Alhamdulillah sampai juga di sini. Abdul Bari keletihan. Abdul ‘Alim kekenyangan. Di British Airway Lounge. Takut nak makan suka hati. Nasib baik ada biskut vegetarian.

Mama Abdan
Heathrow, London

Pertama kali dengar bahasa Arab kena RAP. Ada yang tak tutup aurat sepenuhnya.

Interesting song by Lau Kana Bainana singer

Lusa kami akan bertolak meninggalkan tanah air tercinta. Pergi meninggalkan keluarga tercinta. Sayu rasa hati makin menebal. Lebih tebal dari salji di Scotland agaknya.

Kali ini saya nak berkongsi tentang medical check up pegawai atau pelajar dan keluarga. Medical check up ini sangat penting untuk dua perkara. Pertamanya untuk dihantar ke KPT. Yang keduanya, untuk urusan imigresen di Heathrow sejurus sampai.

Medical check up yang perlu dihantar ke KPT hanya melibatkan satu set borang bagi pegawai sahaja. Borang medical check up akan diemail kepada pegawai yang menerima tawaran hadiah latihan atau biasiswa. Borang ini biasanya terdapat dalam dwibahasa. Antara test yang diperlukan ialah CXR (chest x-ray), urine FEME, ujian darah hepatitis B dan pemeriksaan perubatan fizikal rutin yang lain. Adalah dinasihat untuk membuat 2 salinan original medical check up untuk pegawai supaya satu set boleh dihantar ke KPT dan satu lagi untuk kegunaan di UK kelak.

Bagi medical check up pasangan, saya menggunakan borang KPT juga kerana borang tersebut dwibahasa. Borang ini untuk ditunjukkan ketika sampai di Heathrow kelak. Bagi kes saya, saya memilih jalan wasathiyyah Suami saya menjalani ujian chest X Ray, saya kaw tim dengan member medical doctor untuk signature borang. Nanti takut bias pula saya check suami sendiri. Filem X-ray perlu dibawa bersama dalam hand luggage (setelah saya buat simple research ke beberapa blog, kebanyakan kata perlu bawa filem CXR).

Bagi anak-anak, saya hanya mengisi borang tanpa CXR, urine dan darah. Sekali lagi ambil jalan wasathiyyah untuk medical check mereka. Borang medical check up yang digunakan dari KPT kerana dwibahasa. Borang ini penting ketika di Heathrow nanti.

Ok, sambung kemudian, Baba dah panggil solat Maghrib.

Ummu Abdan
Rumah Ayah.

     |1. How did you start your career?

I have always wanted to be a Lawyer. Since the age of 11, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. As I enjoyed courtroom advocacy so much, the right step for me was to qualify as a Barrister. The competition is extremely tough with over 400 applicants for one job. I managed to secure a series of scholarships to fund the Barrister course in its entirety. Each morning I wake up and go to work I am very thankful to Allah for the wonderful job I have and the ability to make a difference in the lives of people. I love my work, but it does not make me who I am. I have been a Barrister for almost nine years now and within the next few years will be taking my judges exams as that is where I see my future role.

     |2.  I highly applaud your efforts to put just as much work into studying Islam as you did for your university education. Did you feel in any way the two complemented each other?

The pursuit of education is very much encouraged in Islam. I believe all practicing Muslims should continually seek to better themselves in both deen and dunya. The successful Muslim is the one who has deen in his or heart and the dunya in his or her hands.

     |3. As a Muslim woman with a career like yours, how do you explain the position of women in Islam to a non-Muslim?

The position of women in Islam is explained by my own actions. Every Muslim should be a walking advert for the deen. My work, my dress, my character insha’Allah are all embodiments of what Islam teaches.

(left) Raffia’s name displayed outside the law firm (right) Raffia with Cherie Blair

     |4. How has your experience been wearing hijab in High Court?

I am in a highly competitive elite profession. It is unusual to see Asians in this field, let alone a practicing Muslim woman. Muslim women have received a dispensation from wearing the wig, although some women do still choose to wear the wig and a hijab. The courts have been very accommodating.

     |5. What do you feel is your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement is my ability to be in an elite and demanding profession without compromising my duties to my family. Despite being in the High Court, I will still manage to cook dinner, clean my home and make sure my son is on top of his hifz. I have always said and continue to believe that women should take care of their homes first and then go out to work. There is no point in helping society if by neglecting your household duties you become one of the problems of society.

  |6. What advice do you give to young Muslim women who are also looking to go into law?

Preparation is the key to anyone looking to achieve anything. 90% preparation, 10% execution. It is an extremely competitive field therefore you should aim to be the best candidate. The courtroom is not for the faint-hearted so if you’re a shy person and unable to think on your feet, this career is not suited to you. It would be advisably to get as much work experience as possible before making a firm decision.

     |7. What advice would you give to mothers who are also balancing a career and motherhood?

The advice I would give to mothers looking to balance work and family life is to put their family first, have tawakkal in Allah and everything else will follow.

     |8. What misconceptions about Muslim women would you like to see change?

The biggest misconception about Muslim women is probably that the hijab subjugates them. I loved the comment made recently by Tawakkul Karman, winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize who said:

“Man in the early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It’s the removal of clothes again that is regressive back to ancient times.”

“Izah nak sarapan apa pagi ni?”.

Bila saja keluar rumah, pasti terkenang ayah sedang menunggu kami untuk makan malam. Bila waktu solat Maghrib tiba, pasti ayah sudah siap-siap menghamparkan tikar sejadah di ruang tamu untuk kami anak-beranak solat bersama. Ya Allah, perpisahan itu sangat memilukan.

Kini, semua itu tinggal kenangan. Memori indah yang akan saya tanam di benak fikiran sampai bila-bila. Suami sering mengingatkan, kami perlu tabah. Sabar dengan ujian yang pedih ini. Kita perlu terus mendoakan ayah sampai bila-bila. Perlu tabah.

Semangat kami agak pudar. Namun perjuangan tetap diteruskan. Hari ini saya dan suami meneruskan perkara yang terbengkalai. Lesen memandu. Kami ke JPJ berdekatan untuk memohon lesen memandu antarabangsa. Antara dokumen yang diperlukan untuk permohonan lesen ini:

1. Borang permohonan lesen memandu, boleh print online.

(Borang JPJ L1 http://portal.jpj.gov.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=13&Itemid=36&lang=ms)

2. IC original dan satu salinan IC
3. Lesen memandu original dan satu salinan lesen memandu (pastikan tarikh mati lesen cukup setahun akan datang)
4. Duit permohonan lesen RM150 setahun.

Mula-mula kami dengan yakin merasakan bahawa kami boleh buat lesen ini terus sampai 3 tahun, rupanya tidak. Lesen antarabangsa ini perlu diperbaharui setiap tahun di mana-mana JPJ di Malaysia. Sistem online untuk menghidupkan lesen memandu dari luar negara belum lagi diwujudkan. Boleh minta tolong ahli keluarga untuk hidupkan dengan dokumen yang disebutkan di atas (IC asal tidak perlu, hanya salinan IC, lesen memandu asal dan salinan lesen memandu sahaja diperlukan).

Proses untuk mendapatkan lesen antarabangsa sangat pantas, dalam 1/2 jam urusan telah selesai. Syabas penjawat awam di JPJ.

Saya sering teringat kematian. Kematian itu cukup dekat. Moga Allah mudahkan urusan kematian kita.

Doa untuk ayah,

“Ya Allah, ampunilah ayah, kasihanilah ayah, selamatkanlah ayah, maafkanlah ayah, muliakanlah kedudukan ayah, perluaskanlah kubur ayah, sucikanlah ayah dengan air, salji dan air sejuk, bersihkanlah ayah daripada dosa-dosa seperti Engkau bersihkan kain putih dari kekotoran, gantikanlah ayah rumah yang lebih baik dari rumahnya, ahli keluarga yang lebih baik dari keluarganya dan pasangan yang lebih baik dari pasangannya, masukkanlah ayah ke syurga dan hindari ayah dari azab kubur dan azab neraka”

Mama Abdan.

21 Januari 2012

Rumah Ayah.

Ayah

Ayah Keramat tercinta telah pergi dari dunia yang sementara ini. Tiada ungkapan untuk menggambarkan kepiluan yang teramat dalam ini.

Mata ini hampir tidak nampak untuk saya teruskan menaip entry kali ini. Ia terlalu memedihkan.

Doa untuk ayah,

“Ya Allah, ampunilah ayah, kasihanilah ayah, selamatkanlah ayah, maafkanlah ayah, muliakanlah kedudukan ayah, perluaskanlah kubur ayah, sucikanlah ayah dengan air, salji dan air sejuk, bersihkanlah ayah daripada dosa-dosa seperti Engkau bersihkan kain putih dari kekotoran, gantikanlah ayah rumah yang lebih baik dari rumahnya, ahli keluarga yang lebih baik dari keluarganya dan pasangan yang lebih baik dari pasangannya, masukkanlah ayah ke syurga dan hindari ayah dari azab kubur dan azab neraka”

Mama Abdan.
Rumah Ayah.

Sebelum berita mengenai gadis itu, ada satu berita yang mengejutkan. Seorang lelaki Melayu Islam yang pernah belajar dalam jurusan perubatan di luar negara telah diberitakan berkahwin dengan lelaki sejenis. Tapi masih saya tidak mendengar berita ini secara primer.

Terdahulu, kita dikejutkan dengan seorang gadis kacukan Melayu Islam yang juga telah bermastautin di luar negara, yang dahulunya seorang gadis yang genius dalam bidang Matematik dan telah berjaya memasuki universiti ternama dunia pada usia muda, terbabit dalam kancah pelacuran. Maklumat itu ada disiarkan dengan meluas di dalam internet malah di siaran televisyen merata dunia.

Ketiga-tiga mereka ini merupakan pelajar yang bijak dari segi akademik. Mereka orang Islam. Namun berita yang dibaca mengenai mereka mengundahkan.

Sekiranya ada di antara mereka yang terbaca laman blog yang kecil ini, saya berdoa semoga Allah membuka hati kalian untuk kembali ke jalan yang lurus. Rahmat Allah itu luasnya melebihi infiniti. Nasihat ini untuk saya juga, semoga kita termasuk dalam hamba yang konsisten bertaubat. Allah itu Maha Penyayang lagi Maha Pengampun.

Siapalah saya atau mereka di luar sana untuk menjatuhkan hukuman. Mana tahu mereka yang pernah berdosa ini terlebih dahulu mendapat rahmat dan pengampunan Allah. Sebelum ajal itu tiba, tiada apa yang terlambat untuk kita bertaubat.

Hamba yang hina lagi berdosa,

Ummu Abdan

It figures: after completing year 12 subjects at 10, mathematician Yao-ban Chan has now become Melbourne University’s youngest-ever PhD graduate.
Photo: Craig Abraham

WHEN he was 10, while his peers swung from monkey bars and charged around with rugby balls, Yao-ban Chan sat year 12 exams in statistics and calculus. He scored 91 and 90.

It is such a mind-boggling accomplishment that it almost makes his latest achievement seem commonplace.

At 21, today he becomes the youngest-ever PhD graduate at Melbourne University.

“I always liked maths, I always found it fun,” Mr Chan said with trademark understatement from his office in the university’s mathematics department yesterday. Mr Chan, who was born in Malaysia and raised in New Zealand, was largely home-schooled by his mother Peck-Woon, a microbiologist, and father George, a director with Heinz.

He enrolled in his first university subject while still 10 and completed his bachelor of information science by correspondence in six years.

When he was 16, the Chan family moved to Melbourne. He attended his first university class in his honours year.

He soon started his PhD, examining the maths behind the mechanics of DNA entanglement.

Mr Chan said few of his colleagues found his age unusual. Despite his precociousness he said he had a balanced life, including a diploma in piano performance from a London school.

“I worked maybe 25 to 30 hours a week (on the PhD). I practise piano, I play computer games, I read, I play table tennis,” he said.

Mr Chan put much of his rapid advancement down to his mother. His sister Yi-shuen, 23, who was also home-schooled, has degrees in maths and music and is studying for her masters in the pipe organ.

“I guess my mother has good ideas in maths education and how to learn quickly,” he said.

Mr Chan’s PhD supervisor, Professor Tony Guttman, said his student had produced important results on the time it takes for DNA knots to unravel. “Mathematics is evolutionary and, as history shows, what seems theoretical now could enter the mainstream in decades to come,” he said.

Mr Chan is now working as a postdoctoral fellow on a statistical method to identify protein anomalies in the brain with a view to diagnosing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

1. If you lose any of your luggage please inform the Information Counter at the airport. You must report the loss immediately. Remember you should be given a reference number to track it down. Please inform the International Department of your university upon arrival to enable the department to assist you to locate your belongings.
2. Please check your student visa. If you received only six (6) months then you should seek advise at the International Department of your university. You need to extend your visa at the Home Office in East Croydon. Its address is Lunar House, 40 Wellesley Rd, Croydon CR9 2BY. You will be fine if you have at least one (1) year or more depending on the duration of your course.
3. You should report to the Accommodation Office if you have received a letter of confirmation regarding your room reservation. You may lose your security deposit if you delay doing so. You have to prepare payments for your accommodation in cash, traveller’s cheque or credit card.
4. Enrollment is essential before joining a course. You need to have your offer letter, funds to pay your tuition fees and an enrollment form. After enrollment, you will be given a student card to access facilities at your university. Please remember to complete a request form for council tax exemption slip if you stay outside Halls of Residence campus.
5. If you can’t pay the full amount of your tuition fees, please do not hesitate to visit the finance department to negotiate an installment plan. You may have to pay minimal installment charges.
6. You need to open a bank account to enable you to receive funding from abroad. You need your passport, enrollment confirmation, student card, offer letter and accommodation confirmation letter (a.k.a. proof of address, obtainable from your school). It takes approximately 5 to 7 days to activate your account. It helps if you have opened an account with a bank that has affiliates world-wide.
7. It is advisable to attend the induction programme to have a better picture of the course you intend to pursue and to understand the overall system of the university in particular. You will certainly have the opportunity to meet your tutors. Visit your respective departments and register subjects to your liking to proceed with the course. Remember! You only sign the registration documents if you really understand the subjects you wish to study.
8. Please take time to register with the IT department to gain access to the IT system of the universities. The IT password is essential to gain FREE access to the internet
9. Please register with your GP (General Practitioner) irrespective if you are staying in or outside the campus. After registration, you will receive a NHS (National Health Service) card with a reference number. This will entitle you to FREE medical consultations. However, if you need further health support you need to complete a form to receive a NHS certificate. This will entitle you to FREE extra benefits such as dental or eye checkups, medicine etc.
10. You must register with the Malaysian Students Department (MSD) at http://www.masduke.com/. Your registration will have a reference number which then enable you to seek assistance/advise if you face an accident, death, apply for scholarships, visa extension, employment etc.
11. If you are staying outside the campus, it is advisable to apply for insurance to cover theft, fire and your belongings in the house or apartment. Insurance is cheap in UK and you can never know when tragedy will strike. (Get the advice from your bank – for instance bank of Scotland usually offer you with their content Insurance policy)
12. Please seek the advice from persatuan or any student/family.

(http://persatuanmelayuaberdeen.blogspot.com/p/infopelajar.html)

The following documents are needed when you arrive at the airport in the UK, where you will be interviewed by the Immigration and Health officials. It is therefore important that you bring with you the following documents :

• A valid passport
• A student visa or UK entry clearance. Visa applications can be made at: Visa Facilitation Services (VFS), UK Application Centre, Suite 19-05, 19th Floor, Wisma MCA, 163 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. Application forms can be downloaded from the website and students living out of Kuala Lumpur can send in their applications by post. Please refer to their website (http://www.vfs.com.my/) for more information.
• An air ticket (preferably a return ticket if within a one year stay)
• Medical report
• Chest X-ray (film and report)
• Obtain a certified copy of your vaccination records. A meningitis vaccination is required. This can be obtained for free from the NHS in the UK; however you may want to have it done locally. Check with your doctor that the vaccine you are receiving is the same type as the type given in the UK.
• A letter of acceptance from the university or International Admission Letter
• Documentary evidence that you have sufficient funds to pay your tuition fees and accommodate yourself while studying, recent bank statements, proof of scholarship or sponsorship letter or letter from your employer
• Originals (or certified true copies) of any degree certificates or technical qualifications.
• If you are self-sponsored please ensure that you have ready a bank draft of a certain portion of your tuition fees payable in the name of the university or a letter from your parents or guardian who will pay for your fees and living expenses in the UK
• Letter from university confirming your accommodation status, if required by British Embassy
• A letter from university confirming your accommodation status, if required by British Embassy. It is advisable to stay at the Hall of Residence to acclimatise to the new living environment. You should make reservations as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Generally, the university needs a security deposit (not applicable to freshers) and a minimum rent between 4 weeks to 8 weeks.
• If you need transportation or temporary accommodation please notify the university at least two weeks by notifying details of your travel arrangements.
• If you are arriving during weekends please get ready with extra cash to provide your own transport and accommodation in case problems occur.
• It is advisable to bring cash of £ 200 to pay for your transport and other expenses. It is convenient if you have a credit card. However, traveller’s cheques can also be used.
• Please bring a separate bank draft for your accommodation and tuition fees. Never bring one bank draft to pay all your expenses because the bank clearance may take 5 to 10 working days.
• A marriage certificate with translation (if not in English) if you are bringing your wife to accompany you (if applicable). The translation must be certified.
• A child’s birth certificate with translation (if not in English) if you are bringing your child to accompany you (if applicable). The translation must be certified.

(http://persatuanmelayuaberdeen.blogspot.com/p/infopelajar.html)