At Pulau Kapas (Cotton Island)

It was wonderful being at Pulau Kapas for 3 days and 2 nights. For that short period of time, I did not have to worry about anything...I left technology behind and only enjoyed sand and sea.

When we decided to visit Pulau Kapas, some people thought it was a crazy idea since the Japanese earthquake had just happened and the devastating Tsunami. There I was taking my whole family to a little island in the middle of the South China Sea but the only thing I could think of was...the ayat in the Qur'an that says "Wheresoever ye may be, death will overtake you, even though ye were in lofty towers." 4:78. Hence, it is not death that we should fear but rather I fear the meeting with my Lord having not prepared anything for it. What have I done in this life that would constitute 'striving in the cause of Allah'? That is my true fear...

Pulau Kapas is situated only a few kilometres from mainland Peninsular Malaysia on the East Coast, off Terengganu. It is a small island and will probably take only half an hour to walk around the island if one could. Unfortunately, one could not due to the rocky coast. The main sandy beaches face the mainland and are protected from the strong waves. Pulau Kapas is a coral beach and on a bright sunny day, the water is clear blue and you may even see the coral sea life. The island is so tiny...I wondered to myself whether the re-establishment of Khilafah would have any impact on it.

We stayed at Makcik Gemuk Chalet Resort (translated as Fat Aunt). The lady who took our bookings and the owner known as Makcik Gemuk were very friendly and nice. She seemed to have an endless supply of young men working at her Chalet and most of them were probably her sons, nephews, friends of sons etc...They seem to be spending all day just chilling at the beach, taking tourist on boat rides, playing volleyball and kayaking. It was such a chilled-out life that I wish I was living like that.

To get to Pulau Kapas you have to take a boat from Marang Jeti. It was raining when we got there but we braved the rain and waves to cross to Pulau Kapas. As soon as we got to the island, the kids headed straight for the beach and we spent most of our time on the beach, swimming and making sand castles. My babies were truly enjoying themselves, rolling on the sand and screaming with laughter. Yet...as I stood there and watched them, I felt so happy but there was a slight constriction inside my chest...I saw a flashed image of a girl not more than 14 years old crying and screaming as she suffered the lost of her family. This image that I've seen many times on TV and the internet was a girl in Palestine. She was having a picnic with her family at the beach in Gaza, hoping to have a moment of peace away from the nightmare of her daily life under Israeli occupation...and as they sat there hoping to enjoy a family outing, they were shot at out of spitefulness and hate! I looked at my babies...they were smiling, laughing without a care in the world and I thanked Allah for His blessings but I did not want to forget what was happening on the other side of the world.

Then, the next day as we sat on the beach again we heard the sound of a jet-fighter thundering past. It came from a nearby Malaysian Royal Air Force base. We looked up admiring its elegance without any fear and my mind drifted to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya...I wondered what thoughts and emotions do they have when they hear that sound..

Three days...Pulau Kapas is beautiful like a Paradise Island. Just sitting there staring at the blue sea, feeling the cool breeze and it took my mind away from the frustrations and irritations that I've been feeling recently about being here in Malaysia, it reminded me of the reasons why I returned...

We left Pulau Kapas on the 3rd day and headed to Kuala Terengganu. I just didn't want to come back to KL.