Beloved

I would spin the sea-spray
fashioning a belt for you

I would braid the rolling waves
to spread a sleeping mat for you

I would weave of the clouds
a shawl to cover the hair of you

I would stitch the mountain breeze
into an evening-gown for you

I would pluck from the eastern star
a brooch to adorn the breast of you

I would peirce the eclipsed moon
for a lamp to light my longing

I would fell the sun
into a sea of night for you
breathing the honeyed sweetness of you

Beloved,
Count the dreams
That slew the truth
With their false paradise

Kekasih

Akan kupintal buih-buih
menjadi tali mengikatmu

Akan kuanyam gelombang-gelombang
menjadi hamparan ranjang tidurmu

Akan kutenun awan-gemawan
menjadi selendang menudungi rambutmu

Akan kujahit bayu gunung
menjadi baju pakaian malammu

Akan kupetik bintang timur
menjadi kerongsang menyinari dadamu

Akan kujolok bulan gerhana
menjadi lampu menyuluhi rindu

Akan kurebahkan matari
menjadi laut malammu
menghirup sakar madumu

Kekasih,
hitunglah mimpi
yang membunuh realiti
dengan syurga ilusi.

________

________

A poem by Usman Awang
Translation upon request of NI

There is no call as important as the summons of the Lord

I felt sure this was bad precedent, and indeed it was not long after that I spotted first one, then another masjid with a corporate-sponsored signboard. The company in this case is Bank Rakyat, a cooperative bank (akin to a credit union back in the states) that has been innovative and successful in the Islamic finance market. I bank with them myself. But having a mosque signboard emblazoned with a prominent logo is extremely problematic in several ways, not least is the danger to the company of compromising their own charity.

A sincere contribution

The etiquette of charitable giving in Islam, sadaqah, is for it to be as anonymous as possible, to protect the dignity of the recipient and to safeguard the giver from compromising his gift with worldy motives of pride, or worse, material benefit. And how can we not avoid seeing this as precisely the latter when the sign says Sumbangan Ikhlas, a sincere contribution, followed by a huge logo and then bank pilihan, a bank of choice? An signboard in exchange for advertising is not sincere charity, it is quid pro quo no different and no better than the Nescafe or Celcom-branded awnings adorning the sides of every other kedai runcit and kopitiam in Malaysia.

Posting a corporate logo at the front of a masjid amounts to an endorsement by the masjid. Presumably the acceptability of this branding (and the value of the advertising to the contributor, let’s not forget!) rests in the fact that this is a mosque and the bank provides Islamic finance. It is not hard to interpret it as a sign of preference over this or that other bank which may have Islamic banking products as well – CIMB Islamic, Maybank Islamic, etc. Let’s not forget, Bank Rakyat’s products and services may all be shariah-compliant, but that does not mean that this profit-making enterprise is somehow more holy than a Gardenia or Taka Bakery which produces halal breads and pastries. If we can accept a bank’s logo on our masjid, why not a bakery’s logo, or even a Nescafe awning like the kopitiams? Nescafe is a halal-certified product after all.

Hap Joo Grocers, brought to you by Stayfree Maxis

But if for nothing else, our state Islamic departments and the hardworking brothers and sisters on the neighborhood masjid and surau committees should view the matter seriously for the sake of the humble worshipper for whom the masjid is a place of refuge from the affairs of the world, a place to turn to Allah and glorify His name, to leave aside all else. The masjid is virtually the only public space free from the intrusions of the marketplace, and that is worth defending.

Ivan Illich

In any time and place there are a cloud of active ideas wafting around, some are elevated and canonized, some are cast down and ignored by the larger society, but those spurned ideas perpetuate through generations even after their originators and their books are long forgotten. Maybe I’m making a lot out of a simple truism. But like a lot of cliched proverbs or expressions, the depth of meaning doesn’t appear until you “taste the salt”, as the Malays have it. Des’ree was probably just heralding wisdom from her mother when she said, “Read the Books Your Father Read”, but I heard it from her first, and now I think I know better what she means.
_________
A great deal of Illich’s work is available freely on the web.
A recent review of Illich’s ideas about technology in The Atlantic

Mount Kinabalu

Medinilla sp

We visited Tenom Agricultural Park, a well-maintained arboretum with a nice ornamental plant collection. The visit was part of a field trip from my workplace. Those are my plantation and nursery coworkers throughout the photos. It was my favorite part of the trip; in fact, I would have been happy to have spent the whole time there. Among the highlights were a large orchid area and a great fruit tree collection including a few non-commercial fruit trees I’d never seen before.

Near the orchid house

Pandan Laut, Pandanus tectorius

Tanduk Rusa, Antler fern

Rubber tapping

Orthosiphon, Misai Kuching, Cat's Whiskers

At the Sabah Dairy

Giant Lilypads, Victoria sp

Forgot what this was

Nice Bark

Calliandra sp

Cannonball Tree! Fragrant flowers, terrifying fruit.

On the way down from Mount Kinabalu we stopped at a Kadazan-Dusun village that has developed a tourist attraction popular among locals: a fish spa. The river had a number of wading pools, each with schools of trained fish. Stick your foot in the river with a handful of fish food and the fish swarm around, nipping at your skin and brushing against you with their scaly selves. Sit down in a deeper pool and you get a full body massage of sorts. It was extremely ticklish, and there were constant shrieks and giggles in the air. Our guide was the head of the village and the developer of the water park, which is run as a village cooperative. He told us the fish were well trained – different schools keep to different pools and they never swim away down river.

Tagal Sg Moroli

Minnows nipped my flesh at the Tagal Sungai Moroli

This particular village was muslim, although the Kadazan-Dusun like the Melanau back in Sarawak are religiously mixed. The village surau was built up the hill adjacent to the park. It was a simple structure, with a large yard for community activities. Check out the rainwater-fed ablution area.

Kpg Luanti Baru

Outside the Kpg Luanti Baru Surau

Inside the Kpg Luanti Baru Surau

Kpg Luanti Baru Surau rain-fed ablutions area

There was a dusty wooden shack next to the bus stop, which I assumed was one of the ubiquitous little roadside stalls that sell snacks and produce. But looks can be deceiving. Here it is from the outside.

Roadside stall... or is it?

But on the inside?

___

Roadside Cybercafe

A cybercafe, with teenagers playing online shoot-em-up games for a ringgit or two an hour.

It was my first time in Sabah and far too short. I’d like to make a road trip through Sarawak to Brunei and on to Kota Kinabalu with the family, but at the moment my minivan isn’t big enough on its own and my old Proton isn’t roadworthy for such a trip. What I need is one of them church vans. One day…