku ini bukanlah kerana mengagumi ketokohan bekas Menteri Besar Terengganu ini, tapi sekadar mahu mengetahui sedikit sebanyak sejarah pentadbiran negeri Terengganu. Buku ini ditulis dengan bahasa yang sangat ringkas untuk difahami, tidak begitu tebal (sekitar 200 ms). Hanya sehari lebih diperlukan untuk menghabiskannya.

Di bahagian Pendahuluan, penulis ada menyatakan tentang tugasan utama beliau sebagai pemegang amanah memimpin kerajaan negeri adalah mengatur rancangan pembangunan dari segi kemudahan asas untuk dinikmati rakyat. Bagi aku ini persoalan ini adalah fundamental yang menjadi batu asas kepada sesebuah kerajaan. Bagi aku yang seharusnya menjadi asas utama adalah pembangunan insan dan kerohanian rakyat. Pembangunan kebendaan boleh mengambil tempat selepas itu. 

Secara ringkasnya, buku ini dimulakan dengan kisah zaman pendidikan Dato’ dan pengalamannya menuntut ilmu di Mesir. Tiada apa yang menarik disini. Peringkat kedua adalah ketika beliau dipilih sebagai ahli Parlimen Kemaman. Pilihan raya ketika itu jauh beza dengan sekarang dimana calon-calon sekadar berbahas tentang logo parti mereka. Soal pembangunan, ideologi letak ke tepi. Lucu juga bila membacanya. Tak ubah seperti gaya kempen seperti ini dan ini. Kisah zaman awal ketika menjadi wakil rakyat juga menarik. Terpaksa beli kereta sendiri (kereta terpakai) untuk melawat kawasan. Terpaksa menyewa bilik di Kemaman denagn kadar Rm20 sebulan (Dato’ Seri Amar bukan anak jati Kemaman. Beliau orang KT). Terpaksa berhimpit naik teksi ketika hadir persidangan luar negara. Tiket kapal terpaksa diuruskan sendiri. Tiada peruntukan khas parlimen untuk bagi bantuan. Terpaksa gunakan elaun sebagai ahli parlimen Jauh bezanya jika mahu dibandingkan dengan wakil rakyat sekarang. Macam langit dengan bumi.

Tumpuan agenda pembangunan selama suku abad menerajui Terengganu semestinya sektor pertanian dan perikanan. Dari buku ini terselit serba sedikit bagaimana tertubuhnya KETENGAH. Cuma sikap orang Melayu itu sendiri yang tidak menghargai bantuan yang menghalang usaha pembangunan banyak dinyatakan dalam buku ini. Terlalu banyak contoh-contohnya. Cuma aku tertarik tentang hubung kait antara bantuan dan undi. Boleh rujuk muka surat 51 dan 56. Aku harap amalan begitu tidak lagi wujud hari ini.

Kisah penemuan petroleum di Terengganu, agihan wang petroleum sebanyak 5% dan sejarah pembangunan Rantau Petronas juga ada dimuatkan. Tak semudah itu rupanya kompleks penapisan minyak di Kerteh itu berjaya didirikan. Ada cerita disebaliknya sehingga Sidang tergempar DUN terpaksa diadakan dari jam 8 malam hingga 4 pagi. Kebenarannya…wallahualam. Cuma wang hasil minyak tidak sama sekali disebut royalti. Dan anda memang tidak akan menjumpai walau sepatah pun perkataan royalti dalam buku ini. Yang ada hanyalah wang ehsan.

Pembangunan insan melalui pendidikan juga turut disentuh. Di sini bolehlah sikit sebanyak mengetahui kisah penubuhan Kusza, TATI, Maahad Tahfiz Padang Midin, sekolah agama dan MRSM-YT. Ketika menjadi Biro Agama UMNO Pusat juga, Dato’ telah mencadangkan kepada Menteri Pelajaran(Dato Musa Hitam) supaya kelas agama petang diwujudkan menggunakan kelas yang kosong di sekolah kerajaan. Kalau tiada cadangan ini, mungkin petang aku diisi dengan agenda merayau kampung.

Strategi pembangunan negeri juga turut diceritakan Dato’ terutamanya tentang plan 30 tahun pembangunan negeri yang sepatutnya berakhir tahun depan. Kisah penubuhan PMINT, BABENA, Sutera Semai dan Permodalan Terengganu Berhad juga turut dimuatkan. Plan pembangunan bandar KT yang tidak menjadi kenyataan juga ada diceritakan. Dan kisah kegagalan projek pertanian atas pasir juga menjawab persoalan yang bermain difikiran aku sewaktu kecil dahulu mengapa pokok roselle yang ditanam nenek dan datuk aku sekitar tahun 1994 hanya bertahan semusim walaupun membuahkan hasil yang sangat lebat(ada lagi gambar kebun roselle tu kat rumah). Rupanya,kilang memprosesnya di Ajil diambil alih oleh sebuah syarikat swasta.   

Turut dimuatkan adalah 12 kisah pelik Dato’ bersama rakyat. Lucu juga bila membaca gelagat rakyat Terengganu ni.

Buku ini diakhiri dengan kisah kekalahan parti beliau dalam PRU 1999. Beliau lebih lepada menjustifikasikan kekalahan waktu itu kepada angin sokongan rakyat yang berubah ekoran pemecatan DSAI dan Terengganu menerima tamparan paling hebat. Pengalaman beliau menjadi Duta Malaysia ke Arab Saudi selama 5 tahun turut diselitkan diakhir buku.  

Apapun dari buku ini, dapatlah aku bina sikit hearaki pemerintahan Terengganu bermula dari Tan Sri Ibrahim Fikri, Mahmood Sulaiman, Dato’ Nik Hassan, Dato’ Seri Amar Diraja Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar Ahmad, Tuan Guru Dato’ Seri Haji Abdul Hadi Awang, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh dan Datuk Ahmad Said. Untuk 10 tahun terakhir ini, Terengganu mempunyai 4 MB dan aku jangka untuk penggal seterusnya mungkin dapat MB baru lagi.

Sekian Wasallam

Boikot

Sejak awal tahun ini seruan boikot kembali berkumandang. Aku tak mahu komen apa-apa tentang itu kerana aku pun tak pasti sama ada aku ini termasuk dalam individu yang memboikot atau tidak.  Barang-barang yang aku guna kebanyakannya keluaran syarikat-syarikat yang namanya terpapar NYSE, Dow Jones, NESDAQ dll. Dalam erti kata lain, kebanyakannya menyumbang kepada ekonomi AS.  Aku tak pasti mana satu ada dalam list dan mana satu tidak. Aku juga tak pasti syarikat mana bernaung dibawah syarikat-syarikat yang termasuk dalam senarai boikot.Dan aku juga tak pasti, sama ada senarai yang dikeluarkan itu up-to-date atau tidak. Masih sama lagikah pemegang saham dalam syarikat itu? Masihkah syarikat itu melakukan kerja-kerja terkutuk dengan menghantar bantuan ke Israel di saat ekonomi gawat dan masing-maisng cuba mengawal perbelanjaan? Entahlah..

Cuma aku terpikir. Soal boikot di Malaysia tidak mungkin timbul jika kerajaan sendiri menghalang kemasukan barang-barang yang mahu diboikot itu. Mengapa susah-susah untuk rakyat meneliti logo dan bar kod barangan ketika membeli-belah jika kerajaan mampu ‘memboikot’ barang-barang yang tersenarai dalam list boikot di pelabuhan. Dan mengapa tidak ada satu parti politik pun yang berani menagih undi dengan menjanjikan mereka akan memboikot jika diberi peluang memerintah walaupun sedar satu Malaysia sebulat suara mengutuk kegansan Israel?  Sekadar di Parlimen sahajakah pemimpin-pemimpin kita berani mengutuk Israel? Adakah para pemimpin itu takut akan kuasa ekonomi Amerika? Ataupun bimbang akan ancaman serangan balas melalui sekatan ekonomi? Mungkin bagi mereka boikot secara kolektif dalam satu entiti Malaysia tidak mampu dilakukan dan hanya membawa padah.

Cuma aku teringat satu tulisan Ustaz Hasrizal. Secara realitinya, boikot itu jauh sekali dapat menggugat ekonomi AS. Tapi ianya lebih kepada untuk menegakkan prinsip keadilan, mengelakkan diri bersekongkol dengan yang zalim dan juga tarbiyyah untuk diri sendiri. Baca di sini.

Kena Kutuk

“M-League is not football”

“Dari 14 negeri kat Malaysia ni, ini je ke team yang kita ada?”

“Apabila liga Malaysia tu manja, pemain Malaysia macam ginilah”

“Kita tak pernah gagal..tapi hari ini telah terbukti kita kalah 5-0 di tempat sendiri”

“Kalau takat nak pegang keeper cam tu saya blh jadi keeper bang..”

Pesanan Obama

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.