Rare Artworks by The Late Spanish Artist Carla Angelo




Landscape in Autumn 1

3 x 4 feet
Oil On Canvas
1952

















Landscape in Autumn 2
3 x 4 feet
Oil On Canvas
1952

Kartika Sari Dari Sudut Kemanusiaan - Nostalgia 2009

Hari Kemerdekaan kita yang ke 52 sudah muncul diambang pintu. Alangkah bahagianya reaksi rakyat menunggu dan mempersiapkan diri demi perpaduan dan kesejahteraan bersama. Apa lagi kehadiran bulan Ramadhan Almubarak yang sangat ditunggu tunggu oleh ratusan juta ummah diseluruh dunia. Bulan suci yang menjanjikan keampunan dan keinsafan. Satu pengesahan mutlak dari Allah SWT kepada mereka yang ikhlas, jujur, insaf dan rendah diri.



Dalam kita ghairah menyusun keinginan untuk merdeka dan berpuasa, kita juga dihidangkan oleh berita panas peragawati sambilan Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno. Dari pengamatan peribadi, saya yakin persamaan nama ahli ahli keluarga Allahyarham Presiden Sukarno ini tidak ada kaitannya dengan insiden yang sedang melanda keluarga Encik Shukarnor Abdul Mutalib di Kampung Jawang, Kuala Kangsar ini. Yang jelas, Malaysia sekali lagi menjadi objek perhatian lensa media antarabangsa untuk berita sensasi yang negatif. Mungkin kita tidak perlu ambil tahu tentang impak yang bakal diterima oleh ekonomi Negara. Namun percayalah, industri pelancungan akan kehilangan jutaan ringgit dari kesangsian dan keraguan pelancung terhadap berita ini.





Ugama adalah satu pegangan kehidupan manusiawi yang membimbing akhlak dan membentuk jatidiri untuk menjalani kehidupan ini dengan KESEMPURNAAN yang sebaik mungkin. Namun bagaimana kuat sekalipun manusia cuba untuk membentuk diri supaya sempurna, terbukti akan kelemahan yang sememangnya lumrah dikalangan makhluk Allah SWT yang tidak berdaya, kerdil dan serba kekurangan. Justeru Allah itu maha pengampun, pengasih dan penyayang. Maka, penguatkuasaan sesuatu undang undang – biarpun ia adalah hukum yang dimaktubkan oleh ugama, belum tentu dapat dilaksanakan oleh sebuah Negara yang bermasyarakat majmuk. Bahkan, seperti dikebanyakan Negara Islam lainnya, hukuman seumpamanya belum dapat dilaksanakan.



Sebelum mengambil keputusan untuk melaksanakan sesuatu hukuman, perlu ada satu pertimbangan kemanusiaan yang praktikal dan masuk akal. Apakah kita bersikap adil kepada seorang pesalah bilamana ribuan pesalah lainnya dengan jelas bebas melakukan kesalahan yang sama di depan mata kita setiap hari?





Mari kita lihat contoh ini - sembahyang lima waktu itu adalah kewajipan mandatori. Namun dapatkah kita pastikan samada ia dapat dilaksanakannya oleh semua dengan lengkap. Begitu juga dengan puasa. Siapa yang boleh memberikan jaminan bahawa tidak ada seorang pun yang wajib berpuasa itu sempurna puasanya. Maka adalah tidak wajar untuk kita tangkap beberapa orang yang tidak berpuasa atau bersolat 5 waktu sehari, lalu dijatuhkan hukuman kepada mereka. Hakikat ini hanya sebahagian kecil dari keseluruhan ketidak pastian yang bergelumang dalam pemikiran kita. Oleh itu, amatlah tidak logik bagi Kartika Sari Dewi untuk dipilih secara rambang sebagai mangsa kepada ketidak adilan penghukuman ini – kecuali penguat kuasaan dapat dilaksanakan seratus peratus tanpa ada seorang pun yang terlepas.





Apabila keputusan dijatuhkan kepada Kartika Sari Dewi di atas kesalahannya, kita bertanggungjawab untuk melunaskannya. Persoalannya adalah, dimanakah keadilan bagi dia dan keluarganya. Sementara ramai ‘ suspek suspek berpotensi’ lainnya yang terdiri dari orang biasa, remaja, golongan terhormat, artis, seniman, golongan profesional, korporat, hartawan dan berpangkat juga sama sama berada dalam kancah dunia jahiliah ini. Terlepas pandang, kekurangan tenaga kuat kuasa atau tidak ambil peduli. Ternyata kita tidak mampu untuk membendung keseluruhan kerapuhan sosial. Maka Dewi Kartika menjadi mangsa sementara isu keseluruhan berkenaan masalah ini tetap tidak berubah.



Nasi sudah menjadi bubur. Apabila hukuman ini sudah dijatuhkan, maka dunia perundangan syariah Negara sudahpun meletakan satu ‘benchmark’ kepada tahap hukum Islam yang boleh dilaksanakan. Persoalan akan timbul apakah hukum Islam ini dapat dilaksanakan secara konsisten disetiap negeri dan diiktiraf oleh Parlimen sebagai undang undang Negara. Maka selanjutnya adakah huhud akan berkuat kuasa? Wanita yang berzinah akan di sula sampai mati. Apabila lelaki yang merogol akan direjam dengan batu sampai mati. Sementara pencuri akan di potong tangan mereka. Sedangkan Kelantan, sebagai serambi Mekah negara masih belum dapat melaksanakannya. Apa lagi seluruh negara yang bermasyarakat majmuk.



Kita sebenarnya terlalu banyak merugikan masa, tenaga, wang dan harga diri untuk tujuan yang kurang tepat. Sementara keperluan dan keagungan Agama yang lebih besar diabaikan. Daripada kita membuka pekung didada menghukum seorang manusia sedangkan ribuan lainnya bebas melakukan kesalahan yang bahkan lebih besar – alangkah baiknya bagi kita mencari jalan untuk menyatupadukan warga Islam Malaysia. Fahaman politik, kedaerahan, warna kulit, status perekonomian, bahasa dan budaya banyak memisahkan kita. Alangkah baiknya, jika kita alihkan tenaga, fokus dan ikhtiar kepada kerja kerja kemanusiaan, pembangunan jiwa, penyatuan ummah, keamanan dan kesejahteraan.



Setiapkali isu isu sensitif seperti ini timbul, kerajaan terpaksa dibebani oleh tanggungjawab sosial untuk berdiplomasi demi menjaga harga diri Negara. Ia tidak akan dapat membantu jentera Negara yang sentiasa bekerja menyelesaikan berbagai ekonomi, politik, social, budaya dan tanggungkjawab semasa yang sudah bertimbun. Fokus perlu diberikan kepada senario yang lebih besar – Rakyat di dahulukan, Pencapaian di utamakan. Pada tahap ini, kita seharusnya sudah dapat membereskan hal ehwal domestik yang remeh temeh. Langkah selanjutnya melihat kepada agenda 1Malaysia yang lebih besar.



Marilah kita belajar berfikiran terbuka melihat keluar dari kepompong mikro yang sudah lama menutupi alam penglihatan. Jelajahi arena makro tanpa batasan. Nescaya dapat membantu memperbaiki jatidiri sesama manusia. Ia sekaligus mendukung hasrat Negara untuk bergerak cergas memberikan yang terbaik untuk kita dengan satu pencapaian yang hebat dan mulia.

The Need Of English Language For Us Today - January 2009

Being patriotic about defending the Bahasa Malaysia issue is commendable. This is equivalent to the fighting spirit of our warriors in defending the sovereignty of the country. They fought with all their might and blood to their last breath, not unlike the need to champion the use of our mother tongue – indeed a very wise gesture simply because language carries the identity of a nation.



However upon achieving independence from these aspects - academically, economically, socially, culturally and mentally they should be able to view the world in a more mature manner. Learn to crawl out of their safety nets which have been keeping them warm all this while. We were bestowed with a good sense of intelligence for a purpose. But being loud indiscriminately with emotional sentiment is never a part of it.



We should have a high sense of confidence towards having strong faith in our mother tongue. This is mandatory in every Malay-speaking person. Then why are we nervous about English being used as a global communication tool which is needed by all Malaysians and the world today?



If we are mature enough, we should be able to accept the importance of both languages by relying on one another. Like the old Malay saying “Seperti Aur Dengan Tebing”( Like the river and its bank ). By denying the priority of English in an effort to uphold Bahasa Malaysia we are at the losing end. Why don’t we make a sincere effort in adopting this saying “Menarik Benang Dari Dalam Tepung – Benang Tak Putus, Tepung Tak Tumpah”. ( Pulling the thread from a bowl of flour. The thread is not ripped, the flour is not spilled ).















To be able to communicate effectively in English is very critical, more so in a highly competitive world today. It is only logical for us to race against time in grabbing the golden opportunity to do so. In most European countries as well as in the United States, the ability to master a few foreign languages is considered normal. This is a reality. Unfortunately for us here, this pride of every mankind is seen as something negative. What a shame!



To add salt to the wound, we have academicians, linguists, laureates and highly respected people joining in the band wagon and portraying immaturity to the world.



The issue of English as a tool in an academic context is now getting complicated. To me, this is amusing. Imagine a rich and high profile family having not just limousines but private jets. Suddenly, out of the blue they argue and insist on using buffalos once again as a form of transportation. How silly that is. Not only is their time lost, but also the status, reputation and comfort. The world is laughing at them. I believe that we must move forward. Not the other way round.



Let us look at this analogy. The foreign workers currently flocking our country are racing against each other to learn Bahasa Malaysia - hoping they could be accepted as one of us. Be it Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Pakistanis and many more. As we hear them communicating in Bahasa, we spontaneously feel the closeness. Though they are just our workers, but the gift of the gab is creating the comfort. Are we not keen to learn from them?



Realistically, the world is looking at us the same way. If we could effectively communicate with them in a common language understood by all, we are now a part of them. What more if we could master their mother tongue.



Once Bahasa Malaysia is endorsed as the language for Science and Mathematics in school, our next generation will have to start crawling to learn English again in their tertiary education. This is due to the fact that there are limited books written in Bahasa Malaysia for references. Imagine if they are doing their Doctorates. Do we have sufficient good materials? This is not going to help them at all.







Like it or not, we are always being called ‘Jaguh Kampung’. So with hard work, high spirit and enthusiasm, we produce new generation of Malaysian set to conquer the world with Bahasa Malaysia. However, is the world ready for us?



We might still want to argue the fact that French, Mandarin and Japanese are considered world languages. As such, we could also work into the possibility of pushing Bahasa Malaysia for the same status. But what we fail to realize is the fact that their civilization are much earlier than us. To start with, their resilience, hard work, creativity, focus, achievements and success are at a different level altogether. However, their endorsement towards English is undivided.



The battle of career opportunity in the corporate world today is tough. Where are our Malay graduates in this competition? Why are they not being the preferred choice among employers? Though there are voices talking about favoritism. The reality is they are left behind due to their inability to communicate effectively in English.



Have we ever asked ourselves – why we are the only one aggressively championing this issue? Why the Chinese never dwell into the issue of choosing Mandarin or English? Or the Indians arguing either Tamil or English are the priority to them. Ironically, their self spirit towards their language and culture is undivided.



While we are cat fighting towards upholding Bahasa, not only they mastered English and their own mother tongue, other Malaysians are also good in Bahasa. Let us see the laureates, academician, linguists, politicians and public in general. They have good command of Bahasa.



Looking at the lighter side of it. Why cant we learn from the humble Bangladeshis, Myanmaris, Nepalese or Pakistanis here in Malaysia? Without going to any classes, they slowly mastered Malay like no other. This is a simple sense of survival. How about us? Shooting our own foot and rejects English.



Rather than dwelling into these petty issues, why not we instill the spirit of wanting to learn languages? So we could also be expert not only in English, but Tamil and Mandarin as well.



Would not this be the catalyst for our 1Malaysia dream?





Look at all that we could feel around us. From food, entertainment, fashion, infra structure, electronics, culture, commerce, politics, health, religion, academics as well as daily communication. English is the soul to all this.



Unfortunately, we are disregarding the very ‘soul’ !



If the English Language fails to be given its due recognition, we will be left behind by the race of time. Human achievements and high level of competition to stay relevant will eventually pushed Malaysia behind. We will be drifted away from the mainstream world.



At that moment, most of the voices who champion this issue of Bahasa will no longer around to witness the disaster that hits our future generation.



I am honoured to be among the last batch of the English medium students during my school days. With Lower School Certificate, ( L.C.E ) in 1977, Malaysia School Certificate ( M. C. E ) in 1979 and Higher School Certificate ( H. S. C ) in 1981. I grew up with absolute confidence – communicating and interacting in English.



Be it a sweeper, janitor, businessmen to corporate figures. Both Malaysian and foreigner. My ability to communicate in English helps me to get acknowledged, attention and respect.



But most of all, my passion towards Bahasa will never die. In fact, I truly believe that my mothers tongue is forever alive within myself with my heart beat faster.



Wake up my friends! Look at your surroundings. Though it is not the end of the world, but ‘The Survival Of The Fittest’ is here to stay. Just like the Stone Age, The Stronger One Wins. As for today, the competition is tougher. Among other thing, who command better English will excel ahead, much further ahead!



Would you mind to be left behind?

Restoran Salero Negori

12th May 2010

The soft opening of the 5th Restoran Salero Negori - a family owned Nasi Padang & Negeri Sembilan delicacies was held at a bungalow on the Persiaran Gurney, Kuala Lumpur today. TV3 programme Jalan Jalan Cari Makan hosted by Serina Redzuan came for a full coverage.

Among the celebrities were Dato' Maria Menado, Maria Tunku Sabri and Azlina Ariffin. The spread of dishes served were simply irresistable. From kalio ayam, ikan bakar with sambal belacan, daging salai masak lomak, sambal lado merah, sambal lado hijau, pucuk ubi, gulai tempoyak, gulai ikan, ayam pop, pergedel ... the list went on.

I met a few interesting art collectors : Ms Marwalis Kassim, Ms Zarina Ismail Tom and Encik Ramli. Even Dato' Maria Menado showed her keen interest to explore more towards the gallery's art auction plan which we are doing now.

I managed to have a private interview by Cik Norzeha Kasbi, the Assistant Editor of Utusan Karya - for URTV magazine. It was a nostalgic chat over a period of 25 years of my absence from the entertainment industry.

Nonetheless, the gallery's partnership with Encik Azman Anas, the owner of Restoran Salero Negori may trigger a new interesting development in the local fine arts and auction activities.