SELAMAT MENYAMBUT RAMADHAN AL-MUBARAQ 1432H

Enam cara capai kesempurnaan Ramadan
IMAM Al-Ghazali dalam kitabnya Ihya Ulumuddin menghuraikan enam cara mencapai kesempurnaan puasa di kalangan orang beriman dan bertaqwa, iaitu:
1.	Menahan pandangan daripada segala kecelaan termasuk melakukan perkara makruh serta mengelak daripada kelalaian mengingati dan mengerjakan suruhan Allah.
2.	Menjaga lidah daripada bercakap sesuatu yang sia-sia seperti berdusta, mengumpat dan mencarut, sebaliknya memperbanyakkan zikir dan membaca al-Quran.
3.	Menjaga pendengaran daripada mendengar kata-kata tidak baik kerana setiap yang haram diucapkan haram juga mendengarnya. Satu hadis Rasulullah saw menjelaskan yang mengumpat dan yang mendengar turut terikat dalam dosa.
4.	Mencegah anggota tubuh lain seperti kaki dan tangan melakukan maksiat dan perkara mungkar selain mengelak memakan makanan subahat dan haram.
5.	Tidak berlebih-lebihan menikmati makanan ketika berbuka kerana tindakan itu mengurangkan hikmah puasa.
6.	Membersihkan hati dan meminta keredaan Allah agar puasa kita diterima dan mutu puasa dapat ditingkatkan lagi.
Mengenai sedekah, Rasulullah saw bersabda, maksudnya: "Sedekah yang paling utama adalah sedekah pada bulan Ramadan." Setiap umat Islam harus berlumba-lumba untuk melakukan kebajikan pada bulan Ramadan. Ini kerana balasan di atas setiap satu kebajikan itu adalah amat besar di sisi Allah pada hari akhirat kelak. Bersedekah bukan hanya memberikan wang, malah termasuk mengajak berbuka puasa kepada fakir miskin dan orang berpuasa. Amalan bersedekah perlu ikhlas, bukan untuk menunjuk-nunjuk. Dengan bersedekah seseorang itu dapat menghakis sifat kedekut di samping mengeratkan ikatan kemesraan dalam masyarakat tanpa mengira taraf dan kedudukan. Daripada Zaid bin Khalid al-Juhanniyy ra bahawa Rasulullah saw ada bersabda, bermaksud: “Barang siapa memberi makan kepada orang yang berpuasa, dia akan beroleh ganjaran seperti orang yang diberi makan itu tanpa sedikit pun kekurangan daripada pahala orang yang berpuasa itu." – Hadis riwayat Al-Tarmizi.

SKPTM on TV3

It has been choatic week and ends up with this..

Juara 8 kali

From NT to Bt Musang Jetty

34.4 km ride
and a tedious hike too

LE TOUR DE BATU KAWAN

A 40.7 km trip one sunday morning....
What a day after 2 plates of Bihun Goreng...
Looking forward next Sunday.... Batu Musang ...

Along Sungai Udang river bank... serenity is the word.

At Jeti Kuala Changkat

Taking a rest along the highway...

looks like a middle of nowhere

The Icon of Batu Kawan

SOON TO BE...

during the day.....

... and illuminate at night..


an artist impression ... the holy mosque and the world's biggest clock.. in months to come..

JAM TERBESAR DI DUNIA.....

world's biggest clock begins ticking





the four faced clock, atop the abraj al bait towers in mecca, saudi arabia



a giant clock in the muslim holy city of mecca began ticking last wednesday on the first day
of the fasting month of ramadan in saudi arabia. the four-faced clock project will be fully
operational after a three-month trial period.

the royal clock, designed by german premiere composite technologies company, sits atop
a skyscraper just 50 meters away from the grand mosque in the city. the clock was designed
to be the world's largest - six times larger than london's big ben.


the 577-meter mecca clock royal tower also features a lunar observation center and an islamic
museum. situated in the heart of the massive abraj al-bait complex comprising hotels, shopping
malls and conference centers - the clock will run on arabian standard time, three hours ahead
of the universal GMT ( standard. each of the clock's four faces are 151 feet in diameter and will
be illuminated by 2 million LED lights, along with huge arabic script reading: 'in the name of allah.'
another 21,000 white and green colored lights, fitted at the top of the clock, will flash to as far as
19 miles to signal islam's five-times daily prayers. read more



construction of the clock - the diameter of the dial is around 40 meters
photo AFP



photo AFP
initial rendering of the the abraj al bait towers in mecca with the giant clock



the height of the tower in comparison to the rest of the world's towers

Concessionaire: Second bridge will be completed by November 2013

This can be seen from far...
The second Penang Bridge is 47.55% completed as of March.

The project is however 2.85% behind the 50.4% scheduled progress.

State Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said concession holder Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd (JKSB) had assured the state government that it would catch up with the scheduled completion of the 24km bridge slated for November 2013.

Construction works on the bridge started in late November 2008.

Lim also said over 700 workers were working round the clock at the United Engineers Malaysia (UEM) segmental box girder plant in Batu Kawan to produce 8,092 units of segmental box girders for the bridge.

“They have already moulded 987 units. A total of 28 units are already fixed on-site out in the sea with 14 of them on each side of the bridge.

“Besides that, piling works are 84% completed while the building of pile caps and columns are 55% and 45% completed respectively,” he said during a visit to the plant yesterday.

Lim added that the two toll plaza buildings, to be located in Batu Kawan, were still on the design board.

“We will also implement a green concept for the package to be environmental friendly,” he added.

Buildcast Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEM Builders Bhd) production manager Anuar Abdul said there were 22 moulds and three factories at the segment casting plant.

“Between 12 and 14 pieces of segmental box girders are produced in a day and the process is a tedious one,” he said.

The RM4.5bil second bridge project comprises three main packages — construction of the sub-structure by CHEC Construction Sdn Bhd (the local arm of China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd), casting of the segmental box girder by UEM Builders Bhd, and construction of the Batu Kawan and Batu Maung exit and entry points and trumpet interchange by Cergas Murni, IJM Construction and HRA Teguh.

The bridge, which will link Batu Kawan in Seberang Prai to Batu Maung on Penang island, is poised to be the longest bridge in the country and Southeast Asia.

Facebook is the new cause of divorce

The number of divorces occurring because of Facebook and other social networking sites has been on the rise since these sites have become increasingly popular, research claims. These sites are being utilized more and more by unhappy individuals to seek out and have an affair and cheat on their partner.

Facebook is being cited in almost one in five of online divorce petitions, lawyers have claimed.

People will post just about anything on social networking sites. And the information can be used against them. David Randall and Victoria Richards report.

In the judicial backwater of a New Jersey federal court, a case is being heard that nominally affects two families but should also make millions of Britons think twice about something they do every day: put highly personal information on Facebook, MySpace or Bebo.

The social networking site, which connects old friends and allows users to make new ones online, is being blamed for an increasing number of marital breakdowns.

Divorce lawyers claim the explosion in the popularity of websites such as Facebook and Bebo is tempting to people to cheat on their partners. Suspicious spouses have also used the websites to find evidence of flirting and even affairs which have led to divorce.

One law firm, which specialises in divorce, claimed almost one in five petitions they processed cited Facebook.

Mark Keenan, Managing Director of Divorce-Online said: “I had heard from my staff that there were a lot of people saying they had found out things about their partners on Facebook and I decided to see how prevalent it was I was really surprised to see 20 per cent of all the petitions containing references to Facebook.

“The most common reason seemed to be people having inappropriate sexual chats with people they were not supposed to.”

An American insurance company, in defending its refusal to pay out a claim, is seeking to call in evidence personal online postings, including the contents of any MySpace or Facebook pages the litigants may have, to see if their eating disorders might have “emotional causes”. And the case is far from a lone one. Suddenly, those saucy pictures and intimate confessions on social networking sites can be taken down and used in evidence against you in ways never dreamed of.

Flirty emails and messages found on Facebook pages are increasingly being cited as evidence of unreasonable behaviour. Computer firms have even cashed in by developing software allowing suspicious spouses to electronically spy on someone’s online activities.

One 35-year-old woman even discovered her husband was divorcing her via Facebook. Conference organiser Emma Brady was distraught to read that her marriage was over when he updated his status on the site to read: “Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady.”

Last year a 28-year-old woman ended her marriage after discovering her husband had been having a virtual affair with someone in cyberspace he had never met. Amy Taylor 28, split from David Pollard after discovering he was sleeping with an escort in the game Second Life, a virtual world where people reinvent themselves.

Around 14 million Britons are believed to regularly use social networking sites to communicate with old friends or make new ones. The popularity of the Friends Reunited website several years ago was also blamed for a surge in divorces as bored husbands and wives used it to contact old flames and first loves.

The UK’s divorce rate has fallen in recent years, but two in five marriages are still failing according the latest statistics. Mr Keenan believes that the general divorce rate will rocket in 2010 with the recession taking the blame.

In the US, a sex assault victim seeking compensation faces the prospect of her MySpace and Facebook pages being produced in court. In Texas, a driver whose car was involved in a fatal accident found his MySpace postings (“I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a drunkaholic”) part of the prosecution’s case.

From Los Angeles to Lowestoft, thousands of social network site users have lost their jobs – or failed to clinch new ones – because of their pages’ contents. Police, colleges and schools are monitoring MySpace and Facebook pages for what they deem to be “inappropriate” content. Online security holes and users’ naivety are combining to cause privacy breaches and identity thefts. And what all this, and more, adds up to is this: online social networking can seriously damage your life.

Sources: Telegraph, The Independent.

Originally Posted: http://thetechjournal.com/internet/facebook-is-the-new-cause-of-divorce.xhtml#ixzz1I0YzU0sX

Beware! Facebook can break up your marriage!

14 05 2009

Oh, the things people say…

An Oklahoma news station has a recent story about how online social networking sites (case in point: Facebook) can be “hazardous to marriages”:

“We see about 40 percent of the couples coming in, there is a link to Facebook or to MySpace that has caused a breach in their marriage,” said licensed marriage and family therapist Tara Fritsch.

So, out of all possible other reasons why a marriage would fall apart, Facebook or MySpace seem to be a primary culprit. How so?


Read on..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, with many happy returns of the day..

Keutamaan Ramadhan

Bulan Ramadhan adalah bulan dimana diturunkannya Al Qur’an. sebagaimana ALLAH berfirman:
“Bulan Ramadhan adalah bulan yang di dalamnya diturunkan (permulaan) Al Qur`an sebagai petunjuk bagi manusia dan penjelasan-penjelasan mengenai petunjuk itu dan pembeda (antara yang haq dan yang batil).” (Al-Baqarah: 185)

Pada bulan ini para setan dibelenggu, pintu neraka ditutup dan pintu surga dibuka.

Rasulullah bersabda:

“Bila datang bulan Ramadhan dibukalah pintu-pintu surga, ditutuplah pintu-pintu neraka dan dibelenggulah para setan.” (HR. Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Pada bulan Ramadhan pula terdapat malam Lailatul Qadar. Allah berfirman:

“Sesungguhnya Kami telah menurunkan Al Qur’an pada malam kemuliaan. Tahukah kamu apakah malam kemuliaan itu? Malam kemuliaan itu lebih baik dari seribu bulan. Pada malam itu turun malaikat-malaikat dan malaikat Jibril dengan izin Tuhannya untuk mengatur segala urusan. Malam itu penuh kesejahteraan hingga terbit fajar.” (Al-Qadar: 1-5)

Penghapus Dosa

Ramadhan adalah bulan untuk menghapus dosa. Hal ini berdasar hadits Abu Hurairah bahwa Rasulullah bersabda:
“Shalat lima waktu, dari Jum’at (yang satu) menuju Jum’at berikutnya, (dari) Ramadhan hingga Ramadhan (berikutnya) adalah penghapus dosa di antaranya, apabila ditinggalkan dosa-dosa besar.” (HR. Muslim)
“Barangsiapa yang berpuasa Ramadhan dengan keimanan dan mengharap ridha Allah, akan diampuni dosa-dosanya yang terdahulu.” (HR. Al-Bukhari dan Muslim dari Abu Hurairah z)

Rukun Berpuasa

a. Berniat sebelum munculnya fajar shadiq. Hal ini berdasarkan hadits Rasulullah :

“Sesungguhnya amalan itu tergantung niatnya.” (Muttafaqun ‘alaih dari hadits ‘Umar bin Al-Khaththab )

Juga hadits Hafshah , bersabda Rasulullah :

“Barangsiapa yang tidak berniat berpuasa sebelum fajar maka tidak ada puasa baginya.” (HR. Ahmad dan Ashabus Sunan)

Asy-Syaikh Muqbil t menyatakan bahwa hadits ini mudhtharib (goncang) walaupun sebagian ulama menghasankannya.

Namun mereka mengatakan bahwa ini adalah pendapat Ibnu ‘Umar, Hafshah, ‘Aisyah , dan tidak ada yang menyelisihinya dari kalangan para sahabat.

Persyaratan berniat puasa sebelum fajar dikhususkan pada puasa yang hukumnya wajib, karena Rasulullah pernah datang kepada ‘Aisyah pada selain bulan Ramadhan lalu bertanya: “Apakah kalian mempunyai makan siang? Jika tidak maka saya berpuasa.” (HR. Muslim)

Masalah ini dikuatkan pula dengan perbuatan Abud-Darda, Abu Thalhah, Abu Hurairah, Ibnu ‘Abbas dan Hudzaifah ibnul Yaman. Ini adalah pendapat jumhur.

Para ulama juga berpendapat bahwa persyaratan niat tersebut dilakukan pada setiap hari puasa karena malam Ramadhan memutuskan amalan puasa sehingga untuk mengamalkan kembali membutuhkan niat yang baru. Wallahu a’lam.

Berniat ini boleh dilakukan kapan saja baik di awal malam, pertengahannya maupun akhir. Ini pula yang dikuatkan oleh jumhur ulama.

b. Menahan diri dari setiap perkara yang membatalkan puasa dimulai dari terbit fajar hingga terbenamnya matahari.

Telah diriwayatkan oleh Al-Imam Al-Bukhari dan Al-Imam Muslim hadits dari ‘Umar bin Al-Khaththab bahwa Rasulullah bersabda:

“Jika muncul malam dari arah sini (barat) dan hilangnya siang dari arah sini (timur) dan matahari telah terbenam, maka telah berbukalah orang yang berpuasa.” (HR. Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Puasa dimulai dengan munculnya fajar. Namun kita harus hati-hati karena terdapat dua jenis fajar, yaitu fajar kadzib dan fajar shadiq. Fajar kadzib ditandai dengan cahaya putih yang menjulang ke atas seperti ekor serigala. Bila fajar ini muncul masih diperbolehkan makan dan minum namun diharamkan shalat Shubuh karena belum masuk waktu.

Fajar yang kedua adalah fajar shadiq yang ditandai dengan cahaya merah yang menyebar di atas lembah dan bukit, menyebar hingga ke lorong-lorong rumah. Fajar inilah yang menjadi tanda dimulainya seseorang menahan makan, minum dan yang semisalnya serta diperbolehkan shalat Shubuh.

Hal ini berdasarkan hadits Ibnu ‘Abbas bahwa Rasulullah n bersabda:

“Fajar itu ada dua, yang pertama tidak diharamkan makan dan tidak dihalalkan shalat (Shubuh). Adapun yang kedua (fajar) adalah yang diharamkan makan (pada waktu tersebut) dan dihalalkan shalat.” (HR. Ibnu Khuzaimah, 1/304, Al-Hakim, 1/304, dan Al-Baihaqi, 1/377)

Namun para ulama menghukumi riwayat ini mauquf (hanya perkataan Ibnu ‘Abbas c dan bukan sabda Nabi n). Di antara mereka adalah Al-Baihaqi, Ad-Daruquthni dalam Sunan-nya (2/165), Abu Dawud dalam Marasil-nya (1/123), dan Al-Khathib Al-Baghdadi dalam Tarikh-nya (3/58). Juga diriwayatkan dari Tsauban dengan sanad yang mursal. Sementara diriwayatkan juga dari hadits Jabir dengan sanad yang lemah.

( Cukup dengan hati dan tidak dilafadzkan dan makan sahurnya seseorang sudah menunjukkan dia punya niat berpuasa.)

Siapa yang Diwajibkan Berpuasa?

Orang yang wajib menjalankan puasa Ramadhan memiliki syarat-syarat tertentu. Telah sepakat para ulama bahwa puasa diwajibkan atas seorang muslim yang berakal, baligh, sehat, mukim, dan bila ia seorang wanita maka harus bersih dari haidh dan nifas.

Sementara itu tidak ada kewajiban puasa terhadap orang kafir, orang gila, anak kecil, orang sakit, musafir, wanita haidh dan nifas, orang tua yang lemah serta wanita hamil dan wanita menyusui.

Bila ada orang kafir yang berpuasa, karena puasa adalah ibadah di dalam Islam maka tidak diterima amalan seseorang kecuali bila dia menjadi seorang muslim dan ini disepakati oleh para ulama.

Adapun orang gila, ia tidak wajib berpuasa karena tidak terkena beban beramal. Hal ini berdasarkan hadits ‘Ali bin Abi Thalib bahwa Rasulullah n bersabda:

“Diangkat pena (tidak dicatat) dari 3 golongan: orang gila sampai dia sadarkan diri, orang yang tidur hingga dia bangun dan anak kecil hingga dia baligh.” (HR. Ahmad, Abu Dawud dan At-Tirmidzi)

Meski anak kecil tidak memiliki kewajiban berpuasa sebagaimana dijelaskan hadits di atas, namun sepantasnya bagi orang tua atau wali yang mengasuh seorang anak agar menganjurkan puasa kepadanya supaya terbiasa sejak kecil sesuai kesanggupannya.

Sebuah hadits diriwayatkan Ar-Rubayyi’ bintu Mu’awwidz:

“Utusan Rasulullah n mengumumkan di pagi hari ‘Asyura agar siapa di antara kalian yang berpuasa maka hendaklah dia menyempurnakannya dan siapa yang telah makan maka jangan lagi dia makan pada sisa harinya. Dan kami berpuasa setelah itu dan kami mempuasakan kepada anak-anak kecil kami. Dan kami ke masjid lalu kami buatkan mereka mainan dari wol, maka jika salah seorang mereka menangis karena (ingin) makan, kamipun memberikan (mainan tersebut) padanya hingga mendekati buka puasa.” (HR. Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Sementara itu, bagi orang-orang lanjut usia yang sudah lemah (jompo), orang sakit yang tidak diharapkan sembuh, dan orang yang memiliki pekerjaan berat yang menyebabkan tidak mampu berpuasa dan tidak mendapatkan cara lain untuk memperoleh rizki kecuali apa yang dia lakukan dari amalan tersebut, maka bagi mereka diberi keringanan untuk tidak berpuasa namun wajib membayar fidyah yaitu memberi makan setiap hari satu orang miskin.

Berkata Ibnu Abbas:

“Diberikan keringanan bagi orang yang sudah tua untuk tidak berpuasa dan memberi makan setiap hari kepada seorang miskin dan tidak ada qadha atasnya.” (HR. Ad-Daruquthni dan Al-Hakim dan dishahihkan oleh keduanya)

Anas bin Malik tatkala sudah tidak sanggup berpuasa maka beliau memanggil 30 orang miskin lalu (memberikan pada mereka makan) sampai mereka kenyang. (HR. Ad-Daruquthni 2/207 dan Abu Ya’la dalam Musnad-nya 7/204 dengan sanad yang shahih. Lihat Shifat Shaum An-Nabi, hal. 60)

Orang-orang yang diberi keringanan untuk tidak berpuasa namun wajib atas mereka menggantinya di hari yang lain adalah musafir, dan orang yang sakit yang masih diharap kesembuhannya yang apabila dia berpuasa menyebabkan kekhawatiran sakitnya bertambah parah atau lama sembuhnya.

ALLAH berfirman:

“Maka barangsiapa di antara kamu ada yang sakit atau dalam perjalanan lalu ia berbuka, maka wajib baginya berpuasa sebanyak hari yang ditinggalkan pada hari-hari yang lain.” (Al-Baqarah: 184)

Demikian pula bagi wanita hamil dan menyusui yang khawatir terhadap janinnya atau anaknya bila dia berpuasa, wajib baginya meng-qadha puasanya dan bukan membayar fidyah menurut pendapat yang paling kuat dari pendapat para ulama.

Hal ini berdasar hadits Anas bin Malik Al-Ka’bi, bersabda Rasulullah :

“Sesungguhnya Allah telah meletakkan setengah shalat dan puasa bagi orang musafir dan (demikian pula) bagi wanita menyusui dan yang hamil.” (HR. An-Nasai, 4/180-181, Ibnu Khuzaimah, 3/268, Al-Baihaqi, 3/154, dan dishahihkan oleh Asy-Syaikh Al-Albani)

Yang tidak wajib berpuasa namun wajib meng-qadha (menggantinya) di hari lain adalah wanita haidh dan nifas.

Telah terjadi kesepakatan di antara fuqaha bahwa wajib atas keduanya untuk berbuka dan diharamkan berpuasa. Jika mereka berpuasa, maka dia telah melakukan amalan yang bathil dan wajib meng-qadha.

Di antara dalil atas hal ini adalah hadits Aisyah:
“Adalah kami mengalami haidh lalu kamipun diperintahkan untuk meng-qadha puasa dan tidak diperintahkan meng-qadha shalat.” (HR. Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Wallohu a’lam

(sumber:tabloid asysyariah)

I m on the top of the world....

Flash Flood ....

Hujan lelbat telah menyebabkan sekolahku banjir kilat pada pagi Selasa 18 Mei yang lalu..... Harap fenomena ini tidak berulang lagi.. kerana memang tidak dapat dibuat apa-apa melainkan pindah cari sekolah atas bukit... ha ha




Banjir te

Selamat Hari Guru???

Yup 16th May is here again... but this year it went into a different mood...

they made all these up... right from singing the birthday song during assembly, gift presentation on the podium... and then all these were neatly arranged on my table... just in time when I checked in into my room..... Thank you all... for making my day... I appreciate the callings, messages, cards, prayers and bla-bla-bla.... How I wish this day never end... Happy teachers' day to all dear teachers

Bank staff run to promote KL marathon

Some 30 employees of Standard Chartered Bank here managed to bring the busy traffic along Jalan Bukit Bintang to a halt with their running – complete with fancy attire and police outriders.

The group dressed in a combination of business and sporting attire with matching bandannas started off with a short dance before being flagged off.

Their act of running from the Yayasan Selangor building and back to Menara Standard Chartered attracted curious onlookers who were heading out during lunch hour yesterday.

The employees were accompanied by police outriders as they screamed and clapped all the way back to their office, where they were greeted by Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia CEO and managing director Osman Morad.

Osman said the activity came from his corporate affairs team as an attention-grabbing precursor to the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon on June 27.

He said the bank, the title sponsor for the race, did not only want to inspire the public to take up running but also instil the spirit of dedication, commitment, perseverance and will to complete the race.

A host of running clinics will be organised. The competition had receive more than 5,700 entries since registration opened on March 15.

The total prize money is RM350,000. For this year’s race themed “Run as One”, Standard Chartered Bank will also be raising funds for five charities.

What a let down...

Earth Hour

What on earth happened last Saturday? Not many were aware the need to participate in Malaysian Earth Hour. The switched off from 7.30 to 8.30 pm were barely visible when we took a ride to Clinic Wawasan that night. The ignorant of many were very disturbing indeed. Malaysian doesn't seem to have the culture a develope nation.... proving that we are still backwards and we don't even know the meaning of earth hour.... which Malaysia as a country has choose to participate for the second time.

Datuk Lim Chong Wei

Chong Wei finally lands All-England crown in seventh attempt
STORIES by RAJES PAUL

WORLD No. 1 Lee Chong Wei stopped for a fleeting moment in disbelief after hitting the match point in the men’s singles final of the All-England at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham yesterday.

And when it finally dawned upon him, a jubilant Chong Wei punched his fists in sheer joy. He had finally taken down a stubborn Kenichi Tago of Japan 21-19, 21-19 in a 47-minute final to be crowned the 100th champion of the world’s oldest badminton tournament.

“I just could not believe that I have finally won it after dreaming about it for so long,” said Chong Wei, who succeeded to win the title in his seventh attempt. “This is so special because it is the 100th year and everyone will surely remember me for a long time.”
It was sheer delight for Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei as he fi nally passed his All-England test with full marks in the centenary edition in Birmingham yesterday. In his seventh attempt to claim the title since 2003, he beat Japan’s Kenichi Tago 21-19, 21-19 in the fi nal.

With the win, the 28-year-old Chong Wei emerged as the first player ever to win four back-to-back Super Series titles. He won the Super Series Masters Finals last December in Johor Baru and followed up with victories in South Korea and Malaysia.

Even his nemesis, the great Lin Dan of China has not done that before.

It was also Chong Wei’s first major title after many disappointments and failures to live up to his top billing in the past.

Yesterday, he justified his status as the world No. 1 to become the country’s only fifth All-England champion after Wong Peng Soon, Eddy Choong, Tan Aik Huang and Mohd Hafiz Hashim, who was the last Malaysian winner in 2003.

After his victory over Tago, Chong Wei rushed to hug his coach and mentor, Misbun Sidek, and said he would never ever forget the glorious moment.

“Right now, I am so happy, relieved and thankful. I played well even though I had a heavy burden on my shoulders. It feels good to finally win a first major title after crashing out early in previous major events,” he said. “I am so indebted to my coach for being there for me. He certainly made this possible for me today.”

Although his opponent is young and still lacking in experience, Chong Wei gave credit to Tago for pushing him to the limit.

“I knew I had a chance with the exits of the Chinese players (Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai). But Tago is one of the most stubborn players whom I have ever met,” he said.

“He just refused to give in and each time I hit a winner, he just came back with another good shot. He was so good at the net.
That’s our boy: Lee Ah Chai (in green shirt), Chong Wei’s father, celebrates with his wife Khor Kim Chooi (seated) and relatives at their home in Berapit, Bukit Mertajam, last night.

“I knew that he would be a tough player to beat after watching how he tamed Chunlai in the semi-finals. He has been playing some amazing badminton here but I am happy I ended his fairy-tale run here.

“I beat him easily before (at last year’s Swiss Open) but this time, he certainly showed more maturity.”

The unseeded Tago took command of the opening game, dictating the pace with his tight netplay and punishing smashes to lead 11-7 and 13-7.

It took great effort from Chong Wei to get back into the picture but once he got the momentum going, it all fell into place for the Malaysian. He levelled the score at 15-15 and raced to a 21-19 win.

In the second game, Chong Wei took charge and fended off brilliantly the challenge from the chasing Tago to romp home to the title.

Chong Wei hoped that the win would be the start of many more major successes.

“I will not be satisfied with only the All-England title. There are several more major tournaments this year and I hope to do well – in the Thomas Cup Finals, world championships and the Asian Games. The Thomas Cup will be my next immediate goal.”

Chong Wei said that he would skip the Swiss Open in Basel next week and prepare for the Finals, which will be held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16.

The 21-year-old Tago took the defeat with mixed feelings.

“I am happy I gave him a good fight but it is still disappointing to lose after coming this far. Chong Wei was just too fast and I hope to catch up with him one day. This outing here has given me a lot of confidence,” he said.

In our homes, the muslim homes, we usually have this writing display on the wall, depicting the word Allah, the one and only God muslim have.

It would be interesting to see this being put up in catholic Christians' home... since they were so adamant to use the word Allah to refer to their kind of god....?????

Yim’s sentence cut to 12 years

This is what happened when you have money ....... No, she didn't buy her way out, but the money she had, has been spent to buy time in and out of court, justice on the other hand must be seen being done with each and every appeal that is made. Just imagine without the amount of money she has spent, she would have been in jail years ago. Luckily, our judiciary system allows both side to appeal and the prosecutor is just using the right thing..... I just want to see justice done. Ini baru dunia.... belum akhirat lagi!

Yim’s sentence cut to 12 years

KUALA LUMPUR: Housewife Yim Pek Ha who was convicted of causing grievous hurt to Indonesian maid Nirmala Bonat five years ago has had her sentence reduced to 12 years.

Judicial Commissioner Azman Abdullah reduced her sentence from 18 years to five years for each of two charges of causing hurt to Nirmala using an iron in January 2004 and hot water in March 2004 when he decided on her appeal.

Bad day: Yim sobbing while her husband and Jagjit try to console her after the court’s decision yesterday.

He acquitted Yim of the third charge of causing hurt to Nirmala with an iron in April 2004 on technical grounds.

The judge overturned an acquittal by the Sessions Court on her fourth charge of breaking the maid’s nose with a steel cup and sentenced her to another two years’ jail.

The judge allowed a cross-appeal by the prosecution and ordered her sentence to run consecutively.

Yim, 41, who was at the court yesterday, was already seen teary-eyed even before her case started.

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