Ervan’s Weltanschauung

After Cinta in 2006. The future looks bright for the Malaysian movie industry…

Check it out at Sepi The Movie Website

I should be doing some work, but my mind just refused to cooperate. I have lost a friend, and a brother today, at 3:50 pm.

He’s only 35 years, and 7 days old. Just a week ago was his birthday.
And I just saw him two weeks ago. But unlike our previous meeting up
sessions, that would be our last, and of course, the most quiet of all.
He just did not talk to people, like he used to.

I got the message when I was on a telecon with the boss at The Hague.
First I got a call from Nazrin, I ignored it, thinking that I could
call him back later. But when I got the sms from Ijai, all the way from
Sydney, I just could not concentrate with the telecon anymore…..

The moment I hung up, I called Rafizi, who confirmed the news, and then
I started to reply to all the messages on YM/MSN/SMS, asking me if the
news is true. And of course arranged with Nazrin to visit Ben’s house
at Subang.

The drive with Nazrin was quiet. And we started to remember things Ben
did. Without doubt, Ben is the brightest of our generation. And to lose
him, Fahmi’s sms captured it well, the country has lost another good
man.

It took some strength for me to see Ben’s lifeless body. But to see him
smiling, on his death, I know that Ben is at a better place. It is fair
for him, for he has suffered ill health all his life, but that never
stopped him from living his life to the full.

Ben, you rest in peace now. You have been a good mentor, friend and
brother to me, and for that I thank you. The good die young, and that I
will never deny it….for I believe in it.

Al-Fatihah.

Found a gem here in Scheveningen. A Japanese restaurant, Tokyo Cafe have all you can eat sushi for only 19.80 Euros. And it is good. And fresh…

Gosh, I love this place! And the only worry I had for coming here is my fortnightly ritual of sushi in KL would not be fulfilled. And here, I get to eat sushi here, and it is not too expensive.

And yeah, helped to improve my French too thanks to my dinner mates who are French speaking Belgians..

Bon apetit!

"Wat wou je graag eten?"

"Maaf ya, saya gak bisa ngomong Bahasa Belanda, kamu bisa ngomong Bahasa Indonesia?" I replied.

"Udah pasti dong, mau makan di sini atau bawa pulang?"

"Maunya makan di sini, tapi enggak ada tempat duduk yg kosong ya?"

Then an old man who was just finishing his meal offered the seat opposite him, "Bisa aja duduk ama saya, saya udah mau habis minum teh saya"

So I sat with him, and for the next hour or so, had a very good conversation with him. His name is Wat. And he’s been living in the Netherlands for the past 33 years, coming from Ambon back in 1974. It was a good conversation, talking about life in The Netherlands, and of course things happening in South East Asia.

But the most important thing we gained from the conversation, I helped to potray a moderate Muslim view to another. And freedom of speech is not about saying what you want to say, but saying what you want to say responsibly.

Even though he was a Christian, he was impressed with my view that even if you are a Muslim, Christian or a Jew, the basic essence is, each and everyone of us believe in the One God.

I liked to think that I am doing my religion a favour. But, different people have different perception. Whatever it is, it was a good conversation, and it is always good to polish my Indonesian.

Now, if only I can understand more of Dutch to hold a decent conversation… I guessed San sucre correctly as no sugar, but forgot it was French instead of Dutch!

It’s funny. I am back home. A home where I don’t know many people, but, yes, it is home for me for the next couple of months. In a country where I am yet to familiarise myself with the language.

But I am getting the hang of it. Uitgang, exit. Grote, definitely something great, or big. Words that I am learning, words that a couple of weeks ago were totally alien to me, except probably for kassa and kantor.

Home, away from home. That’s Den Haag.

Anyway, I had a really packed weekend. I went to London. My home of three years. The City that shaped me to be who I am today. My former school, BB helped to build my character. In fact, a Mrs Chan SH kept drilling us boys that she prefer us to gentlemen rather than a topscorer. BB also taught me a very important lesson, essentially, everyone is the same, each and every one of us is a member of the one human race…

London taught me about life. And it was good to revisit London. Yan and Adry were already in London. They were kind enough to let me stay over with them. Sides, it has been some time since I last saw them. And I am sure, they were surprised to hear that I am in The Hague. And it’s good to be able to spend Raya with family, even though we are miles away from home. I even managed to get Naz and Farzana to come over, and that’s when we realise, what a small world we are really live in. Or how our circle of friends is really that small….

Farzana and Adry were from the same agama school. Yan’s wife, Ida, have a friend in common with Naz. And Naz too have common friends with Farzana. What’s even funnier, Kak Rush’s (the PETRONAS student advisor) husband’s boss is Yan and Adry’s dad.  I of course know Fahmi, Ida’s brother from my days in UKEC. And have to say, I am proud to learn that ten years on, UKEC is still very much alive and kicking. I read their Projek Amanat Negara booklet that was lying around in Dzariman’s house, and found many inconsistencies with their version of UKEC’s history. But, UKEC is still making a different, and allowing students to fulfill their leadership potential.

And it was great to meet up an old friend in Dzariman. A fellow BBian and my former classmate. We used to hang out in London, and errm, sadly, always bump to each other either in Forbidden Planet, or the arcades near Trocadero. Yes, we share the same love for comics and err, video games. Anyway, Dzariman brought me for a nasi lemak breakfast at Malaysia Hall. Sadly, the old Malaysia Hall is no longer there, the scenes of many memorable events in my memory. I did walk past by Bryanston Square. Apart from the missing Malaysia Hall, it looked like nothing changed for the past 8 years. Now they have a new Malaysia Hall. It felt different, as being in the old Malaysia Hall, you do feel nostalgic, or like some would say, the ghosts of previous Malaysians, some who are prominent can be felt. I don’t get the same vibe with the new Malaysia Hall.

8 years. That was the last time I saw them.  Tim and Tricky too did not change much. Tricky, still the blur, and yet clever in figuring out gadgets. He helped Tim figuring out how to work the juke box. And Tim, still the lazy sod he is. Ed’s Diner might have moved, but the same great tasting milkshakes are still there, and boy, the chocolate and peanut butter milkshake, that was reallllly goooood! And walking with them from Leicester Square to Waterloo, kinda remind me of us walking down from Gower Street to Leicester Square for our chinese meals. Got to find those old photos.

Indeed, many things have changed in London. But in essence, London is still London, the city that taught me life….It was good to be back, even if it is only for 2 days….

Kalau sampai waktuku
‘Ku mau tak seorang ‘kan merayu
Tidak juga kau

Tak perlu sedu sedan itu

Aku ini binatang jalang
Dari kumpulannya terbuang

Biar peluru menembus kulitku
Aku tetap meradang menerjang

Luka dan bisa kubawa berlari
Berlari
Hingga hilang pedih peri

Dan aku akan lebih tidak perduli

Aku mau hidup seribu tahun lagi

(oleh Chairil Anwar, Maret 1943)

It’s my first Eid away from home in many years. I still remember the Eid I spent during my London years. Still got the pix of me with Dzariman, Farid, Aida, Marina and some of the UCL guys. Anyway, Eid is Eid, and I am the type of person who when I can’t have it, I just make the best of the situation. I know I can’t celebrate Eid in Malaysia, so might as well I try to experience the Eid festivities in the Netherlands.

Lucky for me, I stay near to the Malaysian embassy, just 6 stops away from my hotel via tram. Went for Eid prayers at the embassy, and got to know some Malaysians who are based in The Hague. Ansari, the go to guy for Shell Malaysian employees. Then I got to know Gerhard and Norhayati, a lovely couple who were based in Germany but on a long term assignment in Netherlands. How I got to know them was funny, as it all started with Gerhard comments on my crocs. And it being a Malaysian open house, I get to eat those Malaysian food that I kinda miss.

Thanks to my PM Skander, I got the whole day off even though I only planned to take half a day off. I did not get any open house invitation, so I decided to explore The Hague by foot. Indeed, today I noticed the minorities of The Hague. My own fellow Muslims.

It’s interesting to note that Albert Heinj, which is their biggest retail supermarket similar to Cold Storage and Giant, sells halal meat. In fact finding a halal food is not a problem, and for those who are not that fussy on their cutleries and plates to be swine free, I’ve been to two restaurants that serve Western & Asian food that do not serve any pork. Although you got to be careful with most Indonesian restaurants that serve sate babi or babi panggang. Even the Chinese restaurant here does not serve roast pork, but put it as babi panggang on their menu!

The influence of Indonesia is prevalent here. You can find katjangsaus as one of the sauce you can have with your patat (chips). For those who are still blur, katjangsaus is sos kacang. And a number of streets in The Hague are named after Indonesian islands like Javastraat, Riaoustraat and Sumatrastraat.

I am impressed that here in Netherlands they are tolerant of other religions as much they are tolerant with legal cannabis and prostitution in Amsterdam. But I guess it’s the Dutch opinion that everyone is entitled to live life as they want it to be. They don’t want to enforce their belief upon others. And hence that’s why a Muslim can lead a life as a Muslim here.

And comparing it in Malaysia with UMNO with its Islam Hadhari, and of course PAS with their brand of Islam. But sometimes, we forget about the minority in Malaysia. We forget about our Hindu friends who can’t eat beef, and accidently served beef in our events, while here, at Albert Heijn, they provide halal meat eventhough the number of Muslims are small. And oh yeah, the Shell canteen too provide halal meat

I guess, by giving a little bit of tolerance, we can make Malaysia better. But it is sad that everything is politicised, and everyone tries to be more Islamic than the other. Especially in politics where you want to win more votes by being more Islamic. But the voters can make the difference, by looking beyond who is more Islamic. Wearing ketayap and long robes does not mean you are more Islamic. A lady who is not wearing a tudung does not mean she’s not Islamic. Don’t forget that what matters most is your heart, and it is between you and God. Then perhaps, Islam in Malaysia will be better presented by having more subtance rather than the current emphasis on form.

And I leave that title as that, free for your interpretation.

But yes, indeed, most of Holland is flat. And some parts of Holland are even lower than sea level. Thanks to the dykes and canals, they somehow managed to prevent floods from happening. The last great flood happened about 50 years ago in the 1950s.

Today, I visited the town of Leiden, location of the oldest university in Netherlands. Its like Oxford and Cambridge where the whole town is full of University buildings. The moment you arrive at Leiden Central, you can see one huge building with is the University Leiden Medical Centre. And yes, the whole town is full of students and I can imagine it being empty during the summer holidays like in Boston.

I’ve meet up with a friend of my father, who is a lecturer in Leiden. Bapak Suryadi hails from Pariaman in Sumatera Barat, and has been living in Leiden for the last ten years. It became a history lesson walking around with him. He told me that Bung Hatta, one of the founding fathers of Indonesia, used to live in Leiden as he planned for Indonesia’s independence. We even talked about of the failed Silungkang rebellion in 1927, of which many who ran away to Singapore and Johor in order to flee the Dutch persecution. One of them is of course my grandfather. Bapak Suryadi is also helping me in finding out a certain Ambassador from the Acehnese Kingdom who died when he was in The Hague, and was accorded a Royal Burial. His grave is somewhere in The Hague’s Royal Cemetery, which a friend of mine told me to visit when I am in The Hague.

And of course we talked about the Dutch education system. I was proud to hear that there is a special Chair for Malay studies in Leiden. However, not many Malaysians are willing to study in Leiden. We could learn a thing or two from Leiden. Like Cambridge who keeps the original copy of Sejarah Melayu, Leiden too keeps manuscripts and letters from the Malay Sultanates. And walking around Leiden, you will find a lot of poems written on the walls, and a certain Chairil Anwar wrote one.

Well, after the visit to Leiden. I do miss my student days in London. But I guess, I do have to remember that there are other places that I could go to study apart from the UK. Or even the US. Indeed, not everything in Holland is flat. For even the wealth of knowledge here could be higher than the Everest!   

Yes, that’s where I was during the weekend. Amsterdam is just an hour away by train. I had only one mission for Amsterdam, and it does not involve getting high or checking out the red light district. The mission, which of course I choose to do, was to find and purchase a really nice overcoat for myself. And yes, I found a really nice overcoat, and am all set for the cold months ahead in The Hague.

I went to Amsterdam with Pat, hence, I could not do the fun things in Amsterdam with her around.  After all, Pat is really a very nice girl (ehem). As we were waiting for the tram at Circus Theatre, Pat asked me to check the map, and showed me where we were supposed to go. Considering the map was A3 size, and I thought it was really big, I asked Pat whether we are really going to walk that far. Until I realized that the map is on the scale of 100 metres. A lady next to me smiled, obviously overheard our conversation. I had to cover my embarrassment of being overheard by her by laughing.

Amsterdam, is Amsterdam, and after spending most of my time in The Hague, I liked The Hague better, as it is less crowded, and of course, less tourists running around. And in The Hague, people tend to speak in Dutch with me, until I answered back in English. Unlike in France or Germany, they willingly speak in English. But it’s not hard to figure out the words in Dutch. And with the English shows are subtitled instead of dubbed, I am slowly learning to speak in Dutch.

Anyway, back to The Hague, you can actually visit the whole of Netherlands in one hour (or more if you really really walk slow). There is this place called Madurodam which is a must visit if you are in The Hague. They got a miniature of Schiphol Airport complete with airplanes, miniatures of various buildings or places of interest in Netherlands. It is a definite must go, especially for the kids, including the young at heart.

And finally Scheveningen which is where I am staying. It is considered a suburb of The Hague, with a beach facing the North Sea. Right now, I know Nord is North and Zuid is South. Since Scheveningen is by the beach, it gets crowded whenever the sun, not matter how little is out. And with today being sunny, with a slightly warmer temperature (16 Celcius), people are out enjoying what’s left of the summer. Indeed, winter is fast approaching as the hours get shorter, and the temperature slowly drops.

I am addicted with the iced tea they have it here in The Hague, or I guess, Holland. It taste like iced lemon tea, with the addition of some gas, ala carbonated drink. It all started when I was having dinner with my colleagues at Garoeda at Centrum. I’ve been drinking the regular mineral water, and was contemplating having something sweet, and thinking the iced tea will be something like Indonesia’s the botol. When I got it, I was totally overwhelmed with the taste. The tea with a hint of lemon with the added taste of carbon dioxide, but not too much like what you get with coca-cola. Even my colleague who is a big fan of coca-cola loved the taste.

So, if you are in Holland, perhaps you should try the iced tea. If you are a tea fan, I am sure you will enjoy it.