Trip to Dalu Dalu

Our meeting last Sunday came up with the idea of reviving the previously proposed trip to Dalu Dalu as a way to enable the descendants of Tuanku Tambusai see with their own eyes the very ground where the Fort which withstood the Dutch onslaught by the courageous and committed defenders who had been holding it for months. When the ceremony to hand over the key to the Kompleks Makam Tuanku Tambusai in 2002 , I met the Governor at a dinner and he told me that I ought to visit the " Benteng Tujuh Lapis " in the district of Tambusai, about 4 hours from Pekanbaru. However due to constraints on resources and other commitments, that desire to visit Dalu Dalu had been put on hold for several years. The idea is now being floated again, and it's one way to arouse interest for the Waris of Tuanku Tambusai from the Rasah Clan and keep the association BERKAT alive. I asked for the views of those who were at the meeting, what's their views on BERKAT, whether we should just exist without purpose or let it die a natural death, since not many seemed to be interested anymore. However the general feeling is that we must not let it fade away because it's noble aim of bringing together the descendants of Tuanku Tambusai especially from the Rasah side must be continued without fail. So I have been asking my cousin Normah who has some background on getting a group to tour China a few occasions last year, to get it organised using the services of a travel agency which is owned by her friend in Shah Alam. I told my fellow committee members on Sunday that hopefully there's an adequate response to our proposal from the Waris. Last year the idea could not take off due to some doubts about the safety of visiting Riau since there could be incidences of earthquake in the southern part of Sumatra. Not wanting to take an unnecessary risk and also due to our lethargy in moving forward in activities we just shelved it. This time around I am expecting a reasonably favourable response from the Waris because the natural calamities seemed to have abated in our neighbouring Sumatra after a devastating Tsunami in 2004. May ALLAH bestow His Guidance on the members of BERKAT and make us more committed to bring together our relatives who are associated either in terms of blood or through marriage. Ameen!