Climbing Mount Santubong

Mount Santubong looms ahead of my morning commute every morning, as it has for a dozen years. I’ve skirted the base of the mountain countless times, on the way to Damai beach or Sultan Tengah’s tomb, but I’d never made it to the top.  Not for lack of trying.  Two years ago, my son, my father […]

Crocodocious

Sometimes you don’t realize what you have in your own backyard.  I realized I have crocodiles.  Jong’s Crocodile Farm is only a short drive out of town but in 12 years I had never been.  Time for a field trip!  The Crocodile Farm is a bit like a petting zoo in concept, less grand than […]

Third Coffee

Coffee beans spread upon a tray Jasmine blooms on the ledge do rest I’ve been dreaming till break of day My sweetheart sleeping upon my chest “Buah kopi di atas loyang Kembang melati letak di bangku Saya bermimpi hampirkan siang Jantung hati tidur di pangku” Island South-east Asia produces a lot of coffee.  The word Java, now […]

New Facility for Ma’had Tahfiz

At the beginning of this year, my daughter Kak Andak started first grade at a new religious school. It’s a private school operated by the charitable foundation of the State Mosque, specializing in Quran memorization. For the last year and a half, it had been operating in the basement of the State Mosque itself. A […]

KakAndak starts school

My fifth child started school this year. She’s going to a different school from her siblings. It is a Ma’had Tahfiz, a school focusing on Quran study, that only started primary school last year. Now they have first and second graders enrolled. They memorize Quran in the morning, and have a normal school day in […]