Saturday, May 31, 2008

Consumer's Price Confusion







Shopping is an interesting pastime if one has the time or money to indulge in that casual activity. The reason why you may need only time and not really money is because you can either opt for window shopping if you like. Otherwise real shopping is where you pay for what you see and want to buy as a personal possession or consumption whichever suits you at that point of time to justify your needs.

This retail therapy for the human senses can expose many interesting weaknesses and failures or even shortchanges that manipulate the unassuming shoppers, irrespective of age or sex.

Shopping means different things to different people, their needs and their urges. As such, the compulsive buyer syndrome was born and created.Recently,these behaviourial characteristics have been aptly coined "SHOPAHOLIC",with books and novels supporting these unique roles of passion. How true indeed when one sees the number of people inundating the malls, plazas and supermarkets day in day out no matter where you live or travel.
My visits to such an establishment have made me to enliven the need to expose certain unrealistic promotions or "grey" sales techniques and unscrupulous tactics that was employed by these traders or organisations to momentarily deceive the unwary shoppers when they are not vigilant enough.

As a coincidence, such encounters occurred at two supermarkets,considered big and popular among city locals. I was attracted to purchase a loaf of bread as it was considered a healthy meal even on its own. You can also prepare a simple and perfect menu and create them into a "grander" dish depending on the add-ons you want to give it. As a matter of fact, it was also the price factor that pull me in to grab one of those items which was neatly displayed on the counters in the particular section of the supermarket, also known as the bakery according to its signage above my head. And so i picked up the bread and started to look at the expiry date of the product which is registered on the plastic tag that also acted as the bread package opening device. The tag is of great importance as it will define the shelf life/ expiry date of the product concerned.

Upon noticing closer at the tag,i realised that the price indicated was more expensive than the one described on the rack. I was accustomed to the normal pricing of the loaf (as mentioned on the tag)as the price commensurate with the the 7 Elevens,the neighbourhood provision shops,the roti man that ply on his motorbike around the housing estates and of course the supermarkets,big and small.Nowadays,it's the hypermarkets that are more prevalent,as such facilities makes better sense in a city such as Kuala Lumpur which have seen tremendous consumer growth and public affluence.

Since the price listed on the rack was erroneously mentioned,i queried the sales person behind the counter about the discrepancy.I was told that i must pay according to the price on the plastic tag.Not satisfied with her explanation, i told her that she must honor me with the price that was featured on the rack as part of their so called bakery products promotion since it was cheaper and that my intention to purchase it was based on that price offer. Upon receiving an insatiable explanation,i decided to walk away from the place and make a beeline to the cashier to redeem my purchases, with my personal grievances at its peak.I could have asked for the store manager but i knew that a few cents will not make me any richer and it was up to the company to rectify these errors later on,as there are thousands of items on display. Price tagging would have been a monumental task indeed judging by the size of the establishment where similar pricing errors could have occurred, due to staff negligence or technical accountability.

Later that week,at another outlet,i was bewildered by the differential of prices the same product was traded. That caught my attention quite starkly as i recalled my previous experience a few days ago. I questioned the sales assistant about its double pricing standards for the same item and to my dismay, he just informed me that the higher price was the legitimate price .
Although he was aware of the price tags, he could not offer me an acceptable answer.

I wondered why stores still don't regard customers feedback as an important benchmark in serving the needs to fulfill customers satisfaction.
What i really meant was that in both instances i was not very happy with explanation given to my reality checks and verification requests.

Finally to complete my shopping discovery "ordeal", i was at another department store of their electrical section recently. The store in its regular event, was staging a store wide sales, that is, and being located in the popular traditional shopping hub of Kuala Lumpur,throngs of people anticipated its best buy offerings and items with craze. The store was also crowded partly due to the school holiday season.I was looking for a rice cooker appliance with a prescription that will encompass purpose,quality and value for money standard. When i asked the shop assistant as to how criteria were measured for these products to deserve a Special Offer Price tag that comes along with a validity period (as in the "while stocks last" paper flier that was attached to it),she sheepishly responded that the price was actually normal and that there was no old or higher price tag prior to that.

As far as i am aware, why would a product be subjected to be labelled as "special" when no rebates or discounts are being offered in the genuine sense. This is really an unfair practice for the beleaguered shoppers. This indiscriminate labelling of products will delude the public buying senses and shoppers must wise up to the insensitive and fallacy of such promotions.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Six Shopper Archetypes

We identified six broad “shopper archetypes” that relate to the shopper’s purchasing motivation and behavioral patterns:

* Task Shoppers don’t necessarily enjoy the shopping trip, and view it mostly as a means to procure the items on their lists.
* Bargain Shoppers approach shopping as a strategic game to be mastered, and attempt to maximize the return on a personal “value equation.”
* Price Shoppers view shopping as a zero-sum endeavor that’s focused narrowly on cash outlays and choosing brands and retailers that meet the need-of-the-moment.
* Discovery Shoppers may know their needs, but often rely on the store environment as a catalyst for purchases and are open to new products.
* Comfort Shoppers are focused on mitigating any frustration or anxiety associated with shopping, and have a stronger aesthetic orientation. They are often willing to compromise on price and selection for a more enjoyable experience.
* Experiential Shoppers are much more engaged while shopping and seek to become immersed in the culture of the category while shopping.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Friend Friend Where Art Thou ?

I have dialed almost 10 people's phone numbers trying to speak to my long lost friends.
Funny too that not only did i get some horrible responses from unidentified people on the other side of the line, which makes me wondering too why on earth am i indulging in such an annoying engrossment of my past time that promised me nothing worthy, but i also had to face with strange human voices that comes along with insensitive remarks and crude answers to top it all !

Alas ! tonight without much difficulty, due to the familiar and almost perfect name list that was featured on the internet of the phone book directory that matched my findings,i specially had the pleasure of speaking to my very old classmate in secondary two as a start.He was in my class for 1 year and incidentally he was a very close by neighbour, in class that is,as my desk was just behind where he was seated and it was also next to the large sliding window where you can also have a good view of the main corridor outside the classroom on the 1st floor of the 2 story school building. This was interesting because the school has a very long corridor where one can run or walk almost as far as the eyes can see from one end to the other. The lower secondary classes were located nearer the school hall and the library as well as the science laboratories while the other end was meant for the preuniversity classes and upper secondary classes and facing the school field. The school principal's room laid smack in the middle of the building. We had the traditional school bell that rang at every hour to signify the start or end of each class curriculum until it broke into 2 one fine day and soon replaced by an electronic somewhat "irritating" alarm effect after that as a marked progress towards the use of present time technology, so to speak. I wondered what really happened to the historic bell's whereabouts now. It could have been a part of a great museum masterpiece collection.

Adam was a typical Malay student who is bright,witty and wonderfully cheerful. He also had a brother who is a senior in the same school. A little lean with a slight wavy hair in front and a mole near his pouty mouth, tanned skinned Adam was very active in his uniformed group i.e. the NPCC as well as in athletics. I managed to call Adam through the Singapore Phone book directory after rummaging through so many names and numbers all for the sake of relocating long lost chums of years gone by. When i got through Adam's number in Jurong,his sister picked-up the call with so much of apprehension and doubts and began to query my reasons for asking about Adam. A minor interrogation of sorts anticipated as she would be wondering why at this particular time, his old friend from Malaysia will be looking for him after all these years. After a little bit of convincing and coaxing and to my near exasperation that came with it, she finally decided to impart the information of his residence number and i started to get down calling and tracking Adam immediately soon after that; without much hesitation of course.
As usual, the first few seconds of conversation did not ring a bell for Adam as far as my voice was concerned. I had no choice but to succumb into revealing my true identity soon afterwards, so that the introductory dialogue wasn't intimidating him in any way, especially when it was already a little obscure in the evening and to make matters worse ,to receive such a strange inquiry about self identity from a stranger.

I learned that Adam has "retired" from the police force and that he is on contract now for his current services.I suppose the government has a good pool of recruits and officers alike in not wanting to extend the retirement age of the police force personnel in the republic. He is living happily with his wife and three children. While speaking to him, my mind is still visualising him as in his old days, not someone who he is suppose to be now. It was hard to imagine anything that i have not seen yet, his current face that's it, as his voice was still the same as before way back when.
It was easy to work on this blog and singling Adam out as the main cast of players because he was such a happy lad in his school days. He could sing and he could dance too and he was what you would want to call a "cheerleader" person. His antics would cheer any person who is facing the blues in the class during any quiet and depressive hour. His laughter was indeed funny so much so that it sounded irritatingly "shrieky" and at an almost high pitched tone.

He was also a good sports person!And i remembered he won some trophies and medals due to his athletic achievements for representing the BLACK HOUSE(Lee Kong Chian House). Suddenly it came across my mind that i realised Adam too was my former school mate in primary 6. See how the memory lapsed !!!!

Adam's late father was also in the police force and i can now realise why he chose that field of occupation for himself after all these years. As an ex NCC police cadet or Red Cross member, his experience would have enabled him to pursue a great career later on in in his life. The NCC Police unit was a very popular organisation in school at that time. Even until today, its claim to successful achievements and awards at national level garnered great admiration for its student members and teachers in charge alike. Such was the pride and profile of this uniformed group which Adam is part history of.

Adam humorously told me that he was almost worried to have received my call; as if someone was making investigations and probing to recover some bad debts or something in its pretext.I thought for a moment realising that in this modern day of communication accessibility and possibilities, the thought of making calls out of your vast area and distance is very much unimportant and far less valueless. A "lost" person suddenly became easily recovered by means of the internet quick connections and it seemed like a miracle for all of us to be able to pursue your far fetched friends and make contact again at almost at the touch of a button on the computer if you so desired to make that happened. It was like a dream come true minus the magic.

But then again, not much people will go through great extents for such a memory recovery pursuits of sorts. Adam told me that as we grew older,the fuss about re-communications and re living the past thoughts of one's life is almost an assurance that we are getting of age . I was not bashful or intimidated about the philosophical remarks made by Adam but I got great relief and utmost satisfaction in overcoming the hurdle and successfully winning this challenge of locating my old school buddy tonight. I still remembered speaking to Adam about 11 or 12 years ago when i was working at the ITT Sheraton Asia Pacific Sales office.Again that short spoken communication was akin to touching base with some people i knew soon after my move to Kuala Lumpur.
I told Adam that i was keeping a blog as part of my new hobby and that tonight's conversation would be part of that new subject in the posting. And chat we did for the next 20 to 30 minutes or so, blathering and exchanging moments lost in time.

So i asked Adam if he had kept in touch with his other contemporaries of late or in the past few years. He bemusedly mentioned Halmi, Amirullah and some other guys, whom he had met at Geylang and at a wedding function respectively.I told him that i was contemplating to pay him a visit one of these days. An interesting story unfolded when Adam told me that his youngest son is also attending the same school as him now although his son never knew where his father attended his.It took me by surprise as to why a parent like him did not disclose that sort of information which was regarded as something casual and informal to share. I suppose that was Adam's prerogative.

So you can look for a book in the libary, buy a DVD to see your favourite old movies but how do you locate your old buddies ? Look into the telephone directory and start locating them and you will be surprised how easy it was to find them or at least one of them. I had the happiest moments of my life through such discoveries and attempts. It was not too late for such a verbal reunion even though we cannot see how the other person looked like after all these times. It was absolutely a healing process for the minds and hearts of sorts. Something we can cherished so that we will not regret in the later part of our lives when it will be too much too late to rekindle old friendships when some of us is gone forever.

Just in case, if you are wondering why the Carpenter's RAINY DAYS & MONDAYS song is featured here is because Adam sang this song in class when i told him that it was my favorite song too. Please click on the music video bar on your right to listen to 2 versions of that hit song !!!! What angelic voices !! It was interesting to know that Adam could sing while doing his class assignment at the same time, but of course when the teachers are not around then and thats for sure !

Rainy Days And Mondays

Words and Music by: Paul Williams & Roger Nichols

Rainy Days And Mondays MP3


sheet music cover
Talkin' to myself and feelin' old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothin' is really wrong
Feelin' like I don't belong
Walkin' around
Some kind of lonely clown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you
Nice to know somebody loves me
Funny but it seems that it's the only thing to do
Run and find the one who loves me.

What I feel has come and gone before
No need to talk it out
We know what it's all about
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.


Liner notes

from The Singles 1969-1973 written by Digby Diehl

The conventional manner in which new material is supposed to come to a hit recording group is by the submission of demonstration records -- recordings often just sung by the songwriter with piano accompaniment in order to audition the basic tune. Out of hundreds of "demo" records that Richard has received, Rainy Days is the only song obtained in this manner that he has ever selected to record for single release. Recorded early in 1971, Rainy Days was included on the Carpenters album. Released a s asingle in April of that year, it became their fourth consecutive million-seller.


Other Notes

In the notes to the Carpenters: The Compact Disc Collection, Richard Carpenter wrote:

Rainy Days And Mondays - Nichols and Williams sent a "demo" of this song to us. Two listenings and we decided it was perfect.

CD single picture sleeve Japan single picture sleeve

Appearances

sheet music cover single picture sleeve

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Are You A Productive Reader - Article

May 23rd, 2008 in Productivity

Are You a Productive Reader?

Are You a Productive Reader?

I know you can read. You’re reading this, aren’t you? (If you’re not reading this, never mind.)

But are you productively literate? That is, when you read, do you learn anything that you can apply immediately to your life, or do the words and ideas just bounce around your brain’s pleasure areas for a while before disappearing like so many wisps of morning fog?

Not that there’s anything wrong with reading just for pleasure now and again — by all means, grab a novel and hit the beach. But too often we read important stuff — how-to manuals, business and personal development guides, science and current affairs treatises, and yes, even personal productivity blogs with the same mindset. We read to make us feel good, about what we’ve done or what we could do or what others have done — even about what a smart person we look like reading such a smart book on the subway — and not as an exercise in personal growth.

This post is inspired by Seth Godin’s post, How to read a business book, which I linked to earlier this week in our link round-up. Godin — the author of quite a few business books — offers these three tips for reading productively:

  1. Commit to making at least three changes in your life as a result of your reading.
  2. Create todo lists as you read, instead of notes.
  3. When you’re done, give the book away, so someone else can learn from it.

Godin’s advice applies to more than just business books, I think — imagine committing yourself to making at least one change a week based on your reading at Lifehack, for instance.

Here are a few more tips about reading productively:

  • Use an index card as your bookmark. That way you always have something to write on while you’re reading. Go ahead and stick a few post-its to the back for marking significant passages, too.
  • Have expectations. Not about quality, but about content. Before you start, ask yourself, “What do I expect to gain from reading this?”
  • Keep a reading journal. When you finish a book, write down a quick summary of the book, any quotes you highlighted or flagged, and what you learned from it. Or keep a collection of chapter-by-chapter notes — maybe on a blog or wiki. Thursday Bram has some tips on journaling in one of her Lifehack posts.
  • Talk about it. Tell you boss about the new working strategy you just read about. Tell your friends about the interesting history you’re reading. We labor under the misconception that we learn by reading; we don’t. We learn by using what we’ve read.
  • Teach it. You don’t have to be a formal teacher to share your knowledge with those around you who might need it. When you can, take the opportunity to present the information you’ve gleaned: set up a seminar at work, organize a workshop at the local library, etc. This may not be for everyone, but let me tell you: nothing will help you make better sense of a topic than teaching it to others.
  • Pay attention to structure. You can often learn as much from the way the author has organized their information as from the text itself.
    • (Let me give you an example: for several years, I taught anthropology from a textbook that promoted a view of humanity as defined by a group’s relationship with the natural environment. The central part of the book had a chapter on foragers, one on horticulture (small scale farming), one on animal herding, one on agriculture, and finally one on industrialist societies. Then I switched to a textbook that saw political organization as the key element in understanding human behavior. This book devoted its central chapters to the different kinds of political structure: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states.)
  • Google it. Nowadays, it’s easy to find authors on the web, who often post new material expanding or correcting their work after it’s published. Check out their websites — even strike up a conversation with the author if you feel like it.
  • Take a moment. People want to read fast, to get it done. That’s why speedreading courses are so popular, despite the fact that you almost never come across anyone who can successfully speedread. The reality is, reading takes time, and learning takes even more. If you only have 20 minutes to read, read for 15 and spend 5 minutes thinking on what you’ve read. If you’re not pressed for time, take long breaks between chapters, even between sections, to reflect.
  • Interrogate. It’s a cliche, but not everything is true just because it was in a book. While developing a Stephen Colbert-like distrust of books is probably overkill, it’s a rather good idea to ask from time to time, “How does the author know this?” and even “Does what s/he’s saying really mean this?”
  • Make a list. Always carry a list of books you want to read or topics you want to read up on. You never know when the opportunity might arise — maybe you stop into a Borders to kill some time between obligations, maybe you notice a new used book store in your neighborhood and want to check it out, maybe someone in your office clears out a box of books from their office, whatever. As you read, add books recommended by the author to your list. (P.S. Mine’s in a tabbed page in my Moleskine. Of course.)
  • Switch it up. Every now and again, read something you wouldn’t normally read. Check out an aisle of the bookstore or library you’ve never been down. Take a friend’s recommendation even if it doesn’t sound very interesting. You might be pleasantly surprised — or you might be challenged to your very core. Either way’s a net gain.
  • Accept defeat.On the other hand, if a book isn’t doing it for you, drop it. Some books are over-hyped pabulum, and there’s no need to feel guilty if you got caught up in the hype. Other books, you just aren’t ready to read yet. Whatever the case, if you’re forcing yourself to get through a book page by page, drop it and move on — you’re not being productive reading like that.

    (Of course, if you’re a student and it’s a required text, you’ll need to read it somehow — make sure you talk to your professor or teacher about the trouble you’re having.)

Any other advice for more productive reading? Let me and your fellow Lifehack readers know in the comments!

WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY

Dustin Wax

Dustin M. Wax is a contributing editor and project manager at lifehack.org. He is also the creator of The Writer's Technology Companion, a site devoted to the tools of the writing trade. When he's not writing, he teaches anthropology and women's studies in Las Vegas, NV. His personal site can be found at dwax.org.

ARTICLES BY THIS WRITER »

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Measuring Time


RIVER VALLEY ENGLISH SCHOOL


CANTONMENT SCHOOL

Called me an extrovert or what but i was a very sociable kid when i first started primary school education.My parents especially my father insisted that his children be educated around the neighbourhood so that little transportation expenses are incurred and so that he need not bother my mother to send the children to school under no circumstances.

My eldest brother was enrolled at the River Valley English School which was to my knowledge very far away from our home and thus he had to travel early to school. Later on my father had him transferred to Kim Seng Primary School, although i didn't know the reason for that transition. He later settled permanently at Cantonment Primary School which is located along Cantonment Road, and only a 10 minutes walk away. My elder sister however was first admitted for her primary one education at Outram Primary School and later transferred to Cantonment School in the middle of the same year.
Thus the tradition began where all the subsequent siblings will attend the same primary school in the following years of our time. As a matter of fact,it was the easy and fast way to get registered to a nearby school as you need to have a brother or sister studying there as a criteria for admission. I believe this prerequisite is the norm in all government or government aided schools in the country.

I remembered vaguely on my first day at school but i still remembered about the rest of the year in primary one. It was a joy and a great experience notwithstanding the little pressures that one has to get over the many more months later in the year. Getting up early in the morning to prepare for school was a dleight. There was freshness and brightness in the air. I knew that i will meet my friends at school as there were very few at home. It was like a playground of sorts except that you have books to read and tests to sit. I had no front teeth and i remembered one girl calling me "bogeh" which i didnt mind at all.It was a joy to be in school and arguably i was not concerned about such shortcomings.

My class teacher was Mrs Rasanayagam. She was a big sized woman who wore sari all the time, and it could be that she was so proud to be dressed in her national costume, as what we like to call the attire. She would have been the only woman in the whole school to be wearing a sari and i also realise that she was the only Indian teacher too. Incidentally too, the school principal was also an Indian. His name was Mr D Retnasamy. He has a very smiling character but he was also firm in his duties. We usually would listen to his speeches in the mornings when he has to make some important school announcements. On the othe hand, Mr D Retnasamy will always come to school in a full white attire, both shirt and pants alike and that is what i call a uniform, like a hospital uniform, i think so.His neat hairstyle was always fresh as they glistened with the cream applied on to the centre parting style of his crown.

Mrs Rasa as we all fondly called her (may her soul rest in peace) was a wonderful woman teacher. I was so lucky to have her as my first teacher in this world as i have learnt a lot about what school and studying was all about.
She had some grey and curly tresses on the sides of her hair and it was tied to a bun at the back of it. It was so neat and she would wore earings too to match her hairstyle. Her saris were plain but colourful but not too loud. What i remembered was her powder "smell" or more appropriately , whenever i speak close to her. At times she will wear her glasses when she reads us her story books or perusing some letters and notices that was sent to her by the school's office boy. That office boy was Chinese and he had a Christian name which i cannot recalled but i think it was Jeffrey.
Mrs Rasa could be regarded as a very strict teacher as she was sometimes very hot tempered but only to those pupils who makes her angry due to their poor studies and comprehension of what is being taught.
I came to write naturally with my left hand when the first writing lessons started but as soon as Mrs Rasa found out the improper writing flair, she knocked my hand with a ruler so that i will write with my right hand instead. As such, everyone who wrote with their left hand(including me) automatically began writing with their right hand. It was a scary experience in the beginning to see the teacher going round the desks observing the procedures, which came with hard knocks of the ruler concealed behind her back . That was our first learning experience. She was a very fierce teacher and everyone would be frightened of her.

Sometime towards the end of the year in Primary 1, i contracted mumps, which is a very common epidemic among children and was on medical leave for more than a week. Lucky for me as the exams were over and when i came back to school, it was almost like the last week of the school year.
I had bought my Primary 2 school text books and was happy that i could read them well as i like the reading subject very much. I even read out a page or 2 to my Mrs Rasa to which she was impressed with my ability and courage.

I had many new friends as far as i could remember in the first year at school, their names read like these but some did not continue in the same school the following year :

1) Vivien Seah - daughter of the Senior Assistant
2) Ng Kum Chuen
3) Mohd Feroze Khan
4) Ronald Pietrowski
5) Satiah bte Rahman
6) Noraini bte Saim
7) Mahmud bin Madon
8) Mohd Fauzi
9) Mohd Rozeland
10) Seetoh Kok Lim
11) Mohd Tahir Ismail
12) Kamariah bte Sulaiman
13) Halimah bte Aziz ) brother & sister
14) Zaharin bin Aziz )
15) Meor Mohd Affandi bin Hariri
16) Fatimah bte Abu Bakar ) brother & sister
17) Mohd Yusof bin Abu Bakar )
18) Matnor bin Mohd
19) Leong Yoke Yin
20) Nooraini
21) Rahmah bte Ahmad
22) Mary Tan
23) Koh Poey Yin
24) Lim Beng Choo
25) Norehan bte Yunus
26) Hazizam Aris
27) Osni bin Osman
28) Zaleha bte Osman
29) Gurdip Singh

Other teachers i knew & heard about :
Ms Devi
Mr Haji Ismail bin Tahir
Cikgu Zawiah bte Malique
Mr Ho Wai Mun
Mt Kong Poey Yin
Mr Ho ( husband of Ms Lee )
Mr Sharma Lal Chand
Ms Kwa So Yuk
Mr Teo Chwee Kiat



I could only remember some of the names of my Primary One classmates and of the above, some might have already passed away as i have been told and i was deeply saddened by it. Some of them have also continued to be my schoolmates in the same school until my secondary school years. Some brilliant guys even dropped out of school after their Entrance Examinations but many pursued their education in their own ways according to their success after the P.S.L.E.
That was when we were all children, but it will be more interesting to find out what happened later on when they became adults. It will be interesting to know that too !
Over the primary years, i had some new additions of classmates due to their transfers into my class, and these include :
1) Wong Hong Boon, who also became my schoolmate at secondary level
2) V Rajakumaran, an Indian boy who spoke very fluent Malay
3) Sofia bte Othman - A Malay girl who stayed for only 2 years and later transferred to Malaysia in Primary 3
4) Leonard Lawrence Hwatt - A Eurasian who hails from Penang who came in at Primary 4
5) Mohd Zahari - who came in Primary 2 from Pearl Bank School and a good sports runner.

At the same time, we also had influx of transfers of students from the B class to the A Class making examinations performances more competitive and challenging amongst all of us at Primary 5 & 6 levels.

6) Tan Swee Guek, joined at Primary 4 level, and she also spoke good Malay despite her vernacular subject being Chinese.
7) Othman bin Sulaiman who joined us at Primary 4 from Rosyth School, who is also my neighbour at home. He went to Cantonment because it was nearer home now.
8)Ahmad Tarmizi - who joined in Primary 2. I think he is from Malaysia. Neat and soft spoken boy and always polite although i suspect that he stammers while speaking.

9) Sukhdev Kaur - a Punjabi girl who joined us at Primary 2
10) Jaswinder Kaur - another Punjabi girl who joined at Primary 4.
11) Kultip Singh - who joined at Primary 5. He was quite a smart boy. He joined Bartley School in Secondary 1.


Sukhdev Kaur made me laugh in class especially when she reads passages from the book in the Malay class.
Her reading had the intonation of a singing style that i could not help laughing each time i heard her recitation.


Over the 6 years in primary school, i had 2 teachers who taught us twice meaning to say that i had only 4 teachers as my class teacher :
Primary 1 - Mrs R Rasanayagam
Primary 2 - Ms Kwok Pui San -( former student of Fairfield Methodist Girls School)
Primary 3 - Ms Wee Swee Lian ( former student of Fairfiled Methodist Girls School)
Primary 4 - Ms Kwok Pui San
Primary 5 - Ms Lee Lay Boey - ( former student of Methodist Girls School )
Primary 6- Ms Lee Lay Boey


I was told that the above teachers taught my class twice because they like the students very much due to their good behaviour and commendable results.

New Information :
Today, 31 May 2008,i surfed the internet again to search for the whereabouts of Mrs Rasayanagam. I saw the son's photo in the google images and he was depicted as Dr Rasanayagam who was active in the SATA organisation.(He is now 80 years of age.) I decided to call the number in Dunearn Road and a lady answered my call, who is apparently the daughter in law of Mrs Rasa. This Mrs Rasa told me that my class teacher passed away in 1997 at the age of 90 years old. A short conversation ensued as i pay my little tribute to the greatest teacher i ever had.God Bless Mrs Rasa's soul !

New Updated Information : 2nd June 2008
I called up Mahmud bin Madon, my primary 1 school mate ! He picked up my called with sheer astonishment and great enthusiasm.
Although he could not really recall me ( whether by name or face- since its been so many years down the history of our lives).
He spoke about Zaharin Aziz & Halimah Aziz the brother and sister pair that was also in the same class as us. Both Zaharin & Halimah left Singapore for Malaysia after their Primary 4 level education.
Mahmud is currently on long medical leave after a fall at his workplace and injuring his wrist which was badly fractured. He is attached to SATS at Changi International Airport.

I also spoke to another ex colleague of mine, Yow Kok Shee who was in the same class in Primary 5 & 6. We became very good friends because we had the same hobbies eg collecting stamps, coins, matchboxes as well as music.
It started when out teacher, Ms Lee asked us to collect the most matchboxes as part of our reading assignment in class. My group consisting of Halim, Kok Shee and myself went out of our way to gather as many matchboxes as we could. I realised that there are so many brands of match boxes out there and in our searches, we found unknown labels as well as imported ones. Our group collected the highest amount and i think we got a small token of money from our teacher for that effort. It was so enjoyable and fulfilling.
Later on, i pursued my hobbies seriously as a numismatist but only for 2 years. Kok Shee had a wider collection of coins and notes as he had a sister who worked in England and often send him the foreign currencies and also bought him an album especially for it.During the weekends, i will go to Kok Shee's house at Hoe Chiang Road and we will walk to Clifford Pier at Collyer Quay to meet the sailors from overseas to exchange our money with them. Imagine an 11 year old boy doing sales talk at that time. I remembered the French sailors with their red bob on their caps.

David Cook's Triumph At The American Idol 2008

"American Idol" winner David Cook (2nd R) is surrounded by fellow contestants, including finalist David Archuleta (L), onstage at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles May 21, 2008. "American Idol" winner David Cook (2nd R) is surrounded by fellow contestants, including finalist David Archuleta (L), onstage at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles May 21, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Son Of My Father


SON OF MY FATHER :
singer : CHICORY TIP
COMPOSER : GIORGIO MORODER
published : 1971

Father said to me we gotta have your life run night
off you got to school where you can learn the rules there right
be just like your dad lad
follow in the same tradition
never go astray and stay an honest lovin' son.

Son of my father
moulded I was folded I was preform-packed
son of my father
commanded I was branded in a plastic vac'
surrounded and confounded by statistic facts.

Tried to keep me in but jumped out of my skin in time
I saw thru the lies and read the alibi signs
so I left my home I'm relly on my own at last
left the trodden path and separated from the past.

Son of my father
changing rearranging into someone new
son of my father
collecting and selecting independant views
knowing and I'm showing that a change is due.

Son of my father
moulded I was folded...

Son of my father
moulded I was folded...


Songfacts:
This was originally recorded by the Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. It was called "Nachts Scheint Die Sonne" in Germany.
This was the first ever UK #1 to feature a synthesizer. The Moog synthesizer was played by engineer Chris Thomas, who went on to become a famous producer.
This was Chicory Tip's first and biggest UK hit. They went on to record 2 more Top 20 singles - "What's Your Name" and "Good Grief Christina." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above)

Comments:
thanks Clark, got to get me some of that Chicory Tip.........hmmmmm Chicory Tip
- pete, nowra, Australia
son of my father was also the first uk#1 to use the entertainer rolf harris's 'stylophone' and also was used on david bowies space oddity
- jeff, liverpool, England
Chicory Used in salads or cooked like spinach or greens, good-quality chicory will have inner leaves that are crisp and pale green in color. There are a number of varieties of chicory including heading and loose-leaf. Avoid product that has wilted, brown-edged or discolored leaves. Chicory is available year-round - depending on the variety.
- Clark, Milroy, PA
so what's a chicory tip???????
- pete, nowra, Australia
what the hell's a chicory tip?????
- pete, nowra, Australia


When i visited my father's grave recently at Jeruk Puruk, located in the Jakarta suburbs , i traveled about 30 minutes from the Gran Melia Hotel where i resided for a few days, going through an orderly traffic and passing through many new sights i have never seen before.
It was the last day of my stay in the city and even though i had been there several times in the past few years i did not make any effort to call in for a visit. The last time i paid him my respects was in 1998,almost 10 years ago. There was no guilt conscience or regrets about it because i believe that i have never felt his physical loss since the day he was gone and i think he is with me everytime and whenever i thought about him anyway. I knew that as i say or perform my daily prayers, my thoughts for him will always linger there invariably.

My dad was a unique person as compared to all his brothers, whom i dearly called my uncles. He was the youngest of 5 siblings consisting of 4 males and 1 female and as of today, he is survived only by his second sibling,my Mak Ngah as we fondly calls her.
As the youngest child in his family, i have seen and noticed the respect and acknowledgment of my father's character as someone that has got a lot to do with public relations and kind-heartedness that is zestful and unrequited. He was a man of jovial persona, very well liked by his older nephews and often poked fun with sometimes by his nieces for his 'cheeky" and outspoken traits. In other words, my father was a simple person and he cares more to provide his love and laughter to whoever appreciates it. He was unmistakably himself like no other among his siblings. My other uncles somehow looked as though they had little or no sense of humour at all. Rigid to the brim i should say. Sighting them could be regarded as having seen a hungry ghost in the Chinese 7th lunar month festival ! My friends and neighbours could'nt agree more ! It wasnt a pleasing encounter so to speak.


I always believe that nobody can speak honestly of his own head of family unlike his own children, and i feel i have this duty to relate some of life's most precious and unforgettable moments with a person i call " Abah". Apparently Abba ( minus letter "H" also means father in Hebrew.)

I have quite a large family . When i was a bit younger, my family was of course a bit smaller too. Over the years the family expanded and coming from a Malay family, a big family is often regarded as a form of gift from God Almighty. Perhaps when you are the child in your own family, size does not relate any negative presumptions or inconveniences or dislikes. It is only when you grew up later that you realised their natural existence was very much like a coincidence or to be taken for granted and you begin to recognise them as your siblings too. However i also found out that some of my other friends have even bigger family members as compared to mine when i went to school. It was not our worry to know why we had additional sisters ( in my case) or even brothers. It was expected of us to welcome them into our home.

As a man, who comes from a 'big' family group, maybe it could have been my father's wish too to emulate that virtuous "fertile " family size . Size does not matter and so i find out too that my father was a very "hardworking" man indeed. What i actually meant was that he had always wanted more and more sons. My mother blessed him with daughters instead ! after my birth that is.
In my family , there were 2 sons , me and my elder brother, who presently is residing permanently just across the causeway. I suppose that was fated too by God that my father will have daughters all the way after me.

My father was a very simple person but he is almost a strict administrator on the other side of his character. Although my mother often called the shots as the perfect lady of the house in its overall family management, my father had very exacting house principles to call his own. He has perfect hopes like any father has or aspires. I often believe that he was so confident of his own family that he has not much to worry about it, especially in the upbringing of his children.
My mum would have played an important role in making my father's aspirations came into being and through her greatest maternal abilities.
These observations will later on influence all our lives.

I would say that i had a very happy but quiet life and under my father's tutelage and upbringing, i never felt any better and comfortable. No, he did not gave me tuition nor help me with my studies. I was never scorned about my studies as he knew that i could do well without much supervision.I guess my father was lucky that he was not bogged down with such chores.
Nor did he bring me to the playground to play with .What he did was to exercise freedom and independence to all his children.
I remembered vividly having my own limited collection of toys, fun trips to the amusement parks,movies, weddings, vacations to back country during the school holidays and much more that i could not even remember that my father actually participated with me and that was a wonderful memory indeed.
Our house even had a movie projector that played very short films and the monkey star was full of fun to watch. When the film ended i continued playing in the shadows on the wall using my hands and fingers to imitate some birds or other gestures. It was sheer fun.

Even in my youthful days, my father would share some kind of mutual jokes and laughter when the situation reckoned or when the lively spirits of coexistence appears in our impromptu family get togethers , although these are rare towards the later part of lives. ( One occasion that i vividly remembered was about his physical absence at home when we had breaking of fast because he had traveled to Bangkok.)

The fact that his job with the government office is tying his schedule in the rather unusual 9 -5 routine as most people do, he still managed to interact affectionately with his children.
Why he preferred a shifting timetable for work for almost all his life i did not quite understand.
My mother will certainly be able to explain better on this choice of situation. After all he still comes home to sleep except that his sleep times are not the usual everyday person way of routine. His work hours routine examples looked something like this : 7- 3, 3- 11, 11- 7 , OFF .
It was diligently pronounced in writing on the " Horse Racing Calender" that was mounted on the door that leads into our kitchen. It was so easy to track down my father's occupational activity after all !!!. My mother must have been very glad about these daily trademarks. On his free time, i will watch him jot down all these work schedules and he could even complete them months ahead ! maybe 4 or 5 months using his Parker ball pen. The pressings on the calender paper was so hard that you could see their line marks or bulges on the opposite sides .

I remembered sneaking into his uniform pockets to read his work schedule manifest. It was a pocket size like notebook with all his recordings of his daily work routine. He had so many times
written the clock times as 1700 hours, 1500 hours etc and i realise that it was "military time"schedule after that. I noticed also that he had so many of that stuff dumped in his baju melayu pocket hung up behind the room door. I suppose the baju melayu top attire was used due to its vast pockets that could hold practically anything at that time. Call it a perfect letter/ utility rack of sorts. The baju melayu sure comes in handy after the Hari Raya festival, i guess.

I remembered too giving my father a scare of his life, when the school authorities called home via the Charge Room, the office section as we knew by its function in our government quarters, one afternoon informing my father that i had been bitten by the school dog ! He would have almost jumped frantically i guessed and not made any quick second thoughts about the report but just dashed to my school to find out what had really happened.

I was pretty sure that he was very angry at me too at the same time but as i had seen him in the ambulance that carried me later to the General Hospital, he portrayed a feature of a kind man not the least worried but a man full of conviction about his son's awful behaviour deep inside his heartful emotions. I faded into my doze soon afterwards after enjoying the cool interiors of the ambulance, that enhanced me with its relaxing respiratory instruments. The ambulance is in fact a nice and comfortable place to be in and i remembered that it was green in colour.


The other incident which was just as serious if not dangerous was when my eye was blow- piped with a hard solid clay (using a slim aluminum pipe- similar to the tv antenna) by one of my play friend neighbours . I was just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I just came into being to share play a game of hide and seek with some other friends at the nearby canteen,which was located next to my house by means of just hopping across the wall divider. As i entered the place, i felt a soft thud in my eye that suddenly blanked off my right vision almost simultaneously and at the same time, i noticed the person 's face responsible for the uncanny prank. I felt blinded by that foreign object and i just ran home to get it washed away. For a few seconds , i thought i was going to lose my eyesight and i panicked emotionally. It was painful and it was horrible.

I just cannot recall how i was sent to the hospital again to be inspected and treated for that unfortunate incident. My father was very upset with the neighbour's son who played the antic on me, who happened to be my very own classmate in primary school. Wearing an eye mask to class the following days were much of a personal embarrassment to me. Speak about the one - eye Jack or other comic characters' familiar resemblance!, but during those days, no TV series had such an icon as far as i could remember except the story books and novels.

How many of us can recall those kinds of tragic incidents in our lives ,but i must have been lucky that some people in comparison would have experience even far worse situations than me.
I wish my father would not have to go through those exasperating nightmare again. Fathers knows best.

I recalled, one breezy afternoon, just after school started, my father came knocking at my class room door while my teacher was in her high teaching enthusiasm session.
That could be the reason why my father had always insisted that his children be enrolled in nearby schools. In my case it was just a walking distance of 10 minutes from home without even having to cross any street or dangerous roads. How safe and convenient life was way back then.
(Incidentally, this scenario repeated itself all through my secondary school days.)

My father's hair looked neat as if he had just combed it, as he liked to apply Brylcreem on his hair. His face seemed like in daze and was like he had just woken up from his unfinished afternoon nap. He excused him self politely informing my class teacher that he has to bring me to the National Registration office to apply for my NRIC. I was 12 at that time and it was an offence, culpable to certain punishment to miss out the last date of registration, as the compulsory ruling warranted.

My father chatted with me briskly as we moved out of the school grounds which did not allowed him to cycle up to the entrance due to its sloping terrain . He told me that he will parked his bicycle somewhere and that we will continue our journey by bus near the Singapore River to get to the NRIC office. If i could remember too well, it was the second time my father have seen me at school though he could have done that earlier, when i was first registered in primary one a few years ago.

It has been a long time indeed that i have not been to this part of the city and i knew i would love the stroll because it was such an historic place according to my knowledge. The Victoria Memorial Hall was there, Sir Stamford Raffles monument was there too and of course the traditional tongkangs and barges that ply down the nasty scenting Singapore River.

Later on my father gave me a treat at the movies. I suppose this was the first time i never went to sleep while watching a movie. ( but it was an afternoon show anyway) It was a war movie called " Blue Max " starring George Peppard. ( October 1, 1928May 8, 1994)

(Quote : " Peppard developed a tendency to choose tough guy roles in big, ambitious pictures where he was somewhat overshadowed by ensemble casts; for example, his role as German pilot Bruno Stachel, an obsessively competitive officer from humble beginnings who challenges the Prussian aristocracy during World War I in The Blue Max (1966). For this role, Peppard learned to fly, earned a private pilot's license and did his own stunt flying."

The Blue Max is a 1966 British film about a German fighter pilot on the Western Front during World War I. It was directed by John Guillermin and starred George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler and Jeremy Kemp. The screenplay was written by David Pursall, Jack Seddon, and Gerald Hanley, based on the novel of the same name by Jack D. Hunter. )


QUOTE : MOVIE PLOT -

Bruno Stachel (George Peppard) is a corporal in the German infantry who, in spring 1918, leaves the fighting in the trenches to become a fighter pilot in the German Air Service. He sets his sights on winning the highest decoration, the Pour le Mérite, nicknamed the "Blue Max", for which he must shoot down 20 aircraft.

Coming from humble origins, Leutnant Stachel is driven to prove himself better than the aristocratic pilots in his new fighter squadron, especially Willi von Klugermann (Jeremy Kemp). Their commanding officer, Hauptmann Otto Heidemann (Karl Michael Vogler) is an upper-class officer whose notions of chivalry conflict with Stachel's ruthless determination.

On his first mission, Stachel shoots down a British S.E.5, but does not receive credit for his "kill" because there were no witnesses. He searches the French countryside for hours in a pouring rain looking for the wreckage, giving the other pilots the impression that he cares more about it than the death of the man he flew with.

Soon afterwards, he attacks an Allied two-man observation aircraft, incapacitating the rear gunner. Then, instead of downing the helpless victim, he signals the pilot to surrender and fly to his base. However, as they near the airfield, the wounded man revives and reaches for his machine gun, unseen by the admiring observers on the ground. Stachel is forced to shoot the aircraft down, but Heidemann believes Stachel simply murdered the crew in order to gain a "confirmed" kill.

The incident brings Stachel to the attention of General Count von Klugermann (James Mason), Willi's uncle. When the general comes to the base to award his nephew the Blue Max, he meets Stachel. As a member of the masses, "as common as dirt", the pilot has great potential for propaganda purposes. That night, the general's wife, Kaeti (Ursula Andress), mistakenly enters Stachel's room. She is carrying on a discreet affair with her nephew by marriage, with her husband's knowledge.

Soon afterwards, Stachel is shot down going to the aid of a red Fokker Dr.I attacked by two British fighters. He survives the crash landing. When he returns to the airfield, he is stunned when he is introduced to the man he saved: Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Grateful, von Richtofen offers Stachel a place in his squadron. He regretfully declines.

With Stachel temporarily grounded owing to a minor injury, General von Klugermann orders him to Berlin to help shore up crumbling public morale. While there, von Klugermann invites Stachel to dinner so that Kaeti can sleep with her latest hero.

When Stachel returns to duty, he and Willi von Klugermann volunteer to escort a reconnaissance aircraft. British fighters attack. Stachel's guns jam, but Willi downs two of the enemy on his first pass, then a third on Stachel's tail, and the rest disengage. As the two are returning to their base, Willi challenges Stachel. Spotting a bridge, Willi dives under the wide middle span, but Stachel tops him by flying under a much narrower side one. Seething, Willi clears the smaller span, but clips the top of a nearby brick tower and crashes. When Stachel reports his death, Heidemann assumes that the two verified victories were Willi's. Insulted, Stachel impulsively claims the kills, even though it is discovered that he had only fired 40 bullets. Outraged, Heidemann reports Stachel's lie to his superiors, but is told that Stachel's victories will be confirmed.

Then, during a strafing mission to cover the retreat of the German army, Stachel disobeys Heidemann's order not to engage enemy aircraft; the rest of the squadron follows him. Afterwards, Heidemann has Stachel arrested, furious that nearly half the pilots were killed in the ensuing dogfight. Stachel, however, cares only that he has shot down enough aircraft, even without Willi's kills, to qualify for the Blue Max. The two men are ordered to Berlin. There, General von Klugermann tells Heidemann privately that Stachel is to receive the Blue Max. Heidemann resigns his command in disgust when the general orders him to withdraw his report; he accepts a desk job.

Later that evening, the countess visits Stachel and suggests that they run away to Switzerland since Germany's defeat is inevitable. She storms out when he refuses to be one of her "lapdogs".

The next day, Stachel is awarded the Blue Max by the Crown Prince in a well-publicized ceremony. However, a field marshal telephones von Klugermann to inform him of an impending investigation into Stachel. The general asks how the field marshal became aware of Stachel's lie. While listening on the phone, he turns his gaze to his wife. Desperate to avoid a scandal, von Klugermann takes advantage of Heidemann's report that the new monoplane which he has just test-flown is a "death trap", with fatally-weak struts. He orders Stachel to take the aircraft up and to "show us some real flying." During strenuous aerobatics, Stachel's aircraft breaks up, plunges to the ground and bursts into flames. The General stamps and signs his personnel file and sends it to the Field Marshall. "It is the personal file of a German officer," he says, "and a hero."



Incidentally, my father was an ardent movie goer and a great P.Ramlee fan too, having brought me to many shows with the rest of the family especially with my brother. I always insisted to follow them but will eventually sleep through the whole event as my father loved to book the 9.pm show ! My father did not waste his money on the seat as i always sat on his lap or we just had an extra seat bonus when the next door patron failed to occupy the empty seat.

After the movie at Capitol cinema, we both walked to MPH at the corner of Stamford Road and Coleman Street. Once there, i was surprised with the vast array of imported toys being displayed in the 1st Floor department of the huge building. I remembered too, having visited MPH to follow my brother to purchase his textbooks there a few years earlier. I love the old lift that brings up the respective floors as it was like a cage and you could see the hollow structure as it moves up and down the well. It reminds me of the Virginia House lift at Keppel Road where the Chartered Bank once stood. I just love riding in the car through the open space and see the thin cables move like a rope that glides above and below you. It was definitely safe for kids lke me. At the toys department, i felt like an opportunity to make my X'mas wish come true. And of all the things found there, i selected an item called, Harmoni Pet - a made in Japan musical instrument that resembled a pianica. It was a 12 key plastic mouth instrument with a colourful keyboard on its face. I was delighted in having it as a gift from my father.

I learned from that day in my adult years that every parent must buy their children a present in order to make their children appreciate their father's generosity and kindness in later years. It does not have to be expensive but it was the thoughts that counts as everybody say.

It was such a fun and delightful activity for me that afternoon. But Ooops i actually cut school that day but with parental approval that is !








To be continued.........

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Muhammad in Islam A Guidance to follow

Muhammad in Islam A Guidance to follow


Muhammad as a man had already died, but as a Prophet he left behind him a legacy in the form of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. He stressed the urgent need to hold firmly to these two sources during his Farewell speech in the valley of Arafat. If people hold fast to them, they will never go astray.

The teachings he left for us if put into practice in their true spirit and proper way will bring a happy life in this world and besides the indubitable rewards that will be received by those who believed in them in the life after death.

In this sense, Islam is a worldly religion which cares first for the worldly affairs of humanity. The hereafter is merely a continuation of the worldly life. It is difficult to portend that man can be saved in the hereafter without being saved in this world. The safe way is to follow the way shown to us by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). When his wife, ‘Aishah, was asked by a companion about the Prophet’s daily conduct, ‘Aishah replied that the conduct of the Prophet is the Qur’an which is the guidance from Allah and Muhammad was given authority by Allah to interpret it. That is why his conduct is exemplary of human conduct. Islam as brought by the Prophet Muhammad is very much misunderstood as a religion of rituals only like prayers, fasting, almsgiving and pilgrimage. Thanks to the new developments in the world, Islam is now looked upon In a wider perspective than the narrow-minded view.

The increased interest in Islamic studies by Muslims and non-Muslims supported by the advanced printing technology, has begun to open the eyes of the world about the true teaching and intrinsic values of Islam.

Economy:

In the field of economic development, the goal is not material gain, but human welfare in general. Islam exhorts that the balance between the material and physical aspects, between the individual and societal needs, be maintained in order to narrow the gap between two opposite sides of human world. It is stated in the Qur’an:“Say, who is there to forbid the beauty which Allah has brought forth for His creatures, and the good things from among the means of sustenance. Say, they are for those who believe (in Allah) In this worldly life, to be theirs alone in the Hereafter on the Day of Resurrection …… Say, the only things my Lord forbids are the shameful deeds, be they open or secret, the sin, unjustified envy, the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Allah, and the attributing unto Allah of aught of which you have no knowledge”

So everyone is free to conduct any business he likes outside the harmful circle he has been warned not to indulge in. If he does not listen to this warning, he will be in trouble. Every good quality as precondition to a successful business is encouraged by Islam.

The Prophet himself was a businessman before he was appointed as a Prophet. His ability to run business prudently, by his fairness and truthful conduct in dealing with people had won him the heart of his employer, Khadijah who later offered him mariage. He advocated Muslims to follow the spirit of Prophet Daud (David) of hard work, earned his living from his own labour. He also said that faith of a Muslim is not complete If he is not good in his profession. He said: “If you leave matters to those who are not professional, you are waiting for the disaster”.

If he works in the production line, his products must be compatible with products of other companies or factories. In order to be marketable, it must suit the taste of buyers and their standards of living. In this regard, Islam teaches not to cheat in offering the product to the market. It must be shown as it is without any publicity it does not deserve. In the life time of the Prophet, he found many cases in market places where the merchants tried to cheat the customers. The Prophet said to them: “Whoever cheated are not from amongst us (Muslims)”.

Islam laid many regulations in the field of economy such as trade, leasing, business transaction, contract and others to prevent unfair dealing within the community and in the world of business at large. What is also prevented by Islam is a monopoly and exploitation -by one man or one group at the expense of the others.

Cleanliness:

The first thing in the religion brought by the Prophet Muhammad is the care of cleanliness. The concept of cleanliness in Islam covers physical and spiritual, mundane and religious domains.

Before performing any rituals, prescribed by Islam, one should cleanse his body, and his dress, his place of worship and his environment should be clean.

Before performing his prayers or starting for pilgrimage, one has to make his ablution (wudu’). If he or she is in a state of unclean after having had a lawful Intimate intercourse or post-natal period or other reasons, he or she has to take a complete bath by pouring clean water over the whole body.

In the case of daily prayer, every Muslim has to clean his/her private parts, face, hand, feet, mouth, nose and ears at least five times every day for the five daily prayers. This also reminds him/her to keep his/ her soul clean from unlawful deeds.

Cleanliness is not in the physical sense only. The body should be purified as well from evil doings that might harm his relationship with others and with God. He has to clean his mind from bad intentions or committing unlawful acts. He has to clean his heart from jealousy, hypocrisy and other evil desires. He has to embody hope, truthfulness, forgiveness, compassion, holiness, the sense of brotherliness, neighbourliness and other noble qualities.

He has to pay special attention to his diet against all unhealthy food medically and religiously. He has to keep his eyes, ears, tongue from evils. These are among the noble characteristics as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad.

To clean the wealth, Islam instituted the zakat system (way of purifying wealth). A person whose wealth has reached a certain point is obligated to pay zakat (alms) which is a duty enjoined by God and undertaken by Muslims in the interest of society as a whole.

For those able persons whose wealth does not reach the minimum rate point, he can also give voluntary contribution to the needy. This does not mean that the needy should always be receiving help from the able.

Prophet Muhammad said: "The upper hand (giver) is better than the lower one (receiver of help).”

If the receiver of zakat can grasp the spirit of the Prophet’s saying, he will try his best to be the giver instead of the receiver by endeavouring to better his life as encouraged by the teachings of Islam.

In Islam the possession of more wealth does not raise a man’s dignity, nor does poverty degrade him. It is true that wealth is necessary for man to live on this earth, but It is only a means, not the end. The end is happiness in life by attaining the higher values and not losing sight of in the pursuit of wealth.

Among the great virtues of Islam is the command to do good and the prohibition to do evil. The good should be preserved and the evil should be discarded. In short, Islam is actually composed of a series of commands and prohibitions. All the commands and prohibitions are for the good of humanity. Allah the Most Knowing, the Most Merciful, did not decree any law and regulations but for the good and benefit of his creatures.

The prohibition was decreed because of its evil implications to humanity. The evils were created to test the human conscience and challenge their freewill in choosing between right and wrong.

All the commands and prohibitions from Allah as transmitted through His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was intended to purify the human soul in order to live a pure and clean life adored by Allah and human genesis.

Orderliness:

One of the other teachings of Islam is about orderliness. Discipline, regulation, management, planning and all other terms relating to organisation are mostly. understood as alien to Islam. On the contrary, Islam exhorts people to live in orderliness and to put the right thing in the right place. The foundation of Islamic order rests on two main principles, the crucial -faith in one God (Allah) and the oneness of humanity. All the frame works were laid down in the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad applied himself to working out the essential details of that order.

One of the great values taught by Islam in this regard is to make use of the time left to humanity. The Qur'an and the Sunnah (Traditions) mentioned about time, day, week, month, year and century. People are lost if they did not spend the time available to them during this life for good things. It is a great loss if people have to waste the valuable time they have at their disposal for useless activities. It is true that life should be enjoyable but not at the expense of human resources and values which are essential for the continuation of their wellbeing.

Allah the Most Knowing had created time and space suitable for human activities for they can attain achievements in life. There are times for work, study, recreation, resting and even celebration. All are parts of activities in worshipping Allah and serving His cause. The Qur'an says that Allah had created day for earning and night for resting and enjoyment. He created the sun, the moon and all outer-space objects co that man on the earth can fix the time and arraflge the calendar. By having a standard time and standard calendar and the movements of astronomical objects, people are able to regulate their time table in choosing the right moment for them in doing business and carrying out their activities.

Islam prescribes certain times for the daily prayers, certain month for the obligatory fasting and certain time during life time for performing the haj pilgrimage which indicates that the religion brought by Prophet Muhammad places the life of Muslims in systematic order. For every move and occasion made by Muslims there is a rule governing it, be it in the form of advice, spiritual guidance or practical directive. If all these directives are followed and understood properly, people will have high discipline and a well-managed life.

Islam encourages people to think correctly before taking any action. This means planning. There are many verses in the Qur'an admonishing against doing things unthinkingly and jumping to conclusions.

The Prophet also showed good example in fulfilling promise and staying true to treaty, agreement or contract made between parties.

As a man of honour he always remained true to the principles agreed in the treaty, depicting his high discipline and inclination of doing everything in proper order.

Friendliness:

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a warmhearted and faithful friend. He loved his companions. He extended greetings to those he knew and to those he did not know. He treated all people around him with kindness and affection.

He was very courteous to all those who met him. He never contradicted anybody who is not opposed to the teachings of Islam. He treated equally the humble and the lofty. He claimed no distinction and lived amongst his companions as if he was not their leader.

Neighbourliness:

He regarded the neighbours as brothers and sisters because of their closeness and living in the same vicinity. He once smelt the aroma of the soup cooked by his wife. He told her to give some of it to the neighbours who also smelt it. He said it was not right for a Muslim to sleep with a full stomach after having had a good meal but let his neighbour starve. He laid the foundation for a friendly relation and cooperation among neighbours exemplifying that living as a neighbour one has one’s right and responsibility.

In regard to the rights of a neighbour, the Prophet said: “Help him if he asks your help; give him relief if he seeks your relief; show him concern if he is distressed and when he is ill; attend his funeral if he dies; congratulate him If he meets any good; sympathize with him if any calamity befalls him; do not block his air by raising your building without his permission and do not harass him.”

Goodwill:

He was a good exemplar to those who subscribe to a harmonious society. Islam exhorts people not to violate the rights of others and injure their interest, but should positively cooperate with each other and establish a mutual relationship and social cohesion.

To safeguard the unity and solidarity of the nation and to achieve the welfare and wellbeing of the community, Muslims have been enjoined to avoid mutual hostility, social dissension, backbiting one another, and hurting others with their hand or tongue.

Islam as brought by the Prophet Muhammad exhorts Muslims to visit the sick, to help the needy and assist the weak. Islam makes no discrimination on the basis of race, colour or language. Its appeal Is to the entire humanity.

Women:


The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought changes for the betterment of women.

Woman is recognised by Islam as a full and equal partner of man in the procreation of humankind. He is the father, she is the mother, and both are essential for life. Her role is no less vital than his. By this partnership she has an equal share in every aspect; she is entitled to equal rights; she undertakes equal responsibilities, and in her there are many qualities and so much humanity as there are In her partner.

She is equal to man in bearing personal and common responsibilities and in receiving rewards for her deeds.

She is equal to man in the pursuit of education and knowledge.

Islam enjoined the seeking of knowledge upon Muslims, it makes no distinction between man and woman.

She is entitled to freedom of expression as much as man is. Her sound opinions are taken into consideration and cannot be disregarded just because she is a female.

Islam grants woman equal fights to contract, to enterprise, to earn and posses independently. Her life, her property, her honour are as sacred as those of man.

Islam has also given woman a share of inheritance. Before Islam, she was not only deprived of that share, but was herself considered as property to be inherited by man.

Statehood:


When Prophet Muhammad arrived at Madinah, he initiated the formation of an Islamic state. After establishing political brotherhood and the authority of the state of Madinah, he began negotiations with various tribes around the dy and made treaties with them.

When the Makkan unbelievers launched a series of attacks on Madinah, Prophet Muhammad was able to confront them, and when the Makkans were finally defeated in the battle of the Trenches (Al-Khandaq), he was able to make truce with them at Hudaibiyah for ten years. This treaty was a masterpiece of practical statesmanship on the part of Prophet Muhammad.

His diplomacy in sending and receiving envoys to and from the various chiefs of tribes and foreign rulers, his fairness In conducting judiciary, and his general pardon at the liberation of Makkah, was another proof of his lofty statesmanship.

The State he established in Madinah was not a matter of chance. It was the very nature of his mission that he would establish a state to enforce the way of Allah. People might accept a new faith but it would take time to change their habits, custom and way of life. And even If a small group of people succeeded In changing their way of life, there would be many others who would not let these people practise their belief and try to stop them by force. So the Islamic State became an urgent necessity to protect the Islamic way of life.

The State founded by Prophet Muhammad was invested with physical force, as every State must necessarily be, to fulfil its function of stopping aggression and oppression.

A democratic system In Islam is expressed through the term shura (council). The Qur'an says: “And those who respond to their Lord and keep up prayer and their affairs (of government) is by council among themselves and who spend out of what we have given them.”. Pakistan Daily (www.Daily.pk)