Taj Mahal ; The symbol of love

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

“What should be sacrifice for love?”

This is the popular quote in the Nur Kasih drama that reaching its ending soon. Or in Malay, “Apa yang perlu dikorbankan demi cinta?” Even the original slot still has a few episodes left, the tv3’s evening slot from 7.25pm until 8.00pm has been used for Nur Kasih without any interruption from commercial break. Still remember in the last time episode, Nur Amina is depressed by her husband decision for not taking her to his trip to India even though he has promised to Nur Amina that they will take 3 days off and take her to Taj Mahal. The last minute decision by Adam led to a second separation between him and Nur Amina. What happen next will be aired tonight. (Very excited..)

The Taj Mahal is a tomb built by The Mughal Emperor at that time, Shah Jahan for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It takes about 20 years to complete. It is also among the Mughal Empire finest architecture. The Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. The construction of Taj Mahal started in 1632 and finished around 1653.


ARCHITECTURE


The central focus of Taj Mahal is the tomb. Like any other Mughal’s Tomb, it used Persian origin as its basic elements. The white marble structure stands on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large dome and finial. The base structure is essentially a large, multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners, forming an unequal octagon that is approximately 55 meters on each of the four long sides. On each of these sides, a massive pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the iwan with two similarly shaped, arched balconies stacked on either side.

This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level.

The minarets are about 40 meters tall.


HISTORY

Even though Shah Jahan has three wives, his most favorite is Mumtaz Mahal. Her real name is Arjumand Banu Begum. She is also the mother to Mughal well-known Emperor, Aurangzeb. She died during the birth of her fourteenth child, Gauhara Begum. The grief of Shah Jahan led to an inspiration of Taj Mahal. Arjumand married with Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) when she is 19. Even Khurram has other 2 wives, their relations is nothing more than a status of marriage. Arjumand is the one gain the attention of Khurram and the intimacy, affection, attention and favour to arjumand exceed any other. Thus, she gets the title Mumtaz Mahal Begum (Chosen One of the Palace).

Mumtaz Mahal had a very deep and loving marriage with Shah Jahan. Even during her lifetime, poets would extol her beauty, gracefulness and compassion. Mumtaz Mahal was Shah Jahan's trusted companion, travelling with him all over the Mughal Empire. His trust in her was so great that he even gave her his imperial seal, the “Muhr Uzah”. Mumtaz was portrayed as the perfect wife with no aspirations to political power in contrast to Nur Jehan, the wife of Jahangir who had wielded considerable influence in the previous reign. She was a great influence on him, apparently often intervening on behalf of the poor and destitute. But she also enjoyed watching elephant and combat fights performed for the court. It was quite common for women of noble birth to commission architecture in the Mughal Empire.

The Taj Mahal is the symbol of love to her beauty and life.
More Information can be refer here.

Denonym for each state.

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

All of us actually knew the denonym for citizens of Malaysia. We were called as Malaysian, but how about for each respective state in Malaysia? I have found some of popular denonym, but, some states are still unknown. Let go check it out.

Sabah – Sabahan

Sarawak – Sarawakian

Kelantan – Kelantanese

Johor – Johorean

Malacca – Malaccan

Selangor – Selangorean

Perak – Perakian

Pulau Pinang – Penangite

Kedah – Kedahan

The acronyms above are the one that popularly used. But the one below still need some revision.


Terengganu
I seriously don't know about Terengganu’s denonym. If taking Kelantan as revision, then the most accurate is Terengganese. During my research, it led me to Terengganuan. Still need revision though.

Pahang
Just like the case of Terengganu, Pahang’s denonym is similar and has resemblance with Pulau Pinang. Probably Pahangite. My research led me to Pahangian. Which one more accurate?

Negeri Sembilan
This is the hardest of all. It can be Negrish, Negeri Sembilanian or Negeri Sembilanese.

Perlis
My research led me to Perlisian. Any ideas?

Selangor Royal Family

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

Finally my favorite segment of the month, Royal Family! The topic for today is the second last and only one more to go. Today, we will see the monarch of the most developed state in Malaysia, The Selangorean Royal Family. It is probably the second youngest royal family in Malaysia and has a customary relation with the Perakian Royal Family as the first ruler of Selangor is crowned by the Sultan of Perak. The Ruler of Selangor is styled as HRH Sultan of Selangor.

The current Sultan of Selangor is HRH Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Ibni Al-marhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah. He is the ninth Sultan of Selangor. His reign started since 2001.

The consort to the Sultan of Selangor is styled according to her bloodline. A royal born consort is styled as HRH Tengku Ampuan of Selangor (Queen of Selangor), while commoner consort is styled as Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor (Consort of Selangor). The position is currently vacant as the Sultan is divorced, unmarried and without a consort.


HISTORY


The Royal House of Selangor are descended from the Yang di-Pertuans of Riau, Indonesia (see that family). They are Bugis, originating from Luwu in the islands of the Celebes. Raja Lumu, second son of Raja Chelak, the 2nd Yang di-Pertuan Muda of Riau, conquered Selangor and established his legitimacy by being installed by the Sultan of Perak in 1766. Frequently at odds with the Dutch and native Malay rulers, his son Ibrahim, was expelled from Selangor in 1786. Ibrahim eventually reached an accommodation with the Dutch and was allowed to return, two years later. Rich tin deposits had been discovered during the sixteenth century, this lead to increasing numbers of Chinese immigrants to work the mines. Fighting between the Bugis and Chinese immigrants and the indigenous Malays became more frequent. Eventually this led to British intervention, and the imposition of a British Resident in 1874. Selangor joined the fledgling federation, known as the Federated Malay States in 1897.

The land for the new federal capital at Kuala Lumpur, being donated by the Sultan of Selangor. Economic development was quite rapid with the introduction of rubber cultivation and port facilities. The Japanese occupied the state in 1941 and deposed the ruling Sultan, in favour of his disinherited elder brother. He was deposed on the return of British troops at War's end, and the rightful Sultan restored. The State joined the Federation of Malaya on 1948. In 1974, the Federal capital area, consisting of Kuala Lumpur and certain surrounding areas, were permanently ceded to the Federal government.


ROYAL FAMILY

Family picture, from left,

Tengku Zerafina, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Tengku Amir Shah, and Tengku Zatashah

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah married twice. First with Raja Zarina binti Raja Zainal Abidin (divorced). And second with Nur Lisa Idris, @ Lisa Davis (divorced). He had 2 daughters from his first wife and a son from his second wife.

(with Raja Zarina)

1. Tengku Zerafina (1969)
2. Tengku Zatashah (1973)

(with Nur Lisa Idris)

1. Tengku Amir Shah (1990)

PALACE


The official palace for Sultan of Selangor is Istana Alam Shah (Alam Shah Palace), located at Royal Town Klang, Selangor.

The second Official Palace of the Sultan of Selangor is Istana Bukit Kayangan. Located at Seksyen 12, Shah Alam

The Istana Darul Ehsan located at Putrajaya Lake.

INHERITANCE


Male primogeniture amongst the male line descendants of Sultan Salahuddin Shah.

**line of successions

1. Tengku Amir Shah ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris, Raja Muda
2. Tengku Sulaiman Shah al-Haj ibni almarhum Sultan Salahuddin, Tengku Panglima Diraja
3. Tengku Shakirin al-Amin Mahmud Ismail Ahmad Shah bin Tengku Sulaiman Shah
4. Tengku Saleh ud-din Ismail Shah bin Tengku Sulaiman Shah
5. Tengku Shahrain Ismail Ibrahim Iskandar Hisham ud-din Shah bin Tengku Sulaiman Shah
6. Tengku Sharif ud-din Ibrahim Ismail Iskandar 'Abdu'l Aziz Shah bin Tengku Sulaiman Shah
7. Tengku Abdul Samad Shah al-Haj ibni al-Marhum Sultan Salahuddin, Tengku Panglima Besar
8. Tengku Musa ud-din [Musahiddin] bin Tengku 'Abdu'l Samad
9. Tengku Ahmad Shah al-Haj ibni al-Marhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz al-Haj, Tengku Indira Setia
10. Tengku Alam Shah Amiruddin bin Tengku Ahmad Shah

**Subject of changes


GALERIA


Some of the pictures of the royal family

I) The picture of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah


II) The picture of the Raja Muda (Crown Prince), Tengku Amir Shah

Crown Prince with his mother, Nur Lisa Idris

III) The picture of Her Highness Tengku Zatashah and husband, Aubry Rahim Manneson

Victory for Negeri Sembilan

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

Negeri Sembilan emerges victorious in the Malaysia Cup 2009 after scoring 3-1 against Kelantan yesterday. This mark the second time Negeri Sembilan wins the Malaysia Cup and the last time is in 1948 (Malaya Cup at that time). The team trained by Wan Jamak Wan Hassan also succeed to redeem their failure to win the cup after lose to Perak and Perlis in 2000 and 2006.

Muzik-Muzik Semi-Final 2009

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

The semi-final round of TV3’s muzik-muzik competition has hit town once again. 30 songs will compete and only 14 will make it to the final. Malaysian composers will fight to see if their song will nominate as the champion. Muzik-muzik only allowed songs compose by local composer to compete in the event. Even the event is the fight between composer, it is a common sight in Malaysia that the singer usually the most outstanding in the competition. Example, Siti Nurhaliza!


MUZIK-MUZIK SEMI FINAL

There is a different format this year; there are no categories for song. Previously, the competing song will separated in Balada, Pop Rock and Etnik Kreatif category. Thus, this year will be an all out fight for all songs. There are 3 round of semi final that will be held in 3 consecutive weeks. 6, 13 and 20 November 2009.

11 songs have performed in the first round:-

1. Mirage
   Artist : Pesawat
   Composer : Jipie
   Lyric : Jipie
   
   
   
2. Dan Aku
   Artist : Aizat
   Composer : Aizat
   Lyric : Aizat
   
   
   
3. Dia, Aku dan Kamu
   Artist : Nadia & Red Peanut
   Composer : Addie Hamid
   Lyric : Ahmad Fitrie Yahya
   
   
   
4. Oh Anok Anok
   Artist : Reshmonu
   Composer : Reshmonu
   Lyric : Farasha Omar
   
   
   
5. Tak Mungkin Kerana Sayang
   Artist : Alyah
   Composer : Ajai
   Lyric : Habsah Hassan
   
   
   
6. Aku Skandal
   Artist : Hujan
   Composer : Noh
   Lyric : Noh
   
   
   
7. Enjut
   Artist : Noraniza Idris, Cat Farish & Adeeb
   Composer :
   Lyric : Ahmad Fitrie Yahya
   
   
   
8. Gila
   Artist : Mila
   Composer : Audi Mok
   Lyric : Nur Fatimah
   
   
   
9. Dan Sebenarnya
   Artist : Yuna
   Composer : Yuna
   Lyric : Yuna
   
   
   
10. Raja Gelek
    Artist : One Nation Emcees
    Composer : Damien Mikael
    Lyric : Damien Mikael & One Nation Emcees
    
    
    
11. Bertamu di Kalbu
    Artist : Jaclyn Victor
    Composer : Anjang
    Lyric : Anjang
    
    
    

The panels of Jury for the night are Azlan Abu Hassan, Helen Yap, Mohariz Yaakup, Ahadiat Akashah and Azhar Borhan. Yasin meanwhile is the invited artist performs his popular opening theme song of Nur Kasih.

The top 5 song for the night are Kau Aku (Aizat), Tak Mungkin Kerana Sayang (Alyah), Aku Skandal (Hujan), Dan Sebenarnya (Yuna), Raja Gelek (One Nation Emcees)


THE TOP FIVE

Aizat, Malaysian talented young singer and composer

Alyah

Hujan, or "Rain" in English

Yuna, who says lawyer can't sing

One Nation Emcees

Victory to Tengku Fakhry

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, a member of Kelantan Royal Family won a defamation suit against his wife, Manohara Odelia Pinot and his mother-in-law, Daisy Fajarina for alleging he had sexually abused his wife. Tengku Muhammad Fakhry won by default after the two women failed to file a defense. In May, Mahohara succeeded to slip away from the prince's guards at a Singapore hotel and returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of her 31 year old husband.

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry

Manohara Odelia Pinot

In July, Tengku Muhammad fakhry Fakhry launched the 105 million ringgit (31 million dollars) lawsuit, claiming his wife Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother had defamed him by claiming he had sexually abused the 17-year-old.

The Prince’s lawyer, Mohamad Haaziq Pillay told the reporter,

"The prince is extremely happy and he said justice has prevailed. Money has never been the question; all he wants is to get his name cleared"

The lawyer also said divorce proceedings are still pending in a religious court. Manohara claims to have been cut with a razor and injected with drugs which made her vomit blood while being held under guard in her bedroom at the palace.

"Imagine if you were accused of injecting your wife with hormones and cutting her breasts with razors, they have made the prince look like a monster in the eyes of public"

Manohara lawyer said she had filed a police report on the abuse but Indonesian police say they are unable to investigate as the incidents took place outside their jurisdiction.

The couple gets married in 10 April 2008 at Istana Negeri Kubang Kerian, Kelantan Darul Naim.

Kelantan : Between Royalty and Ihsan Payment

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

“Kelantan will receive compassionate payment from the federal government from the state's offshore oil production revenue starting next year”

Prime Minister Najib (source)

This is the announcement made by Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib Razak during the Malaysian Parliament session yesterday. Nevertheless, some MP’s from Kelantan still raised the question about the matter. Why it must be Compassionate payment instead of Royalty Payment. It never changes the fact that Kelantan is among the oil and gas producer in the federation alongside Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu.

Siti zailah (Rantau Panjang MP) with her firm stances voices whether the Federation will gave the payment to Kelantan Government or to the Federal JPP. Salahuddin Ayub (Kubang Kerian) also urges the Federation to pay the oil royalty payment to Kelantan just like it has been done to other states, 5% from the total of oil production from the state. His opinion also agreed by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Gua Musang) who is the Petronas’s Chairman in 1975. He is also the one who signed the treaty at that time.

Kelantan Offshore

Prime Minister Najib on the other hand answering the question said that the Kelantan Government never had the rights of oil royalty because the oil production is coming from the joint venture area between Thailand and Malaysia (JDA).

Soon after the announcement, the Kelantan State Government has voiced its decision to file an injunction to the Federal Government. The state government however, still open for any negotiations.

Chua reinstated, Liow Objects

EGM has been held, Chua has been ousted, Liow become the new Deputy President, what’s next? Chua reinstated as Deputy President.

This is the chronology of the MCA’s leadership crisis when Chua remains as the Party’s Deputy President by Registrar of Societies (ROS). According to ROS, Chua still the Deputy President because it is clearly stated in the MCA’s constitution (Article 35) that 2/3 majority is needed to vacant the seat. During the EGM, the vote of no confidence is still not enough even majority of the delegates has spoken wants to ousted Chua as the Deputy President.

Chua Soi Lek

Liow Tiong Lai

Meanwhile, Liow has been announced as the party’s Vice President. Firm in his decision, Liow wants to challenge ROS decision. He said that the ROS decision was illegal. He currently downgraded as the party’s Vice President again. If Chua reinstatement stand, Liow shall be the shortest serving Deputy President in MCA’s history --- 19 days!

"Since my appointment was done in full compliance of the party constitution, I reserve my right to challenge the ROS and seek a court declaration to declare the ROS decision null and void." (source)

The party president, Ong Tee Keat on the other hand, using his capacity as MCA President to sacks four central committees aligned to Liow Tiong Lai. This move has been seen as his way to tighten his grip to the party and to serve as a warning to detractors.

BN meanwhile accepted Chua position as the Deputy President because it has been confirmed by ROS.

Shall this event led to another EGM?

MS Oasis of the Seas

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

How are you feeling this day? Better I hope. I actually like this time of years, because it keep raining in my hometown. Possibly due to the changes of monsoon wind and the temperature has slightly drop. It gets colder. Not so cold actually, As Malaysia is a tropical country, we only have only two seasons, Dry and Rainy season. Or in Malay we called it as “Musim Kemarau” (Dry Season) and “Musim Tengkujuh” (Rainy Season).

Today topic is about the World’s Largest Passenger Vessel in the world today, The MS Oasis of the Seas.

(picture from Utusan Harian)

I was just about to search my next topic for the blog when I see the article about the ship in ‘Utusan Harian’ Newspaper. The Oasis of the seas just passing the Great Belt Fixed Link Bridge on her way from Baltic to Florida. The ship cost is about $US 1.5 billion and have the size five times bigger than the Titanic. It is the first of her class and probably joining with its sister ship The Allure of the Seas.

Onboard, it has seven themed neighborhoods, and also features zip-line, a casino, a mini-golf course, four swimming pools, volleyball and basketballs courts, theme park and nurseries for children. It also has 2700 cabins and can accommodate 2100 crew.

The previous holder of World’s Largest Passenger Vessel is Freedom-class cruise ships.

UMP again!

Assalamualaikum and Peace be upon all of you.
Welcome to my blog.

From the past 28 – 31 Oktober, I went again to UMP to send my final report. UMP stands for Universiti Malaysia Pahang. It’s been a while since the last time I’m here. Currently, UMP consists of 2 campuses, Pekan and Gambang. Many changes have happen here and the most obvious is the existence of foreign students. It’s just like I’m not in Malaysia anymore.

Gambang campus

Even though my faculty, Faculty of Electric and Electronic is located at Pekan, I still need to stay in Gambang campus as the hostel in Pekan is still under constructions. So, the student needs to travel about 50km each Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for lectures. Located near the Lagenda beach, UMP is just like an oasis in the middle of the desert.

Bus Stop at Pekan Campus

Laboratory Block

Beach? Desert? You tell me..

I have a very limited time here, but I will back to the campus once again for Convocation. At least for this time, I have a very good time here.

It has been a while since I get into this place... :)

BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT

This month is the first anniversary for my blog. I think there is much that I can improve for this blog. Whatever the reason, I’ve enjoy blogging so much I had to continue… :)

Until next time.