Virus Varicella-Zoster dalam diriku

Cacar air (atau istilah yang popularnya Chicken Pox) ialah penyakit merebak akibat jangkitan virus varicella-zoster (satu daripada keluarga virus herpes). Penyakit ini biasanya dijangkiti oleh kanak-kanak dan mereka akan pulih.

Cacar air adalah di antara penyakit yang cukup ‘klasik’ paling mudah berjangkit. Apabila cacar air menyerang, badan dan muka pesakit dipenuhi repuh iaitu bengkak kecil mengandungi cecair yang boleh pecah dan berkeruping. Memang kasihan melihat pesakit terutama kanak-kanak diserang cacar air kerana mereka menderita kegatalan. Cacar air tidak boleh dirawat dengan antibiotik. Rawatan biasanya diberi untuk meredakan gejala penyakit.

Seringkali kita bertanya-tanya bagaimana kalau sampai usia dewasa belum terkena penyakit cacar air?

Menurut Pakar Perubata, gejala yang dialami pada orang dewasa lebih parah daripada pada masa kanak-kanak. Demam yang dialami lebih parah dan berlangsung lebih lama, sakit kepala serta lukanya lebih berat serta bekas luka yang ditinggalkan akan lebih dalam. Kalau pada anak-anak kebanyakan komplikasi hanya berupa infeksi varisela pada kulit, pada orang dewasa kemungkinan terjadinya komplikasi berupa radang paru-paru atau pneumonia 10 - 25 lebih tinggi daripada pada anak. Perokok dikatakan berisiko pneumonia lebih tinggi dibanding yang bukan perokok. Komplikasi yang berlaku berupaya menyebabkan radang otak, radang sumsum tulang, kegagalan hati, hepatitis serta sindrom Reye (Gangguan pada sistem otak dan hati).

Yang lebih dikhuatirkan adalah virus ini akan tinggal di dalam tubuh penderita selama bertahun-tahun. Pada saat daya tahan tubuh penderita melemah, muncullah infeksi sekunder dalam bentuk penyakit herpes zoster atau ruam saraf yang nyeri dan menular. Herpes zoster ini timbul dalam bentuk ruam memanjang pada bahagian tubuh kanan saja atau kiri saja.

Oleh kerana cacar air mudah berjangkit, individu yang diserang perlu berehat di rumah bagi mengelak menjangkiti kanak-kanak lain di pusat jagaan harian.

Virus cacar air boleh merebak secara langsung melalui sentuhan (menyentuh invidu yang diserang cacar air) atau tidak langsung iaitu daripada percikan air liur yang terapung di udara apabila pesakit batuk.

Tanda paling biasa apabila diserang cacar air ialah demam dan ruam. Virus varisela paling mudah berjangkit dalam tempoh satu atau dua hari sebelum badan ditumbuhi ruam sehingga semua repuh benar-benar kering.

Tanda dan gejala

1. Demam.

2. Penat.

3. Tidak selesa.

4. Sangat gatal.

5. Ruam (biasanya ruam bermula di dada, belakang badan dan muka serta boleh merebak ke bahagian badan lain, termasuk mulut. Pada awalnya ruam ini kelihatan seperti jerawat kecil dan boleh membesar menjadi repuh yang dipenuhi cecair).

Badan pesakit biasanya ditumbuhi ruam dalam tempoh 10 hingga 21 hari selepas dia terdedah kepada seseorang yang menghidap cacar air.

Jarak masa sebelum sebarang gejala muncul dipanggil tempoh inkubasi iaitu masa yang diambil virus untuk ‘membiak’.

Apabila seseorang individu mula ditumbuhi ruam, maknanya di dalam badannya ada banyak virus varisela yang bersedia menjangkiti orang lain pada bila-bila masa sehingga semua gejala cacar air hilang.

Oleh kerana cacar air disebabkan jangkitan virus, pesakit tidak diberi antibiotik (antibiotik untuk membunuh bakteria). Doktor memberi ubat dan krim sapu untuk meredakan gejala penyakit dan mengawal rasa gatal akibat ruam.

Banyak jenis ubat dan krim di farmasi boleh digunakan untuk mengurangkan penderitaan ketika penyakit ini melanda.

Doktor akan memberi ubat anti virus jika jangkitan menjadi serius atau kanak-kanak turut mengalami masalah kesihatan lain.

Penjagaan di rumah

Biasanya apabila sakit, pesakit akan hilang selera makan dan sukar untuk menyuruh mereka minum dan makan. Suruh mereka minum sedikit tetapi kerap. Jika masih tidak berjaya, jadikan minuman dalam bentuk ketulan ais kecil.

Selain itu masakkan sup atau makanan berkuah lain untuk mengelak mereka mengalami masalah kekeringan dan mengawal suhu badan.

Anda boleh beri parasetamol untuk menenangkannya. Jangan pakaikan terlalu banyak pakaian kerana kepanasan membuatkan mereka berasa lebih gatal.

Biar pesakit berehat di rumah sehingga repuh dialaminya kering. Kulit repuh yang menggelupas tidak berbahaya dan tidak menjangkiti orang lain.

Beritahu pihak yang terbabt bahawa anda mendapat cacar air. Ini kerana mungkin ada individu lain mungkin mendapat jangkitan, memerlukan rawatan atau suntikan imunisasi.

Sebaik-baiknya asingkan pesakit yang diserang cacar air dengan ahli keluarga lain, terutama dalam tempoh penyakit paling mudah berjangkit.

Perkara ini penting jika di rumah ada:

1. Pesakit yang alami masalah sistem imun (termasuk yang menerima rawatan kemoterapi dan baru menjalani pembedahan pemindahan organ).

2. Pesakit yang mengambil ubat steroid dalam jangka masa lama.

3. Bayi dan wanita hamil yang tidak pernah menghidap cacar air.

4. Pesakit mempunyai adik yang masih kecil dan tidak pernah mendapat cacar air.

Ingatan khas

1. Individu yang ada masalah kulit seperti ekzema juga perlu mendapatkan nasihat doktor jika penyakit menyerang kembali. Jika mengalami cacar air, biasanya ia lebih teruk berbanding orang lain.

2. Jangan beri aspirin pada kanak-kanak yang diserang cacar air. Ubat yang boleh diberi kepada mereka ialah parasetamol, bukan aspirin.

Perlindungan

Walaupun komplikasi cacar air rendah, virus varisela antara penyumbang utama kepada kemasukan ke hospital dan kematian.

Cacar air boleh dicegah melalui vaksin. Antara kesan sampingan vaksin ialah demam sedikit, reaksi setempat di tempat suntikan dan ruam

Transkrip Sidang Media Abdul Razak Baginda

LET me say firstly, Alhamdullilah, all praise to Allah SWT, the most compassionate, most gracious and most merciful, that I am here today, amongst you, as a free man.

I have spent the last 22 months in prison and it was the guidance of Allah SWT, my firm belief in my innocence and the support given by my family and close friends, that have helped me through what I would describe as the most stressful, anxious and sad period of my 48 years of existence.

Every Saturday, without fail, my family would come and visit me, during the allowed weekly visitation. A total of well over 100 times they turned up and their visit was the highlight of my week. I have been most fortunate.

It is perhaps human nature that when someone is in trouble, people shy away. I expected this and true enough, this human nature never fails. I spent two Hari Rayas in prison. Prior to my imprisonment, during the Raya season, I would receive hundreds of cards. For the last two years, I received a total of no more than 20.

Obviously, to escape never crossed my mind, but I still escaped, for my mind was always free. My family, my close friends, my lawyers and my books have all aided my escape, for my mind was never incarcerated.

I would like to say thank you to my fellow inmates. They helped me to get through prison life for, among other things, they showed much kindness. I would like to take this opportunity to wish them the very best of luck.

No words will ever be enough to reflect or describe the ordeal that my family have had to endure these last two years. Ever since my arrest in November 2006, so much have been said by so many. Lies and baseless assumptions became the basis of so-called truth and the real truth has become irrelevant and lost in translation. It seems no one is interested anymore in knowing the truth. Some quarters have made concerted efforts to twist and turn the story into a reservoir of gibberish and garbage. The lies quickly overtook the truth.

I must admit I was rather shocked to see the extent of how my case has been wildly exaggerated and how the ignorant have taken centrestage and managed to pull the wool over the eyes of so many people. Many have jumped on the bandwagon of skullduggery. The innocents have become the victims while the liars are running supreme. People have become so gullible and they believe what they want to believe, irrespective of the truth.

I know that there will always be cynics and manipulators out there to ridicule and to falsely interpret what I say. I am caught in “the damned if you do and damned if you don't” situation. Some have advised me to say nothing as the effort will be futile. They argue that whatever I say would not make any difference as people will prefer to keep to their own interpretations, in spite of the truth. Even after the truth is revealed, such people will have their own explanations. It appears to be unwinnable.

However, I feel that if I do not brave myself and try to turn the tide in order to tell the truth, then I will be merely turning a blind eye and indeed allow the liars to prevail. To me, to be indifferent is to be irresponsible.

Members of the media, I implore all of you and the public to stop spreading lies about Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the DPM, and his wife. I know that Datuk Najib and his wife had never met the deceased. So much fitnah has been thrown towards the DPM and his wife. Those who have spread such lies can never produce any authentic evidence because simply there are none. The truth is the truth and nothing can change the truth.

I would like to say here once again, Alhamdulilah, syukur to Allah SWT for reaffirming and fortifying my innocence through the courts. I would like to emphasis that I did not commit any offence in respect of the deceased. Nevertheless I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased for their loss.

---

Najib has never met Altantuya, says Abdul Razak

The following are Abdul Razak's answers to questions from the press:

Whether he has had contact with Najib since his release:

"To be honest, I have not, neither has he. No, none whatsoever. I have not met him, not seen him, spoken to him, SMSed him, e-mailed him."

Asked to describe his relationship with Najib:

"The press, the media, the bloggers, the man in the street have described my relationship with Najib in all forms. From a close aide, a close friend, an associate, an advisor. In jest I would say, why don't you take your pick? My relationship with Najib has evolved over the years. There obviously was a professional relationship and this goes back as early as the 1990s. And having known him professionally I also got to know him personally."

Asked how he knows Najib had never met Altantuya:

"How do I know? It is like asking me... I know, OK?"

Will he still work with Najib:

"I have never had any formal relationship with Najib. At one point someone described me as his political secretary. I have never held any official position vis-a-vis the Prime, sorry, the Deputy Prime Minister. An aide is someone who holds an official position. Very much reminiscent of the US system where Osama, sorry, not Osama bin Laden, but Barack Obama, sounds quite similar, he will be selecting his secretaries and special assistants. I am never an aide. I have known him for quite a while. I'd like to say here that he will make a good Prime Minister. He is a well-read person, we have had countless of times talked about books, exchanged books. He is well tuned to what's going on in the world. Intellectually, in terms of experience, I think he has got all that. I am quite happy with my freedom at the moment. I do not want to be tied up with any appointment whatsoever not that it is coming."

On immediate plans:

"I am going to the UK as I was a student at Oxford. Two weeks before I was arrested, I submitted my doctoral dissertation to Oxford. When I was arrested the university placed my dissertation on hold. So I am going back to basically be examined. Insya-Allah I will get my doctorate next year."

Will he stay on in Britain and not come back:

"Why the hell should I run away? I am innocent. I have been acquitted by the courts, I wanna stay here, this is my home. I'll be back in a couple of months’ time, I just wanna get my doctorate, that's it. Unless I get a cushy job like Prime Minister of the UK."

On why he was implicated:

"You must appreciate that the main trial is on and civil proceedings by the family of the deceased who have taken a legal suit against the government of Malaysia plus myself and the two accused. I am not at liberty to elaborate on that."

On why there was a change of lawyers:

"I am flanked by lawyers and the legal profession has its own set of ethics and I don't think I should reveal any reason why, whether I like a person's face or not."

On why he cancelled his first press conference:

"It has nothing to do with my appeal. I was quite confident upon my release that I could face the outside world especially the press. But after a few days I found myself to be not ready. You have to be in prison for two years to know what I am saying. My mind is incoherent, I keep losing things. You can't lose things in prison because you don't have many things to begin with. These days I lose my glasses and now my daughter has gone back to the UK, I have one less person to help me look."

On his relationship with the deceased:

"There has been a lot of lies spread. For example, it came from a very reputable media. It was stated that I met her at a party. Where did that come from? On the SMSes between Najib and my former lawyer, I was in prison then. Sorry, the alleged SMSes because it was never proven. On this so-called SMSes, why don't you be a bit more critical and not take it at face value. When someone says intervention, everyone says intervention and jumps on the bandwagon. No one questions the validity of that. Let me remind you that I was charged, went to prison, waited for my trial, which went on for 151 days, I did not see my family, did not touch them until court started. I went through all that, how can there be any interference if I went through all that, God almighty, come on."

Who are the liars:

"I don't want to be specific. All I want to say is, for the last two years, I didn't realise the extent of the reach of the so-called borderless world, the Internet world and how bloggers have taken, almost centrestage. The last two weeks I checked with my friends abroad, and they said there was a period in British society where bloggers ran supreme but after a while, everyone realised that bloggers are bloggers. I can start a blog and say anything with impunity. The phase will go away, people will say, bloggers, my God. My daughter or my taxi man can be a blogger if he can write well and he can manufacture facts. They are out there."

Will he take action against the media:

"I never made any comment until today. I have kept silent from the day I was arrested until today. I never said I would take any legal action."

Whether the photo of him, Najib and Altantuya together is genuine:

"I was investigated by the Multimedia Commission and I was shown the photograph. You must be a real idiot or moron to believe the photo is authentic. To begin with the girl is not even the deceased. So if any of you believe the photograph, God, you guys have been taken for a ride."

On the link to the submarine deal:

"There is no linkage whatsoever. Let me tell you about the timeframe. But everyone is lazy because no one checked the facts. The deal, the purported deal was signed in June 2002. I first met the deceased, November or December 2004. I just fail to see the connection yet it went on and on and on."

Will he write a book on his experience:

"The problem is if I say yes, you will be hounding me for it."

Why he was always smiling in court:

"I am innocent. At some point I said, God willing, I will be released. I cannot imagine an innocent man can be found guilty. I was worried because there was talk of pandering to the public, the media. But I went through the court system. People tend to forget I spent 22 months in jail. I regard myself as lucky actually. I think in a person's life I always believe something bad will happen to you but God has given me a better option than death. Imprisonment is a better option than death simply because I had a chance to reflect on my life."

Would he apologise to the family of the deceased:

"I never knew the family of the deceased. I have already expressed publicly my sympathy to the family."

What he has been doing the past three weeks since his release:

"To begin with, I have been eating a helluva lot, so I have been putting on a lot of weight. For 22 months I have not done anything really. Suddenly for three weeks I have to do so many things. In prison, everything is regimented. When I'm out, I am thinking I don't have much time, but I do have time, so I am adjusting myself. Not too well, I'm afraid, I'm still eating too much."

Where he met Altantuya:

"There is a death, and it doesn't make any difference where I met her. All I wanted to say in my statement was that Najib never met the woman. From there whoever said whatever, they are all lies."

Is he a victim of a political game:

"I don't sense that at all. What has happened is I was caught in the system, I went through the system and I am glad I survived the system. My wife reminds me, the system has put you in, the system will get you out."

What he would do if he was Altantuya's father:

"I can't be someone else. I can't think what he thinks or what you are thinking. He can do whatever he wants to do, I can do whatever I want to do, you can do whatever you want to do."

Has his reputation been unjustly damaged:

"Thank you very much, I didn't realise I had a reputation before I entered prison. I constantly remind myself that I want to close one chapter of my life and open the next chapter. The sooner I get on with my life the better. I just want to move forward not look back."

Court of public opinion believing he is still implicated:

"I can't really be responsible for that. When you say public opinion I really wonder who you have in mind. When you talk about people's power, you look at Thailand, you say, wow the people are against the government. A hundred thousand, 500,000, the media blows it out of proportion. But hang on a minute, is that democracy? If you talk about 500 people going out in the streets as opposed to a population of 100 million is that reflective of democracy? If I have money and pay everyone RM10 and get 100,000 people out today in the streets and protest against the government is that people's power? Is that public opinion? Blimey, that's not public opinion, that's just manipulation. So you talk about public opinion as if it is a coherent, consistent consensus and I don't think there is a consensus. So I don't want to pander to the so-called public opinion and I'd like to ask you who is the public opinion? Can a blogger reflect the public opinion? Blimey, if that is the case, I can run you down as well, mate, and say this is the public opinion. If we descend to a level where a taxi driver, for example, someone who doesn't know the facts, writes, and that becomes public opinion then I feel sorry for society. Just one individual, two individuals, one blogger, two bloggers can form an opinion and that becomes public opinion? Come on, give me a break."

Is he blaming Raja Petra Kamarudin:

"I wouldn't say any particular blogger. The whole idea that bloggers or so-called opinion-makers can form an opinion and that becomes the truth. That worries me. If bloggers can become the source of truth then we are in trouble as a society. Can you imagine enemies of the state using blogs to erode confidence, for example. You are talking about something even far more sinister. If a concerted effort is made towards the state, the government, the people, then we are in trouble. But in more developed societies, they have gone through the phase we are going through and after awhile they will say, let's not worry about them."

Will speculation stop after today:

"Even my press statement today there will be twist and turns. If I hold this up and say this is a tape recorder, and it is reported that Razak held a gun, I can't be responsible for that. What can I do? I just want to tell the truth and that's the truth.”

People's reaction after he was released:

"To my surprise, a lot of people wished me the best, some actually said congratulations, total strangers came up to me and say we are happy that you are out. I actually thought I was going to be a leper and everyone is going to shy away from me. Of course, when I walk around people were whispering and all that, but that's quite obvious."

Final word on bloggers:

"More often when you read bloggers. They do not base their writing on fact. It's a lot of hearsay. This person told me this, that person told me this, a little bird told me this, rather than I was there, I saw this, I did this. Let's be a bit more critical in what we read and don't accept things verbatim. If you don't then you can also write the same thing and tell lies on others. In fact, I was so surprised that it is so easy to tell lies on the Internet.”

CERPEN CYBER

Oleh Dr Hamirdin Ithnin, Bangi.

Ini adalah cerpen cyber pertama di dunia!

Genre
Cerpen Cyber

Penulis
Hamirdin B. Ithnin

Nama Pena
hamirdin

Definisi
Cerpen cyber ialah cerpen yang anda tulis sendiri, terbitkan sendiri dalam masa beberapa minit sahaja. Tidak ada penilai. Sebab penilain itu subjektif

Kelebihan
1. Anda tidak bergantung kepada pihak kedua atau ketiga untuk menerbitkan cerpen anda.
2. Anda dapat kepuasan sendiri.

Kelemahan
Mungkin anda syok sendiri

____________________

NAS DEMOKRASI

Tuan tuan dan puan puan sekelian, undilah Parti Bahtera, anda akan sejahtera.

Itulah tadi seruan calon kami Datuk Seri Ahmad Seri, yang tuan tuan telah kenal dan tidak ada masalaah untuk mendapatkan khidmatnya.

Hebat kau Mansor, sebagai campaign manager Datuk Seri kau memang betul handal. PRU 1964 ni memang Bahtera akan bolot habis.

Tuan tuan dan puan puan, di kampung Ceruk Tok Pakir ni rahmat Allah telah turun, kita semua dah cukup semua, tidak perlu lagi kita bawa pembangunan yang sebenarnya maksiat. Saya Lebai Kasim, sebagai calon Parti Bulan DiPagar Bintang (BPB) mengajak tuan tuan menolak Parti Bahtera, kerana sekiranya menang, mereka telah merancang untuk membina kasino di kampung ini tuan tuan. Kononnya untuk membawa pembangunan di negeri ini dan di daerah ini.

Semalam Lebai Kasim berceramah di sini minta pengundi sini tolak Parti Bahtera, itu adalah satu taktik kotor yang kolot. Kalau kita buat kasino di sini, tuan tuan akan dapat pekerjaan. Rezeki akan datang mencurah curah.

Lihat Las Vegas, ditengah gurun, cicak pun tak boleh hidup, tapi dimajukan kasino, sekarang menjadi kaya raya. Kita sangat prihatin kepada rakyat. Kita parti Bahtera mahu rakyat senang. Undi Bahtera, tuan tuan sejahtera.

Majlis kempen mempersilakan Ustaz Ramlan, Yang Dipertua PBP di kawasan parlimen ini, silakan...

Seperti yang di peringatkan oleh calon kami, saya ingin mengingatkan pengundi di sini, kasino itu rumah judi, judi adalah haram. Ini nas qat'ei. Parti BPB ingin membawa tuan tuan ke jalan selamat dunia dan akhirat. Baldatun Taiyibatun Warabbun Ghaffur.

Baik tuan tuan, saya sebagai returning officer di sini; kita mulakan pengiraan undi.

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

BPB

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

Bahtera

BPB

Bahtera

Hidup Melayu!Hidup Melayu!Hidup Melayu!

Rakyat telah membuat keputusan.

Rakyat telah memilih saya calon Parti Bahtera untuk memenangi pilihanraya ini.

Rakyat mahukan pembangunan.

Rakyat telah menggunakan nas demokrasi. Lemparkan Nas qat'ei!

___________________
Cerpen ini buat aku tersenyum sendiri sambil teringat kenangan PRU12 080308

Doa Buat Jemaah Haji

Buku Baru Yang MESTI Dimiliki

Anak Ayah

Sebatang tubuh itu sedang berhempas pulas bertempur dengan sakaratul maut, selepas sembilan bulan mengandungkan zuriat. Kesakitan itu menyirap ke setiap urat tubuh badan yang basah bermandikan peluh. “Mengucap Mek,” tegur Mak Bidan yang dari tadi kelihatan begitu tenang. Dari jauh kelihatan Nik Mat terkumat-kamit mulutnya, membacakan doa supaya terhindar sebarang bencana. Meskipun ini anak yang kedua, namun debaran menanti kelahirannya cukup kuat terasa.

Ternyata kelahiran itu dinantikan oleh Nik Mat yang begitu bercita-cita mahukan seorang putera dilahirkan di tengah-tengah keluarganya. Putera itu bakal menyambung segala usaha dan cita-citanya. Doa kesyukuran dipanjatkan kepada Yang Maha Esa atas kurniaan-Nya. Tidak putus-putus lafaz alhamdulillah diucapkan oleh Nik Mat, lantas dipanjangkan dengan solat sunat, bersyukur atas nikmat yang diberikan-Nya.

Anak itu bererti rezeki dan beroleh rezeki, maka kita mesti bersyukur kepada pemberi-Nya. Azan dilaungkan di telinga kanan putera. Anak itu diusap dan dikucup lalu diberikan nama Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

_________

Sebuah buku mengenai perjalanan hidup seorang tokoh ulama dan pemimpin Malaysia yang disegani, Tuan Guru Dato’ Nik Abd. Aziz Haji Nik Mat. Beliau bukan sahaja seorang tokoh pemimpin politik bahkan pemimpin ulung nusantara yang menjadikan Islam sebagai teras kepada perjuangannya menegakkan Sistem Pentadbiran Islam.

Buku ini mengupas mengenai sejarah beliau bermula daripada akar salasilah keturunannya. Siapa tahu, daripada salasilahnya beliau mempunyai darah seorang pemimpin. Buku ini juga mengupas proses pendidikan yang dilalui oleh tokoh ini sehingga personaliti dan jatidirinya berjaya dibentuk dengan kekuatan luar biasa walaupun dalam tubuh yang sederhana sahaja.

Selain itu, buku ini juga memperincikan 10 asas pentadbiran dan kepimpinan berteraskan sunah kepimpinan Nabi Muhammad yang digunakan oleh tokoh ini dalam organisasinya. Selain daripada itu, buku ini juga memuatkan pandangan serta kritikan daripada pelbagai lapisan masyarakat mengenai kepimpinan beliau. Sedar ataupun tidak, bukan hanya muslim yang mengkagumi tokoh ini, bahkan masyarakat bukan Islam juga begitu.

_________

Baru minggu lepas, Penulis buku ini, Kak Bibul singgah di rumahku dengan turut disertai oleh anak-anaknya seperti biasa.

Kata Kak Bibul lagi, "Akak tengah nak kejar dateline buku TGNA ni. Tu yang bawa anak-anak berjalan-jalan cari idea & ilham."

Jangan terkejut, buku yang sedang melalui fasa terakhir pembikinan ni punyai fakta yang menarik. Apa dia? Di antaranya....

1. 7,000 naskah telah ditempah secara online (walaupun tak siap lagi!).

2. Susun kata dan susur galur (terutama Salasilah) TGNA diperika oleh 4-5 orang yang rapat / saudara-mara TGNA.

3. Penulis, Kak Bibul itu sendiri tinggal di Bangi je... Dalam jajahan UPU Sg Ramal Luar lagitu.

4. Harga? Hehe... aku tau dah... tunggu je la....

Adios!

Bukan PATI tapi LATI (Lembu Asing Tanpa Izin)

RANTAU PANJANG - Pasukan Gerakan Am (PGA) dan Kastam berjaya merampas 61 ekor lembu dan mercun bernilai RM500,000 dalam dua kejadian berasingan semalam.

Dalam operasi yang dijalankan di Kampung Tasik Berangan di sini, PGA berjaya merampas kesemua lembu berkenaan yang dikurung dalam kandang di kampung tersebut dan ia dipercayai diseludup dari negara jiran (Thailand).

Pegawai Pemerintah Batalion Kesembilan, Superintenden Kamaruddin Yussof berkata, rampasan dibuat kira-kira jam 5 petang oleh sepasukan anggota setelah menerima maklumat dari orang ramai.

“Setelah membuat pemantauan beberapa di kawasan itu kami mendapati semua lembu ini tidak mempunyai dokumen yang sah,” katanya ketika ditemui pemberita di sini, semalam.

Menurutnya, siasatan awal mendapati lembu-lembu yang dianggar bernilai RM1,500 setiap ekor tidak mempunyai dokumen yang sah dan dipercayai di seludup dari Thailand.

Beliau berkata, pihaknya telah menyerahkan lembu-lembu itu kepada Jabatan Perkhidmatan Veterinar untuk tindakan lanjut termasuk mendakwa pihak terbabit jika mempunyai bukti.

Sementara itu, dalam operasi yang dijalankan Kastam Bukit Bunga pula berjaya menumpaskan cubaan seludup mercun yang dianggarkan bernilai setengah juta itu di Kampung Pasir Dusun.

Menurut Pengarah Kastam Negeri, Azis Yacub, rampasan dibuat atas maklumat awam dan anggota yang memerhatikan aktiviti berkenaan di Pengkalan Haram Kampung Perawas, Jeli.

“Kita menahan sebuah lori setelah mendapat maklumat mengenai kenderaan tersebut membawa muatan mercun dan anggota kastam terpaksa mengejar kenderaan penyeludup itu berikutan mereka menyedari kehadiran kami,” katanya.

Menurutnya, setelah berjaya memintas lori tersebut, hasil pemeriksaan dilakukan mendapati pelbagai jenis mercun dipercayai untuk pasaran tempatan ditemui, bagaimanapun pemandu lori terbabit berjaya melarikan diri dengan bersembunyi dalam kawasan hutan berhampiran.

Katanya, sebanyak 275 kotak mercun dan bunga api pelbagai jenis dengan nilai keseluruhan dianggarkan bernilai hampir setengah juta ringgit termasuk lori yang dirampas.

Azis berkata, lori bersama muatan rampasan itu kemudiannya dibawa ke pejabat kastam bahagian pencegahan Rantau Panjang untuk tindakan lanjut.

Nasib Razak, Azilah, Sirul diketahui esok

KUALA LUMPUR 29 Okt. - Penganalisis politik, Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda bersama dua anggota Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) Bukit Aman akan mengetahui nasib masing-masing, Jumaat ini, sama ada mereka bakal dibebaskan ataupun diperintahkan membela diri atas tuduhan berkaitan pembunuhan wanita Mongolia, Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Seandainya Hakim Datuk Mohd. Zaki Md. Yasin memutuskan Abdul Razak, Cif Inspektor Azilah Hadri dan Koperal Sirul Azhar Umar perlu membela diri, maka semua akan berpeluang mendengar versi keterangan tertuduh.

Azilah, 32, dari Unit Selam Tempur manakala Sirul Azhar, 36, yang bertugas mengiring VVIP (orang kenamaan penting) di luar negara, didakwa membunuh Altantuya, 28, antara pukul 10 malam, 19 Oktober dan 1 pagi, 20 Oktober 2006, di antara Lot 12843 dan Lot 16735 Mukim Bukit Raja dekat sini.

Sementara Abdul Razak, 48, pula didakwa bersubahat dengan kedua-dua tertuduh dalam pembunuhan pada 18 Oktober 2006 di pejabatnya di Tingkat 10, Bangunan Lembaga Getah Asli Malaysia (LGAM), Jalan Ampang di Kuala Lumpur.

Namun andai kata mahkamah mendapati pihak pendakwaan gagal membuktikan kes maka tertuduh akan dilepaskan dan dibebaskan pada peringkat akhir kes pendakwaan tanpa perlu memberi keterangan pembelaan.

Penghakiman tersebut mungkin ringkas tetapi pastinya mencakupi lima hujahan yang terkandung dalam nota prosiding perbicaraan setebal 6,000 muka surat.

Sepanjang 151 hari prosiding perbicaraan seramai 84 orang saksi pendakwaan telah memberikan keterangan. 40 daripadanya ialah saksi polis.

Mengimbas prosiding terakhir pada 18 September lalu, Hakim Mohd. Zaki yang meneliti hujahan bertanya mengenai rekod transaksi telefon bimbit (CDR) yang dikemukakan.

Menurut hakim, berdasarkan pengiraan terdapat 17 transaksi yang menunjukkan perbualan antara Abdul Razak dengan seorang pegawai kanan polis berpangkat Deputi Supritendan Polis (DSP). Terlintas di fikiran hakim, apakah sebenarnya yang mereka bincangkan? Apakah pula tujuan DSP itu memperkenalkan Abdul Razak kepada Azilah.

Abdul Razak ialah Pengarah Eksekutif Pusat Penyelidikan Strategik Malaysia (MSRC) itu berkelulusan sarjana bidang kajian perang dari King's College, Universiti London. Dia banyak menulis mengenai isu-isu politik, pertahanan dan antarabangsa.

Azilah mula berkhidmat dalam UTK sejak 8 Januari 2003. Dia juga mempunyai kepakaran dalam body-guarding atau teknik mengawal orang kenamaan penting sama ada secara berjalan kaki mahupun berkenderaan.

Sirul Azhar yang mula berkhidmat dengan UTK sejak 23 Januari 1996 pula bertugas dalam Unit Komunikasi.

Harga TV LCD bakal jatuh?

Reader Heather Fisher writes: Are the prices of flat panel TV's going to go down anytime soon? When can we expect them to go down if they are?

I'm getting mixed messages on the TV pricing issue.

First, it's pretty clear that prices will continue to slip as the holidays approach: You can thank the global economic crisis and slow demand for that. But the harsh realities of the flat-panel business would seem to indicate that there's not much further for flat panel prices to fall. Why? Because in virtually all cases, LCD screens are already being sold to TV and computer companies at prices below cost, according to the latest research from DisplaySearch, which closely tracks this industry.

In some cases the discrepancy is extreme: Panel makers are selling bare 32-inch LCD TV panels for an estimated $223 to manufacturers, but those panels cost between $248 and $256 to build. In other words: For now, the panel makers are losing up to $33 on every panel they sell.

Prices for finished TVs vary widely of course, but name-brand 32-inch LCD TVs can be found at retail for under $600, with $599 being a pretty common price point. Add in labor and the additional materials that go into a finished TV, distribution costs, and markup from the retailer, and there really isn't a lot of fat left in television prices. (Very large TVs are the exception, so if you're looking for bargains, shop smaller.)

Now here's the curious flipside. According to a blog post on the very same topic at the New York Times, another researcher, also at DisplaySearch, says that prices are likely going to plummet in the next few weeks. According the post, this researchers says prices on 32-inch TVs could hit between $399 and $499.

That would be an enormous drop, and it almost sounds too good (for shoppers) to be true. Again, the reasons are all about trying to salvage sales in the fourth quarter... but the story also alludes to the fact that the biggest discounts will be in the bare-bones, off-brand, stripped-down TVs. You'll get good enough picture quality, but don't expect, say, 120Hz operation, multiple HDMI inputs, and so on.

The most likely outcome is that off-brand models will fall quite a bit, but name brand sets will have more modest price cuts. (I'm deeply skeptical that we'll see 32-inch LCDs hit $399 aside from the occasional Black Friday sale, but that's a gut reaction.) Is it worth it to wait a few weeks to save 50 bucks on the price of a TV? How willing you are to brave holiday crowds and fight over what could become hotly desired goodies may have to dictate your next move.

8k beraya @ Rumah Terbuka DUN Bangi!

Berita bergambar di sekitar Rumah Terbuka Peringkat DUN Bangi sempena Hari Raya 2008

Keadaan sekitar jam 12.30 tengahari - Mengikut kiraan penganjur hampir 5k telah hadir ketika ini.


Pandangan dari sudut atas pentas stadium.


Hampir 700 orang kanak-kanak berbaris mengambil peluang untuk bersalam dengan YB dan yang penting sekali duit rayanya. (Gambar : Ini round ke 7 pemberian duit raya).


Petugas dari Unit Trafik Ibu Polis Pejabat Daerah Kajang sedang berehat dan menikmati hidangan di rumah terbuka YB Dr Shafie.


Unit Rela juga hadir memberi bantuan kepada perjalanan Rumah Terbuka kali ini.


SU Kawasan, Hj Ahmad & isteri sedang melayan tetamu dari kalangan kaum Tionghua yang turut hadir.


Ketua Unit Amal Serdang yang juga diberi jolokan Ketua Polis Kawasan, Bro Agus Salim sedang menunjukan skill menebar Roti Canai teknik Hikmat Kopiah Senget Tidak Terbatas.


"Haaa macam ni caranya... sonang jo. Confirm sodap ni, lopeh ni jangan lupo kontek eden yo,"kata Agus kepada hadirin yang hadir di gerai beliau sambil tersenyum.


Keadaan & pemandangan di gerai-gerai rumah terbuka. Beratur panjang : Kesabaran anda amatlah dihargai.


Kaunter Pendaftaran Ahli PAS, Pemuda, Unit Amal & Pemilih yang diuruskan oleh DPPK Serdang. (Turut membuka kaunter adalah DMPK & Nisa').


Orang ramai berpusu-pusu menunggu giliran untuk mendaftar sebagai ahli PAS di hadapan kaunter.


Salah seorang AJK Unit Penambahan Ahli DPPK, Riduan sedang melayan tetamu. Turut kelihatan adalah naskah Harakah yang diedarkan secara percuma.


Macam kenal je. Lakonan yang bertajuk "Layan" (konon-konon sedang melayan ahli baru huhu).


Tarian Bluetooth oleh Yahya de Syabab. Kalau Ust Solah ada sekali mesti tarian ini nampak lebih sempurna & menarik. Hehe...


"Ni tak jual bang tapi kalau nak beli saya bagi harga lelong la RM10. Saya mark up sikit je la,"kata Engku merayu. Cube teka ini Engku yang mana satu?


Ketua Penerangan DPPK, Faizal Z sedang interframe Bro Harun yang sedang mengemas.


Ketua Pengarah, Hj Nik Pa sedang melakukan "Senaman Perut". Turut bersenam adalah SU Unit Amal Serdang, Bro Azman & Unit Media ADUN, Bro Amir (bersongkok).


KP DPPK, Bro Mazwan Johar sedang melayan tetamu.


Dato' Presiden, TG Hj Hadi turut hadir memeriahkan majlis. Turut kelihatan adalah KP DPPK & YB Dr Shafie.


SetPol TG, Dr Shamsuri sedang menuang air basuh tangan kepada Dato' Presiden.


KP dan 2 Exco DPPK mengambil kesempatan untuk bergambar dengan TG dan pimpinan yang hadir.


"Terima kasih, Assalamualaikum"


TAKBIR!

Think tank warns of recession risk in Malaysia

By EILEEN NG,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, October 17

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A private Malaysian think tank Thursday cut its 2009 economic growth forecast for the country to 3.4 percent and warned of a possible recession if the U.S. economy deteriorates.

The influential Malaysian Institute of Economic Research predicted the economy would expand 5.3 percent this year after a strong performance in the first six months.

But it expected growth to slide to 3.4 percent in 2009, down from its earlier forecast of 5 percent, due to the knock-on effects of a flagging global economy. This was sharply lower than the government's forecast of 5.4 percent.

Executive Director Mohamad Ariff warned that growth in 2009 may slump further if the U.S., one of Malaysia's top trading partners, goes into recession.

"There is a 40 percent chance that Malaysia will enter technical recession in 2009, meaning two quarters of negative growth and a 30 percent chance it could be a real recession lasting more than two quarters depending on what happens in the U.S.," he said.

The institute said the global credit crisis showed no signs of abating despite concerted interest rate cuts and massive liquidity injection by governments and central banks worldwide.

It said consumer and business confidence in Malaysia has dipped and warned conditions would worsen if the credit squeeze dries up funds for investment and household spending.

Ariff said there are heightened concerns that the current global economic slump could drag on until the end of 2010 or 2011.

Given the economic pressure and declining oil prices, he warned Malaysia's budget deficit may exceed 5 percent of gross domestic product this year and more than 4 percent in 2009.

The government raised development spending in August which it said will push the fiscal deficit to 4.8 percent of GDP this year and 3.6 percent in 2009, from 3.2 percent in 2007.

Finance Minister Najib Razak earlier this week said Malaysia can still grow 5 percent this year but the government may need to revise its 2009 forecast. He has said he would announce a "stabilization plan" on Monday to prop up the economy.

Najib, who is also deputy premier, is expected to take over from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March.

The quicker-than-expected transition follows the ruling coalition's poor election results in March and is aimed at thwarting opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's threat to oust the government through parliamentary defections.

Why do men take second wives?

©The Star
A Writer's Life by Dina Zaman

Polygamy has nothing to do with culture or religion. Men, and women too, cheat because they can.

WHEN a male friend told me he planned on taking a second wife, all I could do was try not to choke on dinner. Are you serious, I asked. He said yes, he had fallen in love with a single mother, but it was not his fate to marry her.

Thinking it was perhaps due her compassion, her earnest desire to bring up her sprogs in a Godly way and that life was indeed a struggle, I choked on my dessert when my friend told me the first thing he noticed about her was that she owned a great set of jugs.

Now, my friend takes his religious obligations very seriously. His first wife wears the hijab. So to hear him admit that it was his paramour’s cleavage that caught his heart was quite shocking.

It was due to women like me, whose so-called Western, secular and feminist ideas of polygamy that pushed it underground. I then asked him, whether his equally-pious wife agreed to him taking on another wife, and he said no. She gave him an earful.

But our friend was on a roll. Now that his journey into polygamy was thwarted, it was all our fault. We modern Malay women, be they religious or not, were forcing men like him to marry in Thailand or Iran, where they practised nikah Muta’ah.

He was emulating the steps of our good Prophet Mohamed, he argued.

“You have got your Islamic history upside down! Nabi married war widows, and his first wife was older than he. Aishah was the youngest. And I don’t think our Prophet married any woman because she had great breasts!”

“You don’t understand.”

“Okay then. Why don’t you sell your car and take a camel to work then?”

I’m realistic. I know men who adore their wives and love them to bits, but they can still love their mistresses and other wives. Am I condoning affairs and polygamy? No. But this happens. It has nothing to do with Islam or being Malay, though polygamy is part of the culture.

We’re Asians. We have a long history of concubinage. There are good men who are faithful, and there are good men who have other wives. There are also bad men who are faithful and also bad men who are unfaithful.

Just like our politics, love in Malaysia is a circus. Weeee!

I’m not going to bore you with what polygamy in Islam is about, as it has been written before and talked about to death. Women’s rights activists have long fought for this “crime” to be illegal, but we face a tough fight. Sometimes it’s not the men who are itching for it, but yes, our gender, too.

In the 80s, when I was young and clueless, meeting mistresses and second or third wives would be sinful and against my principles.

These days? “Oh, you’re a mistress?” “Oh, you’re a hidden wife?” Yawn. Wear tudung or mini skirt, got. Educated or stupid, got. Some of our mothers are The Other Women, and are good mothers. So how?

Is this phenomenon particular to our culture? Oh no. Read the British newspapers. Mistressing is talked about to death in feminist columns.

But I thought after that dinner with my friend, I’d revisit the issue again. Some of the findings from my five-sen survey:

> Theoretically ... polygamy is OK. But must ikut hukum Allah lah. There are conditions.

> Ya, but… actually, kan, for career women like us, it does work. Nak jaga laki 24 jam … gue tak larat la. Biar bini nombor satu jaga. After all, in Islam, polygamous wives are taken care of legally. Better a Muslim second wife than a common law wife.

> But really. Think about it. Convenient, what. You see him once a week, makan once a week, have sex once a week...

> Sex once a week?! Baik tak yah jadi bini nombor dua macam tu! Chit. Once a week mana cukup?!

Why do men cheat? Again, just an observation dwelled upon by friends and myself. For a lot of polygamous men, they marry good women who fit their criteria of holiness, wifeliness and motherhood.

Intimacy between the men and their wives are perfunctory. It’s make-the-baby-cover-the-face sex. With their girlfriends and second wives, it’s Penthouse all the way, baby. It’s the soul thing.

At least this is what I got from talking to quite a number of married men. It’s not because of the first wives’ lack of trying; they want to have healthy intimate lives, but the bees in their husbands’s bonnets keep reminding the men of the Madonna-Whore syndrome.

Malaysia is not a place for single women desiring Hollywood-movie type of marriages and love. KL especially is a city for marriages and affairs. And it has nothing to do with money. There are rich men who cheat, and I know of a despatch boy who has two wives!

There are many single-again women like my friends and I, who still believe in marriage and love. But I can tell you, should we walk down that path again one day, we’re going down it with our eyes open and keep a part of our hearts to ourselves. Because you never know.

Perhaps my friend, an activist who makes a living entering and staying in war zones, is right.

“We have women like you, me, your mother, your aunt and friend who fight so hard for women and children and yet face a brick wall, simply because we ‘understand’ so much, and forgive all the time, which is why cheating, affairs and polygamy are rampant, to the detriment or contribution (depends how you look at it) of our well-being,” says my friend.

Another friend, Sharizal Sharaani, put it succinctly: “Men (and, yes, women too) cheat because they can. Full stop.”

The writer still believes in love and marriage and wants to move to Corfu.