O.H.MAJSETY SERVICE 13: TOMOI IN BALING

My daily habitual morning routine is to watch the Selamat Pagi Malaysia program of RTM 1. This morning (21.08.2009), RTM showed the Seni Silat Tomoi Festival at Kampung Tualang, Mukim Pulai in the Baling District. The annual Tomoi Festival was very impressive as the participants were from all age groups beginning with the children and up to the professional seasoned tomoi experts.

What interested me most was when program showed the contributions of a senior sifu or tomoi coach in ensuring the success of the annual festival. The most senior sifu was Bang Ali and he was responsible in training the Baling youths in the sport of kick boxing or tomoi. Although Bang Ali is now covered with grey hairs but he is still very agile in his movements which I used to know in 1974. Fond memories of our acquaintance with Bang Ali when I was serving as the Baling District Land Administrator cascading down my mind.

In 1974, the life in Baling was very dull to the young government servants who were serving in Baling. In the weekends we used to pile up in Syed Unan Mashri's Ford Cortina KF 5336 and off we went to Penang to participate in the Ten Pin Bowling games. We were novices in the Bowling game but we still enjoyed our comical results of the game.

To inject some life into the boredom atmosphere of Baling, we started a class of kick boxing or tomoi for the officers who were serving in Baling. Bang Ali was our principal coach or sifu and he was ably assisted by Salleh whose glamour name was Leh Hindu. Our training venue was Syed Unan Mashri’s quarters beside the District Office. Apart from myself, the other tomoi students were Syed Anan Mashri, Abdul Mukhti Abdullah (ADO), Dr. Kang Eng Loon (Dental Surgeon at Baling Hospital) and Ali Kogia (LPP Officer). The late Abdul Wahab Abdullah (ADO) who was more sombre in character did not join our mischievous endeavour.

From the basic steps of Tomoi, after a month of training, we managed to improve our grades and we could box sparingly with each other. In one of the sparing sessions, I misjudged my step and my strength which resulted in my blows landed squarely on Mukthi's face. I immediately offered my deepest apology when Mukthi told me he could see the sprawling stars. Our interest in tomoi has elevated to the next level whereby we managed to form a team from Baling town whereby it used to participate at the various tomoi fighting matches within the district. As usual, due to our habitual practice of ‘hot-hot chickens’ waste’ our interest in the art of tomoi met its natural death within a year of its inception. By that time, some parts of Syed Unan Mashri's quarters were already shaking due to our physical onslaughts. However to the four of us, we still has fond memories of Bang Ali and Leh Hindu which has provided us with the sparkles in the dull life of Baling in 1974.