On Sunday 18 November 2012 I attended a wedding invitation in my hometown, Seremban. The most pleasent surprise apart from meeting my old school mates from KGV Seremban was meeting my teacher from my Malay School days. It happened that he is the uncle of the host.
When I arrived about 11.50 am at the function, there were a few guests who also arrived early and were happily gulping down their food and drinks. It was a bright and sunny day, up to a point. I exchanged a few pleasentries with the host before getting my plate and food and then sat at the table where Malek, my former classmate in KGV was already there earlier than me. Later on, Nasimah and Hazim followed me. As the guests began arriving in droves, Harith, the host began to call the other former classmates who had their reunion in September to let them know I was present. Rohani Yusof who was just about to sit at the next table, joined Nasimah and chatted about our school days. Malek began to remind me the nicknames of a few former classmates who came to the function and it became a sort of another get together.
So much so I did not realise how time flies. By the time we had sat there for more than an hour, a heavy downpour followed, and it was a peak time for the guests who arrived. As we were all trapped by the pouring rain, we had no choice but stayed under the tent. Luckily the tents were placed or the tarmac road in front of Harith's house, otherwise we would be wallowing in mud.
Then, Harith excitedly called me to meet his uncle, Cikgu Alias who taught me in standard 4, Central Malay School, Channer Road in 1954. He said I have changed much since he last saw me. I told him I remembered meeting him in Kampong Sogo after I joined the Special Malay Class together with Harith. I said to him " Cikgu, you still looked the same." I enquired about his age and he informed me that he is already 82. Alhamdulillah, it was such a pleasure to meet my teacher when I am already 67 and I suppose one is really privileged and fortunate to meet a former teacher after 58 years. I gathered earlier from Harith that Cikgu Alias became deeply religious and now stays in Kg. Batu Sesapan, Beranang, Selangor. I hope I can meet other teachers who had taught me in my early years and say a big thank you.
It is a small village in the kecamatan of Tambusai, Kabupaten Rokan Hulu in the Province of Riau, Sumatra. During the Padri Wars of 1830's , Tuanku Tambusai (aka known as Fakeh Hj Muhammad Salleh ) fought the Dutch forces together with Imam Bonjol and Tuanku Rao in West Sumatra and in Northern Sumatra .The last defence was in Benteng 7 Lapis,Daludalu which fell in 1838. He escaped capture and came to Malaya. He was buried in Rasah in 1882.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Obituary for a friend
In my earlier posting last Tuesday, I mentioned about my trip to Damansara Specialist Hospital to visit a friend. Yesterday, 12 November on Monday,exactly a week from seeing on his hospital bed,he passed away peacefully, "Innalillahi wainnailaihi rojiun" and "Al-Fatihah."
At 1148 hours on Monday, I received the sad news from Dato' Yahya Yacob and after that immediately rang up Hank. I told him to convey the news to the our former classmates from the Class of 1964 , the Federation Military College, Sg.Besi.
At 1530 hours, Hank came to fetch me and we proceeded to the Mosque in Taman Tun Dr.Ismail for Asar prayer and followed by the Solat Jenazah (for the deceased).While we had a short stop at the automatic car wash of a petrol station at Kayu Ara, I called OP Akbar Baba to convey him the news of Zawawi's demise. Though Hamzah sent him a few messages earlier but they somehow got lost along the way.At the Mosque I met a few Old Puteras, Shaharudin Bahaudin and Yusoff Ali Zain as well as Khairudin.Dato' Yahya arrived just before the Azan. After the prayers as we headed to the car park I met another Old Putera whom I befriended on the E-list, OP Budin earlier went to the Hospital to find out about Zawawi and only then learned about he had departed from this world. We headed for the Bukit Kiara Muslim burial ground to witness the burial rites at about 1730 hrs. We walked from the car-park of the burial ground to the burial site a distance away, criss-crossing the numerous graves,carefully treading our steps so as not to walk on them.
The rains poured during the burial sermon (Talqin) and many took cover under the tent set up over the freshly dug grave. Fortunately I brought my umbrella and I let others who were not prepared for rain to seek cover under the tent. By the time it was over, the downpour continued heavily and though I had the umbrella, I could not avoid getting wet as I walked back towards the car park.
Farewell my dear friend Zawawi, and May Allah bestow His Blessings, Compassion and Mercies on your soul. May Allah forgive you and all of us and may HE place you amongst the righteous, Ameen.
At 1148 hours on Monday, I received the sad news from Dato' Yahya Yacob and after that immediately rang up Hank. I told him to convey the news to the our former classmates from the Class of 1964 , the Federation Military College, Sg.Besi.
At 1530 hours, Hank came to fetch me and we proceeded to the Mosque in Taman Tun Dr.Ismail for Asar prayer and followed by the Solat Jenazah (for the deceased).While we had a short stop at the automatic car wash of a petrol station at Kayu Ara, I called OP Akbar Baba to convey him the news of Zawawi's demise. Though Hamzah sent him a few messages earlier but they somehow got lost along the way.At the Mosque I met a few Old Puteras, Shaharudin Bahaudin and Yusoff Ali Zain as well as Khairudin.Dato' Yahya arrived just before the Azan. After the prayers as we headed to the car park I met another Old Putera whom I befriended on the E-list, OP Budin earlier went to the Hospital to find out about Zawawi and only then learned about he had departed from this world. We headed for the Bukit Kiara Muslim burial ground to witness the burial rites at about 1730 hrs. We walked from the car-park of the burial ground to the burial site a distance away, criss-crossing the numerous graves,carefully treading our steps so as not to walk on them.
The rains poured during the burial sermon (Talqin) and many took cover under the tent set up over the freshly dug grave. Fortunately I brought my umbrella and I let others who were not prepared for rain to seek cover under the tent. By the time it was over, the downpour continued heavily and though I had the umbrella, I could not avoid getting wet as I walked back towards the car park.
Farewell my dear friend Zawawi, and May Allah bestow His Blessings, Compassion and Mercies on your soul. May Allah forgive you and all of us and may HE place you amongst the righteous, Ameen.
Friday, November 09, 2012
Silence
In response to Haiku heights # 195 - Silence.
Stillness of the night
Lay the flickering oil lamp
In silence I wait
Thud, the welcome sound
Of the falling thorny fruit
Most awaited time
To search in the grass
The joy of picking it up
Was more than eating
During the fruit season, it was quite common during my childhood days to wait for the sound of the falling durian at my kampong in Terachi,especially at night. The sheer pleasure of looking for it in the tall grass was unforgettable. Once it was found, the joy was more than in the eating.
Stillness of the night
Lay the flickering oil lamp
In silence I wait
Thud, the welcome sound
Of the falling thorny fruit
Most awaited time
To search in the grass
The joy of picking it up
Was more than eating
During the fruit season, it was quite common during my childhood days to wait for the sound of the falling durian at my kampong in Terachi,especially at night. The sheer pleasure of looking for it in the tall grass was unforgettable. Once it was found, the joy was more than in the eating.
My Cousin Suhaimi Jaafar
Left;Suhaimi,Right;Azudin.
I have been trying many a time to get in touch with my cousin Suhaimi without any success since I last met him in 2005. So with the kind assistance of OP Azudin who is now getting streetwise as a temporary Londoner since last September, he managed to arrange for a meeting with him twice. Alhamdulillah, I learned from Azudin that he wants to come back, the only thing holding him is his lack of effort and the "niat" to pursue the matter with perseverance. Azudin has indeed done his best to persuade him that his services as a qualified chartered accountant is still badly needed at home. Thus Malay Londoners knows him as Sam the accountant. I supplicate to Allah Almighty that his intention will become a reality because he is obliged to settle the "Faraid" matters when both his parents have passed away sometime ago. I hope Suhaimi reads this and make up his mind once and for all to perform a duty which is obligatory on him for the sake of his parents who are in "Alam Barzakh" so that they rest in peace.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Morning Visit to Zawawi
On the morning just before breakfast on Monday 05 November, Hank called me on my mobile phone and told me that Zawawi our ex-classmate in FMC is hospitalised again. He plan to visit him at the Damansara Specialist Hospital and asked whether I would like to join him. I replied that I would go at my convenience since it would be too much of a bother for him to drive to Kelana Jaya from his house in Tropicana just to fetch me.
So on the following morning on Tuesday 06 November I went out at 0915 hours to visit Zawawi at the hospital. His wife and daughter were with him when I arrived and I seemed to be the first visitor amongst the Old Puteras that day. Since I have been briefed by Hank about his condition, I indicated to Zawawi not to speak much as I could see that he needed rest. He weakly told me that this is his third time in hospital, and I recalled visiting him at his former house in Taman Tun Dr.Ismail after he was discharged from Institut Jantung Negara for a mild heart attack. Now he has sold that house and moved to Kota Damansara. He seemed to be in pain and his jaundice has not cleared yet. His wife gave me an account as how they had to go to several hospitals just to find a vacant bed when he needed medical help desperately.
On the very same morning before I was about to go to the hospital, another Old Putera Dato' Yahya called me on the phone and asked whether I knew that Zawawi is hospitalised and he went to visit him on the previous evening. I replied that I was about to go to the hospital. He told me about Zawawi's medical condition and the events that lead to his present predicament. I gave Zawawi some comforting words and asked him to recite the Du'a to relieve him of the suffering. He seemed to to nod his head to indicate an acknowledgement. As I saw that he seemed to have dozed off, I told his wife that I would take my leave and said to her that we have to put our faith in Allah in such a situation and whatever effort is taken to overcome the predicament is what we can do at most but finally we leave it to Allah to determine everything. It is my silent prayer that Zawawi would pull through his most trying times with ease, InshaAllah.
So on the following morning on Tuesday 06 November I went out at 0915 hours to visit Zawawi at the hospital. His wife and daughter were with him when I arrived and I seemed to be the first visitor amongst the Old Puteras that day. Since I have been briefed by Hank about his condition, I indicated to Zawawi not to speak much as I could see that he needed rest. He weakly told me that this is his third time in hospital, and I recalled visiting him at his former house in Taman Tun Dr.Ismail after he was discharged from Institut Jantung Negara for a mild heart attack. Now he has sold that house and moved to Kota Damansara. He seemed to be in pain and his jaundice has not cleared yet. His wife gave me an account as how they had to go to several hospitals just to find a vacant bed when he needed medical help desperately.
On the very same morning before I was about to go to the hospital, another Old Putera Dato' Yahya called me on the phone and asked whether I knew that Zawawi is hospitalised and he went to visit him on the previous evening. I replied that I was about to go to the hospital. He told me about Zawawi's medical condition and the events that lead to his present predicament. I gave Zawawi some comforting words and asked him to recite the Du'a to relieve him of the suffering. He seemed to to nod his head to indicate an acknowledgement. As I saw that he seemed to have dozed off, I told his wife that I would take my leave and said to her that we have to put our faith in Allah in such a situation and whatever effort is taken to overcome the predicament is what we can do at most but finally we leave it to Allah to determine everything. It is my silent prayer that Zawawi would pull through his most trying times with ease, InshaAllah.
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