Sunday 16 September 2007

Aaaargh!!

Aarrgh!! This is nightmare to me, I've gained 3 fat kilos in 3 days of fasting! How can it be???

It's hard to believe as my breaking of fast has been normal meals except yesterday where we went to Sakura Int'l buffet..but I swear I didn't ate that much. And I have only sandwiches for my early morning meals!

Ok, think I have to go for evening jogs as well to get rid of my excess kilos..Oh God, please, please help me to lose weight. I don't want to be a Santa Claus this Hari Raya..

Sunday 9 September 2007

The Reply..Finally

Finally, I received the reply from my elusive MP yesterday. A very detailed reply, i must say..but the last paragraph is very interesting..


from Zaqy M

to XXX

cc mailto:ask.mp@keathong.com,mewr_feedback@mewr.gov.sg, Teo, Carol YEW

date Sep 8, 2007 10:48 AM

subject Re: Bad Smell at nights



Dear Mr xxx,

Thank you for your e-mail. We are aware of residents' feedback on this issue and have been engaging our residents on the ground as well as various channels on this. We have also met with AVA last month to develop a poster note for residents on the latest development - where the final farm has agreed to move when its lease ends in 2-3 years. This will be put on the RC notice boards for affected blocks. This is a recent development, even after your first e-mail complaint.

AVA's response to the Shin Min was specifically to a writer's comment in the forum page. The issue with the smell in the air has been a long-standing one that the NEA, AVA and the Town Council has been managing. However, it is certainly difficult to control odours in the air - despite the fact that the farms in the vicinity comply to the health standards put in place.

Over the past few years, NEA and AVA have reduced the number of farms in the area from 6 to just 1. This was also a result of constant feedback and engagement with the grassroots and Town Council. The one remaiing farm - Seng Choon - is one of the largest and whose chickens are enclosed in an air-conditioned area to prevent foul smells exiting. However, given certain weather conditions, such as high-levels of humidity, the foul smells may worsen if the wind-direction carries it in the direction of our estates. Thus, this is why the smell is often more noticeable at night. However, the emissions, according to NEA and AVA are well within acceptable health standards.

In the meantime, there is nothing much that can be done about the air, as environmental issues are not within our control. Given the situation with bird flu and our dependency on foreign imports for eggs, these farms are crucial to maintain the prices and supply of eggs in Singapore. We cannot be totally dependent on foreign supplies as their prices are difficult to control in times of crisis - such as the situation during the SARS period.

On a separate note, I check all e-mails personally, and am surprised to know that your enquiry was not responded to. I verified against our archives and did not find your previous e-mails there on the dates in your attachments below. Perhaps, there may have been technical errors where we did not receive your e-mail.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Zaqy


Friday 7 September 2007

Smelly place!

Really pissed off with the people up there..hopefully, there would be an opposition party contesting in my constituency in next general election!

Blur Gila to ask.mp, mewr_feedback
show details
1:02 am (0 minutes ago)
Dear All

After waited for two months without a reply, I'm very surprised to learn from the
AVA website that it had replied to a similar complaint published in Shin Min Daily newspaper on 03rd July 2007. Below is the url for your reference, I have also attached the email in pdf. format with this email.

http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/63511518-DBB0-4191-8918-0AE94DBA1A3D/18046/SMDNSMELLNUISANCE.pdf

Obviously, someone must have thought that I could have read the reply in the chinese newspaper. Hence, there isn't any need to reply to my emails.

This whole incident really upset me and I learnt the hard way on how to get effective response; that is to channel all complaints to the media directly.

Your unhappy resident,
Blur Gila- Show quoted text -


On 7/2/07, Blur Gila <
xxx@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Mr Zaqy

It's been two weeks since I've emailed you the feedback below but I've yet to receive any response from you. Is there someone there looking into the matter? Please advise asap.


Regards Blur Gila
On 6/14/07, Blur Gila <
xxx@gmail.com > wrote:
Dear sir / madam

We would like to express our frustrations over the bad air quality in our surrounding area in Choa Chu Kang Ave 4. There is constant smells of chicken farm and fertilisers lingers in the air especially at nights..these smells has worsen due to the dry weather.

I believe that the nos. of chicken farms had decreased and there is an effort done to contain the air pollution but it doesn't seem to work!

I would like to invite to my house and personally experience the 'natural aroma' that we get everyday. We had to close our windows and switched on the aircon every night. We just couldn't do our our part to save on the electrical consumption!

We avoid inviting our friends and relatives to our house now as we're do not want them to experience the bad smells. This really affect our lifestyle as we used to host frequently at our previous flat in Clementi.

I hope this problem could be permanently solved as soon as possible Otherwise, we just have to move out from this area.

Please feel free to call me at 9859xxx should you need any clarification.


Regards
Blur Gila
Blk xxx Choa Chu Kang Ave. 4
#04-xxx

Singapore 680xxx

SMDNSMELLNUISANCE.pdf38K

Tuesday 4 September 2007

Ramadhan

How time flies..Ramadhan is only 9 days away. It's that time of the year where I would go on a compulsory diet for a month:)

Ramadhan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, believed by Muslims to be the holiest month of the entire year. Its reverence signifies the revelation of the Holy Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad. During this month, Muslims throughout the world fast from dawn until dusk. The word Ramadhan comes from the Arabic root word ramida or ar-ramad, which means 'intense heat and dryness'. It is a fitting name for the month in which Muslims endure the heat of hunger and thirst.

Ramadhan begins with the sighting of the new moon and ends when the first crescent of the next new moon rises, declaring the start of a new month called Syawal. The first day of Syawal is marked by a joyous celebration called Aidilfitri, meaning 'Festival of Breaking Fast'. This festival starts off with special congregational prayers in mosques, followed by hearty feasts and house visitings of families, relatives and friends.

There are a few important things that Muslims observe during Ramadhan:

1. Fasting. The act of abstaining from food, drink and sexual intercourse is so prevalent during the month that people often misunderstand Ramadhan to mean fasting. Actually, the Arabic word for fasting is sawm. Fasting begins with suhoor, which is a light meal or snack at dawn, and ends with iftar or breaking fast, a full meal just after sunset.

Fasting is two-faceted, involving the physical and spiritual aspects of Islam. Physically, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking or having any form of sexual contact from sunrise until sunset. Spiritually, Muslims refrain from negative habits, such as gossipping, cursing, lying and badmouthing others. Additionally, Muslims avoid obscene sights and sounds.

Fasting strips away the distraction of worldly pleasures and enables Muslims to concentrate on inner reflection and heightened purity of thought and action. Ramadhan is the month to pray, perform good deeds and pass time with family and friends. It is also a time to remember the poor and how they suffer to get even one meal per day. In fact, at the end of Ramadhan, Muslims are encouraged to give fitra, a sufficient amount of charity to feed one person for a day.

Muslims who find fasting a problem are not obliged to perform the one-month fast during Ramadhan. The elderly, very young children, sickly people and ladies on their menstrual period are exempted from fasting. Those who have a temporary condition that prevents them from fasting are required to make up for any missed days after Ramadhan. If their condition is permanent or extended for a long period of time, they can provide charity to feed a needy person for each day missed.

2. Laylat al-Qadr. Also known as the Night of (Will) Destiny, this is the holiest night during Ramadhan. It is the night when the Holy Qur'an was first revealed by God to Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Although the exact night remains a mystery, it is believed to be one of the last ten nights of Ramadhan, particularly the odd-numbered nights between the 21st and the 29th.

Muslims are encouraged to seek this night through ardent prayer. The Holy Qur'an has provided that prayers on this single night are better than prayers of a thousand months. Seekers of this night will be blessed manifold, whereby all of their sins will be erased as though they were reborn.

3. Tarawih prayers. Consisting of eight to twenty raka'ah, the Islamic units of prayer, these optional prayers are performed every night during Ramadhan. Tarawih prayers can be performed congregationally at the mosque or individually at home. At the mosque, the entire Holy Qur'an is recited for these prayers. The 114 chapters of the holy book have been conveniently divided into 30 equal sections, one for each night of Ramadhan.

Ramadhan is an opportunity for Muslims to cultivate a raised awareness of God the Almighty. It is a month of spiritual cleansing and reflection on past actions and a time for Muslims to think about their religious future. During this time, Muslims come together with a single objective: to serve God in accordance with His instructions and the practice of His messengers .

Monday 3 September 2007

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

Just came back from visiting my sayang in KL. It's the merdeka celebration weekend..lot's of parades and celebration happenings everywhere . We managed to catch glimpse of fireworks from the apt's balcony, they were shoot from Putrajaya, KLCC, Dataran Merdaka . Malaysia seem to celebrate their 50th Independence Day in a Big way..


I've been watching lots of tv too, I fell in love with this special merdeka ad by Petronas. It's so cute , candid and real. Tan Hong Ming in Love is about a primary school student declaring that he secretly likes his best friend Umi Kazrina and wants to take her out on a date. He doesn’t want to ask her out because he says he is shy and that everybody will laugh at him.

The crew then interviews Umi and asks her if she has a best friend and boyfriend..guess what were her answers?

What makes the short commercial so special is the look of surprise and joy on Tan Hong Ming’s face as he sheepishly takes Umi’s hand and leads her away. . Aaaaw