1. BANG MUD : ANOTHER FALLEN MUSKETEER
In my Rememberance Series No: 92: Fallen Musketeer posted on 25 November 2011, I did mentioned about our childhood comradeship between four fourth generation Kelubians which comprised of:
1. Syed Mahathir @ Chin bin Syed Ali born in 1945
2. Syed Mahamud @ Bang Mud bin Syed Ibrahim born on 21 May 1946
3. Syed Zain bin Syed Abdullah born on 28 August 1946
4. Yahaya @ Daq bin Ahmad born 1947
Influenced by the comic characters of the Three Musketeers, we used to potray ourselves as the Musketeers and during the school holidays especially during the fruiting seasons, we used to roam freely on our bicycles looking for any opportunity to enjoy the taste of free fruits offered by our generous neighbours. We even hiked up the Malau Hill just to have our lunch up there while enjoying the splendour of the scenery around Jitra township. Our bonded comradeship survived the acid test of time until death do we part. The bond of comradeship was broken when our youngest member, Daq was recalled by Allah SWT on 16 August 2011 at 1.05 pm and was laid to rest at the Kelubi Burial Ground. Daq's cause of death was acute diabetic ailment.
After the demise of Daq, Chin and Bang Mud visited me at my residence when both of them heard that I was ill disposed by Miss Gout. It was a rare occassion to have the three of us together in my residence and I took the golden opportunity to have our photograph taken (as attached below). I did not realised then that it would be our last photograph between the three of us since Bang Mud was also recalled by Allah SWT. on Thursday 30 January 2014 at 2.20 pm on the lap of his eldest daughter, Sharifah Nadrina at Changloon. Bang Mud's cause of death was also due to kidney and heart failure. Bang Mud was laid to rest at Taman Uda Burial Ground on Friday, 31 January 2014 just after the Friday prayer. Coincidently the late Kak Jah, wife of Bang Mud, was also laid to rest at the same burial ground on Friday within the same period time in October 2010. With the demise of Bang Mud, only two musketeers (Chin and Me) are left waiting for our turns to be rcalled by Allah SWT. Alhamdullillah.
From left: Chin, Syed Zain and Bang Mud
2. BANG MUD, MY SHARED BREASTED MILK SIBLING
As my mother was undernourished when I was born and has not enough breast milik to breast feed me, I was also breast fed by Bang Mud's mother, Sharifah Bedah who was also the elder sister of my father. She was also the wife of my mother's elder brother, Syed Ibrahiim. Apart from having relationship as first cousins, both of our parents were also first cousins. As such, both Bang Mud and I enjoyed a very special closed knitted relationship because of our status as shared breast fed siblings.
Bang Mud and me shared the same grand parents as potrayed in the family photograph taken in 1951 (attached below). With the demise of Bang Mud, only three of us within the same age group are still alive namely Sharifah Norlis Syed Ibrahim, Sharifah Zainab (elder sister of Bang Mud) and myself (standing from right: No. 4,3 and 2 in the photograph below). Coincidently, all our younger first cousins (those children seated in front) namely Syed Abu Bakar Syed Hussein, Sharifah Zaleha Syed Ibrahim and Syed Illias Syed Ibrahim (from left: No. 4 standing, 8 and 11) has been recalled by Allah SWT.
Family picture of Syed Ahmad bin Syed Abdul Kadir (my paternal grand father) taken in 1951 at his residence at the Tunjang Chettiar Rubber Estate, Tunjang, Jitra.
Seated from left: Sharifah Esah bt. Syed Abdul Kadir (younger sister of Syed Ahmad), Syed Ahmad
Syed Abdul Kadir (deceased), Ku Puteh bt. Ku Saad (Syed Ahmad's wife - deceased), Syed Abu Bakar bin Syed Hussein - standing in front of Ku Puteh, son of Sharifah Fatimah - deceaced), Sharifah Fatimah - fourth child of Syed Ahmad - deceased), Sharifah Sa bin Syed Ali (niece of Ku Puteh - deceased) with her son in her clasp, Ku Yaacob bin Ku Penuh (deceased), Sharifah Zaleha bt Syed Ibrahim, third child of Sharifah Bedah - (deceased), Sharifah Bedah Syed Ahmad, second child of Syed Ahmad - (deceased), Sharifah Zaharah Syed Ahmad, youngest child of Syed Ahmad - (deceased) and Syed Ilias bin Syed Ibrahim,second child of Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad - (deceased).
Standing from left: Syed Salleh bin Syed Ahmad, fifth child of Syed Ahmad, Syed Ibrahim bin Syed Hassan, husband of Sharifah Bedah, Syed Abdullah bin Syed Ahmad, third child of Syed Ahmad - (deceased), Syed Ibrahim bin Syed Ahmad, eldest child of Syed Ahmad (deceased), Sharifah Norlis bt. Syed Ibrahim, eldest child of Syed Ibrahim bin Syed Ahmad, Sharifah Zainab bt. Syed Ibrahim, eldest child of Sharifah Bedah, Syed Zain bin Syed Abdullah, eldest child of Syed Abdullah and Syed Mahamud bin Syed Ibrahim, second child of Sharifah Bedah - (deceased).
3. SHARING TOGETHER THROUGH THICK AND THIN
I was very fortunate because my late father was a Forester at the Kedah Forestry Department and was able to support my primary and tertiary education expenses at the Sultan Abdul Hamid College. Whereas Bang Mud's father, Syed Ibrahim was only a farmer on leased lands which was quite a constraint for him to support Bang Mud when he joined me at the College in 1960. As Bang Mud was a year junior than me in school, it reduced the burden on my uncle since Bang Mud could use the hand me down text books from me.
Apart from that, my father also took the liberty to assist Bang Mud and also his other siblings in providing the other schooling needs such as school uniforms and other essentials. As such, as it was a normal routine for Bang Mud and his siblings to spend their times during school holidays in our house whether it was in Langkawi, Kangar or Changloon. My mother would always ascertain that her nephews and nieces would go back home for the new school terms with ample budget allocations for their school needs. With the blessings of Allah SWT, their routine visits were not a burden to us for the whole family would look forward for their visits since it would make our school holidays more merrier. Both of our families shared together the joys and sorrows through thick and thin.
Family gathering during 1974 school holidays at the Forest Department Quarters 1347 (A) in Kuah, Langkawi, comprised of Syed Abdullah's family (host) with the children of his elder sister, Sharifah Bedah and also his younger brother, Syed Salleh.
4. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
4.1. Primary Education
As Bang Mud was three months older than me, naturally we grew up together. With my inherited asthmatic problem and compared to Bang Mud's physical agility, we were compatible to each other. Bang Mud would always come to my assistance in doing heavy duty chores while I would in return helped him in other aspects of lesser heavy duty chores.
Bang Mud was registered as a standard one student at Padang Perahu Malay School in the year 1953 at the age of 6 years 7 months. Whereas I was registered as a Standard One student at Sungai Petani Malay School in 1952 at the age of 5 years 4 months. As such I was a year senior in school which was in fact a blessing in disguise for Bang Mud. Apart from having the privilege of getting hand me down text books, Bang Mud also has the choice of following my footsteps in the pursuit of English education as compared to his other friends in Kampung Hutan Setali who completed only their standard six . Bang Mud was only at Padang Perahu Malay School until Standard Four (1956) when he sat for his Special Malay One Entrance Examination
Compared to Bang Mud who completed his Malay primary education at only one school, I have to undergo my Malay primary education at four different schools as I have got to drag along with my father's attachment at the various Forestry Range Offices such as follows:
1. 1952 - Sungai Petani Malay School (Standard One)
2. 1953 - Kepong Malay School, Selangor (Standard Two) - accompanying my father undergoing a Forester Certificate training course at the Forestry Research Institute, Kepong.
3. 1954 - Jitra Malay School (Standard Three) - staying with paternal uncle who was a teacher at the same school
4. 1955 - Jeniang Malay School (Standard Four)
After Standard Four at Sekolah Melayu Jeniang, I was enrolled as a Special Malay Class One at the Sultan Abdul Hamid Primary School and I was also a boarder at the College Hostel. In 1956, apart from the College, there were also other male students from the District of Kubang Pasu who enrolled as Special Malay Class students at either the Sultan Abdul Halim Primary School or at St. Michael Primary School at Alor Setar which were non boarding schools. In 1957, Bang Mud was lucky because he could enroll as a Special Malay Class student at the newly established Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Primary School at Jitra. He commuted daily by bus from Kampung Hutan Setali to Jitra and he would then walk from the Jitra Bus Station to the school.
4.2. My Experiences as non-boarder
When the occurance of my asthmatic ailments which were more frequent in 1958, my father suggested that I should leave the College Hostel and stay with my grand mother at our ancestrial home at Kampung Hutan Setali. In the middle of 1958, I left the College Hostel and commute daily by bus to Alor Setar. From there on, the relationship between Bang Mud and me became closer since we shared the same routines in our daily lives as Bang Mud were also staying in the same house. There were some shared experiences with Bang Mud whose fond memories are still fresh in my mind such as as the following incidences:
4.2.1. Bumpy Bus Rides To School
The bus service in the District of Kubang Pasu was operated by the Kubang Pasu Transport Company whose main Bus Station was at the present site of the Alor Setar Hoilday Villa Hotel . There were three other subsidiary bus stations in the District of Kubang Pasu namely Kodiang, Changloon and Jitra. For the benefits of the school students who were studying in Alor Setar, the bus company put up two school bus itineraries to Alor Setar which departed daily at 6.00 am from Kodiang and Changloon. Since the number of students who studied were ilimited in number, the Changloon bus would stop its journey at the Jitra Bus Station and the students would disembark and boarded another bus to Alor Setar. Whereas the Kodiang Bus who has enough students who studied in Alor Setar, it was economically viable for the bus to ply up to Alor Setar without stopping to upload passengers from Jitra onwards. .
I took the Kodiang bus which were manned by the ever smiling driver, Pak Mat and assisted by the able bus conductor, Ah Kow. The registration number of the sturdy made Fargo Bus was KA 425. The bus engine and chassis were manufactured by the motor company Chrysler which was then based in Canada. Air condition was not the norm in those days and the bus ventilations were derived were from the natural breeze that passed through the open windows. As such, we have to keep the windows opened so that the passing breeze would cool us down.
With the windows down, surely there was an absence of a barrier if any object were thrown into the bus. To prove my contention, there was an incidence whereby my face was smeared by cow dung. it was a disaster for us when the bus we rode back from the school met with an accident while maneuvering the three cornered junctions at Kepala Batas. When a full grown cow crossed the road at the same time, the bus could not avoid it but to hit head on at the crossing full grown cow. The force of the impact has forced the cow to spurt its dung which splashed at the right side of the bus and the poor sudents sitting at the right edge of the bus with their windows opened were smeared by the cow dung. Before continuing its journey to Jitra, the bus has got to stop at at the road side so that the affected students could wash down their cow dung smeared faces by using the water sourced from the padi fields adjacent to the road.
4.2.2. VIPs of KA 425
Pak Mad and Ah Kow has treated every passenger students of KA 425 for the route of Kodiang/Jitra as Very Important Passenger (VIP). They knew in and out about the backgrounds of every student who rode on their bus KA 425. If a particular student was sound asleep even when was appproaching the location of the student's house, Ah Kow would press the bus bell and woke the student up when the bus stopped in from of the student's house. One afternoon, Ah Kow pulled a joke on me by not waking me up and let me sleep until KA 425 arrived at the Kodiang Bus Station. However Ah Kow did not charge me on the return trip to Hutan Setali but not his passing remark, "Tengok Pak Tuan tidoq sampai meleleh ayaq liok, kesian nak gerak. Biaq puaih tidoq atas atas bus, tak gaduhlah tidoq di rumah." In fact, thirty years later when I was the District of Kubang Pasu, I did not recognised greyed haired Ah Kow until the aged Ah Kow greeted me, "Pak Tuan, la ni lu punya badan banyak sihat, lu punya lelah sudah tak dak lagi kah?". The late Ah Kow was very happy when I asked him to join me for a cup kopi kow at my office while awaiting for his application to be processed.
Every morning, the bus KA 425 would depart from the Kodiang Bus Station at 6.00 am on the dot with the earliest student passengers who were residents of the town such as Mat Ali, Mad Kodiang and Amnah . At Milestone 18 Padang Perahu, the bus would pick up Zainol Hamzah who was staying with Penghulu Megat, the Penghulu of Padang Perahu. I boarded the bus at Milestone 17 1/4, Kampung Hutan Setali together with Bang Mud. The next stop by the bus was at Milestone 17 where Muhammad Abdullah would board the bus. Both Bang Mud and Mad would alight at the Jitra Bus Station and then walked to Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Primary School. Both of them has been recalled Allah SWT.
At Milestone 16, Kampung Lubuk the bus would pick up Abdul Halim Ali, Mohd. Bisharuddin Mohd. Nor Bashah, Khalifah Othman, and Sharifah Zamzam with her sister. At the town of Tunjang, KA 425 would pick up Megat Muhaiyuddin bin Megat Hassan, Rahim Mamak, Ibrahim Ahmad and Ah Kow. At Pulau Nyior Village, the bus would pick up the last passengers namely Yaacob Man, Kadir Doi and Zaitun Jamil.
Those list of passengers in the bus daily scheduled trip KA 425 to Alor Setar were not conclusive since I could not remember the whole lot. However I am very proud to be associated with them because some of them were future technocrats at the state and national levels. One has become the 10th. Chief Secretary to the Malaysian Government while another one has retired as the 7th. Secretary General of of the Works Ministry. Two has become Senior University Lecturers and another one has retired as Deputy Director General of Istana Budaya. Thus we can easily assumed that the Fargo bus KA 425 was also one of the contributing factors in enhancing the intellectual developments in the country.
4.2.3. Early to Rise To Catch KA 425
4.2.4. Circumcision
During the Flu Epidemic in 1958, I was warded at the Alor Star General Hospital for more than a week. It was a very boring week for me and I began to worry about my overdue circumsision procedure whereby I would be in the secondary the next year. I related my circumcision anxiety to Rahim, my newly found Hospital Attendant friend who looked after me at Ward 17. Rahim assisted me in making an appointment with the Hospital Assistant, Pak Wan Din who was famous with the senior hostelites since he has performed circumcision procedure on them. After examining me, the veteran Medical Assistant, Pak Wan Din fixed my circumcision procedure appointment date during the second term school holidays.
On the appointed day, I wore my Malay dress complete with my sarung and I informed my grand mother that I would be going for my circumcision procedure at the General Hospital in Alor Star. My grand mother was taken aback by my sudden action and I got a good scolding from her because she would prefer for me to undergo the traditional circumcision procedure by the Village Mudim . I was very confident with my decision since Bang Mud would be accompanying me to the Hospital. Bang Mud was also not in favour of a traditional circumcision procedure for he was also keen on undergoing his circumcision procedure at the Hospital during the next school holidays. With that in mind, we took an hour bus ride journey to the Alor Star General Hospital.
After my circumcision procedure has gone through successfully at the hand of MA Pak Wan Din, we took a bus ride back to Kampung Hutan Setali. We thought that we have chosen the most comfort seat at the back of the bus. We realised our folly when the one hour journey was indeed a torturous journey for me as I have got to bear the pain of the bumpy ride with my hands holding the sarung all the way through. Anyway, I was very grateful to Allah SWT for the success of my circumcision expedition and my grandmother held a token thanksgving feast me.
In those days , traditional circumcision procedure was in fact an event to remember in the kampungs. The prospective boys to be circumcised would be paraded to the river or well whereby the boys would be cooled down for the precircumcision procedure. I did not received any money either as compared to my grand son who received more than a thousand ringgit as gifts or in fact there were some forms of inducement for in agreeing for his circumcision in 2011. My parents were really surprised when I informed them that I have been circumcised.
Buoyant with my circumcision success, Bang Mud was anxious to undergo a similar circumcision procedure with MA Pak Wan Din during the next school term holidays. With some money to throw around, after Bang Mud's successful circumcision procedure, we charted a taxi for a ride home to Kampung Hutan Setali which was much less bumpy than the bus ride. Bang Mud spend the whole journey back by sleeping at the back seat of the taxi. This episode reflected the close affection that we have between shared breast feeding siblings. Alhamdulillah.
Picture taken in 1959 at Forest Quarters 1347 (A), Kuah, Langkawi.
Standing from left: Bang Mud (Standard Six in his school uniform, two weeks after he has gone through his modern circumcision procedure), my sisters: Sharifah Hindon (standing), Sharifah Norin (in my clasps) and Syed Zain (Form One)
4.2.3. Religious Class at Sekolah Melayu Padang Perahu
4.2.4. Staying With Other Uncles
4.2.4. Renting House in Alor Setar
4.2.5. Studying in Kuala Lumpur
4.2.6. Giving Hands in Marriage
5. PERFORMING THE HAJ TOGETHER WITH SECOND AND THIRD GENERATION KELUBIANS
Among our peers, Bang Mud was much advanced than us for he and Kak Jah managed to perform the Haj together with his grand mother and uncles in 1983. Bang Mud's presence with the veteran Haj group was applaudable since he could provide the strength of muscle power to the aging group. Whereas on my part, Zam and I could only afford to perform the Haj in 1992 together with my first cousin, Syed Izhar Syed Salleh together with the three original 1983 Haj Group members namely Syarifah Meriam (my mother), Syed Salleh and Sharifah Aznah (Syed Izhar's parents).
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Preparing for the journey to perform the Haj in 1983 at the Kedah House in Penang
My late father whose hand writings were good whether in Romanised or Jawi scripts was was given the task of writing the names and addresses of the bag owners.
PERFORMING THE HAJ IN 1983
Seated from left: No. 1: Syed Abdullah (my father), No.2: Syed Salleh (my father's younger brother) , No. 3: Sharifah Som (my maternal grand mother) and No.4 Sharifah Meriam (my mother),
Standing from left: No. 1: Sharifah Zaharah (my father's youngest sister), No. 2: Sharifah Aznah (Syed Salleh's wife),
No. 3: Bang Mud (at ease donning his sarung to Mecca) and No. 4: Halijah (Bang Mud's wife:)
