Sunday, October 29, 2006

WHY BLOGGING?

I have got the answers, after saying two rakaat of hajat prayer!

Firstly, I will InshaAllah write both academic and santai writings, and infact, anything that comes out of my mind and across my life.

Secondly, the numbers of readers and the greatness of ideas are not the main concern. What is more important is the opportunity to record my ideas and document my experience however small and simple they are - even in terrible English or even only me alone could understand them. Via these writings, I hope to improve my English like I have improved it when I was writing my thesis in late eighties, or chairing meetings in mid-nineties as Head of International Project on Islamic Political Economy (IPIPE, later on named Islamic Development Management Project, IDMP and now has been upgraded to a research centre, the Centre for Islamic Development Management Studies, ISDEV, at Universiti Sains Malaysia, or even when communicating with Ah Chua, a contractor-cum-worker who was renovating my house last year.

Moreover, I am of course free to write either in English or Malay, at my own convenience. I also recall how amazed I was to read Prof Ali Mazrui's annual notes that record his thinking and ideas, activities and accomplishments for the year that consequently stimulated me to follow suit. With the advancement of current ICT, blogging I think is the better way of doing so. Instead of writing it at the end of the year, I could write bit by bit throughout the year - as if I am writing a diary - and eventually, hopefully, could be extended, edited and published in a book form as a memoir or at least as a note of my life for my children and descendants to see and know, if not for others.

Indeed, I have been thinking to write my memoir for so long already. I have sketched it out roughly, hoping that I could one day submit it to Penerbit UKM that has and publishes special series on memoirs and biographies. But with the retirement of its Head Hasrom Haron and resignation of its Editor Roosfa Hashim, both of whom had always encouraged me to accomplish the ambition, the plan seems to come to a slow-down as I do not know of any other university publishers that are dealing and publishing seriously on series of memoirs and biographies more than the Penerbit UKM. This blog thus perhaps could be the alternative, at least as a launching pad for the documentation of what I think and experience in life. Of course, it would apparently be more of a personal note rather than an analysis of contemporary thought and issues.

Thirdly, the frequency of my postings to this blog is totally mine. I could just write whenever I feel like writing, depending on the availability of my time, and I am sure whoever follow my blog could understand the nature of my workload and therefore would not put a high expectation on its frequency of posting.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

STARTING BLOGGING

This blog is a result of a conversation with my Petronas-lawyer nephew (left) during Hari Raya visit to my sister's house in Ipoh on Thursday, October 26. He told me how advance and trendy the web-blogging is now and how more and more people are turning to web-blogging rather than the web-paging.


A search on blogging after coming back home that night entailed with the construction of this blog, after finding out how easy constructing a simple blog like this (sort of DIY style), though definitely not as sophisticated and as independent as those of professional bloggers. Most importantly, I could manage the blog on my own, as opposed to my webpage (http://www.geocities.com/muhammadsyukri) which has to be helped by one of my graduate student, a result of which it has not been updated for about three years; not because she is not helpful, but because of my pre-conceived perception of its difficulty to learn and thus not learning at all, as well as not to interfere with her busy schedules of research and thesis writing.


But several things are lingering in my mind now. Firstly, what should I write - academic stuff written as an academician or santai sort of stuff written as a santai sort of person? Secondly, will there be anybody interested in what I write for I am neither really good at English nor analytical enough to convey great great ideas? Thirdly, do I have much time to think and write as there are always lists of deadlines all along my daily routines?


I am pondering on these.......