The Delights of Kota Bharu

 

Every city has its own charm. People talk of London, Paris, New York or Beijing because of what they are –unique and special on their own right. What makes these cities tick? Well, they are unique with their own character and beauty unmatched by others. And so is Kota Bharu, the political and cultural capital of Kelantan, the state nicknamed as negeri Che Siti Wan Kembang. Kota Bharu is the heartland of the Malays in Kelantan, known for its food, art and culture. It is also the play ground of the Kelantan ruling class.

People go to Kota Bharu in droves during holiday seasons not to see the high rise buildings and shopping malls, but rather its people and culture. Kota Bharu is a sleepy hollow no more. But still its people are carefree, unlike those in Kuala Lumpur where they have no time to stop and stare. There people do know if you are a new guy in town.

At my age, I don’t have the strength to drive from Kajang to Kota Bharu. In normal days, it takes about 8 hours. It will be more during the festive season such as Hari Raya. So my wife and I took AirAsia flight from KLIA to Kota Bharu. At the airport I rented a car, Perodua Viva, costing RM 90 per day. That was where the trouble started. Not knowingly the car was so small, a far cry from my Volvo and Toyota Camry. With manual transmission, I found it hard to handle. My wife kept nagging all the way from Kota Bharu to Machang. It was just like I explained to you all in my write-up last week, one for the Hari Raya. The story fell flat on my face, but I just kept my cool. I did not let go my steam! I did not want to spoil the otherwise happy occasion.

I was born and bred in Kelantan, but know very little of Kota Bharu itself. It is all because I had moved to the west coast states since I started my secondary education. In Kota Bharu, I am just like any other strangers. I, however, have to be there from time to time as I have my root in the state. I was in Kota Bharu last week en route to Machang where I had to attend the wedding of my niece. Being the patriarch of the family I have to show my face.

At the wedding ceremony we were entertained by the delights of Kelantan, the dikir barat and silat. Dikir barat is immortalized in films and advertisements to showcase the lively Malaysian culture. In the old days, dikir barat was a whole night affair, starting at 10 pm and lasted 5 am. The enthusiasts would spend the whole of the next day sleeping. What a waste?

It was a few days past the Eid Mubarak (Hari Raya) holidays but the mood was still on. In usual Malaysian style, Hari Raya celebration could go for one month. For Muslims, it is our duty to pray at the graveyard of our ancestors during Hari Raya. We pray so that their souls will rest in peace. It was also for this that I went back to my village this time around.

Back to Kota Bharu, I noticed a lot of change in the city’s landscape. It is now promoted as an Islamic city by the PAS-led state government. Here people voted the opposition to take them to heaven. Time will tell if they are right in their choice. In the desire to be at par with the cities in the west coast states, Kota Bharu is being developed. And fast. I wish that its charm and character will remain intact. Development can go without destroying its soul.

If you are in Kota Bharu spend some time at Pasar Khadijah, its crown jewel. It has of late undergone massive renovation. With its exotic design, Pasar Khadijah offers a range of products, from food items to garment to textiles. Fresh fruits and vegetables which are mostly imported from across the border are sold at the sale prices. The market is dominated by women who are mostly in middle age. I tell you, these ladies are good in their trade, being seasoned by difficulties in life. Some of them are widows who keep divorcing their husbands like changing clothes. They are an independent lot. The number of gold chain in their hands indicates how successful they are in their business.

Food is cheap in Kelantan. If you are hungry during lunch time, head towards Yati Ayam Percik Restaurant. With less than RM 50 in hand, you can get white rice topped with the tasty gulai kawah, ayam percik and daging panggang for 4 people. Freshly cooked dishes are available at Sham Restaurant located near the hospital. For nasi kandar lovers, there is one excellent outlet in downtown Kota Bharu. Gosh, it has a good run for your money.

There are many handicraft outlets in the city, selling silverwares and batik shirt. Outsiders, beware! They are in for the bargain. Kelantan is known for its delicately designed kites. One of it, the wau bulan, has been used as an icon by the national carrier, the Malaysian Airlines.

The city provides good accommodation too. If you need one, remember to head towards the 5-star Renaissance Hotel, which is attached to Billion Shopping Mall. With RM 225++ (after discount for government servant) rate it is the best money can buy in town. A room with similar style and service in Brisbane would cost more than RM 1000.

At Merbok I was alone, while in Brisbane my 2 daughters were around. In Renaissance Kota Bharu, I had my wife all to myself. I brought her along just in case, if you know what I mean. You can say that it was a honeymoon of sort. What can that be for a man above 60? Well, you can never tell till you try it! You know what? It will make the difference in a 5-star atmosphere.

Shamshuddin Jusop

One for the Hari Raya

Once upon a time there live a husband and wife who have a couple of children living with them in downtown Kajang. They are in the mid 50s. Both of them are at the top of their careers in private sector and are always busy with their work, day in and day out. They are in this situation for quite some time and seldom spent quality time either with each other or with the children.

In one of the Hari Raya holidays they decided to rent an apartment in the resort town of Port Dickson for a few days to sort things out. With their children around, they could cook, play and doing all sorts of things together. All these so as to be together again in one happy family like they once was. In the next morning, the husband decided to help his wife preparing breakfast. While she was busy making omelet, the husband came in for a surprise. “Let me help you darling. I am good at this”.

“Are sure you want to help?” asked the wife.

“Yes. I sure do” he replied instantly.

The wife thought this was something new. It never happened before. “OK” said the wife. “Come in.” She was rather reluctant to let her husband disturb.

While in the kitchen he coolly asked, “Have you put the salt?”

“Yes,” replied the dear wife.

“Put more salt.”

“OK.”

“Turn it over. Do it again.”

“OK, my dear.”

“Cut into two.”

“Yes. Yes.”

The wife sensed something was not right. She was wondering what her husband was up to. Before the next instruction was given, she intercepted and said “What are you doing? What are you driving at? Are you getting mad? I know what I am doing.”

“Well, my dear,” said the husband point blank. “That was what I got when I was on the wheel yesterday. You kept instructing me as if I was a new driver. You kept telling this and that all the way from Kajang to PD. Just to remind you, my dear, I got my driving license some 30 years ago and was never caught for traffic offence. I knew exactly what I was doing.”

What is the moral of the story? There is no need to teach a duck how to swim. You give your advice to your friends in good faith. But sometimes it may be taken out of context. I am talking about my e-mail advice to you from time to time. It may ends up this way.

About the odd couple, they came to term with each other after that incidence. It went without saying that they lived happily ever after. If you are under the same situation my advice to you is to take a holiday and spend quality time with your love ones.  Hopefully, your problems will be settled in due course, God willing.

I hope you don’t take offence on my e-mailing you this message. You may wonder the wisdom of constantly reminding you from time to time on the matter of your bread and butter, as if I don’t trust you. After all, you are as good as or if not better than me in writing paper. You know what? I am an old hand in this campus. In terms of age, length of service and seniority, few can beat me in UPM right now. I started working with this university way back in June 1972 when tigers were still roaming in the area where Hospital Serdang now stand, and was appointed a full professor on January 1, 1993. I consider myself being one of the few old guards left standing. There is something in my advice that you can use to steer your future as academics at UPM. For the up and coming academics in the faculty, please take my words. If I can reach this far, I am sure you could. Believe me. Your papers will do the work for you.

Shamshuddin Jusop

In the spirit of 1 Malaysia

Yesterday I received a copy of the distinguished American journal, Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J., vol. 74, no. 4, July-August 2010, for being a member of the society. In this volume of the journal, I have an article entitled "Increasing the Organic Matter Content of an Oxisol using Rice Husk Compost: Changes in Composition and its Chemistry". For your information, we are competing with the best soil scientists in the world. Hence, we have to use the state-of-the-art research equipment to be in business. For this research, my PhD student, Markus, used solid state 13C NMR available at UTM, Skudai, Johor, to study rice husk compost undergoing decomposition in soils. It costs about MYR 8,000 to my research budget though.But my friends, It is worth it.

Another PhD student of mine, Muhrizal,  went to use SEM at USM (Perak branch) some years ago when ours at that time was out of commission. And before that, we got the help from our colleagues at MINT and Petronas Laboratory, both at Bangi, Selangor. They were very happy to help. What I am driving at is if we cannot bring mountain to us, we go to the mountain. That is the way it should be.

You know what? Whatever equipment available in this country, located in public institutions,  belongs to Malaysia. Everybody should be given access to these equipment. We do not mind paying for the services and running cost. In this way, we are supporting the 1 Malaysia concept that the present government is seriously promoting. Alas, it is sometimes not happening in our courtyard of late.To say is far easier than done. When our graduate students approach lecturers for help, not all are giving smiling faces. What does it mean? It means that these people are not willing to help out. If this happens and is allowed to happen, how can we progress and become a developed nation comes the year 2020 that we dream about! I appeal to my esteemed colleagues in UPM to please emulate our counterparts in other institutions in the country.

I end my write-up this time around with a pantun since we are in the festive mood (Eid Mubarak). It goes like this:

Ada puasa, ada raya
Ada data, ada paper

Shamshuddin Jusop