Category: Travel Page 42 of 44

Satu minggu sebelum Eidul Fitri. Ketika yang lain sibuk memohon cuti untuk pulang beraya di tanah air, aku dan beberapa orang sahabat sealiran menjejaki kawasan delta di sekitar Yangon, mencari masjid-masjid yang memerlukan bantuan kewangan. Aku ditugaskan menyampaikan Tabung Ramadhan sumbangan pekerja moslem di tempat aku bekerja kepada golongan yang memerlukan. Rancangan kami ialah mencari umat Islam di luar kota Yangon kerana pada firasat kami masyarakat Islam di kota Yangon sudah banyak menerima sumbangan dari NGO Islam atau kedutaan-kedutaan negara Islam seperti Arab Saudi. Hari itu di Masjid Kokhine, aku melihat kotak-kotak buah kurma seberat 2kg satu pek di satu penjuru masjid untuk diedarkan kepada fakir miskin setempat. Tertulis di atas pek itu “A gift from the guardian of two holy lands”. Kerajaan Arab Saudi memang dermawan.  Semoga Allah menerima amalan mereka dan amalan kami.

Kawasan delta (delta area) merujuk kepada kawasan tanah subur lembangan Sungai Ayeyarwaddy (juga dieja sebagai Irrawaddy) dan beberapa sungai lain seperti Sungai Yangon dan Sungai Bago. Sungai Ayeyarwaddy merupakan sungai terpanjang di Myanmar mengalir dari kawasan pergunungan di utara menuju ke kawasan delta dan seterusnya memasuki Laut Andaman di selatan. Ia merupakan nadi pengangkutan air utama. Bandar utama di kawasan delta ialah Pathein. Semasa taufan Nargis melanda pada tahun 2008, kawasan ini adalah yang paling teruk terjejas. Air melimpah hingga ketinggian 6 meter dari paras permukaan bumi dan hampir 200,000 orang menjadi mangsa.

Destinasi pertama kami ialah tiga buah masjid dalam perjalanan ke Konyangon, satu kawasan perkampungan di muara Sungai Yangon.  Masjid Sanwa dan Masjid Getkone di daerah Twante,  Masjid Zayagone di daerah Kaw Hmu. Jarak perjalanan lebih kurang satu jam dengan kenderaan pacuan empat roda Toyota Landcruiser dari bandaraya Yangon melalui jalan darat. Masyarakat Islam di sekitar 30 – 50 keluarga di sekitar kawasan ini. Kebanyakannya bekerja sendiri (petani, buruh dan peniaga).  Identiti moslem tidak tidak dapat dibezakan dengan yang bukan Islam, kerana kehidupan dan budaya mereka sudah bercampur.   Anak2 dan wanita2 mereka serupa saja, makanan, pakaian, bahasa pertuturan seharian, semuanya hampir sama. Syiar Islam hanya boleh dilihat di masjid-masjid dan pakaian mereka yang masih bertahan dangan pegangan aqidah — lelaki berkopiah putih dan baju putih labuh ala Pakistan, dan muslimah yang bertudung walaupun longgar.  Kami diberitakan sebahagian moslem di kawasan ini dimurtadkan oleh mubaligh-mubaligh Kristian yang pertama sampai menghulurkan bantuan selepas taufan Nargis melanda. Kehidupan di sini memang susah. Semuanya manual.

Kami juga sempat singgah di bandar Twante yang terkenal dengan perusahaan tembikar dari tanah liat. Dalam perjalanan balik kami melalui Dallah, sebuah perkampungan kecil ditebing Sungai Yangon. Dari Dallah kami menaiki feri menyeberangi Sungai Yangon ke kota Yangon. Feri RORO (roll out and roll in ferry) membawa kereta dan lori berserta penumpang.

Sistem jalanraya di kawasan delta dan hampir keseluruhan kawasan luar bandar di seluruh Myanmar memang ketinggalan jauh kebelakang berbanding dengan Malaysia. Jalan tidak berturap, sempit, berlubang di sana sini dan tidak terurus adalah perkara biasa. Lembu dan kambing dan khinzir berebut jalan dengan kenderaan yang lain.

Lihat galeri di atas untuk imej-imej sepanjang lawatan ini. Bawak tetikus ke atas imej untuk penjelasan.  Klik dua kali untuk membesarkan imej.

First Ramadhan this year (1430Hijrah=2009M) found me in Kuala Lumpur after having attended some business meetings in Malaysian capital city.   I took MH740 flight back to Yangon only on Sunday morning. It was fairly a good flight except when approaching Yangon where heavy clouds littered the southern Myanmar sky and despite the enhanced avionic technology, this Boeing 737 – 800 — the upgraded version of B737 with distinguishable flipped wings feature — still could not withstand the force of the nature, to be exact, the power of Allah SWT.  The plane was relatively new in Malaysian Airlines fleet, just introduced mid this year to replace B737-400.  I must say that it is smoother and less noisier that its older cousin B737-400. Nevertheless the flight was not smooth all the way. Approaching Yangon, a couple of times the ever-cool pilot — who talked in word by word — had to remind passengers to return to their seats and fasten seatbelt, due to air turbulence caused by bad weather. Yangon was raining when I left and when I returned. Monsoon season, so to speak. But I was asleep half of the time of the flight and half asleep at the other  half.  I knew when the meal was served even though with eyes closed, as the aroma was so familiar and so intense. A slight feeling of regret was felt when embarking at the gate as to why I did not ask the stewardess to pack one for my iftaar. Yes it was second day of Ramadhan and I was fasting.

Lets move on with the theme of this post – Ramadhan on Yangon. FYI, this is my first Ramadhan in Yangon and Myanmar after being posted here.

I managed to find time one afternoon in between work to perform solat  Zuhur at Masjid Kokhine Masjid at Kabaye Pagoda Road.  I had to meet Brother Anwar to pay up my iftaari sponsorship I promised him before I left for KUL a week before. He was sharing some story about ifttaar program they are organizing every day in Ramadhan. They needed sponsors for this program — you may sponsor one session for about 35000 kyats. He is the bilal and the trustee for the Masjid.

One night I hailed a taxi to go to the same masjid for solat Taraweh.  It was old white Toyota SE with no inside door cover at the front passenger side. It was just like a mechanic’s car. I could see the gear and other things which control the sliding of the glass window up or down.  When its engine accelerated, it sounded like the helicopter I took the other day to the offshore. But the  driver was really friendly, he was in the talking mood and was asking about where I came from, despite his mouth was full with sirih (beattle leave).

“You Malayu? You Malayu?”. He asked me inquisitively.

I answered in affirmative. And then suddenly we had so many thing in common.  Apparently he was working somewehere in Kajang for four years and returned to Myanmar in 1997. He said one thing he missed badly about Malaysia was bah-kut-teh soup. He said he could not find it here in Yangon such a delicacy. I felt like throwing up. Cultural diffences, I convinced myself.

He charged me 1500 kyats for a 5 minutes ride, and for some information about himself.

Solat Isyak started at 8pm sharp. Solat Taraweh started right after long solat sunat ba’diyah Isyak.  Moslems here are Hanafi followers and they are very particular about solat in jamaah and solat sunat (or nawafil). Our brothers here perform long solat sunat especially after Zuhur, Maghrib and Isyak. While we Malaysians are generally contented with 2 rakaat or none at all, they could go up to 8 rakaat easily. Times for solat fardhu in jamaah are calculated exactly to the minute and displayed at the notice board so that everybody can participate. When the time comes, it starts on the dot.  If you come five minutes late, you will miss it. This is a practise for all masjids in Yangon. To me it is a good practise which can be copied by  Malaysians, who in majority did not bother to solat in masjid, even though his house is next to a masjid’s loudspeaker.

Solat Taraweh was done in 2 by 2 rakaat. The imaam was a young hafeez from a local madrasah. He led the first 4 rakaat before another imaam (another young hafeez) took over and continued with another 4 rakaat.  So all together there were five hafeez leading the solat taraweh. They read surahs after Fatihah very fast, compromising the rules of recitation of verses of the Holy Quran (tawjid). Could not blame them either, since they had to complete the whole Quran within Ramadhan. This happened in Malaysia also and anywhere else where hafeez leading prayers.

The 4 saffs of worshippers remained the same until the end of 20 rakaat. Which meant everybody completes the 20 rakaat. In total contrast in Malaysia where after 8 rakaats, three quarters of jemaah would have left. I have no comment on this.

The regular imaam led solat Witir of 3 rakaat with one salam. It was very similar to maghrib, i.e. with 2 tahiyyats, except in the 3rd rakaat, after a surah was read after alFatihah, there was a long pause before rukuk. I suspected this could be due to Qunut. It caught me by surprise as I  almost went into rukuk by myself after the surah.

There was no selawat in between the 2 rakaats. No tazkirah. The whole 20 rakaats was completed within about an hour. Except for the speed, it was a memorable experience for me.

At 9:30pm, in front of the masjid, Kabaye Pagoda Rd was still busy with traffic. I took another dilapidated white taxi home.

14 Ogos 2009:

(Catatan ini ditulis oleh Wannor)

Hari ini Datin menjemput kami ke kediamannya di Inya Road di pinggir kota Yangon. Program ini ialah program kesukaannya dan berkebetulan dengan minat saya pada suatu masa dahulu semasa di zaman bujang dahulu. Tetapi entah bagaimana minat itu pudar dan hilang dek kekalutan dan himpitan kehidupan. Tapi bakat itu timbul semula dan diasah semula sejak saya turut serta dalam aktiviti PERWAKILAN Yangon. Beberapa teman ikut serta termasuk seorang dari wanita tempatan Myanmar. Aktiviti ini memang menyeronokkan dan tidak sedar masa berlalu begitu pantas. Lihat galeri di bawah untuk sampel gubahan bunga yang dihasilkan.