The Passing of another Tuanku Tambusai's descendants.

Yesterday 12 November 2008, wednesday morning I received a message on my mobile phone, the passing away of a relative who suffered a stroke more than 24 months ago and since then was bedridden and could not speak a word nor could she do things on her own. She had to depend on a maid to look after her for everything and fortunately her son and daughter-in-law, both working stayed with her. So I drove to Seremban accompanied by Nasimah straight to the Makam at Bukit To' Ungku in Rasah because I was told that she would be buried at 10.30 am. Luckily I did that because the normal route which I am familiar in going to the makam was closed and I had to detour twice in order to find the entrance to the Makam. The steep incline to the top of the small hill caused me to change to low gear because the drive mode could not bear the strain. As I reached the hilltop, I knew that I was the first relative to arrive because only the grave diggers and the supervisor from the Majlis Perbandaran Seremban were the only people present. I greeted them with the normal salutation and told them that I am the waris of the deceased. Since the jenazah still had not arrived, I read the Yasin and " sedekah" it for the soul of Tuanku Tambusai, my ancestor whose last stand against the Dutch in Daludalu earned him the National Hero status conferred on him in 1995 by the Indonesian Govt. It was timely since I would be visiting Daludalu on 24 November 2008 with my BERKAT group of 19 people. After I completed reciting the Yasin, I then went to read the names on the gravestones of several very old graves. I showed Nasimah some of the names who are familiar to me since I remembered them when small. It's a family graveyard actually where most of Tuanku Tambusai's descendants were buried. I was more or less transported back to several decades in memory of those whom I came to know before. Of course I sedekah fatihah in rememberance of them when they were alive. A visit to a graveyard is actually a reminder that one day your turn will come to leave this mundane life. All that stands witness to your existence before would be the good name you leave behind.There were some gravestones which were inscribed with the word " Fakih" in front of their names or their fathers. Obviously the descendants of Tuanku Tambusai had quite a number of those learned in the Fiqh. Perhaps this poignant moment is the time for me to reflect while waiting for the burial of Mak Lang Nor to take place. It was about less than an hour after my arrival that the jenazah arrived for the burial. After the recitation of the Talqin by the Imam and the Doa was read, the people who are familiar to me greeted each other. I also met Datin Zuraidah, the mother of Sheikh Muzaphar, the first Malaysian spaceman who docked at the space station and of course she could not recall me, till I reminded her that we were in the Malay class in form one in KGV with our teacher En. Yahya,only then she said she remembered him. Uncle Dol also said she could not remember him, so the Makam was the place where not only the memory of the dead was brought to bear, even the living ones where more than four decades of attending school were revived. Such was the event accompanying the burial of a relative which brought back old memories of the living and the dead became resurrected yesterday morning. Even Thuraiyah, my second cousin's spouse had a hard time to recognise me at first till I told her who I am. He told me that Aziz Sheikh Kadir( her husband ) had to keep an appointment which he could not cancel, thus her presence accompanied by Amrah and Sheikah, her sisters-in-law.I was also surprised to see a member of my Class of '64 Mohamad Akbar Baba at the burial too. Apparently his wife's family were neighbours to Allahyarham Hj Tahir's family before. No wonder it's always said that nowadays, we only revive our family and old ties at weddings or funerals, such is the way of the world in this century! See you for the next posting.