New Year 2011 Countdown Fireworks at Sunway Carnival, Penang

Finally, I got this clip uploaded for you to watch it here or at You Tube.  As a little child, my daddy and mommy and elder sisters used to tell me to go and watch the fireworks and would bring me there whenever there were fireworks to be let off at night especially during the special occasions in the small Royal Town of Arau, Perlis such as when His Royal Highness (HRH) the Late King or "Raja" Tuanku Syed Putra Ibni Jamalulail was celebrating his birthdays or the special celebration like his installation as the Third King of Malaysia.  My late daddy whom I called Pa and my mommy used to get invitations for the Royal Banquets at the Royal Palace in Arau, Perlis near the Arau Railway station and opposite the Police Station. Now this little royal village boy has moved to Big Foot Hill or Bukit Mertajam in Seberang Perai or Province Wellesley on the mainland side of Penang State.

Those days, little children used to light their own fireworks or fire crackers during festivals like Muslim celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide or Chinese Lunar New Year or Hindu's Deepavali or Christmas and New Year.  Now fire cracker is banned in Malaysia and Singapore.  Pity my nieces and nephews here and there and our present day kids as they cannot play with fire crackers as we did in the good old days.

Now that there is no royalty or royal palace at Bigfoothill or Bukit Mertajam or Penang State as we only have the Governor in state of Pulau Pinang, Bigfoothill took every opportunity to rekindle the sweet memories of the excitements that I enjoyed watching fireworks being let off at every celebrations held around here in Bukit Mertajam and nearby areas.  One thing for sure as the bible tell us so, Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  So the fireworks were set-off at Auto City Juru during recent Christmas Eve Countdown to celebrate the arrival of Christmas or the birth of the Royal Baby born in the manger, Jesus.  Now it is time again to rejoice in the King of Kings during this New Year 2011 for me and family.

As for you and others, you have many other reasons to celebrate the New Year 2011 as you could be promoted on your career or you boss is giving you a raise or giving you a fat bonus recently or a fat red packet in the coming Chinese Lunar Year of the Rabbit.  Bye bye Tiger..soon.  maybe, some of you are proposing to your girlfriend and planned to get married in 2011. Do invite me to your wedding reception or dinner.  I could then capture your precious moments in life live on my Sony Handy cam DCR-SR47 model. Whatever cause you are celebrating, I wish you all the best wishes and may you find 2011 a blessed year and God with Us, Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14 NIV).  You can refer bible verses through this link here to BibleGateway.com http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%207:14&version=NIV1984.

Immanuel is spell as Emmanuel especially in Espanol, French or other languages.

Here is an interesting sermon on Isiah 7:14 from Rev. Adrian Dieleman form the Trinity United Reformed Church, Visalia, California , USA preached on December 25, 2001 which you can click on this link http://www.trinitycrc.org/sermons/is07v14.html

Credit goes to BibleGateway.com for their bible references and resources.
Credit goes the Pastor and Trinity United Reformed Church for the resources on Emmanuel, God with us.

Hope you enjoy the fireworks here for those who did not catch it earlier at the Countdown to New Year 2011.

A famous Albukhary Mosque

Just visiting my client at a small town in the north last week and on the way back to Big Foot Hill or Bukit Mertajam, Penang, I have taken a detour to this road  in Alor Setar, Kedah as my client recommended me to another client. Guess what? I stumbled upon a beautiful sight at night which is the  Albukhary Mosque.

Many Muslims and other people have been to this beautiful mosque for worship and Friday prayers or just take a walk and relax there after shopping at the complex named "Souq Albukhary" which is where Giant hypermarket is located.  Many travelers from near and far would have enjoyed its beauty and serenity through recommendations from travels' websites and blogs.  I saw many beautiful images of the mosques being photographed and uploaded.

A check on the net also shown that there is another Albukhary mosque in Kuala Lumpur which is also built by the Albukhary Foundation. Our Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary is the giant behind the projects.  I once read in the local news article that he was once working at the wet market helping his mother and was used to wearing clogs.  He is a very humble man and can speak the local Chinese dialect.
Here is the link to his personal blog  http://mokhtaralbukhary.blogspot.com/2008/02/tan-sri-syed-mokhtar-al-bukhary-tan-sri.html 

Here are some of the pictures taken by me. 

I remember my primary school days in Kangar town, the capital of Northern most state of Malaysia, Perlis, where I used to sit in the class quietly with another classmate since we were the only non-Muslims students in a class of forty something pupils when the Islam Religious teacher came to our classroom to teach our Muslim friends the Religion period which usually lasted some 30 minutes.

Not only once but many times, I heard my Muslim classmates asked the teacher about the places of worship which they can use as an alternative to the mosque if there is no mosque near them at the time where they are to perform the prayers five times daily while on a journey or far from home. The teacher did mentioned that my Muslim classmates can use the Church if there is one nearby but not at the temples (Taoist or Hinduism places of worship) where there are idols worships. Now that there are mosques and worship rooms in every town and residential housing estates, it is understandable that our Muslim friends will be able to perform their prayers in these places rather than at a Church which is a taboo.

Well, our country has prospered and the people are more affluent and can afford to donate to build places of worships while the Government ensured that the housing developers built places of worship for the Muslim brethren.  There are not as many new places of worships for the non-Muslims being built as there is no compulsory laws to compel the developers of new housing estates to build one for them.

Back then, there were very few mosques except in major towns like Kangar, Arau, Kuala Perlis, Kaki Bukit and Padang Besar in Perlis.  The mosque in Kangar town have large black colored domes while the old one in Arau was green and white. The new one near the Arau railway station is golden domes as the King of Perlis used to perform prayers there. Usually the mosques compounds are also the burial grounds. There were Muslim funerals attended by their non-Muslims friends, right from the deceased's house to the mosque vicinity in my former Royal hometown. There were no huff or many hoodlums then. Purely mourning the loss of a good friend and a good neighbor, paying last respect and conveying condolences to the deceased's surviving family members and friends.

Those days, people lived in harmony and peacefully in almost every neighborhood with united spirit among the Malaysians as compared to the present day where there were many sad incidents of blatant disrespects and disregards for the places of worship.

There are more live and regular daily broadcasts of Islamic religious programs through the radio and television (TV) channels nowadays. We use to sing the National patriotic songs as they were being played over the radio and televised on television by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) .  We watched black and white TV.  Does it matter whether we are black or white or yellow or brown like coffee mixed with milk? What happen to us Malaysians today?  What happened to our Education system, the Civic and  Moral classes? Study History of facts that were altered and twisted according to whims and fancy instead of its truth in the past has NO FUTURE.

Did we progress to be an Affluence ONE (A1) NATION of TRULY ASIA OR a LOW BUDGET MENTALITY STATE DOMINANCE WITH MANY DIVISIONS? Too much politicking and power crazy at the top?  Ordinary folks like us just stroll along in our neighborhood in fear of our safety of many incidents of crime reported and the unavoidable economic inflation skyrocketing due to increases in the prices of essential commodities and daily household goods from the chain reactions.

Heaven above is a place in Malaysia on Earth. May God Al-Mighty and Merciful keep us and Malaysia safe, this I pray.  As for me, I ask Lord Jesus to bless the Nation with Peace and Harmony and Prosper Malaysia as I refer to Bible Psalm 118 verse 25-29. For more reading on Psalm 118: 25-29 and for Non-Muslims Only(If you are from Malaysia), please click here.

By the way, if you want your kids to join our Bukit Mertajam Baptist Church (BMBC) Children's Christmas Celebration this coming Saturday December 11, 2010, we welcome you and your kids.  It will be held at the charitable homes.  For more details, please contact BMBC at Tel. no. 04-5391854

Reading on Psalm 118: 25-29 Courtesy of Bible.Org
http://bible.org/

A Visit to Kuala Juru Fishing Village by BigFootHill

Dawn at Kuala Juru Fishing Village

Sun rising behind the swamp and Kuala Juru village

"Sampans" or small boats lying on cockle shells bank of the jetty

Wednesday November 17, 2010 was a public holiday in Penang State of Malaysia in conjunction with the celebration by the Muslim faith brethren especially for the Pilgrims who have performed their Hajj pilgrimage at Mecca in Saudi Arabia with their family and friends.  On this special day, the less fortunate, poor and needy are remembered and taken care of by the blessed Muslims when they went to mosques to perform prayers and thereafter sacrificed some cows and cut it to pieces to be distributed to the community. I remember those days some decades ago, when I was living in the Royal town of Arau, Perlis, another northern state of Malaysia, the folks there were very excited about the Festival of Pilgrimage also known as Festival of Sacrifice or Hari Raya Aidil Adha,
As early as 5.00am, the Muslim folks will wake up and get to round up the herd of cows and goats to be sacrificed near the mosque compound.  A group of them will help to hold down the animals and tied them to the coconut trees while the local butchers will perform the task of killing and cutting the animals for distribution to the needy in the community. Usually the Royal Highness "Raja" or King of Perlis and his royal family households will contribute towards purchasing of most of the animals to be sacrificed for that day. Thereafter, the folks will go visit the graves to pay their respects for the departed kins who are buried there and clean up the compound. In Perlis and other northern Malays states, the declared Public Holidays are two days to celebrate the Festival of Sacrifice by Pilgrims.  The other "Hari Raya Aidil Fitri" or "Hari Raya Puasa" or Festival to celebrate the end of Fasting month of Ramadan is celebrated with two days of Public Holidays.

My mom and her friends will tell us children not to look at the action of the killing of the animals as they said that the old superstition that once the boys looked at the action, the boys will be naughty and cruel.  I belief our moms would want to spare us from the frightening sounds and cries of the animals when they are killed after the prayers' rituals and to spare us from watching the horrors of bloods oozing out from the killing of the animals we use to chase away from our backyards, or to see the lifeless carcass after the meat have been cut for distributions. These grand old stories are told again and again each time we come to celebrate the festival annually. 

Coming to back to the picture of the small fishing boats, I was excited to celebrate the festival by sacrificing my sleep and waking up early at 6.00am and getting my family to join me to watch sunrise at Kuala Juru at Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Perai Tengah, Pulau Pinang.

The Kuala Juru Fishermen Association

 

It was also an opportunity for me to catch the life of the villagers at Kuala Juru.  We arrived the place at about 6.30am and went all the way to the end of the road where it stop at the foothill. The nearest house was some 50meters away.  We were the only ones there while the place was still very dark and misty.  My two companions were feeling spooky when we passed by the local Muslim cemetery and they wanted to turn back. Well, I never been there before and so it is better to be safe and so we turned back to the nearest point which have bright street lights and it happened to be near the Kuala Juru Fishermen Association as in the above shots.

Just then, a small lorry arrived to pick up loads of cockles packed in recycled plastic bags used for packing sugar.  In those days back in Arau, Perlis, I followed my mom to the market near the Arau Railway station, the cockles were delivered by the wholesalers in bags of gunny sacks which were environmental friendly.

Roller washing and filtering equipment to clean and pack the cockles in bags

The escalating conveyor to help lift the bags when loading into lorries

By then, we watched and talked to the men briefly and then walked to the jetty.  We looked for the sunrise but it was not the best place to view as it was partially blocked by the hill at Kuala Juru and the swampy trees.  So we just took some pictures and after some thirty minutes, there were two fishing boats passing through the river mouth of Sungai Juru which was how the place is named after Kuala Juru.  I did not manage to get the picture of the boats passing by as they were quite fast while I was still trying to adjust my camera setting.

Later we came across two senior adults or uncles and greeted them, Both of them have been staying here for more than sixty years and have been fishermen mostly rearing and harvesting cockles besides trapping the crabs, prawns and the mantis prawns or for living.  The place was quiet as that day was a public holiday and most of the Muslim fishermen were taking a day off. Behind the picture of the two uncles are the sheds occupied by local fishermen and a Thai "tom yam" (a kind of sour and spicy soup cooked with fish and prawns) restaurant owner originated from Southern Thailand.  There is only one common bathroom and toilet for the people staying there according to the uncles.

Pakcik Nordin and Pakcik Ismail

Brightly lit cement pathway to the jetty

Sampans docking at the jetty

As we were chatting with the uncles, my two companions were attacked by the little "kamikaze" mosquitoes and they retreated to the brightly lit areas to avoid being bitten by them. Soon we saw the swallow birds flying above the sky and then the white herons were hovering above the river mouth and landed on the banks and shallow parts of the river to catch and eat the little fish or crustaceans.

Herons

Fishing boat powered by motor passing by towards the sea

The landing jetty at Kuala Juru

The netting traps and ropes on board

two newer boats with red linings

Hunting for breakfast?

After the sky turning brighter, we can see the swamps clearer and there were more boats docked at the wooden jetty used for landing.  Up in the dark blue skies, we saw air planes taking off from Penang International Airport at Bayan Lepas towards our direction and over us.

The airline flying crossover to Kuala Juru

The Plane! The plane!...Welcome to Fantasy Kuala Juru

The seafood restaurant

Children playground opposite the Kuala Juru Fishermen Association

We then drove over to the other side of Kuala Juru which is near to the other restaurant and went to the end until we came across a quarry where there was new jetty being constructed by the Kuala Juru Fishermen Association.

New under construction landing jetty at the other side of hill of Kuala Juru

The new under construction landing jetty overlooking the Penang Second Link which is also under construction

Sunlight rising above the hill at Kuala Juru shinning upon the crossbars .

The hill and granite quarry at Kuala Juru

 

A sunny reflection on the pool of water at quarry at Kuala Juru

On the way out, we discovered a gem and scenic view of Big Foot Hill which look like we were on a narrow and winding road to the Swiss Alpine...ha.ha..so we really enjoy the holiday on a tight budget with airlines all over at Kuala Juru.

Big Foot Hill like a scenic Swiss Alpine

The narrow, long and winding road out from Kuala Juru quarry to Bukit Mertajam or Big Foot Hill or 大山脚

Please note that there is a different in the version with regards to Prophet Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac(Ishak) bore by his wife Sarah in reference made to the Holy Bible as compared to the Holy Qur'an which mentioned Abraham's son name as Ishmael(Ismail) bore by the Sarah's Egyptian maidservant, Hagar (Siti Hajar).  

Please see my earlier post "Looking for Church at Bukit Mertajam to celebrate Christmas" by clicking here : http://bigfoothill.blogspot.com/2010/11/looking-for-church-at-bukit-mertajam-to.html "

It reminded me of the story in the Bible book of Genesis Chapter 22 Verse 1 to 19 of Abraham offering his son, Isaac, as the sacrificial lamb to God and of his obedience to God and God's blessing upon him and his descendants of nations on the earth. Article is copyrighted by and courtesy of Focus Radio link http://www.facingthechallenge.org/gen22.php " 

Credit goes to the Ministry of Information of Malaysian Government for the information of the Festivals and public holidays.