bahasa melayu

Sempena penutup bulan bahasa 2006 ni, yang sepatutnya berakhir semalam, saya akan cuba berblog dalam bahasa melayu (maknanya setidak-tidaknya 95% dalam bahasa Melayu).

Patut kita tukar sesetengah kata singkat yang kita gunakan, seperti :

lol ditukar kepada ktk bermaksud : ketawa terkekek kekek
brb ditukar kepada eke bermaksud : eh, kejap eh.
asap ditukar kepada scm bermaksud : secepat cepat mungkin (jangan di salah maksud kan dengan supply chain management.)

....

kesian jugak bahasa melayu kat temasek ni. Sampai nak kena adakan bulan bahasa. Sebenarnya orang2 cina kat sini pun menghadapi masalah yang sama. Bahasa adalah alat bagi manusia memahami antara satu sama lain. Tak kisah bahasa apa asalkan faham. Secara fitrah, manusia akan gunakan bahasa yang difahami ramai di kalangan mereka.

Kalau nak cakap pasal nak kekalkan budaya, rasanya tak boleh kekal, kerana segala yang di dunia akan fana'.. cuma boleh cuba dileret-leretkan sepanjang mungkin. Namun lama kelamaan akan tetap hilang, sama seperti budaya-budaya lain yang sudah digelar 'silam'. Manusia akan berubah mengikut masa dan keadaan. Budaya yang kekal dalam dunia hingga kiamat, hanyalah budaya syariat Islam yang tetap bersandarkan Quran dan Hadith.

lagi pun, macam mana kita kata nak kekalkan budaya dan bahasa melayu kalau perkataan-perkataan dalam bahasa melayu, banyak ditukarkan pada bahasa 'omputeh', bertopeng melayu? Padahal dah ada sebenarnya perkataan tu dalam bahasa melayu. Akhirnya, apa matlamat yang sebenarnya? Kalau terus terusan gini, akhirnya kita ni cuma akan berbahasa omputeh telo melayu.

contoh perkataan 'omputeh' telo melayu:

ofis - pejabat
objektif - matlamat
maksima - tertinggi
minima - terendah
topik - bab
minda - akal
fokus - penumpuan
infomasi - maklumat

globalisasi - (yang ini sebetulnya takde dalam kamus melayu. Kerana ini adalah unsur tamak haloba, yang bukan lah sebahagian dari pengangan keislaman dan kemelayuan kita. cerita globalisasi ni adalah topik agak hangat bagi saya. Ia harus dibincangkan pada bab nya sendiri, di lain hari dan masa, bila ada mood, insyaAllah.)

Walaubagaimanapun, sebagai seorang melayu, tentunya sayang lah jugak dengan bahasa sendiri. Tentunya ada juga pepatah2 melayu yang disukai, kerana ia mencerminkan kelembutan, budi bahasa Islam dan Melayu.

Contohnya
Yang merah itu saga,
yang kurik itu kundi,
yang indah itu bahasa,
yang elok itu budi.

Ya lah.. nak cuba gunakan balik peribahasa2 cantik2 ni, mana yang masih sesuai sekarang, bila berbual-bual dengan anak. insyaAllah.

p.s. korang tahu tak, kundi tu apa?

Respect sama Anny

A few years back, it was a plan. My cousin, talked about how she wants to open her own childcare center. But to start a business in Singapore, unless you have a fortune, you'd have to sell your life to the devil (banks). Capital required can be ridiculously high.

She moved to JB. And she started to work hard on her dream. Just now, I visited her place. There it is!! MasyaAllah. Tadika Elit Ceria. It's such a dream come true. The 'office' is only half a minute away from home (her house is just opposite) - no traffic jams in the morning... And to be able to work so near her house, her children... And to top it all, dia boss!


The class is so well organised. It's less than a year old, but so well established. She's even having tae kwan do classes already. I think it's going to be the best tadika in that area. Cause I know how dedicated she is.

Principal Anny and teacher Ida. May you soar in your area of expertise, and may your school be THE elite one. InsyaAllah.

Soooooooo.. it is possible. It happened for her. Now, can I? I have a dream too. But it's not a child care center lah.. not my forte. I really want to work for myself. Erggh.. tapi tak guna cakap banyak2 pasal ni sekarang. Asik berangan, asik cakap, but nothing moving.

AT this point, I really respect sama Anny.

Caution: Very hot entry

I'm in a terrible mood this morning, as I left home. Pegi read news on the internet.. terbaca pulak pasal ... even typing this name is irking me.. israel attacking Lebanon. Oh, and bushok... oh bushok...he is in my doa' every now and then. May Allah SWT give him a justifiable recompense for all the evil he does. That retarded monkey-face menyokong si israel ni.. I don't know lah.. what was going on, why hezbollah went to run over the border and killed and captured and bring into lebanon. Really I don't know. But the soldiers.. adalah dalam 5 kalau tak salah.. 3 mati, 2 ditangkap. But because of that, this big cry baby, started war on parts of lebanon?!?! and here the leaders of the world who mengampu duit u.s. semua tak berani nak condemn israel, pasal si retarded tu support. diorang kata '.. please try to limit the civilian casualties..'

You know, if this happened on a much smaller scale, e.g. budak A cubit budak B. Budak B balas dengan tendang terajang, tumbuk menumbuk. Would we tell this budak B ni.. 'ok, nak tendang terajang ok, tapi cuba limit kan sikit tendang kat muka dia tu eh..' What would a rational person think of this budak B ni? Budak GILA kan? Belajar maths lama2 kat sekolah pun masih bodoh jugak. Tak tahu buat comparison? Kalau dalam Islam, kita bilang budak yang belum tahu nak bezakan and nilaikan buruk baik tu - dia BELUM mumaiyiz.. tapi si orang2 ni, dah tua bangka. ntahlah.. diorang ni da ada brain transplant ke apa, dengan binatang apa pun I don't know.

I'm sorry... this is bad. I don't usually call people names. I marah orang making comments about how a person looks or how he acts.. even if it's on a person with gender disorder etc.. but bushok.. astaghfirullah astaghfirullah.. i make an exception for myself.. I really tak leh tahan. he is a retarded, selengeh monkey face person who happens to have a lot of money and think that he is king of the world. If he had no wealth and is like one of us, he'd probably be scrubbing toilets. No offence to janitors. I think that all jobs that is beneficial for mankind and any other mahkluk Allah SWT, is good. But bushok ni.. in any job pun.. he'd still be selengeh.

I wonder how he can sleep at night, knowing that he is being cursed every other minute. Astaghfirullah.
Oh yeah I forgot.. dia selengeh..

Firm and decisive

If we are someone who is appointed to make decisions, we must not be afraid to make them and we must be clear and firm with the decisions and the instructions. Understand the reason behind the decision so that it can be explained. And if finally we're wrong.. it's ok apa.. we're human. OF COURSE we make bad decisions sometimes. Then we learn from mistakes.

But don't give instructions macam 50/50. Nak buat ke tak nak buat?? Or susah sangat nak give a 'go' or 'no-go' answer. It's bad enough when it happens in meetings. It's worse when it's in emails.

undecisive decision
*************
LYD,
We need to provide a decision soonest. Please decide between option A and B. I'd suggest B because blah blah blah.
Kindly confirm.
Regards,
Erni

*************

Erni,
Option B is good, and so is option A.
Regards,
LYD
*************


undecisive instruction
*************
Erni,
Maybe we should do such and such.
Regards,
LYD
*************

'.... m a y b e. . . . . . What does that mean eh? Does that mean DO IT? or, we should discuss it further? or, it was just something that crossed LYD's mind and LYD is thinking 'aloud' by email?

** LYD = Leader Yang Dihormati.

In any situation, when we are appointed to lead, lead with confidence. Giving your best to understand situation then providing the decisions or instructions to the best of your knowledge.

Then, support and encourage your peers to carry them out. And pray to God for it's success, for you have tried your best.

Narrated 'Amr bin Al-'As:
That he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If a judge gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct, he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, even then he will get a reward ."
Sohih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 92, Number 451

Allahu'alam

To stop being late

I was late for work again yesterday. I woke up for subuh, saw Hadi off to school (he'll be in Sarimbun camp for the P5 National Day Camp, and will return only on Wednesday. I'm missing my boy...), did some reading, then tidur balik. Then, bangun terlambat, at 8.20am. Instead of rushing, ntah tak tahu what made me feel like I have all the time in the world.. I took my own sweet time. By the time I left home, it was nearly 9am. Then I was angry at myself for taking my time. I knew I was going to reach office at 920 at least! Drove faster than usual. I found that I can actually reach office in approximately 16 mins at that speed. But I shouldn't make that a habit. In the car, me and my bad mood, was asking myself.. 'what is wrong with me?!?!' I knew I was going to be late, I DON'T want to be late, then why the tuna fish did I take my time????' Langsung tak faham!

Walked into the office. Now, jam kat office ni pulak cepat 3-4 minit.. lagi lah terserlah kelambatan aku ni. Until now, nobody has commented or said anything about my tardiness. But I really better start coming in on time MOST of the time, before someone opens their mouth about it.. then that would make me feel even worse. I want to change on my own accord! (BUT then, as a case for myself, I always stay back at least, as late as I come in, to pay back lah gitu. Plus, i don't go out for breakfast. Ok.. ok, but still,..)

Why ah? Why the complacency even though the consequences are clear. And we're not even talking about something 'ghaib' It's something I OBVIOUSLY know. E.g. simple thing like : MUST leave home by 835am, else LATE!

Agaknya gini lah kita, kebanyakan manusia.. sometimes dah tahu betul akibatnya, but somehow we think we can JUST get away with it. You know, like MATI.. DEATH.. of course we all know we will all die one day. Could be in 10 years time, could be tomorrow or even today. But what are we doing??

Anyway, I was not in a good mood and dissappointed with myself for being sooooo not firm. My lunch partner, suggested that I set an alarm clock to go off about 10 mins before I'm suppose to leave home. It sounded like a good idea, tapi after thinking it over, I don't think it's the alarm clock. It's not that I don't know the time.. It's just that I have to be firm, lawan si setan, a'duwwun mubin ni.

Well, THIS morning, despite sleeping super late last night, I managed to wake up early, and got ready early, alhamdulillah. Actually I get ready early on other mornings too, but then I start checking emails, talk to the children, sarapan.. like nobody's business, and THEN I'm late. And, today also, I turned on my laptop.. but I stopped myself. Told myself.. "Eh! don't fall into this stupid trap again!" And I turned off the machine! Satu lagi mini kejayaan! Alhamdulillah. I left home 835am and reached office at 8.59am. Yeay!! =D



NOW............ to keep it up.
InsyaAllah.

What's in a name?

I was just reading Baby Nur's blog, and she was blogging about her name. (eh nur! I think you're fine with 'baby nur'right? baby of our group.. =D ).. cute entry.

Dulu pun, when I was young(er), or in fact even now, non Malays have a problem pronouncing my name, Erni. Instead of er-ni, as in 'air-ny', the Indonesian name, they'd call me Ernie.

So kat sekolah, teachers and non malay friends would call me Ernie. I begin to not like my name so much, so when I was in upper secondary, I decided to have a different name for me. My friends agreed that I should be 'Norazlin' eeeeeeeeee... budak2 lah kata kan.. don't know what I was thinking. The fake name COULD have been much better.

Anyway, the name stayed with me for at least 3 years, I think. while in sec school, school friends knew me by my real name, and non-school friends only knew me as this 'norazlin'. I was sooo known by that name, that even my parents pun tahu.. sometimes people call home and look for 'nora' or 'azlin' and my mum knows it's for me.. hehe.. dia pun tak kuasa nak layan agaknya.

And the weird part was while I was in JC. Even school friends and teachers only knew me by that name. Look for Erni, and nobody knows that the girl exists. Even on test papers, I must write Nora, else my teacher wouldn't know who. In exams, I'll have to write my full REAL name with Nora in brackets. In the school yearbooks, for 2 years, you will not find a girl named Erni. It's Nora.

Come to think of it, it was quite fun, to have experienced being known by another name.

Now, I'm Erni again. I don't care already if they want to call me ernie. Or if people who corresponds with me only through email, thinks that I'm some english guy.

Erni is my name, given to me by my late darling darling grandmother. May Allah rahmati, roh nya AMEEEEEEEEEEN.

The Changi Airport episode

While walking back to the car, after a drink - kat departure hall T2.. there were people around lah kan. Yang airport staff, then people like us, then the travellers with their luggage.
Suddenly out of nowhere, keluar satu worker ni, with a wheelbarrow. At that point, macam kelakar gitu, ' the man, the wheelbarrow and the airport surrounding'. So I turned to Pink, pointing to that view, I said.. "What is wrong with this picture?"

Ok, it was a harmless little joke.

Then, on the way out of Carpark B, not being familiar with that stretch of lane, instead of going out to the main road, through an unnoticeable opening, I ended up at the taxi bay. So the guard gestured to us, to pass through one of the free taxi bay, between the many other taxis waiting for passengers. So I went through the free bay and stopped there for a while to look out for traffic. At that point, Pink said to me, "NOW, what is wrong with THIS picture?"

Ya lah.. aku kena balik.

You know what they say, (I don't know who 'they' are, but they say), what goes around, comes around.

Between a dream and a memory

There was once when I dreamt that I was flying, literally flying. That is, by far, the best dream I've ever had. Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah.
In that dream, I was flying, almost like an eagle, - macam superman pun ada, but I was not as silly as him. I did not wear my undies on the outside.

I remember feeling a little bit afraid of the height and the speed at first, but very soon got the hang of it, and was enjoying my flight.

I flew over the highways and I flew over the sea, near the beach, past some birds. And I can actually feel the wind in my face.
Then I was flying in town - the town seems to be a little bit futuristic, with tall buildings.. but still I was flying quite fast. Peng here, peng there, nak elakkan the tall buildings.

But while tengah action peng sana sini, suddenly there was a glass building right in front of me. I tried my best to avoid the building, making a sudden dip, trying to pass through a gap kat building tu.
But I didn't make it - I flew straight into the building. I thought I was going to pengsan or fall, but to my surprise.. I actually flew THROUGH the building.. the building was like a hologram, it was not real. MasyaAllah it was weird.. but best nyer!!!!

THEN, I tried to recall previous experiences I've had, the memories. I thought about the surroundings and what happened then, and I realise that at this point, that there seems to be no difference between the memories and my dreams. Both, I cannot go to anymore. It's something I remember but it happened in the past and I cannot reach it or feel it physically anymore. It just remains there in some 'memory bank'. In fact, the flying dream is still vivid in my mind and I can still feel a slight thrill, thinking about it, compared to the roller coaster ride I actually took before.

You know, in our sleep, our soul leaves our body, just like when we die. But since it's not time for us, our soul returns when we're awake.

It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.
Al Quran, Az-Zumar 39:42

And my soul must have really been enjoying herself, in that flight dream.

So now, sometimes, when I want to experience something, I'd wish or doa, that if I cannot go to it or experience it physically, let me dream about it. Because after that, the memory of it is just as good, masyaAllah.

An examplary da'iy

In class, we were asked to name a person, whom we feel is a da'iy (pendakwah or someone who calls others to Islam or to being a good Muslim), who is most influential to us.

For me at this moment, that person is Ustaz Dr Dzulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri. He is a lecturer from Uniti. Used to be. He has since been asked to be Mufti in one of the countries in the Malaysia, forgot which one.. perhaps Negeri Sembilan)

This man is, masyaAllah, the most tawadhu', humble man I've met. This is despite his vast and deep knowledge in Islam. He is unlike most of the ustaz or ustazah who gives lectures or sermons kat our local masjid.

When he lectures, we can hardly hear him if the class not quiet. His voice is soft and VERY calm, and throughout the whole lecture it would stay like that.

There has been quite a number of times where the students raised some contraversial issues. He would always be quiet for a while, and then tactfully and objectively explain the hukum or the possibilities surrounding he issues and not mention anything about the people or group related to those issues.

Observing Ustaz Dzul, I see that we don't have to raise our voice or crack silly jokes to have an impact on the audience. Enough is the example he sets himself, and his aura. He, like most Muslim scholars, is very intelligent and have superb memory on the books that he has read. I'm impressed.

In short, I see in him, all the good examples of how a Muslim should be. When you meet him and hear him, you can't help but feel some kind of immediate respect for this person.

Of course besides him, there are others whom inspires me just as much. Macam tak fair pulak tak sebut that Ustaz Soberi is another lecturer from Uniti, whom I admire, and then there's a few others who are not lecturers, but a da'iy in their own capacity, who inspires the people whom they dakwah to.

Alhamdulillah. I'm very thankful that I get the opportunity to meet them. They inspire me to improve myself, to read, learn and practise more and to be tawadhu. And to berdakwah in our own way, to the best of our capacity, insyaAllah.

Pening..

After explaining some new and challenging arabic terms and causing a minor migraine in the heads of students like me, Ustaz Hakeem said :

"Kalau tak pening, macam mana nak ada peningkatan?"

heh.. ah ah eh?

Between you and God.

I've seen people asking their ustaz or ustazah on certain issues of doubt, hoping for some positive answer and then I guess they are thinking.. 'Yes! Ustaz says OK! - so that means boleh buat.. tak dosa. '

An example: Can I jamak solat zohor and asar, because my working hours doesn't permit me to do asar? So the ustaz answers, if the situation is that difficult for you - for you have no way out and you're afraid that you'll miss the asar prayer, then it's ok to jamak the asar to zohor.
(This is based on hadith the opinions from among the 4 well known imam mazhab)
So this fella goes away thinking.. ok I can do that - tak salah, tak dosa.

Fine, if it is really so. But don't forget, Innamal a'malu binniyaat - actions are (judged) by the intentions, not on what the ustaz tells you.

The ustaz was providing the hukum, based on the little and vague information provided to him. Finally orang tu sendiri yang paling tahu, if it is ok to do this or not, based on the arguments provided. For only he knows if he has tried or done enough. Or if he is just taking things for granted, taking the easy way out.

Yea, I'm sure he knows.

According to Wabisah bin Ma'bad (r.a.) who said, " I came to the Messenger of Allah SAW, who said, 'You have come to ask about righteousness?' 'Yes, ' I answered. He said, 'Ask your own heart for a fatwa. Righteouness is when the soul feels peace and the heart feels peace, and sin is what creates restlessness in the soul, and rumbles in the bosom, even though people give their opinion (in your favour) and continue to do so.'
~ narrated according to the two Musnads, that of Ahmad bin Hanbal and that of al-Darimi, with excellent isnads.
- from Imam Nawawi's Collection of 40 Hadith.

Kalau orang Melayu cakap apa tu... 'tepuk dada, tanya selera'?

Allah is Most Wise.

Azan and solat 24/7

I received an email today 'AZAN: THE AMAZING PHENOMENON'.
The email is long, but in summary it says that due to difference in the local time, the phenomenon where azan is heard around the world at every single moment, occurs.

The azan is a phenomenon. In fact, Allah's decree on the whole universe is a phenomenon.

Our prayer times are determined by the position of the sun. Therefore azan is heard at EVERY single second due to the earth's rotation, and at any single moment, it is subuh for some people, zohor for some, asar for some, maghrib for some and isya' for some. And I imagine, if we can hear the call to prayer from all over the world, the azan would have sounded like an indefinite continuous wave. Subhanallah.

And not only can the azan be heard at every moment, as-solat is being performed by somebody around the world at any point in time. At any minute you're reading this, somebody on this earth is performing their ruku' and their sujud.

Lord of the two Easts, and Lord of the two Wests;
Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, do ye deny?
Al Quran, Ar-Rahman 55: 17-18

Islamic chain emails

I did not forward the above mentioned email to anyone because it also contained some 'Allah says..' and 'Rasulullah berwasiat..' for which I cannot determine the sources. Then there is this one that says : "Allah says, 'If you're ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you.' So if you're not ashamed, then forward this email." I hate these 'threats' to forward chain emails. Previously there was one more which says something like..'if you want to prove your iman..' or was it 'belief in Allah'. or something to that effect, 'forward this email to at least XX number of people'.

You only need to prove your iman to Allah SWT. And it's definitely not by sending chain emails or smses.

However, I am more concerned about the part on 'Allah says....' When Allah says something, then it has to come from only 2 sources, right?. The Quran, and Hadith Qudsi. Is there any other sources of 'Allah says'?

The clause "Allah says.. if you are ashamed of me......." sounds unfamiliar for it to have come from the Quran, and so far, I have not managed to find this verse in the Quran. If anyone of you can find this verse from the Quran or any Hadith Qudsi, please advise me.

This is the SECOND time, I see that clause being used in a message meant for Muslims. I went to investigate on the internet and looked up the clause 'Lord says, ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you.'.
A whole list of Christian sites on Gospels and sermons were shown. In the sermons, they mentioned about this 'ashamed' clause, just as how it was quoted above. Then in one of them I find them indicating the source. I looked it up the source in the online Bible (New International Version (NIV) ).

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
Mark 8:38

Now I wonder which smart aleck has conveniently changed that to 'Allah says' and then start forwarding the email around? Although the intention could have been noble.

We must be careful about forwarding messages with 'Allah says' and 'Rasulullah says/berwasiat/berpesan..' - we don't want to be among those who are responsible for spreading lies about Allah SWT and Rasulullah SAW. Takut dituntut di akhirat.

Or if you find the content of the email useful, then retain the content and delete the quotes before sending it to your friends.

Autopilot Mode

An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being...
In the early days of transport aircraft, aircraft required the continuous attention of a pilot in order to fly in a safe manner. This created very high demands on crew attention and high fatigue...
The software reads the aircraft's current position, and controls a flight control system to guide the aircraft....
from Wikipedia

My definition : Using programmed steps and routine to carry out a task.
I think the idea of autopilot can be extended to so many other areas.

Within human pun ada autopilot. And it's much much more intelligent. Allah's creation.

On a road travelled often, sometimes I find that I drive in 'autopilot' mode. I'm not consciously thinking of my destination. I'm just driving, automatically, and safely if I might add. Tahu tahu aje.. dah nak sampai.
If there is a need to change route, I must set to 'manual. If you find me too relaxed and quiet, better check if my autopilot mode is on, else, we end up using my programmed route.. :p

This is not the only area, where I have my autopilot mode on. Sometimes I set myself to autopilot mode. You know all the passwords you have to remember, personal mail, work mail, banking password, work OS login, home computer login, singpass login.. .and the list goes on and on.... When I can't seem to remember a password that I use regularly, consciously, I just stop thinking, and set to autopilot (i.e. let the fingers do the walking)...and then 'ta-da!' Got it.

Subhanallah.

BUT, there is one area where 'autopilot' is bad for me - that is during prayers. Have you ever sometimes in prayer, tengah diri, reciting some ayat, then saying ' Ameen'.. and then suddenly realise like.. 'eh, dah habis baca Al-Fatihah!?' Now that is really an area where I must NOT let my autopilot work! During prayers, I must stay alert, to ensure that my autopilot is not automatically turned on. I find that understanding what I'm reciting and reminding myself that I'm actually communicating with The Creator, helps. It's a constant effort. InsyaAllah.

Missing Serkam

I'm missing Serkam. Near masjid, near sawah, near jugaklah dengan town (i.e. less than 30 mins drive). Very nice. When tengah berkhayal, I find myself berkhayaling about being in Serkam. That subuh routine, that COULD be a routine. I imagine getting a land/house there.. So peaceful. Kat Singapore, dekat masjid pun tak sedekat rumah titah dengan masjid sey. It's like just crossing the road. The serenity during dawn. Best best.. Last time I've imagined getting a kampung house kat a place near the beach, where there's white sands and coconut trees. I've seen those somewhere dekat Pahang. But now the house near a sawah is also tempting. Next time, if there is a next time, macam nak bawak Hadi and Faris, his cousin. I'm truly madly deeply in love with that place.

Then I compare dengan the busy cosmopolitan life, like kat Singapore ni.. It's like viewing the world from 2 different angles.

One, on being close and seeing Allah's creation.. appreciating it and being thankful. (Yes, the stars are so visible from darker areas like the kampung.)

The Beneficent
Hath made known the Quran.
He hath created man.
He hath taught him utterance.
The sun and the moon are made punctual.
The stars and the trees adore.
And the sky He hath uplifted; and He hath set the measure,
That ye exceed not the measure,
But observe the measure strictly, nor fall short thereof.
And the earth hath He appointed for (His) creatures,
Wherein are fruit and sheathed palm trees
Husked grain and scented herb.
Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, that ye deny?
Al Quran, Ar Rahman 55:1-13


The other a constant reminder on how the world is only an illusion, a distraction. With all the TV shows and the branded goods and the peer pressure..

Know that the life of this world is only play, and idle talk, and pageantry, and boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children; as the likeness of vegetation after rain, whereof the growth is pleasing to the husbandman, but afterward it drieth up and thou seest it turning yellow then it becometh straw. And in the Hereafter there is grievous punishment, and (also) forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure, whereas the life of the world is but matter of illusion.
Al Quran, Al Hadid 50:27

I would prefer to be in a place that reminds me of Allah's creations, not in a place full of illusions & distractions.

But then I remember what a friend once said when we talked about migrating, 'We're placed where we are for a reason. We have a role to play - kalau kita sumer pegi migrate to such places, then who will stay to help to jihad for Islam and do dakwah kat sini? As long as we are not stopped from practising our religion, we're still fine. '

Well, ok. Agreed.