An open letter to Danial

26th April 2008

Dear Danial,

It is quarter to 2 in the morning and here I am wondering what to do. I figured out that this is something I can prepare for you to read in the future. Today is Saturday and in 12 hours Man Utd will be playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the premier league title. I hope you'll continue my desire towards football although your Ayah did not get anywhere with that.

How’s your sister Qasdeena? Is she doing well in school? Please make sure she concentrates on studying and forget about boyfriend. They will bring more trouble especially with someone similar to my younger days. At the time I am writing this piece Mama and Ayah are still trying for our next baby and I guess you are old enough to understand that.

About a month ago there was a general election for our country Malaysia and for the first time in 50 years Barisan Nasional lost 5 states to the opposition. In case BN is history to you, let me tell you something about the coalition. Barisan Nasional consists of few parties representing all the different races and UMNO is the leading party. How they managed to lose all 5 states is nothing mysterious, the people hated them so much because of their arrogant and corrupted party members except to those voters from Sabah and Sarawak. UMNO was very much influenced by the divide and rule mechanism introduced by the colonial i.e. the British.

On the day the election results were announced, we were enjoying our dinner at one of the restaurant in the Curve, thanks to your Atok Deano. Messages were coming in to my mobile and one of the messages I remembered was about Khairy Jamalauddin, the son in law of Pak Lah-Prime Minister of Malaysia. The message conveyed a clear message about KJ's defeat in Negeri Sembilan but somehow the news were not true by the end of the counting. I guess those who counted the ballot box must be really bad in math. My son, please make sure you tell me what the ending of KJ was, I really need to know. Don’t worry so much about Pak Lah’s story; I think I know how it ends.

At the moment you are sleeping in the room with Mama and Qasdeena, I just don’t know when you guys will be ready to sleep in your own rooms. Talking about rooms I still haven’t prepared the room as per your mama’s request, a mixture of laziness and money of which you shall never follow.

Back to politics, 2 weeks ago I was at a forum with Tun Mahathir Mohamad, the longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia. I was never a fan of Tun until I came back from UK and understand his works. He was known as the man who changed the country from kampong to metropolitan, good or bad yet to be seen. Tun talked about Malays during the forum, but I guess he too was outdated, believe me my son' playing along the racial line does not bring any good to the nation. Walk hand in hand with your Chinese or Indians friends but make sure you hold on to Islam.

I’ve just finished reading a book by Chin Peng, the most wanted man in Malaya during the colonial occupation and I found the book to be interesting. My advice to you, don’t just believe anything being told to you without ever hearing from both sides. The world can be deceiving and it is full with guys who would do anything for power and money.

It is hard living in the city, I spent most of the time working and waiting for the salary days. The routine is scary but in order to survive I need to make sure I carry on. Your mother has been helping so much with the bills and to compensate I would never hesitate in doing her duty as well. There are those who saw that as inappropriate but a man's got to do what a man's got to do.

Opah and Atok have been ill for these past years and Ayah has got to perform the required duty as a son and that is why we do the things we does every Saturday of your life. I am not asking the same treatments from you and Qasdeena but at least make sure you guys are available when you are needed.

Son, the key to being successful is how you define success. Never put materials on top of the list and make sure you follow every rules from the Quran and Hadith. It is not the car you drive, it is not brands you choose, it is not about the house you live in but it is all about what is in your head and your heart. Fill it up with knowledge and kindness, you will survive.

Let this be the first letter and I will be writing more letters in the future. Take care and you know how much I love you and your sister, Qasdeena.


Sincerely
Ayah (3 am)