Hujan emas di negeri orang

At a stall, the friendly seller made small talk.
“Where are you from? Indonesia?”
“No.”
“Singapore?”
“No. I’m from Malaysia.”
“Close enough.”
Hmm …

*
It was spring going on summer, so it was unfortunate that my kids had to see more bared flesh.
“Ummi, kenapa dia ‘tak malu’?” my son would ask while pointing towards the subjects matter.
I would ask him to stop pointing and attempt an explanation.
“Sebab dia bukan Islam.”
“Bukan Islam itu apa?”
“Maknanya dia belum kenal Allah, dia tak sayang Allah. Jadi, dia tak tutup aurat seperti yang Allah suruh.”
I guess, conversely, children from ‘the other side’ would also point and ask “Why is she wearing that on the head?” It is children’s nature to be curious about things that are different from what they are used to, and ask.

*
“Why is there so little cars on the road?” I was puzzled. MHH answered with a simple and obvious answer, “Because when the public transport is good and efficient, people don’t need to drive personal cars on the road (all the time).” We went about on buses and indeed, the service was really good. Frequent buses, many bus stops. I witnessed an instance when the bus driver herself (yes, there’s almost as many lady bus drivers there) lowered the ramp to let a man in wheelchair onto the bus. This man’s friend then pushed the chairs on the lower deck of the bus (priority area for the disabled, elderly and pregnant women) to make space for the wheelchair.

*
A show on the local television caught my attention, it’s called Junior Masterchef. It’s so amazing to see children as young as ten prepare complicated dishes worthy of 5-star chefs. I think the most I could do when I was ten was to cook rice (using rice cooker) and fry eggs. I wonder, if a similar reality show is introduced in Malaysia, what would the participation and audience interest be like? Isn’t it time ‘talent’ is recognized to be more than just singing, dancing and acting? I read somewhere once (and agree whole-heartedly) that cooking is a very important living skill (a skill which I still have a lot to learn). I really disagree that public universities in Malaysia don’t provide cooking facilities in the students’ hostel with the excuse that they want to minimize risk of kitchen fire incidents. Shouldn't a university be a place where students can learn other things and skills other than just what’s taught in the lecture halls? But I’ve digressed.

*
I was impressed with the number of beautiful public parks and playgrounds and pools scattered around the residential areas. My first thought, no wonder this country produces great athletes (especially swimmers). I remembered Ustaz Hasrizal wrote before about children needing the literal space to grow and develop. Putrajaya and Cyberjaya seems to be pretty well-planned and have decent infrastructures, but in other places, township and residential developments seems to be ‘consequential’.

*
The public notice in the television made me green with envy. Here the excerpt from the goverment website:

The Paid Parental Leave scheme:
• is government funded
• is for eligible working parents of children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2011
• can be transferred to the other parent
• is paid at the National Minimum Wage - currently $570 a week before tax*
• is for up to 18 weeks
• can be taken any time within the first year after birth.

Taking time away from work for a new baby is a common part of working life. The Paid Parental Leave scheme will help parents spend more time at home with a new baby, and help employers keep skilled and valuable staff.

I can't help but wonder when are we going to reach this level.

*
Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for the opportunity for us to travel on this short vacation to Gold Coast, Australia. It was truly a ‘rezeki yang tidak disangka-sangka’. Seeing a representation of what the country is like, I’m not surprised that some of my friends and colleagues’ children decided to migrate and settled down there. But to me, as rosy as it is, I still feel (pretty strongly) that, ‘hujan batu di negeri sendiri, hujan emas di negeri orang, baik lagi negeri sendiri’.

P/S: Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidiladha!