My Favourite Hymn

There’s this beautiful story about a small boy who was helping his father. The father asked him to pick up all the rocks in a certain part of the garden. Father looked over and saw the son struggling to pull up a huge rock buried in the sand. The boy struggled and struggled . The father watched…

Finally the boy gave up and said, “I can’t do it.”
The father asked, “Did you use all of your strength?”
The little boy was hurt and replied, “You know I did! I used every single ounce of strength I had!”
The father smiled and said, “No, you didn’t. You didn’t ask me to help.”
The father walked over and then the two of them pulled that big rock out of the sand.

Life is a continuous journey beset with problems. As long as we live in this world, problems and troubles will always be a part and parcel of human experience. All of us in one way or another would have experienced loneliness, rejection, exhaustion, depression. It is so comforting to know that God is always there, waiting to lift our burden. Ever so willing to lighten the load on our backs. All we need to do is ask….

That’s why I love this beautiful hymn:

What A Friend

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and grief to bear,
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden?
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour still our refuge,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer,
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou will find a solace there.

Mr. Lian Meng Fatt's Retirement Dinner

An-nyung-ha-se-yo! (Greetings)

I was in South Korea when Miss Siew messaged me: Mr. Lian Meng Fatt’s Retirement Dinner, 23.04.2010. Fortuna. 7.30pm. Please reply, joining or not.

Straight away I replied: Yes, I’ll be there.

Mr. Lian was a very hardworking and dedicated teacher. Of course, I want to be there to wish him “Happy Retirement!“

It turned out to be more than just a retirement dinner. It was also a gathering of old SMS teachers. There were many retired teachers. They retired long before I went to Munshi. Retired principal Mr Lee Chang Ngee also came along. And then there were teachers who are now teaching in other schools (like Ms Kang and Pn Chua).

Of course, the present batch of SMS teachers turned up, full force. I saw new faces among them and I was introduced to the new teachers.

Good food. Laughter. Catching up with old friends. It felt great, like a gathering of one big happy family.

Below are some photos that I took:

I asked Miss Siew, “When’s the next gathering?”
She replied, “Next year. Pn Wong’s retirement.”
Looks like the school will be losing another hardworking and dedicated teacher……..

Anyway, since I have just come back from South Korea , I would like to share some photos that I took while I was there.

Click here to view my South Korea photo album

Retirement life is simply awesome. So what shall I be doing next?

Well, in May, I’ll be going to KL to watch the musical “West Side Story” at Istana Budaya. Then I’ll go with my children to Tasik Kenyir for a few days.

In June, I’ll be going to Shanghai for the much publicised 2010 Shanghai Expo.

And then, in September, I’ll be going to Melbourne to spend some weeks with my daughter. While there, I’ll also pop over to Sydney and Tasmania .

As one teacher recently said to me in his sms... Seronoknya!

Dying

Yesterday I was told that a teacher from SMK Tun Sardon passed away and it got me thinking about death. After all, I am almost 60 years old.

Something that I read….

When you have to act in a play or perform in a concert, you spend many hours rehearsing or practicing beforehand. If you stumble or forget your lines, you have another chance – dozens more chances. That is what rehearsals are all about.

However when the curtain goes up and those rows of empty chairs are full of people, you have no more chances to practice. Now your performance is for real, in full view of the public. The show must go on.

Dying is like that.

Your life is like the rehearsals. When you stumble, you have another chance to make good. You are given many chances but when the curtain of your body is withdrawn and you are left face to face with GOD, there will be no more rehearsals to go back to. You cannot go back to the beginning and start again!

That’s why the late Fr. Simon (my former parish priest) used to say, “ Live every day as if it were the last day of your life.”

Fr. Lawrence (the present parish priest) said, “ Before we die the big death, let us die many little deaths first:

Death of pride, Death of covetousness, Death of impurity, Death of insincerity, Death of anger, Death of injustice, Death of worship of false gods, etc….”

As for me, I pray for many more years of ‘rehearsals’.

A Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on opposite ends of a pole, which he bore across his neck. One of the pots had a small crack in it. The other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water from the stream to the master’s house. The cracked pot always arrived half full. This went on for many years, with the water bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment. The poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection. One day, it spoke to the water bearer while he was collecting water by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the water bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“Because of my crack, water leaks out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaw, you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot replied.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot. In his compassion, he said. “ As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot saw beautiful wild flowers dancing merrily in the sun.

The water bearer then said to the cracked pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known of your flaw , and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the master’s table. Without you just the way you are, he would not have beauty to grace his house.”


Beautiful story, eh?
Actually, all of us are cracked pots, each with our own flaws. But that does not mean we should be ashamed of them. We acknowledge our flaws, our imperfections. We tell ourselves that despite our imperfections, God has a plan for us. All of us have our roles in making the world a beautiful place to live in.

Cheers!

QUR'AN AND CRICKET - Travels Throught the Madrasahs of Asia and Other Stories

THE NOMAD’S PRAYER

Dear God,

I thank you for these feet, these eyes, these hands;

I pray that wherever I go I will be able to see you in the

world around me,

and to always see honestly; let no sight be too terrible to bear;

let nothing and no one be ugly;

I pray that whatever I touch will remind me of your eternal

presence in all things;

Let nothing be repugnant to me;

And I pray that every step I take I will be getting closer

to you;

God, take me home. And let my home be everywhere.

Farish A Noor

I was attracted to the book because of the above prayer, found in Chapter One. I said to myself, “Hey, when Muslims pray in English, they sound like me when I pray.” And I just had to read it! The book became my constant companion during the first three days of Chinese New Year.

I have always enjoyed reading Farish Noor’s travelogues. My admiration for him grew as I followed his journeys through the madrasahs of Asia where he lived, prayed and interviewed people – locals,students, ustazs, professors, etc. He even managed to interview Ustaz Abu Bakar Ba’ashir, the man described by the Western press as the ‘monster’ behind the Bali bombing.

There are other stories, travelogues to be exact, in Qur’an and Cricket. For example, he wrote about his experience in Kashmir , where he helped with post-earthquake relief efforts. Forgotten Nation (Kashmir 2006). Why, Farish even wrote a chapter on our March 2008 election. Another Country, Another Election (Kelantan and Terengganu, March 2008).

Qur’an and Cricket is the second non-fiction book I have read about madrasahs of Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson was the first. This book is about the author, a mountaineer, who got lost in the Himalayas and ended up dedicating himself to build schools in the most dangerous, remote and anti-American parts of Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

By the way, have you read the two novels written by Afghan writer Khaled Hosseini? The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are must-read books!

Bad Memories

Sometimes you just don't know what hit you. It is so unexpected, and after that, you are left reeling...

I was asked by Tuan PPD to do the 2009 performance appraisal for the staff of SMK Munshi Sulaiman because I was the principal there until August 2009.

For the ten years I was principal, I never once did any appraisal alone - I always called for a meeting with my Senior Assistants and Heads of Departments. We would discuss the performance of every staff and only then will I grade them.

For example, teacher X :

• How is his work as a form teacher ? (For GPK HEM and GPK Petang to comment)
• Does he mark his students' books regularly ?
• What about his students' kerja kursus ? (For Heads of Departments to comment)
• How's the performance of the club under his guidance ? (For GPK Kokurikulum to comment)
• etc....

Then, and only then, will I grade the teacher X.

And also, during that meeting, all of us will come to an agreement on who's to get the Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang...

I HAVE A BIG PROBLEM. I AM NO LONGER PRINCIPAL. HOW DO I GET FEEDBACK FROM THE ADMINISTRATORS???

So I requested to meet up with them - to get some feedback from them. I also told Tuan PPD that without feedback from the school administrators, I can't and won't do the 2009 appraisal.

I was wondering why it took so long for the school's administrators to call me. I requested to meet with them before the long holiday started.

Anyway, yesterday I received a call from school to attend a meeting at 12.30 pm today. So I happily went to school this afternoon.

Only then did I realize that I was not welcome!!!!

I waited a long time for the meeting to start. Where was the GPK 1? She should be chairing the meeting. Someone mentioned that she has to attend a meeting outside school this afternoon. So, why ask me to come today ?

Then I was told that two Heads of Departments refused to attend the meeting, and that they cannot be contacted. They had switched off their mobile phones.

I cornered one of them. She then told me that she cannot understand why I still wanted to do the performance appraisal. After all, I have retired. She also questioned what right I have to chair the meeting since I am no longer principal !

I WANT TO CLARIFY:

• I DID NOT ASK TO DO THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL. I WAS ASKED TO DO IT.
• THIS AFTERNOON, THE NEW PRINCIPAL OF SMK MUNSHI SULAIMAN CONFIRMED THAT HE WILL BE DOING THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FOR HIS PREVIOUS SCHOOL.
• THERE WAS NO INTENTION ON MY PART TO CHAIR THE MEETING THIS AFTERNOON. I WAS WAITING FOR THE GPK1 TO DO IT.

After a small confrontation inside the principal's office, the GPK 1 said that there was a "miscommunication". My question to the GPK 1 is "Did you try to communicate with me? How come there was no attempt to contact me, to ask me why I wanted to meet up with you all?"

To the two Heads of Departments, I thought we worked so well together. What happened? What made you think that I pandai-pandai want to do the penilaian prestasi? Whoever gave you the idea that I wanted to chair the meeting?

It is very unbecoming for a newly-retired principal to be treated in this manner, especially by fellow administrators. One thing for sure, I won't be going back to SMK Munshi Sulaiman.

10th Year Priesthood of Reverand Father Peter Ng

On Sunday, 3 January 2010, my church celebrated the 10th Year Priesthood Anniversary of Rev Fr Peter Ng. It was a very special occasion for us, parishioners of the Church of St Henry (located opposite Sekolah Tinggi Batu Pahat), because Fr Peter grew up in Batu Pahat and was ordained a priest in Batu Pahat.

It was a special occasion for me, too. I taught Fr Peter when he was in Form 4 and 5, Sekolah Menengah Dato Bentara Luar. I was his Chemistry teacher.

I watched this fine young man finish his Form 5, went for further studies, started working and then.......gave up everything and studied to become a priest.



It is God who chooses certain young men to serve Him by becoming priests. He..he.. God certainly didn't choose my son, Matthew. When he was very young, I remember him telling Peter "I don't want to be a priest. I want to have lots and lots of girlfriends." :)

Though a vocation (or divine call) is something personal between that young man and God, it must be allowed to grow. And vocations can only grow out of happy homes where children are taught a true sense of values, holy homes where children learn reverence for religion.

I am told that there is a special place in heaven for parents who have given a child to God in religion. Even so, would I have protested if Matthew expressed interest in becoming a priest? ;p

Fr Peter is presently studying for his Masters in Theology. I pray for his success and wish him well in all his future undertakings.