84 YEAR OLD MAK SIAH
From left; Ismail, Syed Zain and Muhammad
It was a very sentimental wedding feast for me on Sunday, 27 November 2011. A week before Ezman brought home a wedding reception invitation from his Collegian friend Muhd Fuad bin Rahim. Ezman was bewildered because he did not his friend’s family. However his friend told Ezman that the invitation was from his parent especially his mother Fauziah. Muhd Fuad advised Ezman just to mention to me that it was from the daughter of Pak Murad and Mah Siah. He was very confident that I would remember that special bond of relationship between our two families.
When I received the invitation card, old memories came cascading down my head. The late Pak Murad was the Forester Grade One which was in charge of the Langkawi Forest Range just before Merdeka. My late father was his subordinate holding the rank of Forester Grade Two. The late Pak Murad thought my late father the technique of sea fishing and both of them together with the boatman the late Pak Hussain would always out at sea after their office hours. We seldom bought fresh fishes from the market since their catches would be sufficient enough for our three families.
The late Pak Murad has 9 children whereby his sixth son Muhammad and seventh son Sulaiman were in the same age group with me and my cousin, Syed Mahmud. As such we spent our school holidays together in Langkawi and I really enjoyed their companionship. We lost contact with each other after the late Pak Murad and my late father were transferred out to the mainland. After 1959 when I entered the secondary at Sultan Abdul Hamid College Alor Setar, my acquaintance with Muhammad and Suleiman faded away because of the lack of communication facilities.
.
After a lapse of nearly 52 years, it came as a surprise to me but it would naturally provide a golden opportunity for us to rekindle old fond memories of teenage relationship during the late fifties. Muhammad has joined the Police Force and retired as a Superintendent Commanding a Field Force Battalion but we have never crossed path during our service in the government. As such I told Zam that I must attend this at whatever cost. Although I have not met Muhammad for the last 52 years, yet I managed to recognise Muhammad the instant I met him at the wedding reception at Pusat Aktiviti Pejabat Daerah Kota Setar, No: 1331, Lebuhraya Darulaman.
I exchanged pleasantries with Muhammad’s siblings that were present at the reception especially his elder brother Ismail who was my chief clerk during my stint as the Land Administrator at Sik District Office in the early seventies. Grateful with the blessings of Allah, I did not expect to see Mak Siah who was present at the reception. Mak Siah is already 84 years old but sad to say Mak Siah did not recognise me or even remember my late mother, her closed confidant during the Langkawi tenure.
Compared to my four siblings who are still alive, three of Muhammad siblings has passed away namely:
1. Ramli (deceased)
2. Marzuki (deceased)
3. Hahsim
4. Ismail
5. Fatimah
6. Muhammad
7. Sulaiman (deceased)
8. Fauziah
9. Ghani
No comments:
Post a Comment