All you need...

I'm not a photography expert, or even an enthusiast for that matter. In an age where everyone hauls DSLRs, I guess I'm slow to pick up on that...

Truth be told I like photography where a photo speaks to you - but have no desire to get serious into it. Buat pakai Blackberry Z10 pun cukup lah ala kadar. Feeling Instagram model la jawabnya...

Here are some shots I took during the Muzik Muzik semifinal last night... hope you guys like them. I love Stacy's best...

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Peace

Hari ni merupakan hari yang teramat pelik. I feel.. elated! Happy!

Why should that be weird...? Because I got a piece of news that was bad... but not for me. SMS dari kawan tu buat aku tersenyum. Bukan sebab aku busuk hati nak meraikan berita buruk, tapi aku rasa seolah pembalasan perlahan lahan pada mereka yang menganiaya aku kini bermula.

Malas nak cita lebih. Just so much I been hearing the past day or two, buat aku nih terpikir berkali-kali, nak ke aku duduk lagik dalam industri hiburan yang tak bayar setimpal ngan pengalaman dan expertise nih. Mana taknya, kat Malaysia nih, susah wo nak hidup dalam keadaan tersepit nih. Tambah lagik bila ada orang yang bodoh yang ko kena encounter. Simply makes it all.. not worth it.

So anyway, today second day aku dapat 'good news' of sorts. Smalam da la dapat berita positif. And again today...

Not jubilant about bad things happening to anyone. But like I said, aku berserah pada Nya untuk menentukan takdir, dan rezeki aku. Dan aku bersyukur setakat ini Tuhan telah memberikan aku kekuatan dan semangat baru untuk melawan anasir anasir yang kurang elok ini.

Melawan dengan kejayaan. Nothing else. Success is the best revenge. And the aim to achieve is my drive to push to the best I can be. With or without idiots telling me what to do.
What happens to these people, biar Tuhan yang mengadili dan menghukumi. I am no one to judge or mete out punishments.

Syukur sangat things are getting back on track, dan aku kini da set target baru tuk masa depan aku selepas banyak berfikir. Oh trust me. By the dawn of 2009, you're going to see a lot of things happening. Thank you to friends and colleagues who are helping to make it happen after realising what's going on. God is indeed great.

Biar ada individu tertentu berhati hitam cuba sedaya upaya, aku tak tersungkur. Maybe a minor trip, but nothing that leaves any sort of injury or marks. Not even a scrape to the knee gituh.

And I can see that my motto of karma is a bitch, is indeed proving true.

Well, people. You reap what you sow.

And sometimes for certain people, a sow is also your mother! (matilah juvenile name calling)

So in good spirits, aku gi ke buka puasa Recording Industry of Malaysia. Ok, so aku tak tepati janji aku nak amik banyak pics. But really enjoyed catching up with industry friends, explaining all that has happened, and getting some offers to back me up. Syukur again.

Borak nya borak, ada Q&A with Norman in his capacity with RIM on the 90:10 issue. Bravo pada to the organisation. Walaupon meka officially tak 'menyokong atau membantah' tindakan tu, a lot of what Norman said, echoed my personal views that this move is BAD for the future of our music industry.

His statement aku paling suka?

"Kita kena berhentikan budaya bertongkat ni. Kalau muzik kita bagus, takyah kuota pun leh dapat 100% airplay!"

Salute to you Norman!

It's people like Norman who speak out, that make me believe that some things are still worth fighting for in the business. And fight, I will. I may have went into the corner to lick my wounds awhile, but now I'm raring to come out fighting again. The old me is back! With a vengeance! In everything I do! So beware if you cross my path.

Don't know what the plans are for the weekend but planning to meet Sarimah soon to discuss some 'things'. Also Faz is coming back soon! Yeay! Next week banyak la sebab ramai balik kampung, dan ramai lagik balik sini.

Tak sabar!

Ok, short and sweet entry over. Kesian pic Jac ni aku nak kongsi tak publish. Toodle doo for now kiddies! By the way, something funny happened, but honestly too sensitive to write... so leave it be in my memories and not my blog. Heh....

"Budak ni nak amik gambar lama lak... letih pose!"
Luv ya Jac!

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Kelab Pop

Sampai je Wisma Ali Bawal tuk shooting Kelab Pop, bumped into lots of people! Mana taknya... bukan je satu episod nak shooting. Banyak skali harung. Aku nya slot yang last for the day.

Team aku, apart from myself, si Juan dan Rudy. Harus lah havoc katanya. Our challengers? Ifa Raziah, Serina Redzuan dan Fazli Zainal.

Semua mulot leh tahan.

Once, the final episod before ours finished (sempat usha, tapi akibat tuh tambah nervous), congratulated the winners! Siapa lagi kalau bukan team Triple Z (no, that was not their team name - tapi sebab memang tiga tiga nama start ngan Z).

The winning team for the shoot before ours was bro Zahid, skali ngan Zain formerly of RuffEdge (kira former ker) and Zed Zaidi. Uwaa... julang trofi ngan bangga tuh!

Mana taknya, dengar musim lepas, piala adalah piala pusingan yang passed on.

Musim ni semua pemenang dapat individual trophy.

Triple Z - Zain, Zed Zaidi and Zahid - eksyen ngan trofi tuh!


Uwaa... adik da dapat trophy, the pressure is on to meet expectations. Sebenarnya aku tak kisah pun mula mula nak menang ke apa... lagikpon appear pun ada saguhati da. Merasalah dijemput sebagai selebriti wakil media. Matilah... nak good impression ni.

Plus, adik da menang, aku pun nak ler. And it didn't hurt that the trophy cantik gak and nampak mahal. Heh!

So masa game, memang all out. Tapi round random question memang no hal. Seb baik tak terbodoh aku. Tapi round CD rosak aku tension. Tak pick up langsung. Juan banyak jawab.
Tapi yang kelakar, satu yang berjaya aku jawab tuh, tak sampai beberapa saat aku da tekan buzzer dan jerit jawapan. Lagu tu memang familiar - lagu hit yang kerap berkumandang radio.

Kalau tak kenal memang aku patut kena pancung - matilah malu kalao aku tak cam. Sebelum sesiapa sempat, aku tekan dan jerit STACY!!!! AKU STACY!!!! Heh! Tak ler aku malu sangat tak jawab speed round tu.

Round humming dan karaoke maut tuh memang pecah perot. Aku sampai nak jatuh pentas gelak!

Aku takleh cakap apa apa la... korang tengok kang bila episod tu on air. Not sure when... but memang kelakar!

Fazli, Serina, Reza, Juan, Rudy and me, myself and I. Kak Ifa terpaksa rushing balik cepat sebab anak dia sakit.


Pas abih gi lepak Pelita as usual. Tak plan apa apa pun. Dan dan... ada orang tegur. Rupanya Marsha dan Kefli ada 'discussion'. Hah... habihla korang kuar lagik la cita korang kuar berdua. Sebenarnya kira business meeting sebab ada hal nak bincang. Last last meka join satu meja.

Banyak ler aku nak borak ngan Kef sebab cita Gaia yang aku tarik diri. Then borak ngan Marsha pasal bab lain yang takleh sebut sini.

Kef and Marsha


Jauh tuh duduk!


Sibuk borak, tetiba lak ramai sampai kat Pelita tu. The ones aku sempat snappy Mila dan secara berasingan, Jac. Bangga ngan meka. Takde nya feeling kekwat takleh lepak mamak. Ada sesetengah nih pandang mamak ni cam hina sangat. And kalao lepak kat kedai mamak, rasa cam kena bagitau satu dunia seperti Fear Factor lak. Amik ko!

Mila lak sampai


Then Jac...


Hung about dari I think about 10pm, sampai almost 4am! Penat gila by the end of it all.
If I neglected to tell you the result of the episode Kelab Pop I was in. Sebenarnya... kami.. MENANG!!!!!

Amik ko! Trofi yang dok kat ruang tamu rumah skang. Nothing much to be proud of... biasa biasa je. Yang penting, we all had fun, and with friends.

Apa dia? Bolos? You'll never get me into that skin tight baju. Nangis kang Fitri tengok baju dia buat tuh kena stretch ngan aku! Nangis lagik tetiba Bolos kena rating sebagai horror film lak nampak lebihan aku semua. Matilah...

Over and out... for today...

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You think?

Hah... ni memacam menda yang sampai telinga aku. Kes ni bermula dari kisah gathering nan ado yang diumumkan, and ends in ada pihak salahkan aku tuk konon campurtangan aku ke whatever sampai tak jadik.

Kisahnya simple.

Arituh online peminat Nubhan, umumkan ada gathering ngan dia dan Riz dalam forum Cari. Dan benda ni sampai meka tukau topik and announce dan mintak tolong war warkan pada semua. Tu ler yang tertulis. Sampai nak mintak list official website promo nih.

Kat rumah fan club Riz pun ada disebut pasal gathering tuh giving the impression that it was open to all. Setau aku, bebudak ni takder ler dibenarkan aktiviti lain camnih time tuh, so pikirkan... kalao bebudak tak muncul kang... ada yang marah, ngamuk dan sebagainya.

So call Man, dak dari Maestro (wei sembuh cepat wei kaki lu) yang in charge bebudak. Dia cita, kuarga Riz mintak izin lepaskan Riz that time sebab opah dia nak balik kampung nak jumpa before that. Logical.

Yang tak logiknya ada pihak sibuk usha bak Nubhan skali. Ok ok.. takpe... member.. ok lagik tuh. Yang bebetol tak logik, perjumpaan peribadi Riz ngan family dia, dikompangkan seperti seolah olah benda nih gathering olh pihak tak bertanggungjawab.

Aku cakap Man, benda ni da announce belah fan club Nubhan especially. Bab fan club Riz ada disebut. Tapi dari bunyinya yang mengajak turun, aku tanya Man, biau betol sebab takde dalam jadual. Kang peminat tak dapat jumpa satu lagik hal. Hormat la privacy bebudak tu for some time with family. Orang lain pun AFUNDI gak, tapi takde beriya no life sampai camni.

Anyway Man terkejut benda ni da tersebar sebab it was mean to be family affair jer, bukan gathering beratus orang kat NZ di Setiawangsa, and things were called off.

Pastu, masa ke Maestro aritu masa serempak Riz, dia tanyakan kenapa 'mereka' iaitu peminat tertentu, begitu salahkanb aku katakan aku cause pembatalan tuh or something.

I shrugged it off. Lantakla...

Al kisahnya, cita skang yang di jaja, aku bersalah atas peminat tak dapat jumpa bebudak tuh lak. Konon aku nih celupar pecah lobang.

Wei.. budak tuh baru kuar. Biarla dia nak jumpa family dia. Kalao nak committee dijemput family ok la lagik... tapi professional la sikit... ko fan club jerk... orang appreciate tuh jangan la expect orang nak ikut telunjuk lak. Ni ada pihak yang sibuk kecoh orang ramai kata open to all without respecting keluarga.

Pastu based on security and also privacy reasons, benda ni called off. Aku lak to blame...katanya.
Seriously... kata peminat. Sabar ler. Biau budak tuh bernafas dulu. Tak paham lak yang sibok sangat nak kompangkan personal event. Bagik ler budak tu spend time ngan family. Beriya pandai pandai jerk yang terlibat kecoh nih.

So anyway, to cut a long story short, aku da berjaya identify pihak kecoh tuh berdasarkan lidah berbelit orang tuh yang banyak molot lak ngadu sana sini pasal aku. Jaja memacam kisah sampai fitnah pon berlambak nak main lagakan aku ngan orang lain.

Kalao da terer sangat wat cita, gi ler amik bakat tuh jadik penulis novel since bab fiction ko memang hebat. Ado? Takkan gersang merembes sampai terdesak camni?

Kesian bebudak nih dapat peminat takde otak.

Ni la akibatnya andartu menopause nak sibok beriya.

For the last time... leave me out of your drama. Or else. Jangan nak lagakan aku ngan sesapa hanya kerana ko tak dapat nak tayang kuasa or merembes lebih dari dikehendaki. Loyalty bermusim ikut demam Akademi Fantasia perlu ke?

Bosan la.

Anyway... keep it up and you will see my true colours. And I do mean it. I know your backstabbing activities. Depan wat baik blakang kutuk aku. Jangan sampai aku naik hantu da la.... nyesal kang. Da la tajuk album perangai tu ala lagu Ular Anita Sarawak... kang tukau tajuk album Mengundang Malapetaka camna?

Kalao gersang lu punya hal la. Jangan wat taik ngan aku.

Bodoh.... aku sibuk berapa hari ni nak settlekan memacam sampai berkampung kat rumah business partner dan sebagainya nak siapkan proposal dua tiga yang berjela, apart from the endless meetings sampai tak cukup tidur, the last two or three days, Hardly need your cheap ass drama.

Masih tak paham konsep Akademi Fantasia? The show is over, f**khead! Life goes on. Ko masih AFUNDI ke? Seriously... suddenly nak beriya defend konon padahal, amik kesempatan merembes. Semua orang yang sokong their favourites, tak sampai obsessed la!

Tarik nafas... keja lebih penting. Nak independent bab business ni bukan senang.

Takpela...pasrah je. Usir asap, meninggalkan api... kalau diizinkan, tak ke mana rezeki aku dalam kerjaya baru aku... walaupun ada yang feeling iklan Mayfirst interruption gituh nak kacau my mojo. Biarkan saja mereka yang bak peribahasa, ayam terlepas tangan berbau tahi. You know who you are... and you know why you doing this and yes, you can stop denying you feel guilty nd takyah nak recruit orang ngan sebarkan lebih cerita.

Get a life.

Pada Riz and Nubhan, can only hope you guys learn to deal with these kind of people yang merembes sampai lupa diri. For the REAL fans, keep it real and support these kids sebab talent... bukan sebab merembes.

And pada pihak yang kecoh sangat... here's my two finger salute to you. Aku paling kesian serious cam dulu... sebab peminat, kang orang meluat ngan bebudak jerk....

Peminat konon.. wat malu je, Tak reti hormat pengurusan artis dan cara operasi dan sibuk nak salahkan orang sedangkan pihak bersalah yang kaki kompang info.

Thank goodness Nadia FC selama ni dan Stacy FC has been staying out of affairs of the kids for their own good and liaising with the family to keep supporting the kids the positive way. Tuh pun ada orang nak meracun. Perlu ke? Aiyo!

Salute pada mama dan papa Nadia yang keep in touch ngan Nadia FC to work together. Yang penting nya fan club tak membelakangkan Maestro, pihak pengurusan bebudak ni and organise things without intefering.

Stacy FC pun at east laid back. These kids semangat walau memacam problem, at least tak kacau hidup orang.

Jangan pas ni ada yang kata aku hentam fan club lak. Aku hentam sorang dua jerk yang cakap tak serupa bikin, perasan hebat dan nak bak mulot jerk.

So to the rest... kalao sampai tahap susah dapat cooperation kang, paham la sebab perangai orang yang tak diingini from within the organisation yang menyebabkan keadaan ni.

Tuk orang camni... I dedicate this song to you.

On a lighter note...and definitely more menceriakan, ni some pics of Stacy masa arrival di Sabah yang aku terima dari John Smith of Stacy's OFFICIAL fan club website. Korang enjoy the pics jer... and kalao nak tengok lebih, usha kat sana by CLICKING HERE. Here are some photos of Stacy's family, friends and fans at the airport smalam welcome her back to Sabah.

All pics kredit to John Smith (Rojak) of Stacy FC









Tired abih sebenarnya. Last 48 hours slept only an hour bersengkang mata nak finish my stuff. Ni pon baru bangun tido pas a nice six hour sleep! Missed an online meeting sebab tak tahan tertido depan laptop. Leh? Amik ko!By the way, semalam meeting kat Pelita, serempak ngan Jac yang baru habis Relay For Life for the Malaysian National Cancer Foundation which I will be handling a project for soon. Tuh and for Malaysian AIDS Council. Bab job PR ni best sikit sebab duit masuk seketul. Ok la guys... over and out. For now.

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Omar and Ning - Part II

Ni second part of my pictorial gituh, this time focusing on the guests. Of course ramai nak pic yang celebs kan, so as not to overshadow or take too much out of the bride and groom, this segment (macam feeling show lak main segment nih) is dedicated to friends of the happy couple yang ramai kenal yang muncul. Enjoy!!! (cam takde perkataan lain skema jerk)

Married divas to see another diva get married


Siti and Datuk Khalid.


Ziana and... what's the name of that guy who hates cameras again?


Ziana slalu senyum cantik jerk


Pose sweet dan pose vogue


Manisnya Siti


Linda, and MrManager ngan Jovian Mandagie


Abang Dale... oops Datuk Mahadzir Lokman MC for the night


Earring Jac... besau siot!


Jac and Yasmin Ahmad


The best wedding gift - from Yasmin Ahmad


Kak Fati, abang Syed and Aryana and Alesya


Wedding planner extrodinaire, Datin Faridah


Adi Fashla - terclose up lak


Haziq pun ada


Cat mai ngan bini dia skali (not in this pic though)


Ifa Raziah and husband - and Azwan mencelah pose

To be continued in Part III...

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...as though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death...

About lunch time, aku dapat panggilan. Ada orang inform that Loloq had already passed away. Terbodoh jap aku. Lum sempat gather my thoughts, dua lagik SMS masuk. Followed by another call. Semua memberitahu benda yang sama. Berita yang aku sungguh tak sangkakan, dan memang... mengejutkan.

Rosli Khamis, atau abang Loloq, born in Singapore to his father from Masjid Tanah, Melaka, and his mother, a Chinese-Muslim convert - a mualaf, was one of the most important people in the Malaysian music industry.

I always heard his name dulu, and bila berpeluang kenal dia, didn't really get the chance to sit down and talk to him.

The last few years, we kept bumping into each other.

And aku ingat time yang paling lama aku penah sembang ngan dia, masa soal aku kena ban over the AIM issue (please don't ask me, selak page belakang banyak banyak catch up). Dia banyak advise aku to stand my ground, and fight for what I believe in.

People like M. Nasir and him dulu scared me, because they were intelligent, thinking people, who were artistes in all essence of the word. They weren't in this line for popularity and fame, but because they were passionate. They lived and breathed music.

Abang Loloq penah nasihat aku, and bagik kata semangat. Dalam kekadang rasa fed up berada dalam industri yang kekadang ngarut ngan all these superficial things, he told me to focus on what I wanted to get across.

"Semuanya bermula ngan ko lah. Ko kena usaha sendiri, takkan nak dok ngadu nasib je kan? Kalao nak wat camtuh, then no different lah ngan orang yang nyusahkan hidup kita. So make that change la.... has to start somewhere kan."

Something like that...

And at that point - I kept fighting. Masa forum AIM, dia, abang Nasir, abang Ali Bakar, abang Farihin... semua fought for the same things I did. Not because we were rebels or tak puas ati ngan several people. Nope. Because we wanted the music industry to grow, not die. And I felt proud that I wasn't doing something stupid - and it was for the good of our future, though I had doubts before abang Loloq assured me, that there always would be a price to pay.

Masa Gemilang menang dulu pun sama. Aku tak puas ati soal lirik - walaopon takde la bombastic bahasa aku, aku rasakan lirik by Asmin Mudin, was just grammatically horrible. And it didn't really make sense. Abang Loloq was one of the only ones who had the guts to say it - when others just ngata belakang-belakang.

That was the sort of man Loloq was.

He said what he felt, he fought for what he believed in. He saw the world in all its beauty, and appreciated semua anugerah Tuhan.

And then - at 1.37pm, in the Damansara Specialist Centre, abang Loloq mengehembuskan nafas terakhir.

At 6.45pm, selepas jenazah dimandikan di Surau Al-Ikhwan, Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh, he was buried di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh.

I didn't cry, though a lot of people who knew him very well did.

I guess I didn't know him that well. But I did feel a loss. Loss of a modern day poet. Loss of someone who saw something in me when I fought, apart from a freak trying to cause trouble which many think I am.

Abang Loloq, rest in peace. I pray for you to be blessed for the way you've touched so many lives, through your words, whether in song as to many, or in what you've said directly, like to me.

I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you one last time at least. But I'll always remember the support and advice you gave me.

I'm not as good with words as you were, dan aku tak reti nak gambarkan betapa sedihnya industri muzik Malaysia kehilangan seorang yang begitu berharga dari segi sumbangan karya.
At least one thing made me smile today though. To see the majority of people in the industry yang menghadirkan diri to pay their last respects.

Ramai sangat.

Ni beberapa orang yang datang yang sempat aku recall. Sorry kalao tertinggal sesapa.
M. Nasir, Amy & Yazid (Search), Hattan, Misha Omar, Jaclyn Victor, Ella, Andy (Flop Poppy), Nurul, Ajai, Tam & Tony(Spider), Farhan, Mila, Haziq, Man Bai, Farihin Abdul Fatah, Zainal Abidin, Hillary Ang, Joe (Wings), Neves (Pretty Ugly), Cat Farish (The Fabulous Cats), Aidit Alfian, Mohariz Yaakup, Ad Samad, Ramli MS, Ali Bakar, Aziz Bakar, Rosyam Nor, Adlin Aman Ramlie, Afdlin Shauki, Eman Manan, Mamat Khalid, Badaruddin Hj Azmi, Marlia Musa dan ramai lagi.

Mawi berada di Syria ketika ini so understandable lah absence dia. Tapi aku sedikit terkilan ramai artis yang mencipta nama dengan jasil karya Loloq tak muncul.
Senang sangat kekadang manusia lupa.

Anyway... I can't go on and on. Here are some pictures I took today. Hope you guys say a little prayer for him, please in your own way. Nothing much more to say for now...

Semua menunggu jenazah dibawa keluar.


Kak Marlia Musa, Hattan, Hillary, kengkawan press cam Serimah and Saharuddin.


Abang Nasir and Bada, Aziz Bakar dan ramai lagi menunggu sekali.


Amy dan Hattan were among the earliest sampai.


Departing for the Surau Al-Ikhwan


Dalam perjalan ke Sungai Buloh sempat tengok sign nih. Apa nak jadik eja pun tak reti ke??? KECERMERLANGAN???


Di masjid - Mila, dan Jac antara meka yang datang to pay their last respects.


Ella was with Jojie. Nurul pun sekali.


Misha and her sister Mimi.


Tempat jenazah dibawa before the burial


The final resting place


Preparations






Farewell to a poetical genius

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