SIBLINGS 25 : NASI LEMAK UDANG

Nasi lemak bungkus udang

Thursday:17.06.2009

At 7.00 a.m. Zam received an urgent call from Imam Ustaz Dahalan, a closed associate of Zam at MADA asking Zam whether she would like nasi lemak bungkus udang for breakfast. Normally, early morning calls were for emergency news which consist of grieving news such as death or other misfortunes. Zam has prepared well for such news but instead she was surprised and astonished when Imam Dahalan was asking her on the number of nasi lemak udang she would like to have. Zam affirmed to him that she would like 3 bungkus while still wondering what the hack was Dahalan doing early in the morning as he has never done it before.


At 7.15 a.m. Imam Dahalan arrived at our house on his motorbike with 5 bungkus nasi lemak udang. I was very grateful for his concern for bringing in the nasi lemak but I enquired him about the reason why he brought the nasi lemak out of a sudden. Imam Dahalan then explained his impulsive behaviour to me. He told me that last night, he dreamed about the late Zam’ mother, Mak Yah. In his dream, Mak Yah appeared in front of him asking whether her favourite nasi lemak bungkus udang was still in the market.


After leading the Subuh prayer at his mosque, Imam Dahalan went straight to the Gunung weekly market where the nasi lemak bungkus udang was sold once a week on Thursday. The speciality of the nasi lemak was that the preparation procedure of the nasi lemak bungkus udang was done in the original traditional way of cooking. It is suitable for comsumption for any level of age whether it is young or old as the prawn gravy is not that hot. As a remembrance to the fond memory of Mak Yah and her families, there was a sudden urge on Imam Dahalan's part to offer prayers to Mak Yah as well as giving alms in the form of the nasi lemak bungkus udang.


When I opened the nasi lemak bungkus udang, I without realising it, I shed some tears as I remembered vividly the nasi lemak bungkus udang which I used to buy often for Mak Yah from the hawker stall at Telok Wan Jah. Zam and Nari also used to ask Imam Dahalan's assistance in buying the correct nasi lemak bungkus udang for their mother. I regretted very much that it took an outsider to remind us about the memory of my late mother in law.


It was natural for Imam Dahalan to have that feeling as he was very closed to Mak Yah. When come to religious rites, Zam surely remember to seek Imam Dahalan's assistance. In fact, Imam Dahalan was the last person to offer prayers during Mak Yah’s last breath on 22.12.1990 at 21 B, Lorong Kampung Pisang. Imam Dahalan is still maintaining a close relationship with Mak Yah’s descendants as he would willingly lead the prayers at our annual Haji Yaacob’s breakfast congregation at Holiday Villa sponsored by our Abang.


I believe that not all Mak Yah’s descendants remember Mak Yah demise date but I strongly believe that every son, daughter and grand children remember the fond loving memory of Mak Yah as what Imam Dahalan might has felt this morning. During her life time, Mak Yah was the examplary role model to her relatives, friends and foes alike.

Mak Yah was a very caring person and she has a very positive attitude towards life and she was not afraid of anything. As her husband passed away at an early life, Mak Yah was very calculative in her life as she has to raise her six children without a monthly scheduled income. In the early days, she used to ration the foods among her children so that every child has their proportionate share of foods. She never spend beyond her means and she even served only fried beehoon during Abang's wedding to Kak Fuzna.

Her grand children were very fond of her as she was very adventurous in planning her grand children's activities such as taking trishaw rides on the late Pak In's trishaw. From my observation, not a single child of her inherited all her attributes wholesome. For example Nami is very meticulous in her housekeeping but she is not a talkative lady like Mak Yah. While Mek Tet is a very jovial talkative lady up to the the CNN standard but not that forgiving as Mak Yah. Zam is not that adventurous as her mother but emulates her mother's choice in buying items. If you combine all her six children's different attributes, then you would get Mak Yah's wholesome attributes. With the grace of Allah she was successful in bringing up six responsible citizens of Malaysia single handedly.

She never spoke negative things about others although she was sometimes unjustly portrayed as a villain lady. In the evening, she would spend her leisure time by swinging lazily on her swings and she would greet every one who passed by the house. She would even comment on the dressing or the physical appearance of a young lady who was very prosperous in delivering babies. Her favourite lady was very cautious to pass through 21B if she was carrying another child. Mak Yah used to buy elegance looking apparels with resonable price but she was very happy when her children guessed a higher price. She did not like to trouble her children even to the last day.

Nana used to accompany her grand mother on the swings and Mak Yah used to take that opportunity to advice Nana on the tricky journey of life. To me, Mak Yah was not just a loving mother in law to me but also my Bank Rakyat . I used to borrow cash money in time of emergency such as the sudden death of my grand parents and other realtives whose funeral expenditures fell on me. There were no ATM facilities in those days and Mak Yah was my ATM to her very last days. AlFatihah.