Assalamu 'Alaikum,
Offline Tioman
“There is no Maxis or Celcom here in this part of the Island, only Digi”, said Nicholas Chang the manager of the island resort we were staying in. I still held hopes they have internet café or something at the reception so I could get my daily dose of online caffeine. My hopes were dashed when the friendly Nepalese waiter and Filipino waitress asserted there is no such thing in this resort. Aaah I began to get the picture. Seeing the worry on my face the waiter offered that there is internet in the next resort, its only 30 minutes of jungle trekking away and I might have to kill a few dragons on the way there but the internet’s good. Visions of ‘Lost Island’ screened in my mind, and the feeling of isolation was complete when Adila announced there’s no TV either in our hilltop cabin. The view’s gorgeous though with the cove and beach panoramic from the glass wall from inside our room. I kinda thought this must be payback time for the yorns of hours I was online saving the world, and assisting the Malaysian Authorities to search for the hapless plane.
Just in case you have not got the full picture, no network for internet also means no internet for our mobile phones to reach civilisation. So as much as we are lost in this delightful island the world is also lost to us! It suddenly dawned on me that they might find MH370 and I wouldn’t know a thing about it, marooned on this offline island until Wednesday. Well I thought that’s life, a man needs a vacation occasionally and the world will just have to survive without him for a few days! J
I have never been to Mersing in my life so praise be to Allah this trip completes another notch in my to do list. I always thought that Mersing is via Kuantan highway and down the kicking genie route via south Pahang, if you’d pardon the expression- sorry, I couldn’t help that J. But my pal Ismail whose in laws are from Mersing said no, its via the southern bound Plus Highway exiting at Ayer Hitam, and on to Kluang before heading for Mersing via the Felda Nitar route, or something like that. Wayze and roadsigns along the almost 400 km route, easily led us to Mersing although I do have a bone to pick with the Mersing town authorities. A “This Way To Jetty” sign at the entrance roundabout to Mersing would be much appreciated by a tired KL family just arriving at your pretty coastal town. Lack of which meant we went on a little bit of run around before two helpful locals put us in the right direction.
Then it was parked the 4 wheeler and on to the jetty. There was some confusion on the booking dates with the resort rep at Mersing but it was amicably solved in the traditional Malaysian way. Take a bow Malaysians, we do not scream murder or throw water bottles at people trying their best to help us, do we?! Sheesh!
The ferry ride from Mersing to Tioman Island was very long, almost 1 hour 40 mins, but it was enjoyable as ferry rides always are to us. Sitting and pretending to sleep or actually sleeping in your seat is recommended for long ferry rides. Standing up would mean there is a conflict between your mind and your body; one says you are moving the other says you are not. Alhamdulillah all survived the ride beautifully.
When the girl resort rep at Mersing told us to disembark the ferry at the first stop on Tioman Island, where then a speed boat will be waiting to take us to our resort, I felt it was a bit Bond like. Instinctively I put up my shirt collar and donned my dark clipped-on glasses just in case some secret agents are around to overhear our conversation. Although with three happy holidaying kids plus wife with me, I must admit I do not exactly look like your run of the mill secret agent on a mission.
I guess it must have been the conspiracy filled atmosphere lately that got into me. I am a firm believer of dark scenes behind the world news as I know too much and understand too much of what is going on around the world. Too many expose’ from too many sources can no longer hide the evil intentions of evil. Yes, there are people who are working towards a New World Order; and yes, there are people who hopes to create chaos from World Wars, and out of which they hope the world will accept a New World Government led by them. To this group within a particular race it is a religious mission they are duty bound to fill for they truly believe they are a chosen master race and the rest of humankind are to them just slightly above cattle. Aren’t cattles led by the nose, as are Presidents of a certain superpower? They enter and destabilised nations as they did Ukraine. If they are successful they will have a new country run by their kinfolks; if they fail they might just trigger a World War from which their Banksters will profit, and during which their Mothership will surreptitiuously expand its illegal borders under the guile of wartime self-defence. Devilish plan, isn’t it? Stand up mankind, ignore this evil at our peril.
Back to our idyllic island holiday on the morning of the first day, it was snorkelling and swimming for the kids whilst mum and dad lazed on the deckchairs. Our laze was interrupted by an unexpected morning rainfall in Tioman. I knew it was God’s way of testing whether we are thankful for the answer for our du’a for rain earlier. Praise be to Allah we are thankful under all circumstances. When the rain cleared after lunch it was back to the beach for more fun and frolic for the kids.
I finally succumbed to my wish to know what’s going on around the world and started to chat up Raj, the Nepalese waiter who has a Digi phone. He said unfortunately he is out of credit but a friend will come with his top up card later in the evening. At dinner Raj passed his phone to me where I then gladly and immediately called civilisation to apprise me of the latest news. Yes at the time the world was still going on fine without me, they still have no news of the plane, Kajang went the way expected, and my clients have not missed me yet. I thanked Raj with a big tip. I did not realised before then, the effect of not knowing what’s going on in the world!
The night ended with fish feeding at the brightly lit jetty. Plenty of colourful little fishes gobbled up the food thrown by the resort workers to the thrill of the children on the jetty. The highlight was when a couple of sharks, smallish though they were, arrived on the scene, dispersing the smaller fishes and entertaining us with their fast menacing moves inside the water. Praise be to the Creator, the stars looked brilliantly beautiful under the cloudless island sky wishing I could remember the constellations to impress the children. I resolved not to borrow the mobile phone again tomorrow, to just enjoy being incommunicado and lost from the world on this idyllic island.
I was going to write the opposite of course is still our prayers for the hapless souls on MH370 but Nicholas whispered to me the official announcement during breakfast on the second day we were here. I was informed the authorities declared the plane had indeed crashed and all are presumed dead at particular spot in the Indian Ocean. I was silent, speechless and thoughtful when I heard the news. But what ringed in my ears and mind then were the words I heard many days ago i.e. “The US have received indications the plane has crashed in the Indian Ocean.”
Yes I mused on the words “The US have received indications the plane has crashed in the Indian Ocean.” Now why did the US received those indications? Are they a prophetic nation God chose to gives news in advance?! If their satellite is so advanced it can tell from outer space the brand of a fountain pen we have in our shirt pocket, why can’t their satellite immediately find the plane crash and announced that to the world much earlier? And what a coincidence! The plane is now announced to have crashed in an area they “have received indications it will crash?!” Hmm the mind does indeed boggles!
This tragedy have raised more questions than answers, of disputed cargo between superpowers, of an innocent nation caught in the crosshairs of dispute, of an obedient and patriotic pilot called to duty but sacrificed and betrayed on the altar of expediency. Why was a CNN lead newscaster filming a documentary on Boeing 777s with the co-pilot of the fateful aircraft one week before the fateful flight? Why were two US Navy seals killed in Seychelles accompanying a high technology cargo? And why was this cargo said to be subsequently on the same aeroplane as a number of electronic weapon experts and some handy millionaires? And why was an aeroplane that turned backed and headed in the general direction of a naval base island called Diego Garcia now found far and away in the Indian Ocean?
Whatever lessons we have learned from this tragic episode, one must be for the common man to be no longer naïve, and he must begin to realise that life in this world is not as innocent as it might seem to be. There is evil out there that seeks to rule the world and we are mere pawns in their reckoning. Seek to know, for really, fear of knowing the truth is hardly a shield against the painful reality of the actualisation of truth. If indeed, in the least likely event that we err, is it not better to err on the side of caution?
