Friday, June 24, 2005

Episode Cinta untuk Rahmat Abdullah
Helvy Tiana Rosa

Seperti tak percaya aku mendengar kabar itu: kau sudah pergi untuk selamanya. Dan kenangan demi kenangan berkelebat cepat di benakku, menyisakan satu nama: Rahmat Abdullah.

Kita memang tak banyak bertemu, tak banyak bercakap. Tapi percayakah kau, aku menjadikanmu salah satu teladan diri. Kau menjelma salah satu sosok yang kucinta. Tahukah kau, hampir tak ada tulisanmu yang tak kubaca? Dan setelah membacanya selalu ada sinar yang menyelusup menerangi kalbu dan pikiranku. Tidak sampai di situ, buku-bukumu selalu membuatku bergerak. Ya, bergerak!

Kau mungkin tak ingat tentang senja itu. Tapi aku tak akan pernah melupakannya. Saat itu kau baru saja pulang dari rumah sakit untuk memeriksakan kesehatanmu. Aku dan seorang teman menunggumu. Kami membutuhkanmu untuk memberi masukan terhadap apa yang tengah kami kerjakan. Tanpa istirahat terlebih dahulu, dengan senyuman dan kebersahajaan yang khas, kau menemui kami. Tak kau perlihatkan bahwa kau sedang tak sehat.

Bahkan kau bawa sendiri makanan dan minuman untuk kami. Dengan riang kau menyemangati kami.

"Ini kebaikan yang luar biasa," katamu. "Bismillah. Berjuanglah dengan pena-pena itu!"

Lalu kami mengundangmu untuk hadir pada acara milad organisasi kecil kami. Sekadar menyampaikan undangan, dan tak terlalu berharap kau datang, karena kami tahu kau sangat sibuk dengan begitu banyak persoalan ummat.


Hari itu, bulan Juli 2002, milad ke 5 organisasi kami: Forum Lingkar Pena. Semua panitia direpotkan oleh banyak hal yang harus dikerjakan. Aku masih sempat bertanya pada panitia: "Adakah yang menjemput Pak Taufiq Ismail dan Pak Rahmat Abdullah?"

Panitia menggeleng. Banyak yang harus dikerjakan. Tak ada mobil atau tenaga untuk menjemput.

Sudahlah, pikirku. Pak Taufiq dan Pak Rahmat terlalu besar untuk hadir di acara seperti ini.

Aku hampir melompat ketika melihat Pak Taufiq Ismail datang sendirian dengan taksi dan menyapa kami riang. Dan aku tak percaya ketika tak lama kemudian kau muncul!

"Ustadz, terimakasih sudah datang. Kami tidak menyangka?," sambutku.

Kau tersenyum. "Saya sudah agendakan untuk datang," katamu. "Ini acara FLP. Istimewa."

Mataku berkaca. Ini ustadz Rahmat Abdullah, ia terbiasa diundang sebagai pembicara dalam berbagai acara nasional sampai internasional. Dan kini ia sudi hadir sebagai undangan biasa!

"Maaf ustadz tidak dijemput. Ustadz naik apa tadi?"

Naik bis. Tempatnya mudah dicari," katamu biasa.

Kau sempat turut memberikan award dalam acara tersebut dan memimpin doa penutup. Aku menangis mendengar doa yang kau lantunkan, Ustadz. Kau berulangkali mendoakan agar organisasi kami: FLP selalu bisa melahirkan para pemuda yang tak akan berhenti berjuang dengan pena?.

Pada akhir acara, kau turut berjongkok bersama para pemuda lainnya dan menandatangani spanduk yang kami gelar bertuliskan "Sastra untuk Kemanusiaan."

"Saya mencintai sastra dan suka membuat puisi," ceritamu.

Hari itu kehadiranmu benar-benar memberi semangat baru bagi kami.

Ustadz, aku selalu mengenangmu sebagai suami dan ayah yang baik dalam keluarga. Sebagai guru sejati bagi ribuan da'i. Dan ketika kau terpilih menjadi anggota DPR RI tahun 2004 lalu, tak ada yang berubah darimu, kecuali usaha yang lebih keras untuk membuat rakyat tersenyum. Dalam keadaanmu yang sederhana, kau tak berhenti memberi zakat dan infaq dari gajimu. Kau satu dari sedikit orang yang pernah kutemui, yang sangat berhati-hati dengan amanah dan berjuang untuk menunaikannya tanpa cacat.


Ah, pernahkah kau meminta tarif untuk mengisi ceramah? Tak ada. Kau bahkan pernah berkata: "Alhamdulillah ada lagi orang yang mau mendengarkan taushiyah dari hamba Allah yang lemah ini."

Terakhir kali kita bertemu, Ustadz, di sebuah jalan raya, sekitar akhir tahun lalu. Dan aku tak percaya, kau?anggota dewan yang terhormat--- masih saja menyetop kopaja.

Kini dalam usia 53 tahun, kau pun kembali untuk selamanya. Ribuan orang, tak terhingga orang, datang mengiringi untuk terakhir kali, sambil tak henti bersaksi tentang keindahanmu.

Selamat jalan, Ustadz. Jalan kebaikan dan cinta yang selalu kau tempuh di dunia, semoga mengantarkanmu ke gerbang yang paling indah di sisiNya.

Amiin.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

8m see Jackson verdict on BBC

Ben Bold
Tuesday June 14, 2005

Nearly 8 million people watched the BBC's main evening news last night for live coverage of the culmination of Michael Jackson's high-profile, four-month trial.
The timing of the verdicts proved highly fortuitous for the BBC, which went live to correspondent Matt Frei outside the Santa Maria courtroom in California at 10pm, shortly after the judge announced the jury had reached a verdict.

Although cameras were not allowed into the courtroom, broadcasters were given a live audio feed of the verdicts being read out in court.

Ratings for the half-hour bulletin peaked at 7.9 million at 10.15pm as the jury's 10 not guilty verdicts were read out one by one.

The BBC 10 O'Clock News averaged 7.5 million viewers - more than one in three viewers - according to unofficial overnight figures.

The audience for last night's bulletin was the largest since the last week of 2004, when BBC1's coverage of the tsunami disaster pulled in an average of 7.8 million viewers a night.

This was a major boost for the corporation, which usually draws 5-6 million viewers for its flagship bulletin.

Viewers were shown the army of Jackson fans outside the courtroom, one of whom released a white dove as each not guilty verdict was read out.

While Jackson wept quietly at the result, at ITV there may well have been tears of frustration at the timing of the verdict. ITV's News at 10.30pm averaged an audience of 2.9 million, less than half that of the BBC.

The 24-hour news channels also enjoyed a ratings boost from the Jackson verdict. Sky News achieved its fourth highest ever ratings, peaking at 1,069,000 viewers and a 6.79% share between 10pm and 10.15pm. BBC News 24 had a peak of 616,000 and a 3% share at the same time.

In 1997 Sky News recorded its highest peak of 1,697,000 for the Louise Woodward trial. The Iraq conflict in 2003 also peaked at over a million with 1,213,000 tuning in - narrowly ahead of the numbers viewing the OJ Simpson trial in 1995 (1,203,000).

Since the trial started 13 weeks ago, Sky News and Sky One have been airing daily reconstructions of the events taking place in court using a Michael Jackson lookalike.

BBC News was helped by a strong inherited audience from cop drama New Tricks at 9pm. The show averaged an audience of 6.5 million (a 34% share), peaking 15 minutes before the news with 7.1 million .

Celebrities are still proving more popular than Joe Public in the reality TV stakes. Channel 4's Big Brother is continuing to lose its battle with its ITV rival, achieving an audience last night of 3 million.

More impressively, the tawdry goings-on at Celebrity Love Island continued to pull in the viewers, with an average audience of 4.2 million and a peak of nearly 5 million.

However, the show peaked early with 4.9 million viewers when it started at 9.30pm. Throughout its duration it lost more than a million viewers.

ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald fared well given its subject matter. Tracking the demise of Britain's last major car manufacturer and presented by slick-haired former Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson, Why Rover Crashed pulled in 3.5 million viewers.
A quick jot by my colleague ..

Salam... ttg azan yg bersahut-sahutan, saye dpt tau waktu pegi prog BAKIP kat Kelab Desa Rantau Petronas Kerteh dgn sahabat2 hr tu.

Sedikit ilmu utk dikongsikan bersame... mase kite skolah dulu kan ade blaja, aruhanelektomagnetik... semakin laju pusingannye, akan kluar cahaye... mcm tu gakkat plant, sape kerje kat plant mesti tau psl turbine... Turbine... kalaulaju pusingannye, shaft, impeller, blade semua tu rotate, pastu akan kluarspark.. cahaye... (sape xtau turbine, compressor bukak blk bukuthermodynamics atau fluid mechanics atau gie kat compressor house).

Mcm tu jugak laa kat Mekah, org Islam tawaf sebyk tujuh kali non stop, kalo
ade org yg tgh buat umrah... akan naik cahaye kat Masjidil Haram tu naik ke Sidaratul Muntaha, langit pertama, kedua... ke3, ke4..... sampai pdAllah.... sbb tu doa insyaAllah dimakbulkan kat Mekah.

Tapi, RasulullahSAW xwajibkan pun kite pegi ramai2 berhijrah kat Mekah... saye masih lg diTganu... ade yg kat Sarawak... kite masih lg boleh dpt \'cahaye\' dr tawaftu... dr azan bersahut-sahutan.... skrg nie pun ade yg tgh solat jemaah,umrah non-stop... so, kite kena sentiasa tahu betapa besarnye, hebatnyeazan bersahut-sahutan... kite sentiasa berada dlm gelombang LaaIlahaillallah.

Oleh itu, saye menyeru pd shbt2 dan juga diri saye nie.... jgn biarkan diri kite terkeluar dr landasan gelombang azan nie... mcm kat plant, cube korg semua baling batu kat turbine/compressor/turbo expander yg tgh running tu..ape jd pd turbine tu? Mesti trip, n akan menyebabkan flaring danmengakibatkan kerugian yg bukan sedikit pd plant, dh tu kena jawab pulak pd DOSHH.

Mcm tu jugak dgn iman kite... plant xpe, at least ade alarm....iman kite nie kalau terbakar mcm kat flare, ade alarm ke? ade indicator kenak bgtau ade problem pd iman kite.. xde kan? jom same2 memperbaiki diri...jgn tinggal solat, jgn cube baling batu pd turbine (jgn buat dosa sepanjangmase), solat jemaah sokmo...

Wassalamu\'alaikum....


The Glory of Azan
Azan: The Amazing Phenomenon

Amazing as it sounds, but fortunately for the Muslims of the world, it is an established fact. Have a look at a map of the world and you will findIndonesia on the eastern side of the earth. The major cities of Indonesiaare Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Saibil.As soon as dawn breaks on the eastern side of Saibil, at approximately 5:30am local time, Fajar Azaan begins. Thousands of Muazzins in Indonesia begin, half hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes inJakarta. Sumatra then follows suit and before this auspicious process ofcalling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia.

Burma is next in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it reachesDacca, the capital ! city of Bangladesh. After Bangladesh, it has alreadyprevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advancestowards Bombay and the environment ofentire India resounds with this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a cityin north Pakistan)have the same timing for Azaan. The time difference between Sialkot, Quetta, and Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time,Fajar Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan.

Before it ends there, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat. Thetime difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resoundsduring this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holy citiesof Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.

The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again onehour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan duringthis hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is oneand a half hours, and during this time it is echoed with the call toprayer.Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at one hour's difference.

The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the reciting the Azaan. The process advances towards West Indonesia. One and ahalf hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes in Jakarta. Sumatra then follows suit and before this auspicious process ofcalling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia. Burma isnext in line, and within an hour of its beginning in Jakarta, it reaches Dacca, the capital city of Bangladesh.

After Bangladesh, it has alreadyprevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advances towards Bombay and the environment ofentire India resounds with this proclamation. Srinagar and Sialkot (a cityin north Pakistan)have the same timing for Azaan. The time differencebetween Sialkot, Quetta,and Karachi is forty minutes, and within this time,Fajar Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan.Before it ends there, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat. Thetime difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resoundsduring this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (Holy citiesof Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again onehour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan duringthis hour. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is oneand a half hours, and during this time it is echoed with the call toprayer.Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at one hour'sdifference. The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the

Therefore, the proclamation of the Tawheed and Risaalat that had begun inIndonesia reaches the Eastern Shore of the Atlantic Ocean after nine and half hours.Prior to the Azaan reaching the shores of the Atlantic, the process of Zohar Azaan has already started in east Indonesia, and before it reachesDacca, Asar Azaan has started. This has hardly reached Jakarta one and half hours later, the time of Maghrib becomes due, and no sooner has Maghrib time reached Sumatra, the time for calling Isha Azaan has commenced in Saibil!

When the Muazzins of Indonesia are calling out Fajar Azaan, theAfrican Muazzins are calling the Azaan for Isha.If we were to ponder over this phenomenon thoughtfully, we would concludethe amazing fact that there is not even asingle moment when hundreds of thousands of Muazzins around the world are not reciting the Azaan on the surface of this earth.

Even as you read this material right now, you can be sure there are atleast thousands of peoplewho are hearing and reciting the Azaan!!!Allah said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you." If youare not ashamed, please send this message..."Yes, I love Allah. Allah is my fountain of Life and My Savior. Allah keepsme going day and night. Without Allah,I am no one. But with Allah, I can do everything. Allah is my strength.""

Friday, June 10, 2005

Agi Hidup Agi Ngelaban

Anda boleh bergerak,
Tapi tidak semestinya tiba ke destinasi yang dituju,
Kerna haluan arah tidak ditentu.

Anda boleh bekerja,
Tapi tidak semestinya buah yang anda inginkan diperoleh,
Kerna benih yang digunakan berbeza.

Anda boleh tersenyum,
Tapi tidak semestinya hati kecil anda gembira,
Namun biarlah senyuman itu menjadi pengubat luka.