SIBLINGS 14 : HAMID THE MAGNIFICIENT

REMEMBRANCE SERIES 13 : ADDENDUM

In my Remembrance Series No: 4, I did mentioned that Lid went for a haircut at the late Mr. Malaysia Barber Shop. Today I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Malaysia himself on the wheel of a Kancil near the Teluk Wan Jah Junction Traffic Light looking very healthy and full of enthusiasm. I wish to offer my deepest opology and regret to Mr. Malaysia for the lapse on my part in ensuring the authenticity of my source information. We do sincerely hope that Mr. Malaysia would live a longer and prosperous life. Thank you

TWILIGHT YEARS 2 : SATISFACTION

What is satisfaction to a retiree. Is money the only main key to achieve total satisfaction. I do not think so because when I looked at some of my friends, I do not think they are totally happy although they are sleeping on piles of money.

To me, total satisfaction for a retiree is when you are healthy and can freely spend your retired life according to your own fancy without the preasure of money or family matters. As a retiree, you must do errands or works that you like best and you must not be under duress to perform jobs that you do not like.

For me, I am very contented with my retired life as I have found my heaven in the family and around the house. With the blessing of Allah, I do not have to worry about my children as they have already secured pensional jobs and they have built their own lives without our interference. I am very fortunate that all my children and in laws are Allah abiding individuals although I could not manage to provide them with abundance of religious knowledge as well as the abundance of wealth. My only concrete contributions to them was giving them education and sense of good behaviour as well as respectfullness.

With our limited resources, Zam and I managed to develop our small garden that could provide comfort and tranquility when we are in the condition of messed up minds. I have a very limited skill and capability in gardening and most of the times Zam was calling the shots for our limited gardening enterprise. My modest contribution to the gardening was limited only to watering the plants. My garden always cry for more water as my watering efforts were always hampered by my never ending bouts of gouts.

Zam is also very contended with her retired life this year when she was able to get her fanatical wishes i.e. wakaf and also buying bikes to the grand children according to their likings. The full carpeted wakaf is waiting anxiously for the visits of her grand children and obviously she would achieve her total satisfaction in life.

Asplenium nidus
Our pokok pakis plants are quiet healthy after Malik's advice on their healthy food manure i.e banana skins.

The table and chairs provide the venue for the tranquility of life

Calathea veitchiana at the centre

Alocasia macrorrhiza variegata at the centre whose leave can grow to the maximum width of 1 meter and the length of 1.5 meters. Calathea zebrina is at the left.

From top: Calathea ornata, Calathea metallica and Dracaena godseffiana

Alocasia sanderiana Bull originates from the Philippines

The first carpeted wakaf in the country

TWILIGHT YEARS 1 : LIFE FULLFILLED

I joined the Persatuan Pesara-Pesara Kerajaan Malaysia Kedah when I retired in 2001. I even became its Chairman for two terms. I am still an active member of the society and the society never fails to inform me about their activities. Last week, the Chairman Dato' Haji Harun Hashim who was also my former teacher invited me to chair or facilitate on one of their Chatting series. This annual 'chatting' program was a hit among the members.

This year's chatting program was held at the INSPIN Lecture Hall at Sultanah Bahiyah Mosque on Wednesday, 29 April 2009. The topic of discussion for the day was "Everywhere a lot of people like to chat aimlessly i.e empty talks that do not benefit anybody or the society as a whole. What are the steps that should be taken to turn our empty chats beneficial to the society."

The topic of the of the discussion was very vague and yet it was a very interesting one. I let the flood gate open widely so that the participants could air their views without any restriction or hindrance. I did not have any problem in stimulating the participants to talk. There were like ducks being thrown into the water when the floor were opened to them. Being the chairman up on the stage,it was an enjoyment to watch them giving their views.

There were a very disciplined seniors who were respectful to each other. A junior senior would always give way to a super senior to talk ahead him. As the chairman, I do not need to use the chairman's whip as they took their turns to talk in a very orderly manner. The junior senior would always give respect and preference to their super seniors. Apart from showing off their oratory skills and also brandishing their egos, there were a few very high quality intellectual views that were brought up by the participants.

Mr. Gurdial Singh was honoured to be associated with the awarding of Kings Scout by Sir Gerald Templer to 13 scouts from Kedah 55 years ago. Mr. Gurdial was very proud to say that sense of unity among the 13 scouts was the main factor that contributed to the success of the 13 scouts from Kedah. There were a lot tough obstacles for them to go through as a team. One of the toughest obstacles was the event of climbing of a 15 feet concrete wall. Only five of the toughest thirteen managed to climb over the wall. In the spirit of unity and comradeship, without a second thought, Mr. Gurdial took off his sixteen feet long turban and they used it effectively in hauling up the remaining of the eight scouts. As a result of their sense of unity and comradeship, all the thirteen were awarded the Kings Scout (the highest honour in scouting movement) by Sir Gerald Templer on 27 May 1954. Mr. Gurdial hoped the spirit and sense of unity that was showed by the thirteen scouts should prevail in the chatting series.

Sekim Khariat Kematian of Takaful Ikhlas at Pusat Dakwah on 23 April 2009

Standing from left: Pak Mid Bomoh, Gurdial Singh, Dato' Haji Harun Hashim, Pak Din, Haji Badlishah and Rahim Susu

Pak Haji Din satisfied with his fullfilled life

Pak Din, the former Chief of the Navy's father related to us a very poignant episode when he was performing his subuh prayer at one the Kuala Lumpur's mosque. He went to perform his subuh prayer at the mosque accompanied by his grand son. After performing sunat prayer, he was approaced by a learned man who enquired about his background and the person who accompanied him to the mosque.

After the obligotary subuh prayer, Pak Din was suprise when the learned man that has befriended him was invited to the front of the congregation to give his 'kuliah subuh'. He was in fact a Religious Professor from one of the local universities. He started his lecture by giving accolade to Pak Din for being able to persuade his grand son to accompany him to perform the subuh prayer in the mosque. The professor confessed that he could bring his disciples to the mosque but he failed in his duty in dragging his son or worst still his grand son to perform the subuh prayer at the mosque. He saluted Pak Din for being an examplary father who could perform diligently this simple yet a very daunting task for any father.

Retiree teacher, Dato' Halim R giving his opinion on empty talks

Full concentration given to the speaker

The raintree and ara trees beside the INSPIN Lecture Hall

From his observation of the Siamese twin tree, Police retiree, Haji Mansor Din holistic advice is not to be power grabber like the parasite ara tree which always overstayed its welcome. In the same breath, do not be soft like the principal raintree which in no time it would be squeezed to its demise by the parasite tree. Both trees by then would have met their death and so retirees must be always be vigilant and fully aware of the danger of any parasite that befriend them.

I ended my chairmainship of the sembang session by giving this pantun:

Pokok dedap pulau Bumbun,

Pokok setoi pulau Pandan,

Kalau silap pohon ampun,

Kalau betul buatlah tauladan.

REMEMBRANCE SERIES 12 : WHAT A LIFE

With my baggy dress with a cane, beggars in Padang Besar mistook me to be one their peers which was also an OKU beggar.

Sharing our common misery waiting for the wives ransacking the Padang Besar Arcade

On Saturday, 25 April 2009, as Shiwar was free, Zam persuaded me to accompany Zam, Marini and Ezman to Padang Besar. Marini main objective for the day was to seek Pak Mud's air penawar for her jittery driving. Requesting Pak Mud's service was the main program of the day with a proposed secondary program of shopping in Padang Besar. Marini is holding the trust of her auntie, Contractor Class F to bring back some items from Padang Besar to Sarawak.

I agreed to accompany Zam with the condition that I would not accompany her to shop around but instead I would stay put at the rest area. Before resting, Ezman checked for me whether there was a sitting toilet at the public toilet. When Ezman gave me an affirmative answer, I was very happy as there would not be any constraint on my choices of food for lunch. So happily I sat down at the concourse area of the arcade. To my astonishment, I was not alone in facing this common dilemma as I met a few guys who also suffered the same fate as mine.

I met a 53 year Fireman from Sungai Petani who was also waiting for his wife to do her shopping in the arcade. He has already bought a big thermos flask for his nasi lemak business back in Sungai Petani. He did not like driving his car to Padang Besar but instead he joined in a weekly tour group which charged them RM 30.00 for a person. With a bigger luggage compartment on the bus, there was no need for him to worry about the size of his goods. They would also the local Thai cuisine which was much cheaper in his home town. From my informal discussion I had with him, he seemed to be very satisfied with part time business venture.

I advised him to be vigilant on the quality of his foods as customers would rather go for quality rather than quantity. Although the cost of raw materials for his nasi lemak has increased, yet he did not reduce the quality of his his ingredients. His policy proved its worth when his regular customers who has gone for the other lower quality nasi lemak has returned to him. His secret recipe was to add more halba on the nasi lemak whereby the durability of his nasi lemak would last more than 24 hour. He was very satisfied with the quantity of his nasi lemak sales which has touched 5 gantangs daily.

On our way back to Alor Setar, Zam asked Shiwar to stop at Changloon immediately after the Changloon Mosque where she previously saw a few wakafs being displayed in front of a house. The house owner by the name of Che Gu Wahid came out to meet us. He explained about the price of each wakaf inclusive the price of transportation to Alor Setar. Zam was satisfied with the price and she paid the down payment of RM 200.00 with the understanding that Che Gu Wahid would sent the wakaf the next day to our house in Alor Setar.

Shiwar and Marini with Noraini and her family came down to our house anxiously waiting for the arrival of the wakaf. Underfortunately the wakaf failed to turn up even after the Maghrib prayers. Frustrated they left our house at 8.00 pm leaving the three of to handle the arrival of the wakaf. Luckily the wakaf arrived at 10.30 pm on board a three ton lorry. There were four more people on board the lorry and the five of them were very in bringing the wakaf from the lorry. The wakaf fitted in nicely at the back of our house

The graziness for wakaf

Wakaf was a reality at 10.30 pm 28 April 2009

Slow and steady, the wakaf was brought safely from the lorry

On firm footing at 11.00 pm with blackie as the first occupant

A make over by tomorrow evening with the auspices of Ayie and Shiwar

For comfort and relaxation, a fully carpeted wakaf by the next day

Enjoying the serenity of the wakaf

What a life without arthritis

With this wakaf, the world is ours

SIBLING SERIES 13: FOODS UNITED

Nasi daun pisang

We do miss Nasi Daun Pisang in Alor Setar as there were no more local nasi daun pisang restaurants that we can safely consume. If our graze for nasi daun pisang increase to the boiling point, then we have to go down south to Ipoh where Abang is ever ready to douse our desire.

However here in Alor Setar, our graze for nasi daun pisang is not up to that degree of graziness for we have other ample choices of the same standard of Mamak dishes.


When comes to foods, naturally Salleh Khir's descendants are very much united. We do agree that Alor Setar is the heaven of various types of nasi Mamak and each family has their own choice and preference of nasi mamak. The worst culprit in this matter is our patriarch, Abang who does not have any weightage on the various types of nasi mamak in Alor Setar. He likes every type of Alor Setar nasi mamak whether it is Nasi Royale, Nasi Ayam Kampung, Nasi Yasmeen, Nasi Ali, Nasi Batu Nisan or any other types. He is also well verse with the schedules of the opening times of each nasi mamak outlet in Alor Setar. Pak Ad would compliment him by giving the timing of the changing of rice so that we would enjoy fresh sizzling cooked rice.

Even after our annual break fast dinner in Holiday Villa, Abang would still prefer another round of nasi mamak. When comes to nasi mamak, time is not an essence to him. He would drag us along with him to enjoy the sumptuous nasi mamak of his choice of the night. Our authority on nasi mamak i.e. Pak Ad would always be at hand to facilitate the smooth flow of the Nasi Mamak delivery system to his favourite cousin. Pak Tam Nari is also handy in ordering naik mamak as he has direct contacts with some the nasi mamak proprietors. He is most effecient in ordering fried koeteow Rahman who has since ceases his fried koeteow business.

Abang's children prefer the nasi ayam kampung at Pintu Sepuluh. Their choice is similar to the Noraini's children especially Amalina. Nasi Ayam Kampung's speciality is the fresh Kampung chicken curry and also fresh ikan tenggiri curry. Surely papadum would add flavour to the dishes. To Abang's children, it is considered that your job in Alor Setar is not settled if ever the grand finale is not nasi mamak especially nasi ayam kampung.

THE EARLY MORNING JOURNEY OF NASI AYAM KAMPUNG

Restoran Nasi Tomato Majeed at 706, Jalan Tambang Badak at 7.00 am

Nasi Tomato Majeed or Nasi Ayam Kampung opens daily before 6.00 am

Battle ready to confront the fanatics of Nasi Ayam Kampung


Dressed to kill for any eventualities



At 7.00 am they have already finished their meals

The ever smiling cashier waiting for the coins to trickle in

All the fried chicken and its compatriot curry ayam kampung enticing the customers

Early morning birds ordering dishes according to their likings

Ayam kampung looking very harmless yet tempting. In fact it is the devil in waiting providing the impetus to your deteorating health

In contrast with Abang's children, Nami's children would prefer Nasi Royale whose outlet is located in front of the former Royal Theater. Nasi Royale specialty is the fried liver which is a catalyst for gout. Whoever in Nami's family who happens to come back to Alor Setar, then it would be a sin if he or she does not bring back Nasi Royale to Alun. As such I would always bump into Mat at Nasi Royale in the early morning when ever Mat and Nami are in town. I am not sure about Ani's children but I think they would prefer the original Nasi Royale outlet at Sungai Korok.

THE EFFECIENT NETWORKING OF THE NASI ROYALE DELIVERY SYSTEM

The Daily Morning Journey of Nasi Royale

The shop that has magnetic pull for Alun

Emptiness in front of the shop 7.00 am

Emptiness in the shop at 7.00 am

There is no emptiness for Mr. Kim as he is getting ready with his first customer i.e. myself

The central nerve of Nasi Royale at 7.15 am

Effeciently transporting the central nerve at 7.16 am

Ready for the first customer at 7.24 am

The first customer at 7.25 am

The first five customers at 7.26 am

Crisp ready for the journey to Shah Alam

Similar to Alun, Nana also prefers Nasi Royale. The Nasi Royale's proprietor would know for sure that Nana is in town when I would pay a visit to the shop with an order of more than eight take away. I have been frequenting the Nasi Royale outlet in front of the Royale Theater since 1969. The Chinese proprietor would always place a hot cup of teh tarik in front of me when ever I sit down on his chair without me asking for it. That shows how close our relationship are just because of the consistancy in consuming Nasi Royale.

Last night, I received the lattest news from living CNN, Alin is in fact a deviant from his family. Not that he does not fancy Nasi Royale but instead he loves Nasi Yasmeen more.. In each seating at Nasi Yasmeen, Alin would order two full plate on rice with only fried chicken berempah. There is no curry accompanying the rice but like Flash Jordan, Alin would licked the plate clean in just a jippy. So is the positive product or it is a negative product of PLKN. Only Nami can vouch this under statement.

With the highest spirit of eppetite, two dishes of rice accompanying by deep fried spicy chicken would be gone in a second if ever Alin steps in at Yasmeen. Business hours of Yasmeen starts daily at 6.00 pm.

Lastly, sad to say that the Foods United are not that strongly binded. In fact there are also mavericks among Salleh Khir's grand sons who do not fancy anything special but would go to the finish line with any type of Alor Setar Nasi Mamak. The mavericks are personalities like Farli and Shiwar. Slow and yet steady with any type of Nasi Mamak even the nasi lemak at Restoran Ahmediah. These are the personalities who provide spices to the dull life of Alor Setar without its Nasi Daun Pisang..

Restoran Ahmediah @ Pokok Cherry Restaurant

View of Pokok Cherry Restaurant from the back

Nasi Lemak Haji Ali opens for business at 6.00 pm daily

History of Alor Setar Nasi Mamak

I would like the authority himself (Pak Ad) to speak on this matter.

DE