REMEMBRANCE 51: SELANGKAH KE DEWASA

Pada hari Rabu, 18.11.2009 seramai 406,420 pelajar di seluruh Malaysia akan menduduki peperiksaan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia bagi tahun 2009. Di antara mereka yang beradu kepandaian dan kefahaman ialah dua cucu Allahyarham Syed Abdullah dan Allahyarhamah Sharifah Meriam. Di antara 35,798 calun SPM di Negeri Kedah ialah Hanif anak kepada Norin. Manakala Nadia anak kepada Za akan mengambil peperiksaan di Putra Jaya. Kedua-dua mereka telah pun melalui berbagai liku untuk sampai ke saat yang mencabar ini.

Kalau emak dan Lid masih, sudah pasti berdua akan berdoa dan membaca surah Yassin untuk memohon keberkatan Illahi bagi membolehkan mereka berdua mencapai kejayaan yang cemerlang. Namun demikian, sudah pasti kedua-dua ibu bapa mereka telah menyempurnakan persiapan yang serupa untuk kedua-dua anak mereka. Kita sama-samalah berdoa ke hadrat Illahi supaya mereka berdua mendapat kejayaan yang cemerlang nanti.

Kini hanya tinggal dua daripada 21 cucu Lid dan Emak yang masih lagi di peringkat pengajian sekolah menengah iaitu Fariz dan Siti Khatijah.

Pada hari Sabtu, 14.11.2009 calun SPM di Kampung Hutan Setali bersama abangnya Shahir masih berkerja keras menyempurnakan persiapan untuk benih padi yang baik yang perlu ditaburkan oleh ayah mereka Fadil pada petang itu.

Dari kiri: Hanif dan Shahir sedang memilih benih padi yang kering dan elok

Dua gundi benih yang sempurna dimuatkan ke atas motosikal untuk dibawa ke sawah. Shahir pula menyusuli ayahnya dengan satu gundi benih lagi

Oleh kerana melebihi muatan, Hanif terpaksa membantu dengan menolak mostosikal ayahnya

Fadil dengan muatan yang sarat meminta Shahir menyusulinya

Kedua-dua anak beranak berlepas ke sawah

Nampaknya penduduk motosikal rumah Norin bertambah menjadi lima buah walau pun selepas sebuah motosikal telah disedekahkan di kawasan Masjid Pulau Maharaja.

Abang yang jauh bergegas pulang memberi sokongan moral kepada Hanif

REMEMBRANCE 50: KITTENS' GREETINGS

Mak Tok tak tahu kenapa akhir-akhir ini Kentoi kurang bergerak cergas. Makan pun kurang walau pun Mak Tok sediakan ikan kembong yang telah disisih dari tulang. Selalunya bila Mak Tok buka pintu hadapan di waktu pagi, Kentoi akan melompat masuk. Sekarang ini Kentoi hanya terus tidur apabila Mak Tok buka pintu di waktu pagi.

Bila Mak Tok kejutkan Toi dari tidurnya, Kentoi akan melompat ke atas almari kasut dan terus sambung tidurnya. Kentoi akan terus tidur di situ tanpa menghiraukan waktu makannya. Tok At yang berkerja di Pejabat Pendaftaran Kelahiran dan Kematian mengatakan kepada Mak Tok bahawa Kentoi akan melahirkan anak. Mak Tok tak berapa yakin dengan pendapat Pak Ad dengan kerana Pak Ad tentulah pakar mengenai kelahiran manusia dan bukan lah tentang kelahiran kucing.

Walau macam mana pun, Mak Tok kata Mak Tok tidak sanggup lagi membela anak kucing yang akan lahir. Cukuplah sudah dengan Naruto, Kitty dan Boboy yang banyak mengambil masa dan tenaga Mak Tok. Jadi Mak Tok sepakatlah dengan Tok Lid untuk memindahkan Kentoi ke kawasan Pasar Ikan supaya Toi boleh terus dapat hidup di situ. Pasar Ikan sudah tentulah ada banyak ikan untuk dimakan oleh Kentoi dan anaknya nanti.

Bila Mak Tok bincang dengan Ami Chik, dia pun setuju untuk memindahkan Kentoi ke pasar ikan. Mak Tok pun suruhlah Tok Lid beli sangkar untuk Kentoi apabila hendak dipindahkan ke pasar ikan. Kentoi mungkin akan meronta-ronta sekiranya dibawa tanpa sangkar yang sesuai. Sangkar itu juga boleh digunakan untuk membawa Kentoi atau anak-anaknya untuk mendapat rawatan di klinik haiwan. Walau pun Kentoi sedang murung tetapi anak-anak Kentoi tidak pun tahu bahawa ibu mereka mempunyai masalah.

Tiap-tiap pagi, Naruto akan bermain dengan adik-adiknya Kitty dan Boboy

Begitu juga dengan Kitty

dan juga Boboy

Bagaimana nakal tuannya Alya, begitulah Kitty yang amat nakal itu. Kitty seekorlah yang berani keluar daripada kawasan rumah Mak Tok menghala ke rumah Tok Auntie Fauziah

Atau pun Kitty akan bergaduh dengan abangnya Naruto



Ketiga-tiga mereka akan cuba sedaya upaya untuk melompat ke atas wakaf


Kittylah yang paling bersemangat untuk menaiki wakaf


Sesiapa yang kuat berusaha dengan penuh semangat, tentulah akan menemui kejayaan macam mana Kitty yang berjaya menaiki wakaf

Ummi Kentoi telah berjanji dengan anak-anaknya bahawa sesiapa yang berjaya menaiki wakaf akan dihadiahkan dengan minuman susu oleh Umminya. Naruto pun amat sedih kerana tak berjaya menaiki wakaf dan terus duduk termenung di bawah wakaf.

Macam mana Ummi Aisyah, Alya, Afiq dan Adli yang sentiasa mengotakan janjinya kepada anak-anaknya, Kentoi pun mengotakan janjinya dengan menyusukan Kitty yang telah berjaya menaiki wakaf

Boboy pun sangat marah dan cemburu kepada Kitty dengan kerana macam mana tuannya Alya, Kitty juga suka menunjuk-nunjuk kepada adiknya bahawa dia lebih cekap dari adiknya.





Naruto dan Boboy yang amat cemburu dengan telatah Kitty telah berpakat untuk bermain sembunyi-sembunyi bersama mereka berdua sahaja. Mereka tidak mahu bermain lagi dengan Kitty.


Kitty pun terus terjun dari wakaf dan meminta dari Naruto untuk bermain sama. Naruto yang sudah merajuk masih berkeras untuk tidak membenarkan Kitty bermain dengan mereka


Naruto pun terus mengajak Boboy untuk terus bermain tanpa melibatkan Kitty

Bila Kitty hendak bermain sama, Boboy pun terus melarikan diri dengan melompat ke atas pasu bunga

Boboy pun terus bermain sembunyi-sembunyi dengan Naruto tanpa menghiraukan Kitty

Kitty pun mengatakan kepada abangnya Naruto dan adiknya Boboy bahawa dia tidak hairan sekiranya mereka berdua tidak mahu bermain dengannya. Sebaliknya dia akan bermain dengan kawannya monyet Moon di rumah Nek Teh

Kitty juga telah minta tolong dengan Mak Ngah untuk mencari kawan lain untuknya bermain. Mak Ngah pun pergi ke Zoo untuk berjumpa dengan arnab bernama Robin dan dua adiknya Nabita dengan Sizuka. Namun Mak Ngah kecewa kerana Robin dan adik-adiknya tidak mahu bermain dengan Kitty yang sangat nakal macam tuannya Alya.

Melihat telatah ketiga anak-anaknya Kentoi pun memanggil mereka dan menasihati mereka supaya berbaik-baik sesama adik beradik. Mereka janganlah bergaduh tetapi hendaklah bermain bersama-sama supaya dapat merapatkan lagi talian perhubungan di antara mereka.

Selepas dimarahi oleh umminya Kentoi, Naruto, Kitty dan Boboy pun berbaik semula dan makan bersama-sama.

REMEMBRANCE 49: ENJOYING FRUITS OF LABOUR

On Wednesday, the Seremban Syariah High Court ordered a university lecturer with a doctorate and her husband , who were sued by their parents for not paying them nafkah (financial maintenance) to make the payments for the rest of the couples’ lives.

The parents has transferred the ownership of their land to their daughter and her husband after they promised to bear their parents nafkah for as long as they lived and also allowing them to stay in the said house.

The parents claimed that their daughter and her husband has gone back on their promise , neglected their welfare and the daughter had been rough with her mother. They further claimed that their daughter had failed, neglected or had been careless in fulfilling her promise after the land was transferred.

With this tear jerking episode, it brought my memory back to identical similar incidence when I was posted the Assistant Land Officer of Kota Setar in the early 1969. During the Hajj seasons, a lot of parents came to me for assistance in legalizing the transfer of ownership of their landed properties. As in those days, performance of the Hajj would take about more than three months, naturally the potential Haji or Hajjah who wanted to achieve Haji Mabrur would like to forget about worldly assets and leaving them with their children.

Usually I would advise the parents about the negative consequence if ever they would change their mind when they did come back after performing the hajj. Sure enough, there were instances when the parents came back to me for assistance in getting back their former land when the children themselves ill treated them.

So in the matter of adverse relationship between the parents and their children would still occur in this modern day if ever there was an absence of loving and caring attitude of the children. It is an holistic responsibility of the children to care for their elderly parents who has whole heartedly brought you up. From the episode in Seremban, the level of education of a person does not guarantee that she or he would fulfill their holistic responsibility to their parents. Nor does the number of children you have would guarantee that they would care for your aging parents.

Pak Chik Mat and Mak Chik Sayang who has only two children yet they are enjoying the fruits of their labour from their two adourable children. Mak Chik and Pak Chik still look after Nayah when Bakar is away on official or green duties. Nami and Mat are also enjoying the fruits of their labour with their three children. During Yani's post car accident recovery period, Nami is also enjoying extra fruits of her labour with her four grand children during the day. Alun and Azira are also very considerate with Nami for they are letting Nami off during the night to rest and gather more strength for the next day. So the moral of the story is that if you sow quality seeds you would also harvest quality grains in return.

I am grateful to Allah for blessing me with three wonderful children and their spouses who has looked after Zam and me so well and we do not have any misgiving about them. Zam and I has enjoyed tremendously our leisure stay at Langkawi on 27 to 29 October 2009. Both of us has tasted the fruits of our labour when Shiwar and Marini showered us with care ness when we were in Langkawi. We would also be enjoying the fruits of our labour when the whole family would again be feasted by Nana and her family in Penang on the coming December 2009. Insya Allah.

Without a family, you would be lonely and without soul as depicted by the sole coconut tree in front of the Grand Continental Hotel in Langkawi

Or the forlorn island surrounded by water which is not drinkable

Although the beach is lonely and isolated, yet it would be lively and enjoyable if you have your whole family members picnicking on the white beach. My parents used to bring the whole family members in the early sixties to that isolated beach and we really enjoyed our outings to that isolated beach. Zam still remembers vividly the enjoyable momemts at the beach during our honeymooning days.

The beach which was very lively with marine lovers from all over the world in the sixties was not as lively as before because of family feud which hit the nail on the coffin


















Enjoying the company of four very contented friends (2 Chinese and 2 Indians) from Kuala Lumpur who were given incentive by their Malay boss to spend their weekend at Langkawi. It seems One Malaysian concept is working very fine.

Our seventy year old Chinese friend at the far right is also enjoying the fruits of his labour with his eight children. To meet the requirements of raising eight children, he has got to tighten his belt during their growing up period. However today, he is enjoying the fruits of his labour because all his children are successful if their lives.





One of his sons has married a Muslim Kelantanese and as such he has changed his cooking utensils and their family diet altogether. He is very happy about it because his Muslim grand children would always spend their weekend at his house. He was happy in telling me that he has 2 1/2 Muslim grand children.

SIBLINGS 54: AT THE CROSS ROAD

On Monday, 2.11.2009, we bought a new wheel chair auspices of Syun for the use of Bang Mansur who would be discharged from Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital. It was a very significant contribution for his paternal cousin who has never failed to fulfill every Syun’s invitation whether it was in Ipoh and what more if it was in Alor Setar. Syun’s contribution in the afternoon was a great relief for Kak Aisyah as Bang Mansur would be very much curtailed in his movements after he suffered the stroke. It was a cross road for Kak Aisyah in the morning in acquiring a wheel chair for Bang Mansur before Syun's wheel chair arrived in the afternoon..

Do not be at a cross road physically

SIBLINGS 53: HORNET'S NEST

The supposed hornet nest was indeed a water sponge

While waiting Ezman to fetch us for our visit to Bang Mansur at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital on Monday 2.11.2009, Zam subconsciously looked up at our pine tree and she was very surprised to see an hornet nest perched on the tree branch. When she told Marini about the hornet nest, Marini told her not to destroy the nest as it would bring good fortune to the owner. I let Zam and Marini enjoyed their fantasy for a while because if you look properly, you would find that it was not an hornet nest but a water sponge which looked like a an hornet nest. May be a squirrel might have brought the sponge up the tree.

Lately, Zam has experienced a lot of blurly vision. In the Grand Con Hotel in Langkawi, while we were in the lift, confidently she has pressed on the signage word close instead on the actual close button below. Marini was laughing away when Zam was waiting patiently for the lift door to close with her fingers frimly on the word close. She also pressed her finger at the signage light instead on the actual button when we wanted to enter the lift itself.

Zam laid the blame entirely on me since for a long time I have not brought her to spend our leisure time at any hotel. May be she was right because she was out of practice.