A trip to K.Tr.

I left for Kuala Terengganu on the 13th of April in answering my sister's call for help in dealing with her husband's condition fighting cancer. My brother in law is a gentle person all the time that i had known him rarely raised his voice and not much of a talker. He has also been skinny all his life and not that he does not eat but food dont have much effect on his physical nature. I have had a very close relationship with him and I consider it a privillage as he is not one who makes friends too easily although very much respected by all those who knows him for his serene and gentle nature.
Syed has cancer of the tounge or throat or in one of this general area and he has been through Kemo therapy in Kuala Lumpur. Now he is back in K.Tr. lost in his lonely world not being able to speak and having his meals through his nose. I could feel the frustration coming out of him and did my best not to intrude upon his negative emotions except by giving him a good body massage everyday which seemed to bring him back to life weel enough to work on his car engine. I felt that is only so much that i could do as my brother in law was not much of a talker even when he was well. So I jsut made my precence felt whenever I was in the house.
I spent alot of my time with my friend Mohd. Rafi who works a maritime police lance corporal. We spent alot of time just shooting the breeze and watching the kids watch TV while I did alot of sketching in my journal. I also visited the Hashim family in Pulau Duyung where I was taken for a special tour of the whole Heritage Club where the Mosoon Cup Sailing event takes place. Hashim is practically the caretaker of the whole facility whether he knows it or not. Hashim was born to sail the Trengganu waters and is an expert on traditional boat building and sailing. The problem with him is that he does not recognize his importance and so at barely two thousand Malaysian Ringgit which is hardly six hudred US dollars, this man is in charge of one of the biggest boat marina which annually holds the International Sailing Regata, the Monsoon Cup. One of the best model boat maker when it comes to the traditional Malay vassels, Hashim is a multitalented individual who had anyone in the Tourism industry been smart enough should have taken into confidence and offered him a good position with corespoding financial benifit. I know of few men I have met in my travels who is more dedicated and dilligent in what he does than my long time friend.
Hashim's older brother is Awi of Awi's Yellow House, a shanty river side shallets built exactly like in the old days of atap and stands high above the river. The toilets naturaly are just holes in the floor which makes it unique for city dwellers who had forgotten what it was like. Awi's Yellow house is well known among foreign travellers through the Lonely Planet travel guide and visitors to this hole are usually repeat customers who often stays for a longer period of time than an average tourist. This was where i met Sabastian the first time sometime in 03 0r 04, but had not seen him fours years till recently when he turned up at the Little Penang Street Market and we went for dinner after and we met with the accident.
I had the opportunity to visit the controversial Crystal Mosque too which Sabastian had mentioned as a waste of the natural environment that was destryed for the whole project to take place along the Trengganu River. The mosque itself was to me indeed and overzealous work of architectural design that utillizes too much ornate Islamic designs on its facades and too sterile for the location it is built on. Had the goverment built a small wooden Surau instead it would have been much better suited for all purposes and I am not saying because it would have been much cheaper but wood is the part and parcel of the natural beauty of the river not building blocks of concrete or crystal. I am apprehensive about the long term upkeeping cost of this expensive venture as much as it was meant well when it was constructed but it is indeed still a bloody waste of good money and the cost to the natural environment especially the Mangrove and nipah ecosystem along the river. Adjacent or connected along to the Mosque complex is another complex called the Taman Tamadun Islam, a bunch of minitature replicas of mosques and Islamic structures found all over the Muslim world are constructed to comemorate the splendours of the Muslim architectures and way of life. It is like an Islamic Museum and all they need to do toattract good tourist both local and foreign is to add a minigolf trail throughout the course of these miniature buildings. Why not have some fun while one stare in wonder at something someone else build somewhere else in some god forsaken time at god knows what an astronomical cost. Call it a Muslim fairyland but having listened to the locals over their teh kosong and roti telor, I felt the negative and ambivalent feeling exist towards the whole cheerful project, most i met and talked to had not been to the Mosque or the Taman Tamadun islam and most dont even know how to get there. Rumour has it that even Tuanku, the Sultan is not happy with the whole thing and thus the election of the Menteri Besar problem with the Palace. The man behind the whole show perhaps was Idris Jusoh the former mentri besar who is a highly charismatic individual with western education. Now he is no more a part of the Terengganu EXCO even for some odd reasons which is as good as nayone's guesse but his project is incomplete. I hope that the present Trengganu EXCO will make every attempt to complete the whole project without delay as it is not a cheap affair to just let go off regardless of whose fault or failures it is, it is still a symbol for the state and it is there to stay. Perhaps Allah has future use for such an ornate mosque even if for not there is no Friday Prayers allowed at the mosque. The people of this state are perhaps as predictable as the monsoon season, it always comes and with it rain and winds, after that there is life as usual making budu, cultivating the rice fields and going out to sea, more than this is too much for the braind to digest, it is for the politicians to deal with and the 'Crystal Mosque for now is a symbol of what can be a political error made over good intentions.
I am not a politcal commentator nor am I a social analyst but I am a mere artist who sat and tried to sketch the Crystal Mosque in seeking what is its hidden beauty and in doing so thoughs flahes in my mind about the pros and cons of building such a grand structure and the price those responsible had to pay for this venture, at least according to the news media, the coffee shop politicians and friends and relatives who lives here in Kuala Terengganu. To most it is short of a fiasco, a multi-million dollar fiasco that serves no benifit to the local fishermen and padi growers;it is also an insult to every educated Malay intelligence in the state.
The question is how do you turn this so called failure into a booming success? What needs to be done to salvage this dead zones without compromising their intended values as a religiuos as well as cultural heritage? An Islamic Muzium? Toolittle too late as these are cropping up at about every corner of the Mulim world and within this country itself. Islamic Architectural Institute for the Country? It would be a good way to help pay the cost of long term maintanence of the whole complex. Its surrounding environment and the closeness of the Terengganu Muzium would enhance the whole arae to become a hub for Islamic as well as Malay cultural and traditional education.
Well whatever! I am just tossing out what my mind has been regurgitaitng while i was sketching the Crystal Mosque as it does whenever i sketch something my thoughts will always run paralel to what i am doing with my hands but on a different topic with regard to the object. I am not here to protest or promote anything or anyone over what i feel, it is a personal feeling towards what is going on around me. I am against just blames for blames sake, I would rather find a viable solution to go along with every issue or problem so that it seizes to be an issue or a problem. When the peole elected a leader they assume one to be well endowed with right sense of understanding of what is needed and what is not and who is best to confide over this matters but the people themselves. Ask them! Talk to Them! Listen to Them! as just like a good carpenter who would measure three times before deciding to saw a piece of lumber so should the politicians before making any major decisions.
What's wrong with this scenario?