Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

When I switched on the TV this morning the Merdeka Celebrations brings back fond memories to me. During my school days Merdeka Celebration means taking part every year in the Merdeka Parade. I remember joining the parade every year from 1978 till 1980. I played the saxaphone in our school brass band.

The Merdeka Parade in 1978 was during the Ramadhan month and you can imagine the agony of these hungry and thirsty schoolboys marching while playing the tunes, blowing the trumpets, trombones, tubas, clarinets, saxophones and beating the drums all the way non-stop from Jalan Raja to Jalan Raja Muda Musa in Kampung Bharu under the scorching heat. The most beautiful thing was that the chartered bus that transported us in the morning never arrived to take us back to our hostel. We were so exhausted that we just took our nap along the walkways of the Chow Kit Shops until our own schoolbus came to the rescue at 3.00pm. Back to the hostel, some of us just could not resist of soaking maggi mee in cold tap water and there goes their fasting feat of two-third of the day. What a day to remember and we were paid RM5 each by the next month.... Yes... that's how Malaysians treat band boys... I just could not imagine the kind of people who organised that particular Merdeka Parade in 1978. God Bless You...

Ayah's Jamming

Greetings! This is my very first time writing in my own blog after being persuaded by my beloved wife. She started her own blog last year. I don't consider myself an IT savvy person but I always admire those people who are mighty good at it. To keep yourself at par with these people is almost impossible and I think my wife is always better than I am when we talk about surfing the internet or blogging. At first, I was not convinced at all to start my own blog but, why not?

All these while my wife and friends were the ones who would lend their ears listening to my views and comments but now I would also want to share with everybody.

AyahsJamm is actually a place where we can jam together and share our stories and views about anything. I got the idea of jamming because I also like to play the guitar during my free time and sometimes my 2nd daughter would jam with me. She learned the guitar from a music teacher, but not me. During my schooldays in the 70's we just learned to play the guitar from friends and then most of the time we were self-taught musicians. There were not many music classes back then and as for myself it was a matter of not having the money. I bought my first guitar for RM45 on the last day of my SPM exams. It was a Kapok guitar that I bought from Woh Fatt Music House in Jalan Silang. I kept 3 money orders of RM15 every month which my elder brother Abang Pin sent me for my pocket money and I achieved my target of buying my own guitar and by the next year I have already joined my Sixth Former buddies on stage performing in the school band. I only played the Rhythm guitar or some may call it 2nd guitar. It was history and I really treasure the experience very much. Millions of thanks to my buddies Zahidi(Chot), Hamid(Peng...) and Ismadi. Brothers, you really ROCK!!!

This blog of mine is actually bilingual. Sometimes I would also write in my mother tongue, Melayu lah... Entah macamana kadang-kadang tercerita dalam bahasa Orang Putih. Bukannya nak tunjuk sombong... cuma secara peribadinya ada perkara yang lebih selesa diceritakan dalam bahasa itu. At least, other English speaking surfers can share my views and stories.

I always believe that having many friends from multi-racial and multi-cultural background opens up your perception towards other people. I just like to observe people and the things that happened around me. I believe that every person's reactions were justified based on their cultural backgrounds, beliefs and the environment they live in. Some people are very lucky to be born in a wealthy family and with excellent health conditions. Many others are not that lucky, so treasure every gift that god has given to us.

I also believe that being critical is good but there are always limits. Some critics went overboard and turn themselves as 'kaki komplen'. Everybody else is wrong except the critics themselves.

I learned the meaning of survival during my teenage years in the boarding school. I was only 11 yrs old when I first stepped my foot into hostel life. It was a boys school, and I managed to survive my 7 years of extreme fun+mental block till my STPM in the same school. Phewww!!! The school has unearthed capabilities in me and my buddies or more as brothers. We never complained. The school has created humans, not just homo-sapiens. We salute you.