DYMM 2

I was just informed by our secretary, Hj Hasuat, that DYMM will not be able to join us for our golf tournament. We were officially informed by his Majesty's private secretary. Nevertheless, DYMM wishes us the best and every success in our 6th MBJ Charity Golf Classic.

Sponsors

I just got news that we have sponsors for a hole-in-one prize. In fact, we might have 2 hole-in-one prizes. 2 good souls have promised to sponsor one car each for the hole-in-one. Ustaz Man will decide which par 3 will have the cars up for grabs. Kudos to Cik Gu Rahman and Sam Beloni for getting the sponsors. So all you golfers, better sharpen up your short irons for the par 3's

On another note, I have been pledged RM4,000.00 in sponsorship money. Ahmad Khalid, Tan Sri Wahab pledged RM1,000.00 each and Zahid pledged RM2,000.00. Congratulations to all of them for being very generous.

Aswan the Club Maker

If you go to the driving range at the Guthrie Pavilion, you would notice a pro shop at the corner end of the building. There, unknowingly is one of the top 100 certified club maker in the world. Yes, our very own Aswan. He has conducted his business there for the past 6 years and have repaired and supplied clubs to professional golfers. Amongst his customers are Bernard Langer, John Daly etc. Aswan is the agent for 2 brands of clubs ie KZG and Wishon. Amongst the local BJ pros that use his clubs are Ahmad Khalid(Tok Mat), Vijay Singh (Farid) and Rafeeq.

I remember Ahmad Khalid on the 9th hole of KGNS main course. We went to the 9th hole even. The hole is about 399m driving down and uphill approach to the green. After a good drive with the KZG, Tok Mat took out his Wishon fairway wood and hit a wonderful shot onto the green. Tan Sri Wahab, Tok Mat's partner, gleamed with pride thinking that they had the game in their pocket. He finished par on the hole. Of course they lost. I had a birdie. My Taylor Made putter was adjusted by Aswan. I managed to sink a 30ft putt.

Committee Part 2

The other committee members have always been committee members of the MBJ Charity golf since the inception of the competition. I have mentioned some in previous postings. They have always been a group of enthusiastic golfers and fund raisers.

L-R Ustaz Man, Amin, TongChai, and Yusof Taib

Abdul Latif Abdullah 0136756205 Ahmad Khalid 0122162929 Ariff Othman 0193869378

Cik Gu Rahman 0123679402 Din Khafa 0192616286 Hasuat 0192177402

Hj Ahmad Hitaimi Hj Zahari 0193926996 Kamarudzaman Saad 0193217273

Mahmud Abbas 0123320315 Nor Mohd Amin 0192724154 Shamsudin 0193361616

TongChai 0192173510 Yusof Taib 0193143630 Shaik Farid Syami Mat Salleh Azri Ahmad 0123174244

There are also many at the masjid who joins in the golf meeting, ended up doing work and not mentioned above. For those good guys not mentioned here, I salute you for your contribution.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Mr Azman Malik, who had on many occasions ended up as the Chairman of the competition in addition to bringing in many sponsors.

Committee Part 1

Let me introduce you our committee members for this year's golf tournament. They are all doing volunteer work and you can approach any of them with question on golf matters. Golf is their passion and in some cases their first profession.

Tan Sri Wahab Nawi is our Patron. He is the retired Chief of Malaysian Navy. Plays regularly in KGNS and RSGC of a 14 handicap. At 69 years old, he has a drive of a tiger, and on many occasions, out drives my partner, Wan Salleh.

Ahmad Khalid, fondly known as Tok Mat is our advisor. A very witty golfer who emphasise a lot on form in the golf swing. Plays off a handicap 12, though I'm sure it can be lower. On many occasions, Tok Mat would volunteer his advice. Tok Mat is also very health conscious and when not on the golf course, would be at the Gym.

Sam Beloni is our Deputy Chairman. I only had the privilege to know him this year. He is a SVP in a major bank. Judging from his height and the way he walks, it wouldn't surprise me if he is a 10 handicapper.

Sam heads our sponsorship department.


I will continue with the other members of the committee in my next posting. Suffice to write only our top echelon for now!

Our Banner is UP

OUR BANNER IS UP. So it is official. The MBJ Charity Golf Classic was officially launched last night when our Hj Ahmad Hitaimi put up the first banner.

So please hurry up and submit your completed entry forms. You can submit your forms to Hj Kamaruzaman or Ustaz Man as he is fondly known. Ustaz Man is a Chartered Valuer and is an alumni of the famous Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar, the school that Dr Mahathir attended.

You can contact him at 019 3217273

Ramadhan in Bukit Jelutong Part 1

At sun-set, the Muslims in Bukit Jelutong as in anywhere else in the world, would break their fast (at about 7.20pm). It is one of the major family event for the day. My father used to quote..."there are two joys for a man that fasts, one is when he breaks fast in the evening and the other when he meets with his Creator on Judgement day."

At the Masjid, the flow of congregation would start. There is plenty of food for those who break fast there. After the evening or Magrib prayers, the Masjid would really start filling up right to the night or Isyak prayer. And it is only after the Terawih prayers that the back of the Masjid would start ballooning. There are food and drinks (known as moreh) and a different mood besets the Masjid. Discussions on golf would be rife. Seen in heavy discussions are L-R Wan Salleh, Ahmad Khalid, Zul Abbas and Din Khafa, all committee members of the MBJ Golf.

Discussions on golf range from the T shirts for the players right to the tasks for our Cik Gu Rahman, to keep him from mischief. Food for the day is just as important and on the right is Hj Arif, who is responsible for our food for the competition and Hj Saiful, an Architect, an ardent supporter of our competition.

Of course the discussions remain just that, as decisions are made at formal committee meetings. Nevertheless, it is a good closing to a fasting day in Bukit Jelutong.

The Backyard

The backyard facing the football field in the Kubah area is home to 3 committee members who are also golfers ie Mahmud Abbas, Tan Sri Wahab and Ahmad Khalid.

In addition to the 3 , there are an additional 3 more golfers along the row, these being Mazeed, Reggie Sasser and Loh Mun Chit. (Mazeed was our MBJ's 1st gross champion whilst Ahmad Khalid was the aspiring Champion and still is). It is probably the most densely populated golfer population in Bukit Jelutong. Most of us are at the backyard in the evenings for a cuppa tea and get-together.

If you happen to pass by at that time, do drop by and we can talk about golf till the cows come home. We can also talk about cycling as there are at least 2 avid cyclist in the group. You can also submit your golf entry forms here in addition to the places stated on the form.

DYMM

We have invited DYMM Agong to play in our competition on 13 November 2008. I was told that there is a good chance that His Majesty will be able to join us. We all pray that His Majesty will not only play golf with us but also attend the prize giving and dinner that evening. I will keep you all posted on the progress.

Hatching

6 years ago, I was on a bumpy road some where in Puchong with Zaaba at the wheels and Hj Nawawi (our former Imam) on his side. I had just knew Zaaba then and all three of us were happily talking about golf. All three of us were from Bukit Jelutong.

Just then it occurred to me that it would be easy to make friends if all of us come from the same area and all play golf. Suddenly, I got myself in a tangle that I would not be able to get out of. I opened my big mouth and suggested that we organise a golf competition, specially to get the people from the Masjid together and also get to know more golfers from Bukit Jelutong. (at that time, there was only Kubah and the newly opened phases of Serambi and Adang).

Without hesitation, Haji Nawawi agreed to the idea and left me opened mouthed as I now have to follow the idea through. From the side of my eyes, I could see Zaaba smiling away. He still smiles now every time I meet him!!

So the competition was hatched and later at the Masjid, we hastily formed a committee. Azman Malik, Syami (the Mat Salleh), Hj Ziyad, Ramli Maulod, Hasuat, Ahmad Khalid, Wan Salleh, Din Khafa, Cik Gu Rahman, Yusof Taib and a few others were roped in to help organise the first ever competition. We at down many nights together to develop the Objectives, Rules, Mode of Play etc. Most nights we were at the back of the masjid (hence the word back benches coined up by Azman Malik) discussing and talking about the competition. Most of thetime only talking and smoking!

As the time neared, everyone got very excited. We managed to get about 80 golfers and and donations and sponsorship kept pouring in. Even Loh Mun Chit donated bags for the door gifts.

The competition and prize giving ended up smoothly. There was a big turnout in the evening for the prize giving and everyone was eagerly waiting to hear the announcement on how much was collected.

When I finally made the announcement that we collected nett RM20,000.00, everyone was in awed. We managed to have fun, got to know the Qariah and residents of Bukit Jelutong, did some good for the Masjid and had a sumptuous dinner. But the headache had just started.

The following night, Ziyad, Ramli Maulod and Ahmad Khalid were having a tough time closing the accounts. They were short of RM5, and had a recount one after another. Ahmad Khalid, being very street wise, volunteered to pay from his own pocket but our friend Ziyad insists that the money belongs to the masjid, and therefore MUST be accounted for. I was there until around 12 midnight, when I finally decided to call it a night. I don't know what happened to the accounts. You got to ask them the next time you meet up with the three stooges!

I will be writing more about the early years in my next few entries. Ahmad Khalid bought a whole album of photographs of the 1st year and has promised to lend it to me. The minute I get it, you can be sure that I'll post it here.

Buggy and Caddy

My ever so hard working Competitions Chairman, En Kamaruzaman confirmed that the RM280 covers, besides what was stated earlier, twin sharing buggies and 1 caddy per buggy. Excludes tips to caddy.

Skype Me

You would have noticed the skype box on the RHS of your screen. You can press the button on the panel to skype me. I welcome any suggestions or comments that you would like to make. You can also drop me an e-mail or post a comment on the blog.

Some Rules and Regulations

To successfully run the 6th MBJ Charity Golf Classic 2008, an Organising Committee has been formed and the following decided:

1. The Tournament is open to ALL residents of Bukit Jelutong

2. All participants must be accompanied with a completed entry form. You can download the form by clicking the RHS pane of this blog

You can also download the Rules and Regulation governing the competition.

You can send the completed entry form together with the entrance fee to any Committee member, at the backyard or to the Masjid (there is a special box to deposit your entry form)
(The best time to locate a committee member is on a Thursday night after Isha prayer)

3. The entry fee is RM280 (Ringgit Malaysia Two Hundred and Eighty only). This is inclusive of Green Fee, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (during prize giving). The organising committee will decide on the buggies and caddies later

4. Play will be based on System 36 Modified. There are 2 Championship Challenge trophies i.e. The MBJ Challenge Trophy (for best gross) and the Ramli Maulud Challenge Trophy (for best Nett score)

5. Entry is limited to a max. of 120 golfers based on a "first come first served basis."

6. The committee encourages participation from Junior and Lady Golfers.

7. The decision of the organising Committee on all matters is final

Welcome

Welcome to the blog that will inform you of the happenings in organising the golf competition. I will also take you into the insights of organising, which will give you an idea of how fun it is to organise a charity event. This blog will also give up to-date information on the Golf competition.

This is the 6th year that the event is being organised. This year's event is on the 13 November 2008 at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club. As usual, it is on a Thursday and I suggest those of you that are interested to play, apply for your annual leave early!

There will be breakfast and lunch at the clubhouse. Prize giving will be held in the evening, at around 9pm (after Isya pryers) at the Masjid. Dinner will be provided at the Masjid and as customary, we will invite orphans to join us for dinner. Yusof (a committee member) suggests that 'kita tumbangkan seekor' as the main menu for dinner. But the decision to 'tumbang' or not will be made by Arif, who is the man responsible for good food that evening.

All in all, it promises to be a wonderful day as in the past 6 years. Along the way, we will all be able to do some good by being charitable either to the Masjid or the orphans that will come join us for the 'tumbang' that prize giving evening.