Ramadhan Coming, Rajawang Review and New Malaysia Football Team?

Ramadhan is Coming

It will be exactly 2 weeks before the Ramadhan starts. Ramadhan is the holy month where the Muslims observe fasting during the day and break the fast during the sunset prayer time. Time really flies and it is already 1 year since last year’s Ramadhan. This will be the first time I will be fasting in Sarawak after moving here December last year.

And working with few companies who have the Muslims as the minority, it overwhelms me to see how much support I got from the non-Muslim colleagues in the office. I will get emails wishing me ‘good luck’, ‘happy fasting’ and so on and whenever we walk out of the door leaving the office, they will say, ’selamat berbuka puasa’. I will miss those wishes here. I will also got some curious inquiries like,

“How can you tahan not eating for the whole day?”

to which I answer, “It’s good for health. You should try it some time”. They would response with a grin.

Getting Reviewed by Rajawang

On another note, my sincere thanks to Mr Rajawang for his nice review on this blog. Rajawang is giving away 5 free reviews on his blog and I am not sure all the spots are being taken or not. However, if you blog, then you can just contact him and ask if it is still available. I just wish I can know him and his works further, but I am pretty much sure that his blog is not his first web nor will it be the last. Yes, there are a lot of room of improvement for this blog and I appreciate the feedback given.

Newly-looked Malaysian Football Team?

The Malaysia under-23 team now has reached the final of the Merdeka Tournament Cup (Pesta Bola Merdeka) after beating the ever-improving Singapore team last night. It is a victory long awaited after seeing Malaysia keeps on dropping on the world rank list. And looks as if it is a completely new Malaysia football team (if it is not, the blue shirt surely is!). Who needs Titus James Palani now?

The Pesta Bola Merdeka is the oldest Cup for the Asian level, and it was used to be dubbed as the Malaysia’s Cup because we have won it 10 times. But that was long ago and the last time we won it was back in 1990 after beating South Korea, some 17 years back. Back then it was always Malaysia-Korea showing in the final and during the Mokhtar Dahari era the country topped the Asian football chart. How different it is today.

I watched the last two of Malaysia matches against Singapore and Lesotho and I could not remember when was the last time the national team gave such an energetic and spiritual showing. Maybe it is a sign for a change in national football? We will just have to wait and see. I do not mind Malaysia losing in the final against Myanmar tomorrow, with the condition that they can play like they did last night. I will be a happy man.

Update: Malaysia won the Pesta Bola Merdeka Cup after beating Myanmar 3-1. Congrats!

Other posts you may want to read:

1. Happy 50th Merdeka, and Being a Professional Footballer
2. Jadual Berbuka Puasa 2007 (Ramadhan Timetable 2007)
3. Fasting Begins Saturday
4. Ramadan Fasting May Begin 1 Sept 2008
5. Selangor Book Fest, 25 July – 3 August
6. From a Nicol David to a World Champion
7. 5 Tips to Improve Your Job Interview Skill
8. Soccer Kids TV3 to Search for More Titus Palani

Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is the author of two books, The Malaysian Job Seeker's Dilemma and Buat Duit Tanpa Kerja Makan Gaji (How to Make Money Without a Job), available in major book stores nationwide. You can reach him at zulkiflimusa[at]gmail.com.