SNOWY MID-RAMADAN FOR MALAYSIANS IN WELLINGTON

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- It has been a snowy Ramadan since the past
three days in New Zealand, particularly in the capital city, Wellington.

Although this has caused difficulties in daily lives, like blocking roads
and shutting down schools, to some members of the Malaysian community there, the
snow brings delight.

Mohamed Ali Morat, 52, who has been living in Wellington with his family for
four years now, said he spent most of the time in the house to keep warm.

"It is an unusual phenomenon. This is the first time that snow falls in this
part of the country in recent times. The weather is super cold with minus two
degrees Celsius. Snow is everywhere. Roads are sometimes blocked because of it,"
he said in a telephone interview with Bernama.

Wellington, in the southern part of North Island, is experiencing the
greatest snow fall in 40 years.

Mohamed Ali, whose wife is completing her accounting PhD at the Victoria
University of Wellington (VUW), said schools have been closed down for the last
three days and that they only go out to buy necessities.

He and his family are staying in Johnsonville, one of the biggest suburbs in
Wellington, about 10 minutes' drive from the capital city.

He said the snow usually fell after four or five in the evening when it was
already dark.

If it rains, the road will be cleared of the snow. If not, it will have to
be cleared by workers from the local authority.

He said the New Zealand Civil Defence has been reminding the residents to
be cautious when going out because of the slippery road.

"Thank God we live just near the shops... it's within walking distance and
we need not drive to go there," he said.

Mohamed Ali, a father of three, and works at the Bluebridge Ferry service
that plies between Wellington and Picton in the South Island, said there had
been delays in the journey between the two ports because of the weather.

He said one of the Malaysian High Commission officials, who lives nearby,
had been unable to go to work because of the snowy road. The Malaysian High
Commission is located in Brooklyn, in the city.

There are about 10 Malaysian families in Johnsonville. Others are in towns
such as Karori, Kelburn, Te Aro, Lower Hutt and Hataitai.

Most of the over one hundred Malaysian students at VUW, Massey University
and Otago University live in the city.

One of them, Hafiz Abdul Malek, a second year student who studies English at
VUW, said the condition was much better today and that despite having to deal
with assignments, he did not let slip the opportunity to play in the snow.

"It's an opportunity of a lifetime," he said in his social network web page.


The country's leading newspaper, the Dominion Post, reported Wednesday that
New Zealand was "at the mercy of the weather with schools still closed, houses
without power, roads treacherous and ferries cancelled."

A New Zealand Meteorological Service spokesman said icy weather that had
battered the South Island and lower North Island would gradually ease from later
today.

On the Ramadan month, Mohamed Ali said the situation there was very much
different from the one in Malaysia.

"Here, one dish is enough. We don't have much choice and there is no Ramadan
Market here, that's for sure. We miss tepung pelita (a sweet traditional Malay
cake made of rice flour,coconut milk and sugar) very much," he said.

Muslim communities from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore organised a
breaking of the fast on Aug 7 at the Kilbirnie Mosque in Wellington, attended by
some 400 people who hail from various parts of the world.

"We thank everybody for giving such support to make the event a success,"
said Malaysian Iskandar Zulkarnain, an organising committee member, in an e-mail
to Bernama.

Muslims in New Zealand usually break fast at 5.45pm after some 10 hours of
fasting.

The Federations of Islamic Association of New Zealand is the authority in
charge of Islamic affairs in the country including determining the prayer times,
date of Ramadan and Aidilfitri.