The process
We started cooperating by collecting the copies of Utusan Malaysia’s mastheads daily. Sometimes, we missed the copies and we were scrambling for backups by asking family and friends. It was undeniably testing us and our commitment was called upon in abundance.

And after grueling 50 days or so, we were selected to be the final 25 couples who had to go through an interview with the sponsors. In our thoughts, these were the people who would help to realize our dream wedding and now we were seeing them face-to-face. And one thing that we both agreed, we had total confidence and trust after the interview session that they are one of the best groups of people in the industry. We were determined to ensure we’d win the competition.

That’s exactly what we have done.

The challenges
For the entire 2 weeks of the competition, we have come across many phases, not to mention – challenges. The slurs, the unnecessary attention, the lost sleep, the skipped meals, the tears, the dignity compromised – they are all parts and parcels of the competition. It doesn’t help when you are not used to this kind of environment. Having said that, we have learned a great deal out of it and personally made me realized a few things.

One of them is the fact that I really want to be with a woman named Qistina for the rest of my life. Throughout the competition, I managed to go this extra mile just because she always pushes us to achieve the best. I’ve seen a lot of sacrifices made by her to make sure everything is done accordingly. It’s all for the sake of everyone’s happiness including ours. We have made it clear that the main intention of us entering this competition is to avoid adding burden to the families and all of us will have a great event to mark our unison. Nothing more, nothing less. Recognition and fame are not within our sight, ever.

The background
We don’t come from a family where you can call “rich”. I was raised by a single mother without a man called husband by her side since I was supposed to be in the kindergarten. How she managed to raise all 10 children of hers without even asking for an iota of help from others is beyond imagination. Today, all of us have our own lives which are surely better than the ones that we had during our childhood days.

Since I was a kid, what I did first and foremost was to never ask anything beyond what we were capable of. I tried my utmost best to avoid asking for anything from my mother. I didn’t mind if I didn’t manage to enroll into “silat” tuition just because money wasn’t enough to buy a set of silat uniform. Because, I never wanted to ask for more than what I was supposed to get. I can only thank The Almighty for the vision of a great woman who saw that the only way out of poverty is having good education.

I could also vividly remember how Qistina told me about the difficulties that her father has in being stationed away from home. She stays with him here. From west coast to east, he has to commute weekly to take care of his family back home while working at the other side of the coast. There’s no personal driver or sponsored airfares – he uses his own strength to overcome the odds. And how is it not easy for a girl who has to be left on her own on frequent basis.

The good spirit
Having said all that, we think we have played our game wisely and competed fairly. We never treat this competition as merely to compete with other finalists but we want to share the love with others who have come in full support to make sure we get up when the burden is too much too handle. We don’t have to show the world the tears or sweat or blood exhausted during the competition. What we can show is our commitment, passion, ability and our unique love to have what it takes to be winners.

Now that almost all of our families and friends are aware of this competition. Nothing is more moving than realizing that almost all of them have given their unconditional commitment and support in contributing towards realizing our dreams. I might have choked with tears if not Qistina stay loyal by my side. She would have been deeply annoyed by me if we didn’t discuss and pat each other’s back. We need each others’ support and that’s what we have gotten.

What leaves us?
Let me wrap up this long “karangan” by acknowledging how this competition has been meaningful for me as I know more about my future wife. I have come across a quote “You learn to like someone when you find out what makes them laugh, but you can never truly love someone until you find out what makes them cry” and this holds truth for me. I’ve seen her broken into laughters again and again but only for the past 2 weeks, I’ve seen a lot of tears flowing from someone that I truly love. She has just smiles to show to the world but deep inside, she is just human.

What really leaves us is the dignity and pride that we have to take. We have entered and played competitively throughout the competition. The amount of dedication invested is  abundant. Let me also thank other finalists for the bonds and friendships blossoming. There is only one sure outcome out of this competition and that is love is being shared.

And the highest accolades to the sponsors for giving us opportunities which we never dreamed of. Having our faces published in one of the mainstream newspapers in the country is the best consolation to take. We hope to keep in touch.

Let me humbly seek for forgiveness from all of you for any shortcomings throughout the enjoyable 2 weeks or so. We pray for everlasting happiness in the world and hereafter.

Sayonara and stay QD QD Undi!

_Love_
Izuddin

Mungkin seperti finalis lain, kami tidak ketinggalan all out untuk hari ni. Dengan berita yang undi akan ditutup pada hari Isnin, jam 10 malam, kami bertambah merasai debaran last-minute mencari undi. Penat lelah, tak cukup makan, hujan badai semua kami tolak tepi. Banyak pengalaman yang kami perolehi sepanjang MEGA Promo ini!! Yang pahit, masam, manis semua kami telan hehehe. Crew2 QD juga tidak putus2 memberi kerjasama yg begitu HEBAT!! Tq so much guys!!

Lokasi 1 : Mid Valley

Tarikh : 22 November 2009

Masa : 11 – 3 ptg

Cabaran : Kene kejar dengan pakgad hahah!! last2 dengan pakgad2 kami suruh Undi!! Aiyo!!

Lokasi 2 : Putrajaya

Masa : 4 – 7 ptg

Cabaran : Komunikasi dengan tourist yg dtg dari seluruh pelusuk dunia hehehe. Ade tourist yg takut dengan kiteorg. But we manage to overcome that. They are very friendly and give POSITIVE feedbacks to QD haha Lawak btl!

When it comes to final hurdle, we tend to go beyond what is expected. Today was the case for us. We exhausted all the energy that we could muster while at the same time, we all had a load of fun!

Ikutilah montaj video dan koleksi gambar sepanjang Mega Promo Finale yang dibawakan khas oleh QD dan crew!

[gambar flickr]

[video montaj youtube]

Enjoy!

Do vote for Us!

QD

QD QD Undi!!

Utusan dan sisipan Mega. Orked Bridal House. Mastar Catering. syokkahwin.com.Picture Elements. Afidah Khamis. MAEPS. Kampung Pengantin.Rumah Acara. T&T Boutique.QM Worldwide Holidays. Sayang Entertainment. CJ Print

Just a quick update on our mission to get votes. It seems like we never stop fishing for votes. Yes, we do it everyday! Setiap kali berjalan jer, mata liar mencari mangsa. Haha. Here’s some photos with our supposedly voters *wink*, just to share with you

~Sporting students of KL-based college~

~Adik2 yg sedap makan kena terjah dgn Kak Qis. They recognised us from Utusan’s publication on Monday~

~Kak Qis ni suke terjah adik2 yg masih sekolah eh~

~Jupo doh sek2 dio :p~

Lokasi dan waktu tidak diambil kira. Asal ada masa terluang, kami memperkenalkan diri kami, peraduan Gerbang Cinta dan penaja-penaja kepada public. Tgk jer la baju cik Qis tu,  berbagai-bagai Boleh dikatakan, 90% tidak sedar adanya peraduan ini. Tapi 100% dari diorg harap kami semua bahagia sampai ke anak cucu

It’s never too late to thank wholeheartedly to those who have voted for Qis & Din and done the promotion work. Truly, we can never repay your utmost support and we appreciate it greatly.

~Love from QD~

To me, location or timing is not a factor for someone to fall in love. It can be kedai ikan bakar, office place or kedai mamak and even during the tsunami is generating, but the most important thing is our readiness to do whatever it takes to be with the loved one. I have to admit I used to have great difficulties in sustaining my interest in a human called woman. And I also believe that I have changed to a certain degree when the mind and body are ready to commit wholeheartedly.

To roughly illuminate the story of how Qis met Din, it’s as simple as saying our meeting was crafted by Him. We were both with different partners at that particular time. Being that, love still struck at the first sight for us. I could vividly remember how the world seemed to stop moving when she appeared out of nowhere and walking towards me hinting for a conversation. I might sound biased but the reality was made that everything worked in favour of me at that time. The heart was saying that she was that into me. Somehow, the adrenaline rush quietly kicked in and all the troubles were washed away. There we were sitting at a coffee shop talking about our future together.

I was talking at great length on a topic of “cinta” and it was all born out of my personal experience. It is not hard to be in love but to sustain it is a totally different proposition. Having said that, the ready state of mind and body will push oneself further towards the limit and make the unthinkable possible. Take the story of Taj Mahal as an example – the great amount of love by a man to his partner made him do beyond the ordinary limit to create such a magnificient symbol to manifest their memory together.

Back to our story, it’s quite mind-boggling to fathom that we have known each other for only 8 months and at this point in time, we are talking about getting married. To justify the fast-tracked process of ours, we learn to know each other and find differences instead of similarities. We think that we ought to indentify the things that don’t tick us together to avoid doing them unaware. In no particular order, I can summarise our different characteristics as follow:

See how many differences that we already have? It’s difficult to imagine both of us living together for the rest of our lives. Having said that, there’s a saying that honest differences are a healthy sign of progress and we can’t deny that. Because of the differences, we enjoy each other’s company and because of the differences, we can talk and laugh.

It’s a misconception to think that similarities are the ones which bind us together. Without disregarding the fact that Qis and I do have a few similar characteristics, the difference works a more active role. Since our end target has to go through a long and tricky process, we need to work ways to sustain our love and the discovery of dissimilarities has provided us the solution in spades.

Like it or not, there is one big similarity between us – we want to get your votes! Sounds about fair, right?

QD QD Undi!

Sudah menjadi lumrah, setiap orang mempunyai definisi yang berbeza apabila disoal mengenai cinta. Jika ditanya kepada golongan remaja, bagi mereka cinta hanyalah terletak kepada tarikan fizikal. Mungkin. Dan mungkin, jawapan yang sama akan diberikan oleh golongan dewasa. Bagaimanapun, sebagai golongan dewasa yang seharusnya sudah mencapai tahap kematangan, cinta meliputi segala yang tertakrif di dalam kehidupan kita. Tidak dinafikan, setiap manusia perlukan cinta. Sekurang-kurangnya, ianya benar bagi saya.

Dan ramai yang mungkin merujuk kepada kisah Adam dan Hawa yang dipisahkan di tempat asing, akhirnya berjumpa atas dasar cinta yang kuat. Adam, sebagai Nabi Allah yang pertama, mengenali dunia ini melalui perasaan cinta yang tinggi kepada pasangannya, Hawa. Terbukti, jika Adam tidak menjumpai buah hatinya, kita pun tidak wujud di dunia ini. Dan Si Pencipta menunjukkan kepada hamba-hambaNya yang cinta itu adalah salah satu unsur terpenting dalam kehidupan dan Dia sendiri adalah yang Maha Penyayang.

Kekuatan cinta boleh melangkaui batasan dan sempadan. Jika tidak dikawal, buruk padahnya. Tapi, sebagai manusia, cinta yang menebal dapat menjadikan seseorang itu kuat dan tabah untuk bersama orang yang dicintai. Sifat melindungi yang menebal wujud hinggakan setiap gerak-geri orang yang dicintai mahu diambil tahu hampir setiap masa.

Dan perlu diambil tahu yang cinta bukan hanya terhad kepada cinta antara lelaki dan perempuan, yang sememangnya tidak luar biasa. Cinta kepada ibu bapa, adik-beradik dan sanak-saudara adalah acuan terpenting dalam membentuk kepercayaan kita kepada cinta. Mungkin kebiasaan dalam masyarakat Melayu, kita sangat sukar untuk menzahirkan perasaan cinta kepada keluarga atau pun kawan yang rapat. Namun begitu, kita sangat tahu betapa sayangnya kita kepada mereka, terutamanya ibu bapa yang juga amat menyayangi kita. Kita boleh menangis semahu-mahunya apabila kita risaukan keselamatan dan kesihatan mereka kerana kita takut jika kita tidak sempat untuk memberitahu mereka betapa cinta dan sayangnya kita kepada mereka. Kita takut jika ada perkara buruk terjadi kepada mereka. Dan semestinya, jika perkara buruk itu menjadi kenyataan, maka hancur luluhlah perasaan kita.

Bagaimana pula dengan cinta kepada pasangan kita? Sememangnya, ramai yang mempunyai pengalaman pahit dalam bercinta. Kesannya sangat mendalam sehingga menganggu kehidupan seharian kita. Itulah bezanya antara dalam dan luar percintaan. Dan pemerhatian kita juga membenarkan yang orang berkahwin memiliki perwatakan yang lebih ceria dan sihat jika dibandingkan dengan orang yang tidak berkahwin. Kewujudan cinta dalam kehidupan manusia mampu mengubah pelbagai aspek harian kita dan tidak ketinggalan sosio-politik masyarakat. Mungkin atas dasar kepercayaan itu juga, tidak pernah ada Presiden Amerika Syarikat yang tidak mempunyai isteri

Secara keseluruhannya, bagi saya cinta juga adalah perkara subjektif yang tidak boleh ditentukan oleh sesuatu unsur. Banyak unsur-unsur lain yang menentukan kewujudan ataupun kekuatan cinta kita kepada seseorang itu. Antaranya, masa yang kita habiskan dengan orang tersebut, keserasian, persamaan dari segi latar belakang – semuanya dapat mempengaruhi kekuatan cinta itu sendiri. Namun, yang pastinya setiap individu itu haruslah berusaha dan memainkan peranan bersungguh-sungguh untuk memperjitukan cinta itu. Bak bara api, jika tidak ditiup maka tidak dapatlah apinya.

Sebagai penutup, kita tidak harus memandang endah akan kepentingan cinta dalam kehidupan kita. Mulakanlah usaha kita dalam mencari cinta yang sejati dan biarlah ia berterusan sampai ke liang lahad. Kerana cinta tidak mengenal usia, ianya akan sentiasa diperlukan biar jasad dimamah usia. Cintailah dan jadikanlah diri anda dicintai supaya kebahagiaan sebenar mampu dicapai.

Terima kasih kerana anda bersama QD untuk update seterusnya. Undi sapa…? QD QD Undi! Ya, pandai pun *clap clap*

Malam ni, Q demam. Jadi D mengambil alih untuk memasukkan seberapa banyak update yg boleh.

Hari ni (Ahad, 15 November 2009), QD dah keluar rumah sejak pukul 12 tghari untuk meneruskan misi QD meraih undi. Tapi niat kami, nak promote sume sponsor2 kita jugak. Lokasi kali ni adalah Mutiara Damansara. Jadi, silalah lihat coretan gambar-gambar di bawah ye!

1. Makan – apa2 pon, perut kene la berisi dulu kan? Heheh. So QD makan la dulu sebelum memulakan misi.

2. Kawan2 – beberapa kawan2 QD pon datang singgah dan jumpa QD. Thanks guys for the support!

3. Keluarga besar – QD mulakan sesi terjah QD dgn keluarga besar ni. Salah sorg abg tu adalah org KB. Q pon ape lagi, kecek klattteeee llloh..

4. Pembaca setia utusan! – jalan punye jalan, jmpe Uncle ni bace Mingguan Malaysia. QD pon tego dan promo la. Rupenye, Uncle tu tgh tgu wife and daughter die shopping. Heheh. Salute kat famili ni sbb sporting bergambar

5. Abe – QD pon tego la abg sorg ni. Dia kata dia jarang bace Utusan tapi dia tak kesah nak jenguk Syokkahwin

6. Abe dan kakok – diorg penah masuk website Syokkahwin rupenye! Heheh. Truskan membace update sume finalists eh guys

7. QD – fuhh! Take 5 yang, take 5…(Q byk cakap, D yg lebih2 penat. hehehe)

8. Abeabe – ada 2 org abg tgh minum. Sporting abis diorg ni

9. Memorable spot – Q to D: “Yang, ingt x spot ni? Kita pnah gaduh kat sini :p”

10. Helpdesk – alang2 kakak dgn abg tu tgh surfing2 tu, kitorg pon ajak la diorg masuk Syokkahwin/gerbangcinta

Kami pon bergerak pulang ke rumah lebih kurang pukul 5 petang. Nak kata penat tu mmg penat, tapi sebenarnya byk yg kami belajar dari pengalaman ni. Betul tak Q? Heheh. Ada sorg yg Q approach tadi x layan, sian Q. Takpe, jadikan tu pengalaman ok?

Setakat ni dulu update kami. Terima kasih dan selamat malam!

QD QD Undi!

P/S: Bukan senang nak update entry bila internet sgt slow *wink*

Dalam post hari Khamis lepas, D ada letak gmbr 2 org budak Iban yang cute n friendly. Kali ni, anda-anda semua boleh lah tau apa cerita di sebalik 2 org budak tu.

D berada di Sarawak sejak hari Isnin dan berada di sana selama 5 hari. D bersama kawan2 ofis mengurus dan menganjurkan 1 kursus di Sarawak. Pada hari ke-4 (Khamis), penghabisan kursus kami disertakan dengan program melawat rumah panjang. Kami bertolak ke sana pada jam 1 petang dan sampai di rumah pjg pukul 2 setengah.

Macam-macam yang kami buat di sana. Baru jer masuk ke rumah panjang, kami sudah dihidang dgn minuman yg istimewa. Kpd yg pernah smpi ke rumah panjang Iban, mesti tau apa minuman  yg D mksdkan. Heheh. Tapi D x minum la, sekadar melihat. Lepas tu, kami dipersembahkan dengan adat menyembelih ayam hutan sebagai tanda alu-aluan kepada tetamu. Kemudiannya, Tarian Ngajat pun bermula dan D tidak ketinggalan turut serta menari dengan gaya ala-ala hiphop. Hahah.

(video rakaman tu akan diupload nanti)

Sambil menunggu peserta-peserta lain turut menari Ngajat, D pon sempat interview 2 org budak Iban yg cute tu. Disebabkan D masih x fasih berbahasa Sarawak, D ajak budak2 ni cakap bahasa Malaysia pulak. Maka, inilah hasilnya:

(D dengan budak-budak)

Lepas tu, sempat la ambil gambar buat Q di semenanjung (masa tu jer, skrg dah kat KL. hehe). Kesimpulannya, Sarawak adalah tempat yang sangat unik dan macam-macam benda kita boleh belajar di sana. So apa tgu lagi? Cuti-cuti Malaysia~!

Petang tadi, saya mengambil gambar kat atas ni. Dari cara ‘pose’ nya, dua budak lelaki dari suku kaum Iban dalam gambar ni memang ada potensi menjadi model pabila mereka besar. Heheh. Mungkin dari gambar di atas, kita tak tahu apa yg mereka fikirkan. Tapi ada cerita di sebalik gambar ini. Stay tuned…!

Izuddin Salleh
QD QD Undi!

Qis kat KL, Din kat Sarawak. Qis upload video

QD QD Undi kat YouTube, Din pun nak upload video kat sana. Kami harap anda gembira dan berpuas hati dgn entry2 kami

Perwatakan kami mungkin berbeza tapi persamaan kami terletak pada hati. Kedua-dua kami sentiasa mahukan kebahagiaan kehidupan yang dikecapi bersama-sama. Jadi, saksikanlah montaj mengandungi kisah kami di dalam koleksi gambar. Jangan lupa, QD QD Undi tau~!

.Utusan dan sisipan Mega. Orked Bridal House. Mastar Catering. syokkahwin.com.Picture Elements. Afidah Khamis. MAEPS. Kampung Pengantin.Rumah Acara. T&T Boutique.QM Worldwide Holidays.

Lokasi: Sarawak
Waktu: Lepas kelas, petang
Tarikh: 10 November 2009

Izuddin: Bro, ko dah undi belum aku kat Syokkahwin.com?

Azhli: Belum la brad. Ada problem la. Aku tak jumpa pon apa-apa button nak vote.

Izuddin: Ada masalah kot brad. Cuba lagi 5 minit ke.

Azhli: Tapi aku ada la usha-usha ruangan Diari Finalis tu. Qis ada update, brad.

Izuddin: Tu la. Mantap kan kartun pasal camne kitorg jumpe tu? Hehe.

Azhli: Ko jangan mencapub brad. Tapi mmg kreatif la idea tu. Suspek gak aku.

Izuddin: Memang delicious bro. Aku terharu dgn Qis. Dia memang kerja keras untuk menang peraduan Gerbang Cinta ni. Aku pon tgh cuba mana yg terdaya ni.

Azhli: Tu la brad. Ko pon boleh tahan aku tgk. SMS, email bagai. Siap refresh page Syokkahwin tiap-tiap minit aku tgk. Heheh.

Izuddin: Mau tak bro. Aku seronok jugak bace entry finalis-finalis lain. Betul-betul la diorg sayang kat pasangan diorg.

Azhli: Ko amacam brad? Sayang Qis tak?

Izuddin: Mesti la sayang beb. Ni pon boleh tahan rindu. Sejak sampai Sarawak malam semlm, tido pon mimpi-mimpi kan dia.

Azhli: Acece. Jiwang gak ko brad. Hahah.

Izuddin: Alaa ko pon apa kurangnya bro.

Azhli: Haha. Aku nak jiwang apanya brad. Anak dah 3. Lain la ko. Darah tgh panas tu.

Izuddin: Heheh. Aku nak dia je bro. Bak kata org putih, she’s the one.

Azhli: Cuba ko cite kat aku, apa yang paling ko tertarik dgn Qis ni. Selain dari dia pandai menyanyi la. Heheh.

Izuddin: Panjang aku nak cite bro. Ko larat tak nak dgr ni?

Azhli: Hek elah. Aku ni pendengar yang baik, brad. Meh-meh cite kat aku.

Izuddin: Haha. Aku paling tertarik pada personaliti dia. Dia jenis yang sangat menghargai orang lain. Jadi bila pertama kali aku jumpa dia dekat kedai ikan bakar tu, aku dah terpikat dengan keramahan dan kepandaian dia menyesuaikan diri dengan keadaan. Bila dia buat mcm tu, aku dapat rasa dihargai sangat dan tu membuatkan aku tertarik dekat dia la.

Azhli: Bagus tu. Aku rasa penting ada daya tarikan tu. Nak cari calon isteri, jangan tengok kat luaran jer. Sume tu tak berkekalan beb. Hati dan penampilan diri yang paling penting. Ha sambung balik cite ko tadi.

Izuddin: Aha aku setuju. Tambah-tambah buat aku sayang kat dia sebab dia cute!

Azhli: Luaran tu brad. Haha.

Izuddin: Heheh. Tau, tapi nak jugak. Haha. Byk lagi sebab aku sayang dia. Salah satu, aku rasa sangat selesa bercakap dgn dia. Kitorg boleh cakap pasal apa-apa jer. Jadi, kalo masing-masing ada masalah atau nak mengadu, kitorg bercakap.

Azhli: Cakap apa brad?

Izuddin: Cakap pasal masalah kitorg, bincang nak cari penyelesaian. Apa-apa pon boleh bro.

Azhli: Tu lagi yg paling penting buat pasangan – komunikasi. So apa lagi sebab ko sayang dia?

Izuddin: Tak abis cakap lagi, heheh. Satu yang aku belajar dari dia ialah cara dia buat sesuatu – dia memang buat sehabis baik. Dalam masa yang sama, dia boleh kekalkan fokus dia. Dan paling penting, dia buat semua tu dengan ikhlas.

Azhli: Macam mana ko tau?

Izuddin: Sebab dia tak pernah mintak balasan kalau buat apa-apa. Yang dia tau, dia buat yang terbaik dan hasilnya memang boleh nampak.

Azhli: Oh ok ok. Terbaik la brad. Heheh. Ok, cakap pasal yang baik-baik jer. Yang tak suka apa pulak?

Izuddin: Hahah. Ada je ko nak kenakan aku kan. Tiada manusia yang sempurna kan? Aku pernah bagitau dia yang dia senang naik marah. Dan aku sangat terharu yang dia cuba sehabis baik dia untuk menjadi kurang pemarah. Macam mana pun, dia sorang jer yang aku nak.

Azhli: Bagus la brad. Jaga dia elok-elok.

Izuddin: Insya-Allah, tu semestinya. Oh ya, aku rasa topik kite borak ni patut aku kongsi dengan orang lain kat website Syokkahwin ni. Ko kasi kebenaran tak gunakan watak ko?

Azhli: No problem brad. Elok la ko kongsi serba sedikit pasal ko dgn Qis ni.

Izuddin: Tima kasih, Encik Azhli. Walaupon ko watak “tali barut”, ko still the best. Heheh.

Glosari: brad=brader/brother