Prof Zaidi Md Isa |
Serene scenery . |
“ Nilai Impian ” our urban retreat |
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to jump in and send the photos to our other classmates ’ WhatsApp group and they are now dying to come over for the wedding kenduri later .
The entire 4.5-acre site is a workin-progress journey of passion and commitment for Prof Zaidi and his entire family . His wife Hasiah Yahaya , also from Penang , is a Tunku Kurshiah College Alumni and a USM graduate in Urban Studies but retired earlier than him as a university librarian .
Prof Zaidi has always been an artist , as demonstrated by some of the crafts from recycled utensils decorating the place , a good guitarist- singer and a sportsman since their school days in Penang .
He has spent his adult life as a researcher of insects in jungles . It has kept him very fit and aware of the impact of climate change and environmental disasters .
This is his journey in alternative living back to nature and what he calls art-science , the traditional way of sustenance and appreciating God ’ s gift of life — aptly choosing and applying modern time innovative inventions such as solarpowered electricity wherever applicable to preserve the natural environment . No chemical fertilisers are applied in his farm techniques .
What amazed us was his wife ’ s and all three daughters ’ commitment to participate in the family ’ s journey , as demonstrated by his youngest daughter ’ s investment in building her house on the hill . Prof Zaidi considers her the project ’ s
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anchor and , with her future husband who had earlier repaired their Kajang house and with his skills no university can teach , will continue to make the dream a reality .
For this , his wife is enticing Ili Ihsan , their eldest daughter , to plan and possibly fund building chalets , albeit on a small scale , as an appropriate environmentally friendly agro-tourism destination .
Prof Zaidi worked with the kampong folks in the traditional gotong royong spirit to build the current adjusted access dirt roads and paying for it . He and his wife understand how to save and invest the hundreds of thousands of ringgit the family had spent for this new life journey and make it all worth it .
For him and his family , Impian Damai in Hulu Jelebu is a testimony of a family of educated professionals who want to leave a message to others that “ saving the planet ” from environmental disaster must start from home .
For some , living in the jungle may have taken that message a bit too far but as they say , someone must do the job . We salute their endeavour and wish them well . — @ Forest
The Green Dude , who is also a farm hobbyist himself , feels more professionals , who have the means , should take up farming and live back to nature , especially during their retirement and understand firsthand the fragile environment and the need to use best practice environmental management .
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View from the top . |
PROF ZAIDI MD ISA had his tertiary education in Australia and , while doing his PhD at La Trobe University had always spent his summer holidays on camping trips by car . Their children too picked up this interest since they were toddlers when he researched insects in jungles all over Malaysia and eventually became a Professor of Entomology , specialising in cicadas taxonomy .
For many years , they spent self-drive holidays in South Thailand , which is a heaven for everything natural and agricultural and the famous Thai hospitality is beyond description .
His “ Nilai Impian ” concrete urban house in Nilai town is now considered their own “ urban retreat ” when they need a break from nature . This urban retreat home still has much of the landscape of his original “ forest in a garden “ concept as depicted in a feature article in the Flora Putrajaya virtual magazine some years back .
Prof Zaidi revealed that they were not spared the current unpredictable rainfall and thunderstorm mishaps which had recently sent a couple of timber logs right in front of their verandah after the river had swollen from the raging mountain headwaters . Since then , construction workers had slightly widened the river sector on the opposite side to ease the water flow .
Prof Zaidi and his family are an example of people who genuinely appreciate the gift of nature and how frail and sensitive it is to weather changes and human activity . They intend to share it with the rest of the world in their small way .
Like many of us they are appalled by the indiscriminate destruction of the forest in the name of development but worse still when it is destroyed in the name of commercial agriculture . Not just for logging but for ventures like the musang king durian plantations , which has been identified as one of the leading causes of the recent disastrous floods in Pahang and Kedah . These ventures were badly managed as they did not adhere to best practice landscape and environmental management .
For him and his family , Impian Damai in Hulu Jelebu is a testimony of a family of educated professionals who want to leave a message to others that “ saving the planet ” from the environmental disaster must start from home .
And living in the jungle may have taken that message a bit too far but as they say , someone must do the job . We salute their endeavor and wish them well .
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