Bits and Pieces

Jalan Mountbatten, Jalan Batu...

2011-10-04T00:59:00.003+08:00

Pertama kali menjejak kaki ke Jalan Mountbatten (Jalan Tun Perak) sekitar Januari 1976 rasanya Kuala Lumpur tidaklah sehebat mana... Pabila menuruni tangga bas Toong Fong di hadapan bangunan Eastern Smelting Co. (sekarang sudah tumbuh Maidin) aku merayau-rayau bersama kawanku Arwah Rafiee Hamzah di sekitar Jalan Silang, Jalan Gereja dan Jalan Raja Chulan. Weld Supermarket yang asal adalah tempat golongan elit membeli-belah di zaman itu. Kadang-kadang kami mengikut saja langkah kaki melalui Malacca Street atau sekadar mundar-mandir di tapak Benteng berhampiran Naha Store yang menghadap Masjid Jamek. Tukang gunting rambut India di bawah pokok di tebing Sungai Gombak sering mempelawa kami bergunting rambut dengannya... tapi maklum saja aku hanya berumur hampir 12 tahun sewaktu itu amat takut dengan keadaan yang terlalu baru bagiku.

Rafiee menjadi jurupandu, teman sebilik dan kawan sebaya yang amat rapat. Maklum saja Rafiee anak Kuala Lumpur, tinggal di Sentul. Ibu Rafiee sering menyuruh Rafiee mengajak ku ke rumah mereka di Kampung Chubadak dan juga ke kedai runcit mereka di Sentul Pasar. Sekurang-kurangnya dapat juga aku makan masakan ibu Rafiee. Di situlah aku mula berjinak dengan makanan pedas bercili api... sesuatu yang agak asing bagi anak kelahiran Kelantan sepertiku. Seingat aku, Pak Hamzah, bapa Rafiee memandu kereta Morris Minor... aku suka melihat kereta tersebut kerana aku sentiasa kagum dengan kereta buatan British yang unik reka bentuknya...

Setelah lebih dari setahun membesar di KL berjauhan dari ibu aku mula berani berjalan seorang diri di sekitar Jln Mountbatten, Masjid India dan Jalan Tuanku Abd Rahman. Biarpun wang saku hanya sekadar cukup tambang bas dan makan nasi campur RM1.50 di Restoran Rakyat, tetapi aku mesti kenali Kuala Lumpur dengan lebih dekat. Kalau dahulu ada Robinson dan Alfred Dunhill... semuanya sudah sejarah. Pejabat Pos Besar KL menjadi kunjunganku setiap bulan untuk menukar Telegram Money Order dari Kak Yam. Entah mengapa, ketakutanku hilang begitu saja. Kadang-kadang aku suka singgah di Jabatan Penerangan bersebelahan Mahkamah Majistret dan mengumpul brosur serta peta Kuala Lumpur.

Pernah juga aku ditemani seorang abang Tingkatan 6 Atas, Kamarulzaman Bidi dan beliau membelanjaku ais cendul yang dijual di tepi Pejabat Pos. Nikmat hingga tidak terkata... Aku hanya sekadar mundar-mandir di sepanjang Jalan TAR melalui Chop Ah Lan(kedai barangan Pengakap) sehingga ke Plaza Selangor di Chow Kit sambil melihat-lihat barangan yang dipamer di kedai. Membeli atau bertanya harga tak pernah sekalipun... mana ada duit. Pertama Complex yang baru dibuka sering aku kunjungi walaupun aku pernah masuki Campbell Complex yang kemudiannya hangus dijilat api.

Kedai P. Lal, Dyalchands dan Chotirmall memang tak ku singgahi... hanya pakaian original Made in USA seperti Lee dan Levi's dijual di sana. Yang sering ku singgah hanya Selangor Emporium untuk membeli biskut atau cokelat. Maklum saja sering lapar... Kalau aku agak rajin, mungkin aku naiki bas Ampang untuk ke Ampang Park. Kalau ada duit lebih barulah ikut kawan-kawan mencuba permainan di Amusement Park bersebelahan Beer Garden atau makan burger di gerai berhadapan Ampang Park. Itu sudah cukup mewah bagi kami.

Kali pertama menonton wayang ialah bersama Nik Murtadza (kini Superitenden di Bukit Aman) menonton Star Wars di Cathay pada tahun 1978. Tiket Circled Seats sekitar RM2.00 tapi kami hanya membeli tiket RM1.50 untuk 1st class kononnya.

Hari Sabtu yang lalu aku meredah Jalan TAR dan Masjid India sekali lagi hanya untuk bergunting rambut di kedai sahabat lamaku Ipeen di belakang Masjid India. Aku menjadi pelanggan tetap Ipeen sejak 1983 sewaktu beliau masih menggunting di kedai mamak bersebelahan stesen bas PJ Old Town. Antara pelanggan asal beliau ialah Dato' Johan Jaafar yang kemudiannya pernah menjadi sahabat dan bossku. Ipeen tukang gunting berkelulusan dari IKM dan memang popular dalam kalangan Mat Rock Kapak, pernah beberapa kali tersiar di akhbar dan televisyen sejak membuka kedainya sendiri di belakang Masjid India. Walaupun aku juga sering bergunting dengan Peggy di Pertama Complex, namun hanya Ipeen yang amat serasi. Ya lah... bersembang dengan Ipeen memang tak habis modal kerana dia kawan sekampung dengan kawan-kawanku di ITM dari Kuala Ketil seperti Hidayat dan Muzakir. Ipeen juga kenal dengan ahli keluargaku dan kawan-kawan sepejabat denganku. Dia sering bercerita tentang anak-anaknya yang semuanya pandai-pandai belaka. Tapi kami tak mengumpatlah pulak.

Di Pertama Complex sahabat lamaku ialah Jacky dan adiknya Yong yang menjahit seluar dan kot untuk ku sejak 1986 lagi kerana kesukaran untuk mendapat saiz yang sesuai. Jacky kerap bergurau... "Nik... Kalau you sama Eddie(anak saudaraku) potong seluar selalu saya rugi kain wooo... harga serupa saja"... Aku sempat juga singgah bersembang dengan Yong. Yong mengadu baru saja kena tipu dengan orang Filipino yang menempah 50 pasang kot dan memberi cek tendang. Antara pelanggan beliau yang tak pernah ku sangka ialah bekas bossku, Dato' Aziz Deraman. Potongan mereka dua beradik memang 1st class. Bakat turun-temurun dari bapa mereka yang membuka Romeo Tailor.

Bila aku singgah di sekitar Jalan Tun Perak, aku tak lupa ke Jalan Silang membeli tali gitar baru sambil berangan-angan nak membeli gitar Gibson Les Paul idamanku yang berharga RM10-13 ribu, tapi walaupun dah 30 tahun main gitar belum sampai tahap Eric Clapton atau Ritchie Blackmore lagi... memang sah.... benak!!! Gitarku yang pertama aku beli di sini, Woh Fatt Music House... Kapok berharga RM45 hasil simpanan 3 money order kiriman Abang Pin di tahun 1980.

Sering kali bila terasa lapar aku pasti singgah di kopitiam Capitol Cafe berhadapan Sogo. Nasi Padang Bahagia cukup membahagiakan seleraku. Suasana di dalam kopitiam tak pernah berubah. Pakcik yang sama masih berniaga sate yang enak di waktu malam dan rojak mamak di siang hari pasti menambat selera peminat rojak. Kadang-kadang aku memesan Mee Hailam atau Mee Sup pada apek veteran di Capitol Cafe. Walaupun sudah 30 tahun, namun rasanya masih kekal.

Hanya yang ku harap agar suasana begini akan kekal sekurang-kurangnya sehingga ke sisa akhir hidupku.

Baju Arrow Seluar Amco

2011-05-25T14:16:00.008+08:00

Baru lepas merarau (makan tengahari) bersama kawan-kawan sebaya di pejabat. Topik hari ini trend pakaian zaman 70-an. Seingat saya trend pakaian di zaman itu agak lama juga bertahan sehingga berulang kembali ke zaman sekarang dalam mode yang berbeza.

Masih ku ingat di tahun 1976 hingga 1979 baju kemeja dan jeans amat popular. Hanya beberapa jenama sahaja yang menyerlah, maklum saja zaman dulu semuanya diimport. Paling lekeh pun diimport dari Hong Kong. Kalau tidak, jeans mesti ada 'Made in USA' atau 'Arrow' - One Piece Collar Shirt 'Made in USA'. Harga sehelai jeans biasanya sekitar RM60 dan baju Arrow sekitar RM35-50. Beberapa jenama jeans terkenal hanyalah Amco, Lee, Levi's, Madrid, Texan, Wrangler, Peter & Jeannie dan yang agak lama Saddle King (jeans budak-budak kononnya). Nilai jeans Amco waktu tu amatlah berharga hinggakan boleh digadai kat kedai pajak. Kalau yang tinggal berhampiran sempadan Thai-Malaysia mungkin biasa dengan 'Mc' jeans. Kalau ke pekan-pekan dekat sempadan banyak jenama yang tak pernah didengar... semuanya Made in Thailand. Waktu ini Mao Tze Tong belum pandai nak export jeans lagi sebab mereka semua pakai baju yang sama setiap hari.

Baju yang terkenal mungkin Arrow, Manhattan, Van Heusen atau Le Man. Designer labels macam YSL, Pierre Cardin terlalu asing lagi bagi rakyat Malaysia. Kalau dijual jeans Calvin Klein waktu itu mungkin mereka anggap Jeans pondan je... tak macam Cowboy pakai.

Kami budak2 jantan hostel ni memang berangan sangatlah nak merasa pakai branded items macam ni tapi biasiswa RM25 sebulan manalah nak tersangkut benda-benda macam ni... kalau anak-anak cikgu atau kerani tu adalah juga merasa walaupun sehelai saja. Kalau dah dapat pakai tu kemeja tak 'tuck in' sebab sengaja nak tayang brand 'Arrow' kat shirt tail, lengan mesti lipat lebar 1 inci je. Kalau pakai lengan pendek, lengan baju dilipat sikit macam trend zaman 50-an pulak.... ya lah... zaman kan berulang-ulang? Rambut kalau pendek gonjeng dah dikata askar rekrut pulak... jadi rambut panjang belah tengah tu baru boleh masuk masyarakat... kalau tidak nanti digelar budak toye... (square).

Kalau zaman sebelum 80-an memang bell bottom atau yang lebih rugged sikit pakai boot cut. Istilah jeans tak biasa disebut tetapi lebih biasa 'Dungaree' atau disebut Denggree... yang lainnya ada juga Cotton Twill dan Corduroy. Ini di zaman sebelum generasi Rock Kapak lagi. Zaman 80-an barulah kaki seluar dah mula kecut jadi 18 inci. Sebelum tu 24 inci ke atas je beb... Siapa yang pakai seluar tempah atau slacks tu dah kira taraf 'peon'(office boy) atau kerani pakai kasut tumit tinggi 2 inci. Macam dalam filem 'Si Badul' tu... Tak diterima masyarakat...

Waktu itu T-shirt round neck kurang popular sangat kecuali T-shirt free rumah sukan, kelab atau pasukan Belia 4B je dan yang paling high class 'Fruit of The Loom'... kalau pakai T-shirt berkolar cuma Bond's Grand Slam - Made in Australia saja yang masuk gang. T-shirt round neck yang popular cuma jersey Adidas,Puma dan Admiral saja. Harganya RM30-50 sehelai walaupun gaji kerani waktu itu cuma RM300. Kalau anak-anak cikgu dan kerani atau pegawai, ketua kampung pakat posing ramai-ramai kat corridor pakai baju Adidas, kasut Adidas, seluar Lee. Yang kurang berada ni tak merasalah semua tu...

Kemeja Arrow cuma ada saiz 14, 15, 16 ke atas je... tapi saiz badan kami rata-rata baru saiz 8-12 je... boleh bayangkan lah masing-masing macam pakai kelambu berjalan... jeans pun paling kecil saiz 27 tapi yang pakainya baru saiz 22... talipinggang memang wajib pakai sampai habis lubang ditebuk sendiri... kalau tak pakai jawabnya terlucut terus sampai ke tumit...

Zaman itu kalau yang berduit tu adalah yang pakai sneakers.... zaman dulu kita panggil 'Track Shoes'. Yang paling popular Adidas lah... yang lain tu cuma ada Puma. Nike ke, Asics ke, Reebok ke masih alien lagi... Yang masih ingat ada Adidas Stan Smith, Americana, Hawaii, Wimbledon, Arthur Ashe, Puma Las Palmas lepas tu macam-macam lagi lah... harga dia mesti RM60 ke atas lah... kira mahal sangatlah tu. Kedai yang popular masa tu Naha Store dekat tepi jambatan Sungai Gombak mengadap Masjid Jamek atau dulu kita panggil Benteng (yang asal). Kalau GS Gill kira susah nak tawar-menawar... Tahun 1976 Pertama Complex baru siap je sebab Campbell Complex baru lepas terbakar... sebelum tu ada Robinsons di tapak bangunan CIMB dekat stesen LRT Masjid Jamek. Tapi Robinsons tu kira orang kaya je pergi... lepas tu terus tutup.

Kalau footballers beli boots selalunya Adidas La Plata, Inter, Backenbauer... tapi hutang potong biasiswa RM10 sebulan... harganya RM60... kalau La Plata murah sikit. Kasut Adidas, tracksuit Adidas semuanya Made in Germany... tapi bila pergi Germany sekarang nak beli Adidas original dah susah nak jumpa... semua franchise. Kalau siapa yang pakai track bottom tu dah kira banyak duit pasal yang lain semua seluar pendek je... sinar Islam waktu tu belum cukup menyinar lagi... maklum saja form 3 masih pakai seluar pendek walaupun kaki macam Gorilla.

Hari ini saya nak bertutur Bahasa Melayu

2011-05-23T00:06:00.003+08:00

Saya baru sahaja pulang dari menghadiri sebuah majlis perkahwinan yang gilang gemilang. Segalanya diatur dengan teliti dan berjalan dengan lancar sekali. Alhamdulillah dan tahniah kepada pasangan pengantin, ayahandanya dan pihak penganjur yang begitu cekap menjalankan tugas mereka.

Majlis berjalan dengan begitu lancar. Bermula dengan perarakan masuk tetamu kehormat kemudian disusuli pula dengan perarakan pengantin berlatarbelakangkan mainan muzik kumpulan gamelan secara langsung. Iringan selawat amat merdu sekali yang juga dialunkan dengan secara langsung tanpa mainan dari rakaman cakera padat. Kemudian selawat disahut pula dengan alunan paduan suara sebuah kumpulan nasyid yang tidak kurang juga merdunya.

Pengendalian majlis oleh pasangan pengacara majlis begitu lancar dan amat profesional tanpa sebarang kesilapan. Susunan bait-bait kata berpuisi dan penuh beradat ternyata meninggalkan kesan yang memukau para hadirin. Ditambah pula dengan bacaan doa yang amat jarang kita dengar di majlis-majlis perkahwinan yang lain kerana susunan kata-kata yang begitu puitis dan menyentuh kalbu setiap yang mengikuti doa tersebut bak menghayati bacaan syair syahdu seorang penyair sufi.

Setelah selesai sahaja aturcara yang telah diadun mesra maka tibalah pula giliran ucapan tahniah dari wakil sahabat pengantin. Maka dengan ayunan lenggang longlai derapan langkah sepasang sahabat lengkap bertudung dan berbaju kurung mulalah sahabat membuka bicara tatkala tiba sahaja di hadapan rostrum.

Aduhai... ku sangka panas hingga ke petang rupanya ribut taufan di tengahari... mula bicara santunnya dengan lafaz "Assalamualaikum..." namun jelas tampak hampa di wajah rakan-rakan yang duduk semeja denganku apabila ayat-ayat yang menyusul hanyalah "Good Evening to everybody and blah blah blah..." hinggalah ke bait-bait akhir ucapan beliau hanyalah berbahasa ibunda angkatnya sahaja tanpa sedikitpun menghormati bahasa Ibunda kandungnya.

Pelik tetapi benar... inilah hakikatnya anak muda zaman teknologi ICT yang baru setahun jagung mengenali alam pekerjaan telah lena dibuai mimpi indah bahawa para hadirin disangka cuma rakan sebaya tanpa menghiraukan tetamu kehormat yang agak resah di samping para hadirin lain yang hampir 98% adalah bangsa Melayu dan lebih 70% yang telah terlalu lama meninggalkan alam remaja dan sudahpun menghampiri jalan ke alam barzakh.

Tidak terlintaskah di fikiran anak-anak mentah ini untuk mengamati keadaan sekeliling dan cuba menyesuaikan bahasa ucapan dengan khalayak? Nauzubillah... adakah salah ibu bapa yang mendidik adab sopan orang muda tersebut? Kalau dilihat raut muka rasanya tidak ada secubitpun yang memungkinkan beliau berdarah keturunan Caucasian, malah tampak jelas raut wajah pesek Melayu-proto tersembul di layar video. Mungkinkah tersilap DNA atau genetik yang tergeliat? Atas alasan apakah maka terpacul bahasa ibunda angkat dalam seluruh ucapan beliau? Wallahualam... Renung-renungkanlah.... Selamat beramal...

When Life is Life

2011-05-22T10:08:00.002+08:00

It was a week full of haunting, trying and shocking episodes in my life. My video camera that has been loyal to me fo the past 7 years was asking for mercy. The viewfinder LCD went kaput. Luckily a very good technician friend in Panasonic, Hairil managed to save her. The cost would have been a tremendous RM1.2k just to replace the LCD, but he managed to salvage from an old unit just for me. Parts are already discontinued from the production line. Alhamdulillah... Otherwise I would have to find a new camera which can cost me at least another RM20K just to be back on track...

The car kept haunting me with the steering wheel problem but somehow Ah Tee the mechanic managed to solve the problem yesterday by 8pm. Another gruesome RM1.8k just to keep the car safe enough to drive. I was at the workshop for almost 6 hours but while waiting for the repairs I met this Wak Kasmun who greeted me.

Wak Kasmun drives a van to transport factory workers everyday around the Bangi and Dengkil area. I kept on with very much interest listening to his stories about his life and how he enjoys his life eventhough he is only a driver cum general worker.

Wak actually is a Felda settler in Bahau. We started sharing stories about Bahau which attracts him very much because I used to travel to many parts of Malaysia during my video production works for the office during those days. Bahau is just a small town but turns out to be very lively at night. It was quite far from Seremban and there are at least 4 different routes to reach Bahau from Kuala Lumpur. We can either use the normal Seremban-Kuala Pilah route, the Ulu Langat-Jelebu route, The Kajang-Semenyih-Broga route or the Bentung-Karak route. Bahau would not have been developed without the presence of the Felda settlers.

Wak told me that he came from Sekinchan and has a strong Javanese root. Now he is more of an assimilated Javanese because he sounded more like a Negeri Sembilan native. A special blend of course. Wak left school after his Primary 6 and had never looked back again. He came from a family of 6 siblings of a second wife. His father had 3 wives and no doubt that he had another 12 step siblings. He told his mother that he is no good at schooling and asked his mother's blessings to start working and he did so by planting rice, peeling coconuts and doing many odd jobs. From his appearance I can tell that Wak is a real hardworker. He told me that he could peel 2000 coconuts in one day and he gets only 2 cents for each coconut. He was too efficient until one day his employer asked him to marry his daughter... he rejected and quit the job.

He told me he went on working in the padi fields of Kedah and after that started doing other jobs like harvesting oil palm fruits and also construction jobs until he marries at last and moved into the Felda Plantation in Bahau.

He told me that life was hard but he still enjoyed life just because of his ups and downs in life. I have always admired hardworking people like Wak. Wak told me... he does not like doing office jobs because he does not read or write much and just love doing hard jobs and that was the only way he could contribute and earn money. Eventhough Wak looked very much older than myself but our age difference is only 2 years apart. Wak's face showed more wrinkles because of the exposures to the sun and the ultimate use of sheer physical strength.

Wak told me many things about his childhood life coming from a poor family and how the Javanese community in the kampung shared their earnings and worked hand-in-hand during weddings and kenduris with Nasi Ambeng. He is very proud of the spirit of Gotong Royong among his kampung folks. He told me how they managed to bring in their own hard earned rice, chickens, sugar and all kinds of food to make sure the wedding is on while living up to their esprit de corp. Wak also told me about his simple ways to enjoy and entertain himself watching movies that cost only 30 cents (3rd class seats) and smoking RM1.50 per packet Gold Flake or Perrilly's fags when he was earning almost RM40 everyday during padi harvesting seasons. He used to smoke 50 sticks a day. Like what he told me..."Orang lain hisap rokok, saya makan rokok"... Luckily now he hasn't smoked a single stick for almost 10 years.

Wak told me The Felda Scheme has really turned his family life into the better. He has nothing else but praises to the Late Tun Razak and of course our current Dato' Seri Najib in taking care of their well beings. With the Felda scheme he could raise and feed his family of 6 without fail. He told me of buying lots of fish, prawns and meat for the family until his children got bored eating too much good food. He really enjoyed feeding them because he still remembers himself having the chance to eat chicken only during kenduris and Hari Raya. He could never forget wearing school uniforms which has been worn by his 5 elder brothers to school, yet he never complained.

He was grateful when he first enrolled into the Felda Scheme the settlers were given free land worth around RM40k each to plant. Like what he said... "Orang Melayu masa itu mana ada duit nak beli tanah 40 ribu... siapa nak bagi pinjam duit?" I was amazed when he told me that if he works hard enough harvesting the oil palm fruits he could easily earn at least RM2500 a month and that does not include the extra harvesting he earns which he gets annually at almost RM5000. Wak said.. "Selagi boleh kerja kita kerja... tapi sekarang ni sudah tak larat lagi... badan sudah sakit-sakit... mahu panjat bukit sampai 4-5 ekar dah tak mampu". Wak also worked at the Oil Palm factory when he is not pruning the trees or harvesting the fruits.

Wak has been blessed with 4 children. Unfortunately the eldest boy died in a motor accident at 19, the 2nd and 3rd daughters are already working and are tying their wedlocks soon while the youngest is studying. He left his palm trees to be managed by Felda because none of his children are interested to continue his job in the plantation while he gets his monthly allowance. He said... "Saya mesti kerja lagi sebab saya tak boleh duduk diam, mahu kerja ofis saya tak pandai tulis-tulis sangat tapi kira duit saya pandai, jadi saya kerja driver van sambil bikin kerja tukang kebun sikit-sikit boleh juga keluar peluh... duit lagi masuk...hehehe..."

Wak now drives a brand new Proton Persona and has another Proton Iswara at home... he goes back to his wife and family in Bahau once a month and lives alone in Bangi to work.

Wak's story left me thinking about the next Felda Generation... will there be anymore?

Pandu Mercedes Tanpa Minda Mercedes

2010-11-29T09:44:00.000+08:00

Laluan harianku menghantar anak ke sekolah pagi ini terganggu. Anakku sepatutnya menduduki SPM kertas Matematik pada jam 8.00 pagi. Hampir 40 minit kami merangkak hanya untuk melepasi simpang turun ke SKVE dan LDP. Terpaksa 'floor the accelerator' pagi ini dan berjaya sampai ke sekolah anak 3 minit sebelum SPM brmula.

Puncanya hanya sebuah Mercedes yang dibiarkan di tepi jalan tanpa dirapatkan ke bahu jalan dan sepatutnya sudah lama diangkut oleh tow truck. Pemandunya hilang entah ke mana... dah mati ke? Takkanlah tak mampu panggil tow truck, atau terlalu kedekut hingga nak pergi panggil personal mechanic? Typical orang Malaysia.

Adakah pemandunya sudah mati atau otaknya yang mati? Apa salahnya kalau kereta dirapatkan ke bahu jalan atau lazimnya dilakukan oleh pemandu lain ialah memanggil tow truck dan tidak lagi menyusahkan orang lain.

Kalau nak pandu Mercedes sepatutnya minda setaraf Mercedes. Setidak-tidaknya orang yang bawa Kancil jauh lebih cerdik dari pemandu Mercedes ini agaknya. Polis Trafik pula cuma mengambil alih tugas traffic light yang nampaknya tak berapa perlu, kerana 90% kereta tidak melalui traffic light berkenaan. Ini minda apa pulak agaknya?

Kak Preimah

2010-04-20T14:27:00.003+08:00

Saya mungkin tidak pernah mengenali manusia yang bernama Preimah Veerasami ini secara peribadi, tetapi kali pertama saya dapat bercakap dengan beliau melalui telefon memang amat menceriakan sepertimana yang kita dengar beliau berceloteh di Radio Malaysia Ibu Kota (RMIK) atau kemudiannya KLFM bertahun-tahun yang dulu...

Preimah yang lahir di Chennai, India pada tahun 1951 datang ke Malaysia bersama ibu beliau sewaktu beliau berusia 9 tahun kerana ayah beliau berkhidmat sebagai tentera British di Johor. Setelah bersekolah di Tangkak dan SIGS Johor Bahru beliau dah terbiasa dengan bahasa Melayunya yang amat fasih di samping bahasa Tamil dan bahasa Inggeris. Berkelulusan Cambridge di zaman beliau adalah satu pencapaian yang boleh dibanggakan bagi rakyat Malaya.

Kebolehan beliau bertutur dengan fasih dalam 3 bahasa utama Malaysia ini mengupayakan beliau mengendalikan rancangan radio dari Rangkaian Merah (bahasa Tamil) dan seterusnya berpindah ke RMIK di bawah kelolaan Arwah Nurnikman Dadameah. Celoteh beliau dengan pendengar RMIK memang tidak mengeringkan gusi kerana pengetahuan beliau tentang budaya Melayu amat mendalam. Beliau sebenarnya banyak membaca dan bertutur dalam bahasa Melayu Riau, iaitu kelaziman anak Johor.

Preimah mengakui banyak membaca dalam bahasa ibunda beliau Tamil tetapi mempunyai koleksi lebih 3,000 judul buku di perpustakaan kecil di rumah beliau. Beliau tanpa segan silu menyatakan minat membaca beliau sehingga terbawa-bawa membaca di dalam kamar kecil... sewaktu mencari ilham sambil melegakan keadaan perut...

Insan-insan seperti ini amat ikhlas dalam menjalani kehidupan dan kerjaya mereka, begitu juga kenalan peribadi saya yang lain seperti Kak Mariamah Tijo, Abang Ramlee Abu Bakar dan Abang Adenan Ali. Kalau nak dikira pendapatan mereka tidaklah begitu lumayan sewaktu di RTM tetapi cara mereka berkomunikasi dengan kita amat menyenangkan. Mereka bukan seperti ahli politik kerana tiada apa yang mereka hendak sorokkan...

Hari Buku dan Hak Cipta Sedunia

2010-04-17T19:26:00.003+08:00

Dewan Bahasa sekali lagi akan menganjurkan program Astaka Minda bersempena dengan sambutan Hari Buku dan Hak Cipta Sedunia pada 23 April 2010, jam 9.00 pagi di Dewan Seminar, Menara DBP.

Astaka Minda kali ini adalah sebuah forum bertajuk 'Gerakan Membaca: Rahsia Membaca???'. Kita sering mendengar kempen galakan membaca yang diwarwarkan oleh kerajaan di media cetak dan elektronik. Kumpulan sasaran mereka adalah masyarakat umum dari segenap generasi tanpa mengira bangsa atau agama. Sejauh manakah kempen seperti ini memberi impak kepada sasaran?

Kita sering mendengar perbincangan tentang galakan membaca hanya dari mereka yang terlibat secara langsung dalam usaha galakan membaca seperti Pustakawan, Guru, Pensyarah, Penulis, Penerbit dan golongan dalam industri perbukuan. Apa pula pendapat yang lain dan adakah mereka ini terpanggil dengan seruan atau kempen tersebut?

Untuk tujuan itu, Pusat Dokumentasi Melayu, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka telah mengundang beberapa personaliti yang bukan dari golongan penggerak Kempen Membaca untuk meluahkan pendapat masing-masing. Ahli panel yang diundang ialah Ahmad Fedtri Yahya, pengacara rancangan Malaysia Hari Ini dari TV3 yang sememangnya cintakan buku dan sering membuat ulasan buku dalam program televisyen tersebut. Seorang lagi ahli panel ialah ASP Foo Chek Seng yang sering kita dengar suara beliau ke udara di radio KLFM melaporkan keadaan trafik di Kuala Lumpur. Ahli panel yang seterusnya ialah Preimah Veerasami, mantan pengacara popular radio KLFM.

Ketiga-tiga personaliti ini adalah mereka yang tidak ada kaitan langsung dengan usaha Gerakan Membaca oleh kerajaan tetapi mungkin hanya kerana minat mereka terhadap pembacaan boleh dikongsi bersama dengan para hadirin. Mungkinkah mereka boleh mencetuskan idea baru untuk memupuk minat membaca dalam kalangan masyarakat Malaysia? Sama-samalah kita saksikan... Untuk tujuan itu, silalah datang ke Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kuala Lumpur pada 23 April 2010 ini, jam 9.00 pagi di Dewan Seminar, Menara DBP. Orang ramai dipersilakan hadir. Masuk adalah percuma.

Alma Mater and The School Spirit

2010-03-01T21:13:00.007+08:00

We had a wonderful Annual Dinner at The Royale Chulan last Saturday night. Everything was alright... Ramli Sarip rendered our favourite songs, Our Old Boys Coffee Table Book was launched by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and a few other interesting events.

Anyway, despite all the wonderful happenings, a friend of mine was grieving in his Facebook about his long lost friends from his own batch whom did not turn up for the memorable event. Well among other things he wrote was, "Dari jumlah 116 yang masih hidup...Kemanakah mereka yang lain ? Adakah mereka telah menjadi ahli fraternity yang lain selain ASAS ? Adakah mereka telah berpaling tadah menyertai fraternity isteri2 ie Sri Putri, Tun Fatimah mahupun... TKC ? Atau adakah mereka telah lupa tentang kehidupan mereka yang lampau...Membesar dengan nasi kawah, berproteinkan ikan jaket besi dan ayam cilik.... Atau mungkin mereka malu dengan status sekolah Melayu....Setelah mengharungi penghidupan yang glamor di KL ini...Walau apa pun, saya harap mereka akan kembali menyertai Saf ASAS sekali lagi.......

The internet, the tabloids and the evertrusting readers

2010-02-10T14:56:00.003+08:00

It is very annoying to read some views of hardcore believers in internet news and also from tabloids... these people simply refuse reading from the mainstream and believed that everything was fake and choreographed and beautifully staged.

I have no qualms about these tabloids or news from the internet but a wise person would have wanted to read from both sides and analyze or just bear them in mind. News from friends should not be a wise choice of news resources... read carefully in both tabloids and the mainstream and think wisely before saying anything... Face the fact that not everything will be perfect and no government is perfect... and that remains. We are not going to be like our neighbours...

WONDERFUL PEOPLE OF IJN

2010-02-10T11:06:00.003+08:00

Ah... it's that familiar smell of IJN again... says my wife. Yeah... another family trip to IJN. This time being admitted for another Angiogram and Graft Study. I guess this is my 4th time spending beautiful nights in IJN since my bypass ops in 2003. I have had both my best and also worst experiences here in IJN within the period of 7 years. I always refer going to IJN as 'Balik Kampung' because I was reborn there in 2003 after my bypass ops.

Thank god the Malaysian government built IJN... if I were to do my bypass in University Malaya hospital, it would have been too late. The que was too long... Thanks to Tan Sri Dr. Yahaya Awang and his team, especially Mr. Alwi (they call Mr. for surgeons) for saving my life. My thanks also to Dr. Chong and Prof. Dr. Wan Azman of University Malaya Hospital whom have diagnosed my heart problem and recommended my case to IJN.

I always salute the IJN management and their hardworking surgeons, cardiologists, anaesthetists, dieticians, pharmacists, physiologists, nurses, assistants, attendants, technicians, radiologists, clerks, chefs, cooks and everybody else in IJN. They always gave me the best service and seemed very sincere to serve the patients eventhough we are ordinary people.

The room rates are ok considering the facilities. I had to opt for a standard single room and pay on my own because of my past experiences. My kids just love to hang up (lepak) in my room while helping me finish up my hospital meals while I eat the homecooked meals instead... hehehe... a very wise swap. Arif my youngest son loves to run and jump around to keep me entertained... that's why I need a single room.

Thanks to Cardiologists and Cardio Consultants Dato' Dr. Amin Arif and Dr. Azmee and their team for my angiogram. It was a smooth one. I was the 54th patient that day and they had to attend 89 patients altogether. Just imagine how hard they work... Thanks also to DBP for everwillingly settled my treatment bills.

The room service is always excellent. This time I only spent 2 wonderful nights.

2010-01-27T20:57:00.005+08:00

Special dedication to the lovely couple Farez & Gja

Another expansion of the Nik's clan, this time somebody related with the Tengku's of Thailand. Nik Mohd Farez, my nephew marries Nik Husliza who's mother is a Tengku from Thailand. She also uses the surname Nik because her mother is of Royal Blood (Tengku) and her father does not use any title or special surname. After all it actually does not matter... the interesting part is that we have some ties in Thailand.

Another short video from me, done within a day for the wedding dinner held the very next day. I think the background music sounds familiar with our newly bonded Thai relatives.

Congratulations to Farez and Gja and also to their parents Nik Adnan(my brother) and Nik Azizah.

Puisi 'Dialog mimpi ngeri...'

2009-12-15T18:03:00.004+08:00

....sudah due encik... hello, sudah due encik....
ok ok ok... early next week saya settle... saya outstation...
tq...

Encik dah masuk 3 bulan...
Ok esok saya masuk 1 bulan...
ok encik, cepat sikit ya takut sampai legal department...

Bro gua setakat ni saja boleh bayar bro...
oklah, kawan-kawan punya pasal kira ada rezeki jugaklah....
thanks bro...
ye lah...
tapi aku nak kau jugak buat macam kau buat ari tu untuk abang tu... orait tu bro....
ah ye lah, bagi je lah....

talian anda telah dipotong sila.............

alhamdulillah... setakat nilah rezeki hari ni....

JEJAK SENI HATTA AZAD KHAN: DALAM KETAWA ADA MAKNA

2009-10-29T13:46:00.005+08:00

Prof. Dr. Hatta Azad Khan bersama penulis

Prof. Hatta, pemenang anugerah SEA Write 2008 oleh Raja Thai.

Mungkin anda pernah menonton siri televisyen 'Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu' yang popular dengan watak 'Mat Derih', 'Abon', 'Pak Uda', 'Pak Busu', 'Budin' dan 'Wan Ismail Golok'. Sebenarnya ini adalah watak-watak ciptaan Prof. Dr. Hatta Azad Khan, dalam karya dramanya.

Bermula dengan keberanian gandingan beliau dengan Othman Hafsham, pengarah yang popular dengan filem 'Mekanik' dan 'Adik Manja', beliau merupakan antara karyawan yang mula mempopularkan trend drama televisyen komedi berbentuk 'Sitcom'. Drama 'sitcom' pertama terbitan beliau dan Hafsham ialah 'Syy...', iaitu sebelum beliau melangkah lebih jauh dengan menerbitkan 'Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu'.

Anak kelahiran daerah Besut Terengganu ini mempunyai sentuhan yang tersendiri dalam mengangkat seni teater ke televisyen dan seterusnya mempopularkan teater dalam kalangan masyarakat Malaysia. Beliau pernah menerajui Istana Budaya setelah menubuhkan Fakulti Seni Persembahan di Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) dan kini menjadi Dekan Fakulti Teknologi Kreatif dan Seni (FACT) di Universiti Teknologi MARA.

Antara filem yang telah mengangkat nama beliau ialah 'Wayang' dan 'Mat Som'. Antara skrip drama yang pernah beliau hasilkan ialah 'Mayat', 'Jebat' dan 'Kerusi'. Drama-drama ini menjadi pilihan golongan generasi muda untuk dipentaskan kerana ada kelainan pada sentuhan beliau dan isunya dapat diselami oleh generasi ini.

Bekas pelajar Sekolah Tunku Abdul Rahman, Ipoh yang pada asalnya terdidik dalam bidang sains tulen ini lebih selesa berkarya dalam bidang seni kreatif dan ternyata bintang beliau menyerlah dengan penerimaan anugerah 'SEA Write' 2008 kurniaan Raja Thai, iaitu antara anugerah penulisan berprestij di Asia.

Bagi memberi peluang masyarakat mengenali beliau dengan lebih dekat, Pusat Dokumentasi Melayu dengan Bahagian Penerbitan Sastera, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka akan menganjurkan acara Astaka Minda yang berjudul JEJAK SENI HATTA AZAD KHAN: DALAM KETAWA ADA MAKNA pada 16 November 2009, bermula jam 9.00 pagi. Sebagai pemanas acara, satu tayangan filem bertajuk 3 BUDAK MELAYU terbitan UITM akan diadakan sebelum acara Astaka Minda.

Pembicara kita pada kali ini ialah Sdr. Othman Hafsham (Cinematic sdn. Bhd.) yang sememangnya amat mengenali karya dan juga peribadi Hatta. Acara ini bakal dipengerusikan oleh Sdr. Rohani Yousoff, seorang lagi penggiat dan juga tenaga pengajar bidang teater yang terkenal dari Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA).

Kepada yang berminat, silalah hadir ke Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka pada 16 November ini. Penyeertaan adalah percuma dan terbuka kepada umum. Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila hubungi saya Nik Aman Nik Yusoff (03-21481045 atau e-mel aman@dbp.gov.my) atau Sdr. Hiezam Hashim (03-21483540 atau e-mel izammh@dbp.gov.my). Kehadiran anda semua tentunya akan memeriahkan lagi acara ini.

Semoga kita berjumpa lagi.

Life is...

2009-10-08T23:45:00.006+08:00

Enjoying Nasi Dagang and Roti Bakar at Hai Peng Kopitiam with my fellow office mates

It has been 4 months since my last post. Too busy to write and actually not in the mood to share anything at all. Life was a bit down for the past few months and so far I could not do anything to make it better, rather than pray to the Almighty. Sometimes it is good to be reminded by Allah that there is always the greatest one that controls everything. Luck is not always on our side. Just bear in mind that everybody has their own problems to solve, so don't add another to theirs with yours.

Sometimes I wonder if I could just ignore whatever problems that comes and just let them come and hit me right on my nose and just let it be. There are things that I could control but there are so many other things that I have to let them be. Better not pretend to be a macho man and say that everything is under control. From having problems we learn to know about our true selves. Never give up but take things as it comes because life is about survival and sacrifice. The saddest thing is when I look at my children and wonder what will happen to them if I fail to survive.

I still believe that there will always be some tiny light in the end of my journey and everything will be OK someday. I like challenges but this time around it has been quite on the high side. May Allah help me make it through.

Just got home from Kuching after a dreadful week of work from morning till night, but I just love the experience, especially when everything works beautifully in the end. Actually, having challenges at work is rather fun than having challenges in life because there is always an alternative to just quit my job, but I may never quit my own life.

Umrah Video

2009-05-28T01:56:00.005+08:00

a video trailer of our Umrah

This video trailer is just a preview of part of our Umrah. In fact I have filmed quite a lot of footages while I had the chance to do it. The full version might be ready in a few weeks time only on DVD. Too large for the blog.

When you are armed with a videocamera in Makkah and Madinah you have to be extra carefull to avoid encounters with the authorities. A phone camera or a small digital camera might not be a real threat to them, but it is different when you are filming it like a pro. These people sure know the differences.

I couldn't get much footages in Masjidil Haram nor Masjid Nabawi because guards were almost everywhere. In fact I was lucky when I had the chance to shoot the Ka'abah from the roof top of Masjidil Haram. The next day onwards access doors to the roof top were closed.

I hope this simple video would bring some real knowledge on what Umrah is all about to my family and friends. It is a very small contribution from me and amoiglam.

Too Much To Tell, Yet Too Lazy

2009-05-26T14:11:00.006+08:00

Salam to everybody. Dah lama tak berblog, lama-lama jadi bollog!!! kata orang Terengganu... Memang too much to tell. All these while I have been to Makkah with my beloved amoiglam and after I got home had to fly to Sabah for official duties.

I should thank my beloved amoiglam much too much because I also love her much too much for making the Umrah trip a reality for us. Jangan cerita kat dia ya? In Makkah and Madinah I had such a wonderful experience getting closer to Allah and learning more about the international Muslim community. Seronok, memang seronok especially when U see them from a different perspective. If not for the Umrah, Hajji or Makkah and Madinah I don't think I would consider having another trip there just for a tour. I have my own personal views about that.

At first I thought I would not have been accepted in neither Makkah nor Madinah for all my wrongdoings throughout my life and for not being a good Muslim, but Alhamdulillah everything was quite smooth for both of us.

Being to Madinah and Makkah armed with a videocamera was quite an experience to me. I am still working on the post production but till now I could not concentrate yet due to some health reasons. However I managed to cut a very short preview of 3 minutes which I will post in this blog soon.

I had never imagined the real size of the Ka'abah until I saw it right in front of my very eyes. I thought it was a huge structure, but to my surprise it was not that big and the size is just right for us to perform the tawwaf 7 times around it without gasping for air. However kaki I sempat juga kena gelek dengan wheelchair dengan Arab or Turki kurang ajar yang tak ikut rules (Wheelchairs are only allowed on the 1st floor of Masjidil Haram for Tawwaf). Lepas tu kaki I bengkak sampai susah nak buat Sa'ie. These Arabs, Turks, Slaviks, Afghans and Pakistanis are totally different from us. No wonder they are always at war with each other.

Maybe I am not that ambitious, but I only did 3 Umrahs because of my health reasons. My very first Sa'ie almost failed because my heart just could not bear and my face turned blue. The next Umrah I did better at my very own slow motion pace.. hehehe...macam film special effects pulak..

I always thought that Gua Hira' was just situated at the foot of the hill, but to my surprise it was high up on the rocky hill and you have to climb the hill for 2 hours just to reach it. Just imagine a 10 year old boy climbed it every day just to bring food to Nabi Muhammad. Kalau anak kita macamana agaknya ya?

If u wish to see the pictures, just visit amoiglam.blogspot.com. Dia lagi rajin tulis blog... hehehee....

Another experience is that there are lot of difference between the Makkah and Madinah folks. I still prefer the Madinah folks... sopan sikit lah...

Just dropping by

2009-02-12T00:43:00.002+08:00

Last week I had a busy week at the office. We were organising this charity drive for the Palestinians in Gaza. I managed to borrow some exhibition materials from Malaysia Social Research Institute, an NGO who works directly for the Children of Palestine. Thank you to Mrs. Lia Syed and her loyal staff Andrea Fernandez and also my dear friend Khairiyati for the smooth deal.

We managed to raise slightly above RM100,000. Siti Nurhaliza sang only one song live for the night and was sponsored by Dato' Lim Kok Wing for RM20,000.00. Wow! Dato' A. Samad Said also managed to raise quite a large sum. Others were Ras Adiba Radzi, Lim Swee Tin, Kemala, Ally Iskandar and a few others. My department sold 4 sackfulls of Jagung Bakar and BBQ chicken. Bravo to brother Bob and his team with our beloved Pn. Aizan's full support.

I was also quite happy because a few days before that I received my PTK results for my Gred44 exams which turned out to be beyond my expectations. Thank you very much to my beloved amoiglam and my children. At least I would not have to sit for it anymore until my next promotion, if there should be any

This morning Atikah sprained her ankle in front of her school, so had to bring her to Putrajaya hospital. She's doing fine now, just a little torn ligament.

Now I have to prepare for my alumni dinner coverage coming next week. This time it's another collaboration with my network. Just pray for the best.

2009-01-30T15:26:00.004+08:00

Shaking hands with Dato' Abdul Rahman, Chairman of Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce
after interviewing him. Witnessing was Prof. Madya Dr. Zahir Ahmad from University of Malaya.

I always wonder what I would be when I grow older. I have always dreamt of being rich and successful and also a philanthropist. If I were to be somebody like Bill Gates, I would have settled all my debts with extra bonuses to those I owed from. Well, I guess that's everybody's dream. I even wish to buy a bungalow for every brother and sister of mine and buy back our family's piece of land in Pasir Mas and rebuild our grandfather's house exactly like it used to be before. I hate to see people suffering without food and proper shelter.

I always think that the world is very unfair to the poor. I could not help from shedding my tears when I witnessed the real world of the Jakarta poor and homeless people. I have never understood the cruelness of the authorities and power crazed politicians who could have given some aids to these tramps. I always hate to see Jakarta at night. It was almost 9pm somewhere around the Sarinah complex that I witnessed how small kids around 1-6 year olds were playing around the walkways while their mothers were laying cardboards as their beds. I could not help but shed my tears. I have always imagined how it is going to be like if one of them were Afiq, Atikah, Marsya or maybe Arif. It is the world of survival for the fittest. I have also witnessed my cabby's home somewhere in Padang. There was no proper flooring, only the solid earth with bamboo walls. My cabby was a graduate in Engineering! One fine morning in Jakarta I again saw this sweet 2 year old little girl emerging from inside her mother's makeshift Teh Botol stall's cupboard. I was quite shocked.

I tried to befriend the little girl by offering her a piece of fried chicken that I bought from A&W for breakfast. She was quite shy, so I handed over the chicken to a security guard in-charge of our book gallery hoping that she would accept it from somebody familiar. The security guard simply took the chicken and ate it right in-front of me and said the girl did not want the chicken without even asking the girl!!! How cruel is the world! From that very day I just realized why Indonesia had never been a stable country both economically and politically. It's their own people's attitude and mindset! Never bother to help! Just Let it Be! So, young Malaysians out there, take a good look around your own people and country and hopefully you will be gratefull to what you have been enjoying all this while.

I had another tear jerking experience when I was filming in Kompong Cham in Cambodia., a Cham Malay village. Asmadi my cameraman tried to distribute some sweets to the little children which I brought all the way from Malaysia. At first the children behaved well but when they were getting impatient a boy grabbed the whole bag of sweets and the sweets were spluttered on the ground. Suddenly there was a brawl between every child and they started exchanging punches and rolling on the bare ground just fighting for sweets which were considered a luxury in rural areas like Kompong Cham. Surprisingly their parents just watched without any urge to stop the fight. There was no emotion at all. I thought I should have brought a whole lorry load of sweets for them so that none of them would be hurt. I really regret witnessing the incident. Innalillah! What a cruel world again. Ya Allah, may all the children of Kompong Cham grow up to be successfull people some day. May Allah bless them all!

Reminiscing my childhood days

2009-01-29T21:31:00.003+08:00

An old photosent by Eddy taken somewhere in Kemaman during the 60's.
Back row From left; My father, my mother, Abang Nan, Abang Dir, Kak Som
Front row from left; Me and Eddy

A photo of our family when my father whom I used to call 'Wan' was still around.
Clockwise; My father(Nik Yusoff Nik Mat), Kak Yam(Hjh. Nik Meriam), My Grandmother (Cik Munah),
My mother (Hjh. Nik Fatimah Nik Ab Rahman), Abang Nan(Hj. Nik Adnan), Kak Zan(Hjh. Nik Haizan),
Me and my beloved and closest brother, the late Abang Tar (Haji Nik Mohd. Mukhtar).

I could not remember much of my childhood days but when one day Eddy mailed me these photos I was quite delighted to view these photos again. I could not remember my father that much because he left us in 1972 when I was only 7. From what my late mother told me, he was a very quiet man and hardworking too. He left us when he was only 59 after a heart attack.

My late grandmother, Cik Munah or we called Cik Nah is my mother's mother. She was a good cook and also very good at handycrafts. She was quite petite while my late grandfather stood at almost 6 feet tall. Me and Abang Nan love to create tales about her doing wonders. such as doing flying kicks or magics. Hehehee... Well, actually we were not among her favourites anyway... but we actually love her very much. Cik Nah was a wonderful woman and a very enterprising one too.

I have always wished that my father could have lived longer to know and love him better. That wish has given me strength to survive a longer life to see my youngest son Nik Arif Muqri grow up as a young man. Insyaallah...

I will be back

2009-01-07T21:07:00.002+08:00

I am very sorry I have not been updating my blog for the past 5 weeks. Been too busy and occupied with too many things. Amongst all I was in Sarawak for a week on assignment, been busy with family matters, busy entertaining Abu and family from Brunei, busy preparing our kids for the new schooling season and busy, busy, busy...

I will be updating my blog soon. Actually I am supposed to be in Kota Bharu for another auditing assignment by monday but I am still finding replacements. Amoiglam is busy with her first day of lecturing tonight. Hope everything goes well. In fact I am in the middle of editing a video project but just took a break for a while to write something to let everybody know that I am still alive and kicking.

I will be back soon...

Kak Som in Loving Memories

2008-11-15T12:30:00.003+08:00

My instinct told me that something was going to happen not long after
I received the last hug from my sister. She really hugged me tight like never before.

Me with some of Abang Dir's and Kak Som's children and grandchildren
during the last Hari Raya in Seremban.

Last Sunday evening 9 November 2008 I received a call from Eddie my nephew that his mother's condition has worsened and critical. The respiratory machine and the oxygen aid could not do much to help Kak Som breath normally. she was high on morphin doses and had been in coma for 3 consecutive days.

Later on at 9 pm I received a distressed call from Abang Nan, both of us were in tears. Kak Som has finally left us to see the Almighty. I could not help but broke into tears in amoiglam's arms. Kak Som had been so good to me and the whole family. Frankly telling that I have spent more time with Kak Som's family and Kak Yam's family while my mother was still around. During my school holidays I would rather spend my time with Eddie, my closest friend and nephew (Kak Som's third child). We are of the same age. Kak Som took very good care of me since that I have been without a father ever since I was 7 years old. Even my brother the late Abang Ta was also very close to Eddie's eldest brother, Izani. Our siblings have been very close to each other. There were 9 of us altogether. Abang Pa our eldest left us at the age of 39 and so did Abang Ta at 39. Both of them had heart attacks at a very early age. I myself was very lucky to have survived my bypass surgery at the age of 38.

As far as I could remember from stories about Kak Som from my late mother, Kak Som had never gone to school, but she still reads. Maybe she learned from our late grandfather Nik Abdul Rahman or learned it elsewhere. Kak Som was born in 1941, being the 2nd child and the eldest girl was raised by our grandfather and grandmother Cik Munah in Pasir Mas because our grandfather worked at the Land Office and opened up the kampung by order of the British Government. Till now the street where our grandfather's house used to stand was named upon our grandfather's nickname, Lorong Pak Nik Man. My late father was working in Kual Krai and took my mother and Abang Pa with him. From what I understand Abang Nal and Abang Pin who were born later were also brought up in Kuala Krai. My father worked there as a clerk in the Forestry Department checking the timbers brought out from Dabong and Gua Musang via the Kelantan River.

Abang Dir was a handsome young man from Rembau and worked as a Land Surveying clerk together with my grandfather. Every day he would follow my grandfather back home for lunch because they were close friends and sort of menthor and menthee. He paid monthly for lunch because in the 50's there were not many hygienic eating shops in Pasir Mas besides Kopitiams and further more my grandmother was a good cook too. Kak Som was only 16 years old when she married Abang Dir. She has been blessed with 5 wonderful children Ani, An, Eddie, Jimmy and Eda. All of them are succesful in their own ways.

I can never forget Kak Som's wonderful Rendang, Nasi Goreng, Mee Goreng and Bihun Goreng. Even Kak Yati, amoiglam's sister was so amazed with Kak Som's Bihun Goreng. Eventhough Kak Som and Abang Dir were not rich but both of them had done too many good deeds for our family. I would not have enjoyed the almost monthly picnics by the beach while I was a kid if not for Kak Som and Abang Dir's generousity. My father never owned any car, so travelling was very rare for us when we were small. Only Abang Dir and Abang Pa had cars during the 60's. Kak Som even took care of me during my curcumcision (berkhatan) which Abang Dir had sponsored at their home in Kota Bharu.

Let Kak Som's soul rest in peace and let us pray for her while remembering all the loving memories of her. We all love you Hajah Nik Kelsom Nik Yusoff.

Special Dedications

2008-10-31T15:54:00.006+08:00

How are you doing Tun! Glad to be in the same club...

This afternoon I met Kak Hadijah Sani Ahmad my former colleague and also senior in ITM. She was quite shocked when she just got the news that I have gone under the knife 5 years ago, so she demanded me to write in my blog about my ops experience. I had no choice but to fulfill her wish so that she can read it.

Kak Hadi, this post is specially dedicated to you and the surgeons that have helped me survived until now especially Professor Wan Azman, Dr. Chong, Dr. Nik Sherina, Tan Sri Yahya Awang, Mr. Alwi Yunus, Mr. Thiru, Mr. Rais and the whole surgery team including the Anaesthetists, Nurses, Hospital Assistants, the extra blood despatch personnels and everybody from The National Heart Institute (IJN) that have succesfully opened, reopened and put everything in place and in the right order so as to save my life. For your info, heart surgeons are not called Doctor but they are called Mister. These are a breed of very special people with very accurate hands and excellent cutting and sewing skills. They are mighty good with their knives as well.

Maybe you are wondering why I showed my picture shaking hands with Tun Mahathir. It's not to show off but we actually have one thing in common. We share the same heart surgeon, Tan Sri Yahya Awang. Tan Sri Yahya Awang is the son-in-law of the late Tun Hussein Onn and of course the brother-in-law of Dato' Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein.

OK, back to my story. It all started in 2003. I was doing some video editing that was supposed to be shown at 3.00 pm that day. It was 3.00 am and I was alone in the editing room. Kamalisa my cameraman had dozed off in the next room. I had not slept for the past 2 days to finish the video. The computer for the video editing system were giving me lots of problems and suddenly I felt like something was crushing in my chest. I also felt like somebody had grabbed me from behind and squeezed my torso. I was so stupid that I could not figure out what I had encountered. I just took a deep breath and tears and sweat were gushing out. My heart was beating too fast and I was too nervous. It happened too fast and luckily I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. It did go off... phewww!!! After a few minutes I took a sip of cold teh tarik left on my desk and foolishly had a few puffs from my beloved Marlboro. Cool lah tu konon...

The following week, I was on my way to see my doctor Dr. Nik Sherina at the University Malaya Medical Centre. I parked my car at the parking complex near the hospital mosque and had to walk uphill and quite a distance along the corridors to the clinic. I did not go far until my chest started giving me problems again. I just could not walk and had to grab hold of the railing along the corridor. I was helpless and leaned against the wall. There was nobody around so I had to wait for a few minutes to regain my strength and walked to the clinic very slowly.

At the clinic I told everything to Dr. Nik and she arranged for a 'Treadmill' test the very next day. I went for the treadmill test and of course I FAILED with flying colours. Dr. Chong and Professor Wan Azman(my late Abang Ta's friend) performed the angiogram on me(they poked a hole in my groins and pushed the catheter tube deep into my arteries). I was so cool that I jokingly asked Dr. Chong when he was going to blow the balloon (angioplasty)? Dr. Chong looked straight into my eyes and said.... "Tak payah balloon lah.... Kita buat by-pass terus lah! All your three main arteries were 90%, 90% and 99% blocked!!!! Fabulous!!!

Prof. Wan Azman advised me to do the surgery within 3 weeks but could not get the UMMC surgeon Prof. Al-Jefri to do it because of the full booking for 6 months! Luckily Abg. Nan through his boss Hj. Said had made arrangements with Dato' Dr. Yahya from IJN. Dato' Yahya went through my angiogram film and agreed with Prof. Wan Azman's opinion. At last I went through the surgery on June 10th 2003, a day after Dato' Yahya received his Tan Sri from the King.

I had some complications within the critical hours after the ops. I had my ops starting from 8 am till 1 pm and had to be pushed back into the ops theatre and they re-opened my ribs after some excessive bleeding at 7 pm the same day. I was in coma for almost 3 days. I remember having dreamt of lying down in a boat all alone in a calm open sea before opening my eyes. Guess what? I saw a white figure in thin air standing at the left side of my bed right next to me and suddenly dissapeared. Abang Nan told me that our family had already held baca Yassin sessions at the surau at the kampung. I guess Allah still loves me and wanted me to live longer to love my family. Alhamdulillah...

It was truly a very valuable experience for me and my family. From these kind of experiences you will truly feel the love and care of your spouse, your children, your siblings, nephews, nieces, in-laws and everybody around you and be gratefull of being who you are now. Thank you everybody. I also must thank my boss and colleagues for being so understanding and accepting me the way I am now. I also wish to thank the management and the government for paying all my medical bills. I will never forget your good deeds.

Actually I had another surgery exactly a year after because 2 of the grafts(replacement arteries) were 60% and 100% blocked. It was not a by-pass but an angioplasty(balloon) procedure. The cardiologist could only save 1 artery. The other was abandoned because it could only be done through another by-pass, so my right side of the heart does not function well till now but I consider myself still very lucky to have at least have my heart beating. Cheer up and live life to the fullest bro! I guess that's all I could write for Kak Hadi....

Why Learn History?

2008-10-17T02:34:00.007+08:00

A group photo with kids of Nunawading Elementary School, Melbourne.
These kids could speak a little Malay and sang 'Geylang Si Paku Geylang' for us.

amoiglam, Afiq, PW1(R) Nik Zainal Abidin(Abang Nal) and me
while visiting Afiq during his PLKN training earlier this year

Of all the subjects in the world, why learn history? I think Pak Lah was absolutely right when he suggested that the new Malaysian generation to learn about history while in their elementary school. I think I started learning history when I was only 8 years old while in Standard 3. I remember Mr. Basheer my favourite history cum English and also P.E. teacher taught us history in a very unique way. He was a very versatile teacher indeed. In fact he was the favourite of many pupils. He came from Penang. He used the method of making history as stories to tell and slit in some jokes. I remember him teaching us how to pronounce some unfamiliar words and terms like Alfonso d' Albuquerqe as 'Alfonso di Abu Kaki' so that we could remember easily or acronyms like the V.O.C. in full, that is 'Vereenigdee Ostindischee Compagnie' (The Dutch East India Company ). It really made our tongues twisted. See? I could still remember those words... In fact he made us to like history even though I always hate to remember the dates. That was what almost put a stop to my interest in history. I hate numbers but not when counting money!

Yes, if you are a government servant you will need to look back at our country's history and understand the importance of everything that had happened before and why things happened to be as it is now. History has got nothing to hide. Sooner or later the truth will prevail. We in the government service have to understand and analyze historical facts to pass in our compulsory government exams. Otherwise we would just have to quit and seek for other jobs. I am not saying that the government is always right, but as a Malaysian citizen we must truly understand how the multi-ethnic nation was built to seek independence from the British the gentleman's way. I am not with any political side but I think understanding the real history is essential to every living citizen of Malaysia.

In fact, the old education system has some positive agenda if not all. During my schooling age we were made to learn about the history of other countries as well. We learned about Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Mahatma Ghandi, Pandit Jawarhalal Nehru, Jose Rizal, Kamal Attartuk, Sun Yat Sen and other people's struggle for freedom. That was how we manage to have some comparisons. We in Malaysia have never encountered such tremendous challenges like what these important names have had to go through just to achieve freedom and independence and yet we are still being ungrateful. We want change but we don't really know what kind of change that we are asking for. The truth is that we came from different education backgrounds, different living environments and totally different kind of upbringings.

Sometimes I have to ask our education policy makers, why they must change the good parts of the existing education system. Was it just for the sake of changing or was it because of some idiotic ideas of some arrogant politicians who would just want their names to be documented as somebody who changed the education system? The same thing refers to changing of teaching Maths and science in English. Did you ever realize that in our constitution, it is clearly stated that Bahasa Melayu is the official language to be used in our education system? I am not surprised if one day somebody would make a police report that the government has abused our own constitution, hehehe.... I am not suggesting, ok? Actually I have read a book by somebody who claimed that he was among the individuals who had suggested that Maths and Science be taught in English because he did not find the Malay language adequate in providing the right terms in those related subjects. Surprisingly this fellow was a former lecturer who had taught some Malay medical students during the early years in UKM which taught medical science in Malay and found difficulties in explaining them in Malay.

I think this fellow was not a good lecturer and has some attitude problem himself . That was why he kept on blaming the Malay language instead of his own weaknesses. The funny thing is that this so called Mat Salleh wannabe doctor now resides in Canada and has the guts to criticise our education policy. Is he that good? Why not just cari makan in Malaysia then? I don't want to reveal neither his book nor his name. Find it yourself then. Just for a clue, his name might start with the letter 'B'. I can consider him one of those who always worship whatever that is English to him...

I might be writing in English for some unexplained reasons but I have a very high respect for our very own unique Bahasa Melayu. Believe it or not, there are actually more than 270 million Malay speaking people in the entire world and Malay language stands among the top ten of international languages out of 6,500 languages of the world. Elementary schools in Australia have included the Malay Language as one of the languages to be taught as international languages for their students. Don't be surprised if you meet a small Australian boy or girl speaking a few simple Malay words when they meet you. Even The Military School in Australia also taught the same. In fact I have witnessed a few of them while visiting a school in Melbourne Down Under. Countries like China, Korea, Japan, The US, Germany, Russia, The Netherlands have their own Faculties of Malay Studies in their universities because they have long found that Malay language is important to them. The China Radio International (CRI) in Beijing has a Malay and Indonesian broadcast section which airs everyday in the Malay Language. You can find their live broadcast through the internet and are using their own Chinese nationals as DJ's. If you wish to visit Beijing and have a Malay speaking guide you'll be surprised that they have a shipload of them. These guys and beautiful gals speak fluent Malay sometimes better than our own chinese friends in Malaysia and even suggested to us the prayers time and stops during our tour around Beijing. They only use their Malay names to make us feel at home. Believe me... Go and check for yourself. They sure know the economic values of learning Bahasa Melayu...at least.

Forget about the politicians and our current political situation now. What we have to do now is to go back to the library and start reading about our own history and also read about other people's history and biographies of people like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock, Tun Dr. Ismail, Ghazali Shafie, Chin Peng, Ibrahim Yaacob, Ahmad Boestamam, Shamsiah Fakeh, General Tan Sri Ibrahim, Dato' Onn, Tun Razak and even Lim Goh Tong, then you will understand why... Don't simply listen to your friends or just read from the bloggers. Go and read my friends!

About Celebrations and Mournings

2008-10-12T01:03:00.007+08:00

Definitely Not A Boy Band (Major Menon and The Hearts Club Band)

The Ghazali's Clan (amoiglam's side)

Ayah'sjamm and amoiglam with kids

This year's Hari Raya has a mix of many things. We did enjoy Hari Raya despite of having some hiccups. This week I have lost 2 people whom I used to know. One was my former staff and another was my former teacher and bandmaster. Haji Abdul Rahman, my former photographer, staff, good friend and also neighbour had passed on after suffering from diabetic complications. He was a very good friend and always willing to lend a hand whenever asked by friends. A former videographer and photographer who had worked under my supervision for more than 15 years. I used to live within the same neighbourhood with him in Serdang.

I remember he told me a story about him hitch hiking from Muar to KL when he was offered a job at our office in 1967. He was too poor to buy a bus ticket back then. A quite adventurous fellow. He was one of our earlier staffs. I remember learning a few things from him especially about microfilms and some electronic skills. We used to nickname him 'Man Guyver', just like McGuyver. He even renovated his present house all by himself and even helped a few friends to upgrade their homes at a very minimal cost. You just name it, and he will do it enthusiastically. ManGuyver was simply a great person. He started his job as an office boy and soon became a book binder. He has showed his interest in photography so he was assigned to be a microfilm operator by our former boss. Later on we found that he was also good in video works when I first joined the department in 1986 and he became our videographer. After many years we promoted him to hold the photographer's post until his retirement a few years back. We salute you Man Guyver.

This morning I received a message from my junior Jasri about Pak Simanjuntak's demise. Pak Siman was my former bandmaster and Warden in school. He was from Indonesia and taught the Matriculation students maths. He was also the bandmaster for our Brass Band. His son Haris was my junior and also a good friend. I remember during his time we had the chance to play a few beautiful numbers like The Marlborro song (Theme from Magnificent Seven), Theme from Hawaii Five-O, Theme from Bridge on The River Kwai (Colonel Bogey), El-Bimbo, Delilah and many other songs that were not very familiar to other school bands in KL during the 70's. When I entered Form Six he tried to persuade me to be the Drum Major but I was too worried about dropping the drum major's mace on somebody else's head, rather than tossing and flipping it high in the air and catching it with style. I was also too keen to play in the rock band instead. I guess I have made a wise decision. I would like to convey my deepest condolences to Haris and family and... Farewell Pak Siman.

To Blog or Not To Blog

2008-10-09T13:33:00.002+08:00

Why the long silence? Ooops... the dragons were sleeping lah... Actually amoiglam and me always call ourselves Si Naga-Naga because both of us were born in the same lunar year of the DRAGON! We always dream of having our own little cafe by the name of Si Naga-Naga or probably Double Dragon. My brother-in-law Major Menon always like it to be named as Cafe Kitarongge from our son's Afiq's childhood favourite word when he's happy.

I decided to scribble something today after Eddie called and asked me asking for an update. I was also in the middle of writing an article for my office bulletin and happened to have a phone chat with Jiwa Rasa(jiwarasa.blogspot.com), another blogger from Penang and decided to write something to refresh my mind.

Actually I wanted to write something about Hari Raya but I still have the hari raya photos in my hard disk at home. Hari Raya this year was quite ok like before. This year I have tasted the best lemang ever, wonderfully made by Ayob my brother-in-law. he brought them all the way from Kuala Pilah for us in Shah Alam. I would call it 'Lemang Lemak Merdu'. I didn't even bother to taste the rendang with the lemang. It was awesomely lemak merdu eaten on it's own. It's palm lickin' good! I could only take 2 pieces or my gastric alarm would trigger. But it was really awesome. Ayob said the santan was from home grown ripe coconuts because his mother-in-law insisted on having their very own home grown coconuts santan. Nothing less than that! It's mandatory bro! If only Abang Uni could taste that lemang, I am sure he would have given it the trophy. Not recommended for those with heart problems...hehehe....

Hari raya this year was still joyful and full of food. I had my nasi dagang in Seremban! That was quite strange? My beloved sister Kak Som actually lives in Seremban so the family tradition still lives on. A combination of multi-cultural food spread. Our family in Kelantan would also want to have rendang, lemang, nasi impit, kuah kacang, lontong and soto every raya. These are all the toxicated taste buds of the Nik's clan that we got while growing up and living in KL.

I was always overjoyed by the word food. I guess every living human has the right to taste and enjoy their favourite food. I am a meat lover. Both cooked and raw I guess??? Hehehe... For people within my kind of species are definitely very familiar with terms like tenderloins, sirloins, knuckels, rumps, fillet, ribs and malay words like batang pinang, urat keting, harimau menangis and some Kelantanese terms like Lemusir, senonok, perut kitab, perut bulat and many others. The smell of fresh meat makes me high. The meat names just sounded like music to my half deaf ears. Yes...we always love to eat whatever that is forbidden to Zippers Club (ex-by pass surgery patients) members like me. Well....you can't blame me...It's already been fated.

Anyway, what the hell is daging 'harimau menangis'? Oh..the Kelantanese call it daging 'senonok'. It is a precious part between the cow's breast and the hind legs and covered with a thick layer of beautiful luscious fat. The content? MY GOD! It's crunchiness of a blend of meat and the fat within that sinfully makes the tiger CRIES when it has the chance to sink it's saber teeth into the precious meat...Roarrrrr!!!! I gues that's what the tiger told me before...hehehe...

The Old Town and The Old Campus

2008-09-18T13:44:00.003+08:00

I guess my most enjoyable life was during my college days. I entered college after being persuaded by Abang Nan at the very last minute. At first I was not interested because I was not offered the Mass Communication course that I was interviewed for and had to do with Library science which sounded so odd to me. I was among the very last students to have registered at ITM. It was nearly 4pm. I remember that my niece Noni also gave me some comforting words so that I would join ITM like she did before. She's actually a year older than I am and joined after her fifth form doing Quantity Survey. I had to do my STPM because I wanted to do Mass Comm after failing to enter earlier to do Transport. Why Dip. in Transport? Maybe I was so enthusiastic about those huge express buses, trailers and container trucks. They look cool enough for me and maybe because of the incident that I could not afford a bus ticket home for hari raya in 1976, so that I could have my own bus?

Life during the orientation week was ok I guess? Not that bad... I've been through worst during my school days. My adventures began when we were transported to our very own little campus in PJ Old Town and our very own apartments in Old Klang Road. Everything seemed to be old I guess? The campus was a very small campus and has a unique 50's era design. The design I love most. It was like living in a different era. I could see similar designs when I was in Phnom Penh a few years back. Actually Phnom Penh was one of the most modern cities in Southeast Asia during the 60's but the bloody war has turned the nation backwards. Thanks to Pol Pot with his selfishness and brainlessness ideology that destroyed everything. the campus consists of 2 blocks of girls' hostels a dining hall, a canteen, a library and 2 blocks of lecture rooms. The campus only catered for the School of Library Science, Off Campus Studies for Business and Accounting and the best part, The School of Secretarial Science!

The most wonderful part was our hostel in Old Klang Road. It was actually a two-room apartment converted into our hostel. We were located right in the middle of a huge Chinese community. Right in-front of our hostel was a chinese temple and a few blocks of flats of mostly chinese community. At the side of our hostel were a few bungalows of the United Garden. Every apartment was shared by 4 or 5 of us. It was not like the Jati hostels in Shah Alam where they had to share 10 students for every apartment.

The college provided a bus for our daily commuting to Old Town. It was total fun for us. I was blessed with a motorbike which I took from my Abang Ta after he bought his 1st car. Anyway sometimes I love to join my friends on the bus while saving some petrol money.

By the 2nd Semester the girls had to share our hostel because the hostels in Old Tow were not enough to cater for every beautiful girl in the campus. One thing I should commend the ITM was that it was very kindhearted to have provided enough accomodation for every student who wish to stay in. Bravo!

The Beringin Hostel where I stayed was a very comfortable one. We were being surrounded by a mostly chinese neighbourhood. Right in-front of our hostel is a small chinese temple which I believe belongs to a kongsi because I sometime witnessed some rituals being held there where some tough guys were seen rubbing their bare bodies with hot boiling oil from a huge pot.

Back to the girls story... The girls had moved in to share our hostel block but only on the top floor. The warden, Encik Ismail had to take extra care about the situation and I guess you know better. The wonderful thing was that I was among the privelleged few that were trusted by the authorities to be the hostel committee member. What's the privillege then? We were authorised to enter the girls' room whenever needs arise such as identifying leakages, power breakdowns, jammed doors or anything similar. Hmmmm... at least I got to know how neat and tidy these girls' rooms were compared to our rooms or maybe suitably called chicken coops...

Since then life at the hostel has lighten up and quite cheerful I could say.. hehehe... Every night the girls would come down to the tv room and we became to know them better. We became more like family because there were not many of us and we tend to know each other better. Some of the girls even gave us some food or tit bits especially when we did not go to the dining hall during weekends. we also helped them tapau some food from the makciks' stalls near the Old Klang Road or roti canai Joe (our favourite mamak stall).

Our neighbourhood was quite interesting. We had the Kimisawa supermarket with Burger King just a ten minutes walk from our place and we always watched midnight movies during saturday nights in a very large group. We even had our favourite cendul vending rickshaw just 3 minutes away. It was totally fun for us.

At least one special week of the year we would be entertained with a free whole week of open air kung fu movies at the temple. We just watched from our corridoors. This was normally during their new lunar year celebrations. At least with this kind of experiences we learned a lot about the chinese community and their culture. They are
are actually very simple people. Throughout the three years of living there, I did not witness any misunderstandings or problems living within the chinese neighbourhood. In fact it was quite fun.

In Old Town we also had our favourite food court near the old big roundabout which does not exist anymore. We would normally go together in a big group of girls and boys for our special dinner treat once in a while. We had our favourite ais kacang and ice cream stall, Rahman's Ice cream stall. The sotong kangkung there was the best among the best. We also had Pak Atan's Nasi goreng ayam which really suited my taste bud. I also met my favourite barber Ipeen, an IKM graduate when he was working in a mamak's barber shop in Old Town. He is still my best barber till now. He has a small shop on the first floor of a bazaar right behind Masjid India by the name Ipeen's Barber Shop.

The Buka Puasa Adventures

2008-09-16T12:58:00.003+08:00

I am sure many of us would love to talk about this. Actually I am trying to figure out what to bring home for buka puasa today. Yesterday Lady Luck was on my side. I managed to skip the terrible jam at the Bukit Jalil KESAS hi-way when I used the Putrajaya Hi-way. I succesfully brought home some satay for the family. I bought them at the Seri Kembangan R&R. It appears to be the only makan shop there besides a drinks stall. Could not forget the grinning smiles of my family.

Today my next attempt is to fetch Afiq in Bukit Jelutong and speed thru the Elite Hi-way via Puchong back home and try to secure some food anywhere possible. Last Friday I failed. We buka puasa in the car instead. I pray to Allah that my mission will be accomplished. That's what me and amoiglam have to go through every working day during Ramadhan. Last year was the worst when we only used amoiglam's car to work. I would send her to the LRT station at Sg. Besi every morning and by 5.30 sharp I had to race back from office to Sg. Besi tinseltown, grab whatever possible (if posssible I'll just buy the cook himself and bring him home). By the time I was walking back to the car amoiglam would appear from the LRT station. We had to brave thru another jam at Bukit Jalil via Bandar Kinrara and by the time we arrive home the children were already holding their glasses waiting for the azan.

This year we decided to drive our own cars because there is a fly-over construction right in front of my office that causes another bloody jam. I had to park my car a few blocks away from my office by 4 pm everyday just to skip the jam and to make sure that we arrive home with the grubs before buka puasa. What a beautiful life... How I wish that I could bring the whole family to work and just buka puasa at the mamak stall nearby my office everyday. Sometimes I wish I could work in Brunei where they go home by 2pm during Ramadhan.

Actually Buka Puasa during my school days were very much simpler than now. We actually had nothing special except for the kurmas. Before 1980 our special treat was only sambal tumis kerang or ikan bilis that we bought for 50 cents each from the staff quarters. I would normally keep some for sahur at 3.00am because the sahur food was almost inedible. Things only improved after 1980. I don't really know why. After 1980 we were allowed to go out and buy some kuih in a small setinggan town we called 'Texas' which now has been turned into 'Downtown' near the Cheras Velodrome.

The Wedding Video

2008-09-14T13:55:00.007+08:00

Told you all before that my hobby is videography. Today I would like to present a video clip as part of the whole dvd I did for my little naughty nephew Sham(used to be), now an architect. They came over for buka puasa last night. Sham was born in Seremban after I finished my STPM before I entered ITM. I remember flying back to Seremban with my mother from Kota Bharu after his birth. Abang Uni, Sham's father asked us to stay with them in Seremban for my mother to take care of Kak Yam during her confinement. I had to leave my volleyball team in Pasir Mas and could not join them in the Kelantan Amateur Volleyball Open Championship for that year, 1983.

I took my new 2nd guitar along and stayed there until my STPM results came out and entered ITM. Seremban was a very wonderful place to stay. Abang Uni even paid for my driving lessons and that's why my driving licence file is in Seremban JPJ until now. I am grateful to him until now and will never forget his good deeds. Thank you Abang Uni and Kak Yam.

I became part of their family from their Seremban days. I even stayed with them when they were staying in Jln Conlay, KL until Afiq was born. After that we bought Kak Zah's house in Serdang and lived there until 2004 before moving to our present house in Equine.

I am presenting this videoclip as a very special dedication to my very beloved family members especially my wife amoiglam and kids, Kak Yam, Abang Uni, Rina, Suzy, Sham, Kak Zan, Abang Nal, Abang Pin, Kak Som, Abang Nan, Kak Zah, nephews. nieces, grand nephews, grand nieces and our whole clan. I thank god that I am fully blessed with such wonderful siblings, in-laws and family. Thank you everybody, I love you all. Like what amoiglam always say, I did this with love....

Heavenly taste

2008-09-11T12:36:00.004+08:00

Last night's buka puasa was ok lah... Today I wish that I could get something more exciting. Maybe some Nasi Kerabu or Nasi Minyak or Nasi Briyani Johor or maybe the magical Nasi Tumpang? mana mau cari Nasi Tumpang in KL? Gila ka? I think if I can find Nasi Tumpang in KL I would buy the whole lot for my family. They just love it. Even my Sister-in-Law from Ipoh also loves Nasi Tumpang. If I ever knew how to make it I would have done it commercially here in KL. Wanna know what Nasi Tumpang is? You can only find them in Kelantan. Sold only at Pasar Chabang Tiga, Pengkalan Chepa and Pasar Kubang Pasu, Kota Bharu. You may also find some at the Pasar Malam that used to be Pasar Malam near the Kota Bharu Bus Station. Now they have relocated it somewhere nearby. I can't remember the name of the place. Maybe next time if I ever have the chance to snap a photo, I will place it here.

Nasi Tumpang is actually a wholesome of original nasi impit wrapped handsomely in banana leafs in a cone style. It has three stages. The top part is stuffed with serunding ikan or serunding daging. The middle part is always stuffed with omelette and the bottom part is stuffed with either ikan tongkol masak lemak or udang masak lemak. My favourite is the one with ikan tongkol because the one with the prawn is normally stuffed with very small and not so fresh prawns and further more the fish adds more flavour to the whole thing.

I love nasi kerabu with lots of vegetables especially the shredded long beans, bean sprouts and daun kesum. Topped up with extra serunding and sambal tumis and a lot of the magical budu. Foooyyyyooo!!!! Tambah lagi keropok and eat it with daging bakar and ikan goreng celup tepung! Alamak kena pergi cari lah petang ni.... Bye!!!

If you like rojak mamak, my favourite is always the one in the Sungei Besi tinseltown near the Sungei Besi Army Camp. I call it tinseltown because it's one of the smallest towns in KL. The gravy taste just fine. Not too sweet and not too spicy but full of flavour. Throw in some sotong sambal and extra cucur kelapa or cucur udang. Dooosshhh!!!

The rojak is sold by a guy on his motorbike. This guy, Din starts selling at 1.00pm daily and at 11.00am on Sundays. The cendul next to him is also quite ok. Even the one sold in Jalan Bellamy could not match this rojak. Long ago my favourite used to be from the Kampung Pandan Fishhead curry outlet on the 1st floor of the Central Market, but now the outlet does not exist anymore. You may also try the rojak in Jalan Ipoh within the entrance to Damai Complex under the tree of course. Nearby amoiglam's office.

You want to taste the best original basic Mee goreng mamak, try the one prepared by Daud in front of the old Dewan Bahasa building at one of the food stalls at the corner between Jalan Dewan Bahasa and Jln Maharajalela. No frills and fancies like chicken, beef or shrimps but simply delightful.

The best Ice Kacang I've tasted is in front of 7-Eleven in Brickfields next to the YMCA. Try the Ice Kacang Special with strips of kelapa muda. Perghhh!!! Enough for today...

A Wedding and Four Funerals

2008-09-10T10:12:00.003+08:00

It is not like the movie title 'Four Weddings and A Funeral'. For the past four weeks I've attended only a wedding but four funerals instead. Just got back from another colleague's 18 year old daughter's funeral. She passed on last night after buka puasa in her father's car right in-front of the University Hospital's Trauma Centre Entrance. She had high fever. Condolences to my friend Shaari Shafie.

Before the Jenazah Prayers I felt so sad looking at his daughter's face. I could feel how sad my friend was because I also have a son of the same age. Al-Fatihah...

Hari Raya Holidays

2008-09-09T14:43:00.006+08:00

Hari Raya holidays is something that most of us Malaysians would look forward to or maybe try to avoid. The joy of balik kampung is something that used to be an annual excitement for many. As for myself, the balik kampung feat is something like preparing and strategically planning for a battle. Why? Firstly I have to make sure that the family car is fit for the road and safe for every passenger. 7 of us are going to travel in a single car and it should be in an excellent condition.

Just imagine if the air-cond suddenly breaks down once we are already in Kelantan. It did happen once to me. Luckily one shop still opened during the hols and and had the spares. Normally the car would behave very well during normal days but once we are already at the kampung then the car started having tantrums. I have had so many experiences of balik kampung failures in my life. There was once my old Ford Telstar radiator fan just failed a day before balik kampung and luckily my beloved Abang Nan lent his second car at the very last minute, a Wira Aeroback. It was a very cramped journey all the way and before we reached Kota Bharu during twilight a silly goat just crossed the road and I did not have enough time to step on the brakes. I hit the goat on the side panel. Luckily the silly goat survived but I had to bear the cost of replacing and repainting the side panel. After all actually the goat was not silly enough except for the owner himself.

After a few years we got ourself a brand new mpv and it was a total relief for us but the cost of maintenance is definitely a bomb plus the rising cost of petrol. The traffic congestion is another story. If I were to go back to Kelantan, I would try my best not to start my journey during normal hours and also the normal Kuala Lipis-Gua Musang route. I always hate meaningless shorter routes but full of road hoggers and bumpy rides. My choice is always the Grik-Jeli route or maybe sometimes the Kuantan-K.Terengganu route for less traffic. Last year I tried starting our journey at 12.00 midnight en-route Kuantan and stopped for sahur and a short nap at my niece's place in Kuantan. It was a beautiful and smooth journey. We even had the chance to visit my big brother Abang Pin in Kemaman and stopped for some traditional kuihs and Nasi Dagang for buka puasa at Kuala Terengganu. We did not mind the long hours as long as there is no traffic jams. It was not stressfull at all. BUT!!!!!.....

When I entered Kelantan, the story was different. I always wonder why do these people just love to take their own sweet time hogging the trunk roads. My blood always gets boiled to the brains whenever I drive in Kelantan. There seemed to be not much sense of urgency in my own people's culture. That's a true fact, I guess. They seemed to be comfortable in their own ways. Well... it's a free country anyway... just take your own sweet time and leave the worrying to others... maybe my perceptions will change once I get older... Maybe.....hopefully...

Of Seniors, Peers, Wardens and Ghosts Part 3

2008-09-05T14:44:00.004+08:00

To those who have had some experiences tasting some hostel life may agree with me when I say that almost every hostel is haunted. I have had my share of these experiences. Quite interesting indeed. I am not an expert in ghost stories but I have heard many tales about them during my hostel life.

Our hostel existed since 1963 and was believed to be built on a site where some Japanese army were killed in battle. It was in 1977 during the Chinese New Year holidays when most of the boys went balik kampung or to their relatives' homes. I was also not around. My dormitory was 1c2 of Block C. It was only a two storey newer block and our dorm on the second floor is the same level of the road leading to Block A and B which were on a higher ground. Out of maybe 16 of us only 4 stayed on during the hols because they had no other plans.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year while they were of to bed around 11pm the surrounding was so quiet and there was a gush of wind blowing inside the dorm. I couldn't recall who but one of them suddenly heard voices and footsteps of a marching troop on the road which was clearly viewed from within the dorm. He called the other 3 and all of them witnessed the same thing. Soddenly the room became very dark and windy and there they saw a big dark figure in thin air floating on the ceiling. They were just stunned and scared. They could not utter a single word and just kept quiet until everything went off. The next morning, all the four boys suffered from fever until we came back 2 days later and told us about their encounter.

Another story happened during the early 70's. The Chief Warden whom we called Lee Van Cleef because he had some resemblance of the infamous western movies actor especially in the eyes. He was doing his routine midnight patrol. He was looking for boys who might be trying to sneak back after the midnight show in KL.

Suddenly he saw a few boys still in their all-white uniforms walking towards Block A. He did not waste time and went after the boys. The boys ran towards a big tree behind Block C and climbed up the tree. He straight away went under the big tree and flashed his torchlight towards the boys but what he saw were no more school boys but a few horrible looking creatures with fangs staring, grinning and laughing at him. That was all I knew... Oooops! Sorry!

Jam or Jammed

2008-09-04T20:14:00.004+08:00

Ramadhan in KL means another series of traffic jams in the evening rush hour home. Both of us had to drive our own cars instead of the usual car pooling. Why? If we were to use one car means we are going to arrive home at 7.15 pm every day, if there is no irregular jams. I guess the Klang Valley Traffic jams would not have happened if there are no kiasu drivers who loves to potong q or those sleuth drivers and also apologetic gedik drivers who just love to take their own sweet time negotiating corners or hogging every single lane of the expressways. I hope the authorities would find some genius solutions to overcome this teething problem.

I sometimes wonder why people in the Klang Valley still chose to live in areas like Cheras, Ampang and Selayang and complain about traffic jams. As far as I knew Cheras has been a regular area for traffic jams since the early 70's, but I still can't understand why the housing developers still lured their potential buyers into believing that their new homes would be within 10 minutes drive to KL. It is a total bluff and these people really believed it. Well, it's a free country anyway?

A colleauge of mine lives in the Cheras area. He starts his journey to the office by 6.30am and would normally arrive at the office by 7.45am. I myself start my drive at 7.00am, send my daughter to school 15 kilometres away and would normally reach the office after continuing another 25 kilometres at 8.00am. I live in Seri Kembangan in between the borders of Cyberjaya, Puchong and Seri Kembangan. Cheras is only a few kilometres away from the city centre but the journey to work is like travelling from Seremban. Logically the consumption of petrol is actually higher for stop n' go driving compared to consistent driving. We are actually wasting a lot of our precious time and money on the road. I don't suggest people to commute from Bukit Beruntung nor Lembah Beringin neither.

Tepuk Dada Tanya Pakar Sakit Dada...

Life is Shorter

2008-09-03T21:11:00.002+08:00

This morning we received another sad news. My colleauge's son had passed on at a very tender age of 10. Condolences to Norlina and family. Her son had been suffering from cancer of the blood for more than a year. Norlina and her husband had tried every way they could to save their son's life. Norlina even took a years leave without pay just to be with her beloved son but after a few weeks back to work, her son had passed on at last. Farewell little boy... May God keep you in his tender care.

Of Seniors, Peers, Wardens and Ghosts: Part 2

2008-09-02T17:01:00.001+08:00

In 1976 the school rules were very lenient and I can consider as remarkable. It was under Haji Hamzah Salas that we had such a wonderful administration with so much freedom. Going for our weekly outings meant wearing anything comfortable as long as there are no slippers or round collared T-Shirts. You may even wear your favourite jeans. Bravo!!! No warden permission were needed. Just write your names in the log book and get lost! Be back by 6.

I always loved to go out alone. I was only 11 yrs old but I have roamed all around Taman Midah, Mountbatten Road, Masjid India, Chow Kit alone. In those days it was quite safe to walk alone for an 11 year old boy. Not now bro... Sometimes if Rafee (Died of Leukimea while studying in ITM) asked me to follow him back to his house in Sentul, I would gladly follow because at least I got to taste some home cooking for lunch. I only had the chance to taste my mother's cooking only during school holidays. In 1976 I only celebrated Hari Raya at my brother's place in Selayang Baru and didn't get the chance to go home because the bus fare of RM18 was unaffordable. You even have to book a month earlier because there were no such thing like extra buses to Kota Bharu. So when my brother and family went out I just stayed home and cook my Raya Maggi Mee. Heheheehe...

I also learned some silat lessons when I was in Form 2. It was Silat Lincah under the Mahaguru Omar Din. It was an exciting experience and sometimes a bit funny. Before the practise sessions some rituals like Memagar Gelanggang were done by the Guru. He would burn the kemenyan(incense) and walk around the gelanggang. Once you were within the gelanggang you wouldn't feel the real pain when you were punched or kicked. I remember that I could do a flying kick that I'd never thought I could do. Wah! Macam Bruce Lee lah! But once you were out and stopped practising, the pain will be felt... Heheehe...

Of Seniors, Peers, Wardens and Ghosts

2008-09-02T12:54:00.001+08:00

When I first stepped into the hostel in 1976 I was so amazed with the school that I was supposed to stay in and study. It was a boarding school somewhere in Cheras in KL. Things were totally different back in 1976. There were almost 700 of us in the school. It was a different environment altogether for a foolish kampung boy like me who came all the way from Pasir Mas, Kelantan. I was only 11 years and 4 months old that very day. Yes I skipped my standard 2 session and entered standard 3 straight away because I was in the 'Express Class'. It was a normal practice in the education system during those years.

My late mother, my eldest late brother Abang Pa and my 7th brother Abang Nan who was studying in UTM were there to send me. We were greeted by a Sixth Former Prefect whom I called Abang Leman (Dato' Sulaiman Shafie, former Speaker for Perlis State Assembly). Later on I found out that he was my Dorm Leader and became my 'abang angkat'. Abang Pa gave me RM15 and told me that's my first pocket money for the whole month and I didn't really know how and from where I was supposed to get my money for the following months. From then on I was left to be on my own and it was a really new and quite scary experience with total strangers around you.

Luckily Abang Leman was very responsible to his younger brothers in his dorm. Abang Leman was a very interesting character indeed. He stands at only 5' 3'' but has a heart of a lion. He was born in Perlis but also had some relatives in Kelantan. One of his nephews, Ghaffar happened to be my former classmate in Pasir Mas. Abang Leman was a very fluent orator and he just love to debate with his friends especially with his sparing partner Abang Rosli (Dato' Ahmad Roseli Ibrahim, former Kelantan State Assemblyman). They would just find any issue that ever crossed their minds and started a debate. A weird kind of hobby indeed. Abang Leman had always admired the late Tun Razak. I saw him wept when the late Tun Razak's demise was announced in the morning news. During his happy hours Abang Leman would play his accordion a couple of tunes. My friend Yusri or Mat Yus would sometimes play the accordion while Abang Leman was not around. He was a talented friend too.

We had a love hate relationship with Abang Leman. It's normal that school boys would hate prefects but would turn back to them whenever help is needed. We were only form one students and definitely were the mischievous lot. We just love to make noise especially during weekends. We called Abang Leman 'Spy Leman' because of his ability to catch us red handed while we were enjoying ourselves fooling around and making noise in the dorm. The best part was the punishment. There was no detention class or cleaning the toilet chores but we were made to sleep on the lawn outside our dormitories. But that added more fun to us. It was like camping out under the stars and moon light. I also had a few punishments myself. Frankly, we actually enjoyed it. Heheheh....

Abang Leman held a very important post in the Scouts movement. He was the Assistant Scout Master 1. Most of us in the dorm joined The Scouts because he told us that he would make sure that we enjoy joining the Scouts, and we really did. Abang Leman had taught us a lot about jungle survival. He organised a few camping activities the Scouts' way. We learned to make gadgets from Tembusu woods that we obtained from our Tembusu Camp at the back of the school compound. It was situated next to an abandoned mining pool. We learned the hard way in Tembusu Camp. I learned to cook in the rain, cut trees, sleeping on the trees while hiding from wild boars and rescueing one of our friends who was bitten by a centipede while sleeping inside the tent in Tembusu Camp when we were only 12 or 13 years old. Actually our school was situated at the entrance to Kampung Conggo or now Bandar Tun Razak. Some senior scouts had the chance to compete in the KL Scouts Jamboree at Castle Camp with teams from St. John's, Victoria Institution, La Salle School and other strong teams. After Abang Leman left school for UKM Abang Ibrahim Seman took over and it was also fun. We even camped out in Templer's Park with the Sixth Former Seniors including Abang Dud (Sa'adudin Sa'ad) and Abang Zol(Dato' Zolkeples Embong, Director General of Malaysian Sports Council).

We even had the chance to experience the Ist Class Scout badge test when I was in Form 2. The test was called Ist Class Journey where we had to endure the test of hiking a 60 miles journey around KL and Selangor in a team of only 2 boy scouts while collecting proof of our journey such as official chops(stamping) from Police Stations, Petrol Kiosks, The Museum, The Batu Caves Authorities, The Rubber Research Institute and many more. No hitch hiking nor using any public transport. We had to camp out, which we never did. My partner was Shamsul Baharin. We took the bus back to school and continued our journey the next morning. I only had RM5 in my pocket for food and bus fares and could only afford to buy air sirap to quench my thirst. We had to catch our meals during dinner back at the hostel. The journey was really a gruelling one when you had to bear with the scorching heat, dusty roads, had nothing to eat and being asked so many questions by the police and kiosk clerks. Pheww... My scouting experience was a very interesting experience.

Abang Leman once led us to climb the Cheras Hill (Bukit Cheras) which was situated next to the Cheras Christian Cemetery. We started climbing on one fine Sunday morning but before climbing we bought a few watermelons at the foot of the hill which were only sold at 15 sen per kilogram in those days. We walked through a small 'setinggan' area called Kampung Semerah Padi. I am not sure whether the kampung nor the Bukit Cheras still exist anymore, which I don't think so. We reached the peak after quite a while and were amazed with the landscapes of KL for our very first time. We could watch the Air Force planes landing and taking off at the Sungei Besi Airport from the top of the hill while enjoying the sweet and juicy watermelons. After resting for an hour we started our downhill journey of sliding and tumbling adventure. Bukit Cheras was quite steep indeed, but we managed to survive unhurt.

My scouting adventure was a very valuable experience in my life. I learned the hard way of collecting donations during the Scouts Job Week in 1977. Me and my partner Pakharuddin went all around Taman Midah, Cheras Baru, Kampung Conggo, Salak South, Sungei Besi Army Camp doing jobs such as cleaning dishes at the stalls, sweeping the garage floors and many other chores just to get a few cents and the most a dollar (RM1). If my 12 year old son were to do those things now, I would have surely objected or maybe took him back to stay at home comfortably. I will continue about hostel life in my next post...

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

2008-08-31T23:58:00.001+08:00

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

2008-08-31T22:40:00.002+08:00

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.