Thursday, August 12, 2010

Ramadan Ritual

It has been a ritual of sorts in our family that the graves of loved ones get visited, cleaned and tidied up with holy verses recited by Mama and Dad before Ramadan. Last weekend saw us visiting Dad's parents' graves in Bukit Besar, Kuala Trengganu.

Rest in peace, GrandDad and GrandMa. We'll come visit whenever we can.

This neem tree made news sometime back when it produced copious latex, that some people say look as if the tree was crying. Perhaps it was crying for the lost old mosque.

The cemetery is next to the old Masjid Raja, which has since been demolished to make way for a new structure. What a travesty. We found the "new" mosque unfinished, the site abandoned with building materials strewn all over the place and rubbish left piling in the workers' quarters. We cry for the lost old mosque and we cry for the yet to be finished "new" mosque.

The "new" mosque - unfinished and abandoned.

They scooted off and left even the blueprint to rot.

The signboard says it all - work on the new mosque was supposed to be completed in April 2009 as work started in January 2008. It is now August 2010. The white wooden structure is the temporary "surau."

Our sources say the contractors been paid in full but didn't finish the job. Can someone do something? Or else we'll get our cat patrol in KT to swarm the local JKR office and do a poopful. roar! roar! roar!

Ramadan Mubarak everyone!

28 comments:

Monyet King said...

If the contractors have really been paid in full despite not finishing the work, then some one's head should roll.

The Monyets would be quite happy to roll the fallen heads.

TK said...

Kat umah I je tu..hehe
I am so sad for the lost of the old mosque.
Can we just build a new one and maintain the old one?
Kesian kat org2 yg bersedekah to build the old mosque..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Your Highness,
We heard the story from Dad's friend, who's also a contractor kelas "A". I think all monyets and cats should join forces and behead some people. Oh, including those who built the stadium too. roar! roar! roar!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

TK Sensei,
Despite the people's protests, they still demolish the old mosque and said a more grand new one will be built. And this is what happened to that grand ambition? roar! roar! roar!

Cheqna said...

payments shld be made ikut progress kan..when paid in full, the eyes agaknya went "kerching (RM right), kerching (RM left)!"

no, not kuching dear..hehe..

semoga ruh semua insan yang disayangi yang telah pergi berada di tempat yg mulia di sisi-NYA..

Selamat berpuasa to ur mama..

:-)

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Cheqna,
Because there was no transparency and no proper explanation given, the community just thrives on gossip....but the evidence is there, project abandoned, unfinished. It's different in private land development as the company may run into financial difficulty, cannot get bank support etc. This is a straightforward project. Guane jadi gitu?

Selamat Menjalani Ibadah Puasa to you....let's all remember our loved ones together... roar! roar! roar!

Ellen Whyte said...

Funny how money is always disappearing.

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa & menyambut Ramadhan Al Mubarak, Kitties! I like the practice of cleaning the graves of our elders. I feel sad too for the loss of the old mosque. Why do people treat places of worship so shabbily, sometimes? :o( My Rowdies offer to help you leave cat poo nuggets at the doors of the contractors.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Au and Target,
Me thinks the humans should leave financial affairs to felines. We'll only use it on substantial stuffs like catfood, litter and toys, and help the needy. roar! roar! roar!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

CO78,
Come Rowdies! You're welcome to join the cat patrol. It's a sad state of affair. Nothing is sacred anymore. roar! roar! roar!

kay_leeda said...

Dear CatIS,

Salams. Your Mama puasa today? Pls behave yar, don't tire her too much.

Think you need to gather all the feline efforts to help with our stalled projects. In SA we hv waited so, so long for our hospital. And from the look of things, don't think it will be ready any time soon.

Yes, CAT force it is. All these TASKS force..errr a waste of time!!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Aunty Kay,
People don't seem to care anymore - abandoned mosques, unfinished hospitals, incomplete schools, collapsed stadiums....on top of abandoned babies, kidnapped children, street children...ooohhh....the heart bleeds.

Mama's fasting today. It's only been two days, she'll be fine. roar! roar! roar!

Anonymous said...

I feel so sad and so angry at the same time. Just unthinkable! *shakes head*

Cat-from-Sydney said...

My dear Andrea,
That's why life as a cat is more...urmmm...peaceful? roar! roar! roar!

Pat said...

In this lovely 1country of ours, old is not gold. Always, it needs to be replaced with something new: bigger, uglier, and a blight on the environment.

And never mind that the local people protested. Obviously, the old mosque suited them just fine: a holy place to pray. But someone needed to 'win' the tender, and someone needed to be rewarded for the win.

But, c'est la vie, eh? Here, yennyways!

I wish your mama a holy and meaningful Ramadhan. And you guys? Ever thought about fasting? ;)

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Pat,
That's why we have so many Old Folks' Homes in this country, I guess. One of these days all felines will rise in protest. Just watch us.
Err...us fasting? Hallo! We're not humans. roar! roar! roar!

p.s. Mama says thanks for your warm wishes.

Lee said...

Hi Cat, love the pic of that tree.
Here's wishing you and everyone, cats included a pleasant bulan puasa.
By the way, your kuchings puasa too?
Have a nice day, Lee.

Wan Sharif said...

Dear CiS,
hmm Bukit besar and Masjid Raja.. Ayoh Wang frequented those two places almost every puasa way back in the 90's.. Ayoh Wang has 2 uncles in vicinity of the Masjid's ..one in front of Pasar Bukit Besar and the other one "sebelah kedai air lamnik (lemonade)" ..
Selamat menjalani ibadah puasa to you sekeluarga..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Uncle Lee,
Kucing puasa? Sampai kucing bertanduklah! Thanks for the warm wishes. Don't worry, that tree is not haunted. The neem tree is a native of India and has many uses, especially medicinal properties. roar! roar! roar!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
We know that kedai lamnik! For all you know, you may have unknowingly bumped into my Dad. Mama and Dad would usually visit the cemetery whenever they're in town (KT). roar! roar! roar!

Awang Goneng said...

If they keep that new concrete structure just so until it is old enough, say a thousand years, people will flock to Kuala Teereengganu (they'll spell it with 4 Es then)and marvel at how good our ancestors were at building on sacred ground. Then people will flock to look for Ley lines and the alignment of stars and so on, and the temporary mosque next door will then become a heritage mosque for Bukit Besar. Two for the price of one, see?

Some of the contractors will be buried beneath the neem tree [Malay, nib; Indonesian, nimba] then. You'll be able to tell where they are from the elaborate mausoleums built from well-earned money.

But neem, what's it compared to catnip, eh?

Selamat berpuasa!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Uncle AG,
Perhaps, in that thousand years' time, KT will join the ranks of Rome and Athens - where tourists flock to visit ruins.
Oh, can't compare catnip with neem. Catnip is a lowly herb while neem is a full grown tree. Am actually surprised that the locals didn't cut the branches down unlike in Makkah as this is the tree where "siwak" is derived from. Catnip on the other hand, I believe has some drug-like substance as cats get high and hyper anywhere near it.

Selamat Berpuasa to you and Aunty KT. Oh, hugs for Tabby too. roar! roar! roar!

Awang Goneng said...

I don't know if cats do the "siwak" but before you go poking sticks from this tree into your mouth, I think the "siwak" tree is the shrub Salvadora persica. It isn't at all a tall giant tree like the neem (Azadirachta indica). I have read somewhere that the neem is known as Pokok Mambu or Semambu in Malay.

There's Miswak toothpaste in the shops, or you can buy Sarakan from your health shop. They make it sound very romantic and say it contains an extract from the toothbrush tree. Check the ingredients and there's Salvadora persica.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Uncle AG,
The siwak trees we saw in the holy land, planted all over Mina and Muzdalifah, do look like the neem. We apologise if we have erred. Wowee...you're like an encyclopedia - better than Mr Wiki! roar! roar! roar!

Karim Omar said...

These were written prior to the demolition of Masjid Raja Bukit Besar:

1. Pedulikah kita apabila masjid bakal dirobohkan?

2. Satu Lagi Masjid Bakal Dirobohkan

Yes - sad indeed.

Karim Omar said...

And here is another one:


Masjid Raja Bukit Besar Akhirnya Sembah Ke Bumi

Karim Omar said...

If the construction of the new Masjid Bukit left abandoned, read about the Masjid Putih Dibaiki Indah Dibiar Punah

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Uncle Karim,
I salute your effort to open up the eyes of the rakyat on what's going on in Darul Iman. We are so sad that all of these are happening, regardless of the people's opinion. And when it's election time, they'll "pukul canang" and claim that they brought "pembangunan". Sadly, they still get elected into office. However, the alternative is also of the same ilk. We did gave them a chance in 1999 and what did they do? Oh well.....

2cents worth of a cat