Don't Turn Away

The sun is setting
in the horizon
the world is getting darker
my heart is beating harder

I can see you clearly
even with my eyes closed tight
a faint smile on your face
is what I can see
fading away with the remaining light

I hold out my hands
but I can't reach out to thee
and you look at me for a while
before you start to turn and leave

Oh please don't go...
I beg of you
Don't leave me alone in this darkness
For I don't know what to do

You stopped and approached me slowly
touched my face with your cold fingers
looked into my eyes and said to me gently
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay any longer"

Tears start to flow down my cheeks
My muffled cry made you take a peek
"Don't cry my dear, I will always be near
Just feel it in your heart and I will be there".

When I open my eyes the darkness has gone
Light is shining upon me from somewhere beyond
I know that you are gone and shall never come back
I'll cherish the moments and all the memories that we've ever had.

AMRI ROHAYAT - Part 4

Through the Lenses of a Sister

This may be the last...but not the end of our life story.

 

 

Good Natured and Intelligent

 

Abang was intelligent by nature. When we were in primary school and I’m talking about a very young age of 7 or 8, Abah subscribed a few comics on monthly basis for us. The likes of Beano and Dennis the Menace, if any one of you would recall? When we got home from school, we’d go after these comics. That’s where we started to learn the English language. 

 

Of course, those subscriptions came with a price. We had to excel in our studies. 

 

Abang was an avid reader. I think it was the genetics from Abah. Abah had this complete collection of the James Bond novels. Abang read all of them! Then Abah bought us a complete set of the Britannica Encyclopaedia. You know...the red books? Abang would read them and told Abah what he had read. 

 

At such a young age, he had this passion for science. He’d tell Abah about the stars and the planets that he learned at school. I’d just be the listener. As he grew up, among his favourites were Battle Star Gallactica, the Transformers and later on, the Star Wars. He would also watch the Bermuda Triangle. You know, all the mistery and sci-fi stuff. He was also the one who introduced me to the X-Files. 

 

Abang could play Scrabble with Abah since he was 8. I’d sometimes join them because Abah wanted me to learn. I tend to lose every time so I’d be sulking and didn’t want to play anymore. At times Abah would also get us all to play the Monopoly which I didn’t do any good either. I guess I was terrible at every thinking games except for the card game “Who’s at Home?”. 

 

He was also a good and obedient son. It was rarely, very rarely, that he would raise his voice to Mak or Abah. He’d do so at me, that is. Quite often, too. Huhu. Everyone loved him. Everyone adored him. 

 

But he was mischievous in his own way. Haha. Oh yes…he was!

 

There was a time when my cousin Chai came to stay with us. One day, Abah sent the three of us to watch a movie at the local cinema in Lepih town. They were showing Ultraman 7. After the movie, we waited for Abah. When he didn’t come to pick us up, Abang made a decision to walk home. It was quite a distance away. I think it was about 3km. Then we got to this sundry shop near Rumah Tok. 

 

This sundry shop was owned by two brothers, Panjang (the elder brother) and Hamzah (the younger brother) who originated from India. So when we got to Panjang’s sundry shop, Abang stopped to buy ice cream. Yes, Abah did give him some money earlier which I didn’t know of. He bought 20 sen ice creams each for me and Chai. He bought a 50 sen ice cream for himself! When I asked “how come?” he said there was not enough cash. Yeah, right!

 

There was also a time that he was caught red handed when Mak found out he had been buying food off credit from Panjang. Mak usually bought supplies from the shop using the ‘buku tiga lima’ (a small note book with 555 written on the cover. In the old days, this note book was used to record purchases bought on credit). One day, Mak came home shouting for Abang. I was so surprised because Mak rarely scolded Abang. 

 

Then I overheard Mak explaining to Wan that Abang had been buying things from the shop and had asked Panjang to write in that book. How clever. I’ve never thought of doing that. Later that night, when Abah came home, he was punished. Very rare, indeed! But I felt sorry for him. 

 

Those were among the very rare occasions when Abang was caught doing something wrong. Whilst me…well I’m with the Second Child Syndrome aka ‘The Rebel’. And everyone knows that. I was the spoilt one. 

 

Abang went on to become different in every way. At home, he rarely spoke. We rarely talked. We could hardly hear him laugh. The most he’d do was “Heh heh” with a wide grin on his face. But he got amused at things quite as easily as he could get irritated. He was kind of a serious person. 

 

When I got married, I bought pieces of cloths for Abah and my brothers to be made in Baju Melayu (Malay traditional clothes for the men). I bought some for him, too. And he didn’t wear it! Forgot to bring it home, he said. So he was the different one in MY wedding photo!

My wedding photo

Back in 2010, we had a Family Day in PD for the Ismayatim Clan. Each of the family was to wear a colour-themed clothes. Ours didn’t. When one of my cousins asked him “why?” he said “Oh, our theme is “individuality””. Heh.

The Individuals. Heh.

Religious Studies

 

Mak Long taught us to pray when we were in Kuala Atok. She was the one who made me my first “telekung” (prayer clothes). She’d take us to the surau almost every night. When we got back to Rumah Tok, sometimes we’d follow Tok whenever he prayed.

 

Tok would also taught us how to read the Muqaddam. The introduction to Quranic verses. Almost every night, after Maghrib prayer, Tok would sit on his sajadah waiting for us. 

 

If any of you would remember, those were the days when Six Million Dollar Man was aired on TV, at 8pm. Later on, it was Bionic Woman. So we’d quarrel on who would start reading the Muqaddam first so that we could go and watch the drama. If we were late, the drama would have ended. More often than not, Mak would have to dictate who could go and read the Muqaddam first. Otherwise, she would switch the TV off. 

 

After a while, I completed the Muqaddam earlier than Abang. When Tok asked me to take the Quran for a read, Abang was bawling. Haha. Among a few of my victorious moments!

 

We were also taught to fast at an early age. Mak would start us from as early as 6 years old. For a start, she’d let us fast for half a day. When we got older, we’d fast full day but maybe not the full one month. But she’d give us ‘incentives’ for the days that we fast. 

 

One of the perks for fasting was that we’d get to sit with the elders at the dining table. If we were not fasting, we got to sit on the mat, on the floor. Mak would also make us the bandung drink (syrup mixed with condensed milk) and cooked whatever dish we desired. Sometimes Mak would make the cendol and the soy drink. And we’d get a hefty ‘duit raya’ (money given to kids on Aidil Fitri) for the days that we had fast. 

 

Sometimes we would cheat. We could’ve accidentally drank or ate at school but we didn’t tell Mak about it. At home, we’d take a very long bath and while bathing we drank the water from the tap. But Mak usually knew of our tricks. Somehow, mothers were born with a device to catch naughty children. Hehe. 

 

When we shifted to the house in Jalan Tok Kaya Haji, Mak employed a Bilal to teach us how to read the Quran. This Bilal, whom we called ‘Tok Bilal Karim’ would come to the house every three days after the Asar prayer. Being naughty as we were, we tried to avoid being at home during those evenings. 

 

We’d tell Mak that we had something at school. Sports, curricular activities, extra classes and such. Then we’d come home very late in the evening. Once or twice, the trick worked. When we got home the Tok Bilal had gone home because he had to prepare for Maghrib prayer. Suddenly, when we got home as late one day, we were surprised to see him still there! Mak with her stern face shouted “Mengaji!” and we scrambled into the house to take our ablution and read the Quran. 

 

We knew of other religions because Abah had friends of various backgrounds. When it was Chinese New Year, we would visit his Chinese friends at their houses. If we were in Sungai Bakap, Tok Timah would ask us to send plates of cookies to the Chinese neighbours. They would return the favour by giving us sugar, Mandarin oranges and Ang Pow! When I asked Tok why did they give us sugar, Tok said so that their lives would be as sweet as sugar. We went to our Bengali friend’s house for Capati and our Indian friend’s house for Deepavali. It was all so merry. 

 

We were taught to respect each other since we were young. Abah would cane us if he got to know that we’d said anything vulgar or rude to our friends. 

 

 

The Pahang Club

 

Abang was not so keen on sports while I was quite active with the field sports as well as long jump. So I was quite surprised to know that he played Rugby when he was in SAS! I guess we didn’t take after Abah on that part. Perhaps we are bound to be more of bookworms than sports people. 

 

Abah was a true-blue sportsman. He used to be the Sports teacher at Clifford Secondary School. He played hockey and football. When he sprained his legs so often, he quit football and took up Tennis. Abah played Tennis for the State of Pahang. But none of us siblings took it up. Even though Abah did send me to a Tennis clinic, once. 

 

We used to follow him to the Club, though. It’s called Pahang Club. Kind of an elite place, in the old days. Heh. When Abah was out on the Tennis Court, we’d play inside the Club. There was a pool table and also a lounge where we could just sit or watch TV. Being kids, most of the times we spent our time running around the premise, chasing after each other or played hide and seek.

The Pahang Club. This photo was taken in 2013, when I went back to Lipis for a visit.

Those fun memories would forever be in my memory, for as long as God would permit them to be. 

 

My family, we are not affectionate people. Abah and Mak had never hugged or kissed us. Too disciplined, they both were. So we were not used to say “I love you” to each other. But we all know that we do. Blood is thicker than water, anyway. No matter how different we became, we are still from the same root.

Family...that's what we are

He became an Uncle when my daughter was born. The first gandchild of my parents. He was quite awkward at first, trying to hold that small baby. But you can see how amused he was right there, in this photo. Taken in 2006.

This photo was taken the day after Abah was buried. The Menteri Besar of Pahang came to visit.

The Ismayatim Family.

These two kids are like me and Abang. They could be the best of friends at times, couldn't live without the other and they fought all the time! Now I understand how Mak and Abah had felt then! Huhu. Abang adored them. They adored their Pak Long, too. Though sometimes they were scared of him.

The End.

AMRI ROHAYAT - Part 3

Through the Lenses of a Sister

Education

 

We both never got into kindergarten. Never heard of the word before. We went to a ‘sekolah tumpang’ (sort of an unofficial and temporary school) in Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Relong, a small school about 11km away from home. Mak and Abah were both teaching at that school then. So they put us along with the other Standard 1 pupils. Of course, Abang went there first. 

 

SK Relong was the first formal education introduced to us. Sometimes, the teachers would take us to learn outside the classrooms, under the trees. After the morning assemblies, all the kids were asked to pick rubbish and ‘kemuncup’ (weeds) off the field. Before going home, we need to clean the classrooms. Nowadays, I guess parents would go viral saying that we were being ‘tortured’ by the teachers. Heh. But, no. I’d like to think that it was an effective approach to teach us kids on discipline and responsibility. 

 

The community consisted of villagers. Humble and friendly people. Mak and Abah got a lot of home-grown produce from them every now and then. Not only as a token of appreciation for teaching their kids, but also as a means of respect. You know, those days, teachers were considered as highly respectful people because they provide knowledge for the young ones. They’d give corns, fruits, vegetables, tapioca, sweet potatoes and etc. including durian, when it seasoned. 

 

When he was 7, my parents registered Abang to Clifford Primary School which was very near to Rumah Tok. When I turned 7, they registered me into the same school as Abang. 

 

Clifford Primary School was a co-ed school. We were introduced to friends from other racial backgrounds. So we got to mix with Malay, Chinese, Indian, Serani and Punjabi friends. We had no problem mingling around because we already had mixed culture of friends in Sungai Bakap. But in Clifford School, that’s where we learned how to communicate in English and that’s where we learned to respect each other’s cultural and religious belief. 

 

In the early years, Abang went to the morning school session and I went to afternoon session. So he’d be sent to school by my parents. In the afternoon, when Tok sent me, he’d pick Abang up. When Tok came to pick me up after school in the evening, Abang would tag along and Tok would take us for a ride in his ‘Beetle’ (a classic Volkswagen). Most of the time he’d take us to Kampung Tempoyang for tea at his favourite roadside stall. 

 

Sometimes we’d go and visit my great grandaunt, Moyang Temah, also in Kampung Tempoyang, where Tok would collect beetle nut for Wan. Sometimes we’d just walk across the school to Pak Cik Majid’s house, a good friend of Tok’s. 

 

But when we were in the same morning session, we’d just walk to school. Security wasn’t a concern at that time therefore we could walk that 1km to school without any chaperon (save for the time when a car no AR1000 became the talk of the town for kidnapping kids, if any of you would recall). 

 

Abang often left me behind. Sometimes he would intentionally run ahead and that would make me cry. I’d always complained to Mak and she’d tell him off but he’d do it again anyway. Once, when I got out of school he was nowhere to be seen. I saw some of his classmates already going home so I’d figure he must’ve gone home without me! So I followed some other kids who were walking towards the same direction, until I reached home. Lo and behold…there he was, happily having lunch in the kitchen! He told Wan (grandmother) that he waited for me but I was nowhere to be seen. Yeah, right!

 

Rumah Tok gave us a good view of the road down below. One day, as we were sitting on the stairs in the evening, we spotted two kids walking hand-in-hand. A brother and his younger sister. Then Mak exclaimed to Abang “Look! That boy was holding his sister’s hand. Isn’t that nice?” But that didn’t have any effect on my brother, none so ever. 

 

When I was 9, my brother Amran was born. My days of being the last child were over. Suddenly, I became a big sister. Two years later, my younger brother Amir was born. 

 

We were living in a different house already. It’s a quarters for government staff in Jalan Tok Kaya Haji which is on the other side of the hill.

Semi-D houses for the government servants. Most of the people living there were teachers. Like Mak and Abah.

When he was 11, Abang had to sit for a very important exam. Then, it was the ‘Penilaian Darjah Lima’ (standard five evaluation). When the results came out, he was the only one in the whole school who scored 5As. Never before, in the history of that school, had anyone scored straight As. He was the first. 

 

So one morning, during the general assembly, the Headmaster gave a proud speech to acknowledge my brother’s achievement and congratulated him. Then the headmaster said “we hope that his sister would repeat the same glory next year and make us proud!”. I was stunned. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I knew I wasn’t anywhere near his intelligence. That speech gave me a scare. 

 

Abang was made Head Boy when he was 12. At that time he was in Standard 6, the last level for a primary school. Oh yes, I’m sure many of his friends and teachers would still remember him. Handsome Head Boy, intelligent and well behaved. 

 

Fate has it that I only managed to score 4As and 1B. Thankfully, 7 of my good friends scored 5As and that seemed to make the headmaster forgot about me. Phew!

 

 

Off to Boarding School

 

After primary school, we had to go to secondary school. Sadly, I got news that Abang managed to go to a boarding school in Kuala Lumpur. He was leaving! So after he finished his Standard 6 at the Clifford Primary School, he went straight to Sekolah Alam Shah. I could vividly remember sending him off to that school with Mak and Abah and my two little brothers in tow. Mak had all the things one would require at a hostel – buckets, hangers, brush, soaps, etc. The school was situated in Cheras, KL. Cheras at that time was like a remote area, in the outskirts of KL. And it was an all-boys’ school. I think we went to visit Abang only once or twice a year and not a very long visit. 

 

I was angry at him for leaving me. Since we rarely went to visit, my relationship with Abang became distant. Furthermore, whenever he came home for the holidays, Mak treated him with all the niceties. Never once did she ask Abang to do any house chores. He was totally pampered! And I was jealous or him. 

 

To make it even worse, Mak was always comparing me to Abang. Yes, I know that Abang was the apple of her eyes. He was a good boy and intelligent. But comparing me to Abang was kind of too much. I didn’t understand why she would create such rivalry between us. 

 

I ploughed through my studies anyway and finally I managed to get the same score as Abang for my SRP. But I was frustrated when Mak didn’t allow me to go to a vocational school in Kuantan because ‘they have water issues’ and actually it was Abah who didn’t allow me to go. I was totally controlled and overly protected and that made me a rebellious daughter.

 

 

Went Abroad

Abang and Tok at the airport the night he was going off. In the midst of all the chaos, he asked me to carry his jacket for him and I was so proud of it!

After his SPM, Abang was offered to study TESL at Bognor Regis, in the UK! Mak of course was reluctant to let him go. She couldn’t say there was water supply issue in Bognor now, could she? Heh. At the same time, Abang was also offered a place in ITM Shah Alam for Diploma in Accountancy. So Mak tried to coax him into taking the ITM offer. 

 

But Abang decided he wanted to go to the UKs. His rationale was that “people wouldn’t ask what did I study for but people would ask where did I study”. And that kind of cut Mak off. She couldn’t say anything anymore. 

 

You know what? Actually it has always been his ambition to go and play in the snow. Ever since he was a boy. So that was the main reason why he wanted to go overseas. To play in the snow!

 

When we were staying at Rumah Tok, the rubber leaves would dry up during hot seasons. They would be blown by the wind and fell down in front of Rumah Tok like rain. We were delighted whenever that happened. Remember, those were the times when such simple thing could bring so much joy? 

 

We’d be shouting “Snow! Snow!” while trying to catch the falling leaves. We’d also play with the pile of leaves on the ground as if we were throwing snow at each other. 

 

So when I got to know of his decision, I was kind of sad and excited. Sad that he’d be leaving me again and excited because he’d finally got to play in the snow. 

 

We got a postcard from him showing a man playing the bagpipe. He said it was his semester break and he went to Scotland to experience the snow and that when he got back to Bognor Regis, it was snowing heavily! He said he went to Scotland because the local people told him that it hadn’t snow in Bognor for almost 6 years. 

 

I replied to his postcard and asked him if he could post some of the snow to us. Huhu. 

 

While he was there, I ploughed through SPM and it turned out that my results were the same as Abang. I was so delighted. Then I got an offer to further my studies in ITM which Abah had reluctantly allowed. Since then Mak had never compared me to Abang again! 

 

When Abang came back, I was already studying in ITM Shah Alam and didn’t come home that often. So we didn’t see much of each other except for Hari Raya and semester breaks. He was already a different person then. 

 

 

...to be continued (again).

AMRI ROHAYAT - Part 2

Through the Lenses of a Sister

 

 

Sungai Bakap

 

Sungai Bakap was where my paternal grandparents, Tok Wan (grandfather) and Tok (grandmother) resided. They had 10 children (there are only 7 of them left, now). Abah was the eldest. We’d go back to Sungai Bakap for Hari Raya and school holidays.

Abah would always joked "If you want to go to Sungai Bakap, you have to 'masuk jawi'" (masuk jawi means circumcision in a layman's words). Photo credit: http://www.my-island-penang.com/image-files/sbakap1.jpg

But mind you, PLUS Highway was not in existence yet. So we had to travel along the many corners and winding road of Kuala Kubu Baru. Took us nearly 12 hours from Lepih to Sungai Bakap. 

 

Because there were only the two of us at the back seat, we’d lie down until our heads would meet in the middle. But of course, there were always the quarrels of who penetrated into whose ‘territory’. When Abah was driving a Volvo, this issue was merely settled by having a ‘double deck bed’. Abang would sleep on the board above the backseat while I slept on the seat.

Bonnie and Clyde

Along the way we’d be singing and playing games. 

 

Life in Sungai Bakap was no different than life in Kuala Atok. We were free to roam. It was even better because we had more friends in Sungai Bakap. However, Sungai Bakap was not a village. It was a low-cost housing area with single storey link houses. 

 

The neighbourhood consisted of Malay, Chinese and Indian. Tok knew them all and they all knew Tok. Better known as ‘Mak Timah’ and Tok Wan was known as ‘Pak Derih’. 

 

I have a cousin brother who was not much older than Abang, whom we called ‘Bayon’ and his sister is one year younger than me, Intan. The others, my aunts and my cousins’ elder sister, were all big enough to play with us. So when we got to Sungai Bakap, Bayon and Intan were our friends. In addition, there were other kids in that area who became our friends, too. 

 

There was this Chinese neighbour who lived just two doors from Tok, whose children were very friendly that we even played in their bedroom! We had no problem going in and out of their house. I think we called the elder brother by the name of ‘Tapau’.

 

There was also the children of ‘Pak Kassim’ who lived on the other side of the housing area. So yeah, we had plenty of friends in Sungai Bakap. But Bayon and Intan were our partners in crime. Bayon taught us how to play the cards and that’s how we spent our days indoor. 

 

Sometimes we’d play at a Chinese temple which was situated in adjacent to the housing area. That Chinese temple was a serene place. It was very quiet. Some school children went to study in the temple. 

 

Once, we went in and went up as far as we could go while making noises. Then came an old lady with a broom, chasing us out in Hokkien. We didn’t understand what she said but we knew the broom was up to no good. So we took haste and jumped out of the temple! Never did we go in ever again. The closest we got was in the compound and the old lady had no problem with that. Furthermore we were with those Chinese kids. 

 

We’d ride the bicycles in the evenings. We’d met with the other kids not far from Tok’s house and planned for our activity that night. Most of the time we’d play police sentry. There was no limit as to where the ‘enemy’ could go. So we’d spend like half the night looking for them. You know, they could hide on the tree or even in unused chicken coop!

 

Once, we took a ride with our aunties on their bicycles to the Sungai Bakap small town. They told us that they had informed Mak and Abah. Innocently, we followed them. When we got home, Mak was waiting for us at the front door with an angry face. Later, we both had to stand in front of Abah, both hands clasp to the back and answered his queries. It was like being prosecuted in court. When the verdict was ‘guilty’ we had to put our palms out straight and Abah whipped us with a ruler. No mercy! Yet that was an early lesson for us not to believe what others told us so. Huhu. 

 

Anyway, just like in Lepih, if we got up very early in the morning we could take a ride to town with Tok Wan on his motorbike. If the two of us went together, he’d let me sit in front with my feet in the basket and Abang would sit at the back, with his tiny hands looping around Tok Wan’s waist trying to hold on. But Tok Wan didn’t ride very fast so that was okay. 

 

After he went on his chores, Tok Wan would buy us sweets and best of all, the ‘ais kepal’ (shaved ice shaped into a ball, put in a plastic and poured some syrup on it). Sold for 20 sen. Being modest and always told by Mak not to accept money or things from other people, we’d always say “tak mau” (don’t want) but Tok Wan bought it for us anyway. You could imagine our delight! Tok Wan would asked us to finish the ais kepal there and then so that we wouldn’t’ be scolded by Mak or Abah. But when we got home, he would tell them anyway. Hehe.

Quaint little town of Sungai Bakap. The graveyards of Tok Wan and Tok Timah lies at the end on this small town. Photo credit: http://www.penang-traveltips.com/0/s-pics/sungai-bakap-penang.jpg

I remember that Tok Wan used to keep a black gibbon in his small garage. It was just a baby. We called him “Tam” (blackie). We loved to poke the fence to make it agitated so that it’ll make a loud noise. The gibbon sound. And we’d follow him. Tok would scold us for doing that. One day, Tam was carried away by a truck. We looked at him in sadness as he looked solemnly at us from behind the cage on that truck. I think it was the wildlife people who took him away. Gibbons are endangered species and one needs to have a license to keep a gibbon in captivity. 

 

Then Tok Wan had a goose as a pet! Oh…it was a mighty big goose. We called her “Cik Ang”. She was very fierce with other people but gentle with Tok Wan. She’d follow Tok Wan wherever he went. Oh, no…we didn’t like Cik Ang. She liked to chase us around if we got near her. But she would bear eggs which Tok would cook into delicious curry. I saw a photo of Tok Wan with Cik Ang in one of my aunt’s or uncle’s collection. It was a very affectionate photo. 

 

Tok Wan himself was a comic. At night, when the family sat together in the living room after dinner, he would call his grandchildren around and told us stories. All sorts of stories. From jokes to folks lore to horror stories. That talent, I guess, was passed down to one of my uncles whom we call “Pak Tam”. Pak Tam like to tell stories and make jokes until now. He’d put his antics to good use now that he has grandchildren of his own. 

 

During that period of time, there was an ice cream man who rode a motorbike around the housing area especially in the evening. He’d sell ice cream of many sorts. The usual ones were the likes of Nestle or Conetto (coned ice cream). Our favourite was the ice cream sandwich (cut ice cream put between two slices of bread) which cost about 5 or 10 sen. 

 

That ice cream man also had this turning wheel at the back of his ice cream trunk. When we turned the wheel, we could win the chance of getting extra 5 sen, 10 sen 20 sen or free ice creams! We called it ‘ais krim tikam’ (well, it was like a gamble, actually). 

 

At times, we washed the cars of our family members’ and they’d give us some money as ‘upah (wage). We’d share them among ourselves and that’s the money we used to buy the ice cream. There was also a home-based sundry shop just next to Tok Wan’s house owned by an old lady whom we called “Aitee” and her ailing husband, which we would frequent like every hour, every day!

 

Since Abah’s family was quite large, we’d often go for an outing in Penang Island. At times we’d go up to Bukit Bendera, the highest peak in Penang. It was using an old tram at the time and sometimes the tram would get jammed on the way up so we had to ascend by foot via the staircase. No problem for us kids, but it was a mighty feat for the elders. Coming down via the stairs was no issue at all.

Picnic in Batu Ferringhi was a must! The women folk would prepare all sorts of food from home and we’d have a party at the beach. Usually it was noon time til evening. I didn’t like it when Abah took me into the water. I’d scream my lungs out whenever I couldn’t touch the base. But I enjoyed making sand castles. 

 

After the picnic we’d go for dinner at Padang Kota. There used to be a lot of stalls on the roadside. They’ve made a proper hawker centre there. Somehow I don’t find it enjoyable anymore. I’d rather go to Gurney Drive. Anyway, after dinner we’d take a stroll along the street, looking at the lights from the mainland. Sometimes, we’d go to Bagan to eat ‘satay celup’ (pieces of fruits pierced with bamboo skewers and dipped in specially made sauce). We used to love that satay celup. I heard they still exist!

 

Going back to Sungai Bakap was a tiring feat due to the long travel. However, it was worth it. Abah wanted us to keep in touch with his family even though we lived so far apart. 

 

The photos I have here was captured on one of our ‘trips’ to Botannical Gardens. I think I was about 1 year old and Abang was 2. Probably older. Yeah, you could surely see the 70s fashion worn by the ladies. Quite trendy them folks were, including my Mak.

Once upon a time in Botannical Garden, Penang

One of our favourites in coming to Penang was the ferry ride. The ferry services was the only means of transport to and from the mainland. It was quite a long queue especially during peak hours. But there were so many ferries then that it didn’t take us too long to get on one. We’d be excited to look out for the name of the ferry we were about to get on to. Sometimes, when we were in a few cars, not always do we all get onboard the same ferry. So we’d be looking out to my cousins who were on another ferry and we’d be waving and shouting at them across the engine sound. 

 

Abah would usually take us out to the side and watch the ferry move from the dock. We loved the feel of the wind in our faces and also to watch the other ferries passed by. We’d especially love the sprinkle of sea water whenever the ferry hit a big wave. And also the smell of the sea. Just when the ferry would come into docks on the mainland, we’d all get back into the car and ready to go. It was quite fascinating to watch how the supervisors would arrange all the cars very close to each other so that they could get as many cars as possible into the ferry. When it was time to get out, they would let the cars go one row at a time. So Abah would always have to focus on the signal.

My trip to Penang Island in 2013 brought back so many memories of yesteryears.

One of the few remaining ferries

Some things never change

We'd love to look out from the ferry to watch the tide and incoming jetty

Coming back from Sungai Bakap wasn’t quite an enjoyable journey because Mak would load the trunk with so many food stuff. Not only would she take home the nutmeg pickles which Penang is famous for, she would also stuffed the car with belacan (prawn paste - tasty for making sambal / chilli paste but smells very strong). Those days it wasn’t too common to ride an air-conditioned car. So most of the time Abah would wind down the windows, much to our delight. The smell could really make us sick to the stomach and it’ll also stick to our clothes for many many days no matter how thick Mak had packaged the belacan. Sometimes Abah would brought back durians and that would make the smell even stronger! 

 

I went to Sungai Bakap a few years ago. It has changed dramatically! The jungle that was once in front of Tok Wan’s house has been turned into a residential area. I’d be lost finding the place again. But the big drain separating the main road and the housing area is still there, still clotted with murky water. Reminded me of the times when we were told not to play near the drain but sometimes we’d disobey because the other kids were there, catching fish and tadpoles! Kids being kids. 

 

....to be continued.

AMRI ROHAYAT - Part 1

 Through the Lenses of a Sister

  
Amri Rohayat, screen writer, director, founder of Pekan Frinjan, co-founder of Neohikayat and source of inspiration for young indie writers. I knew nothing of all that. All I knew was that he was my big brother. The only one I’ll ever had. This is the story of our adventure together, written as a tribute to who he was to me – my Abang. 

LEPIH – where it all began

Abang was born on 2 October 1968 and I was born in September 1969. So literally we were only 11 months apart and we both have the same birth mark. We were both born in my grandparents’ house (known as ‘Rumah Tok’) at No. 96, Jalan Pekeliling, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. A quaint little wooden house on the slope of a small hill surrounded by fruit trees. To get to the house, one has to walk up a man-made stairs with uneven steps.

Some time in 1970

This photo was taken during Hari Raya in 1971. Mak made those clothes for us, so I was told.

I called him ‘Abang’ (big brother) and he called me ‘Adik’ (little sister). But he’d refer himself as ‘orang’ whenever he spoke to me or to other relatives. When he spoke to my parents, he’d call himself “E”.

Mak originated from Pahang (but my great grandfather, Tok’s father, came from Sumatera). Abah came from the north. He’s been teaching in Pahang for a long time and remained in Pahang til he retired. 

If you drive down to Kuala Lipis (locals mentioned it as “Lepih”) today, you’ll get to a Petronas fuel station at the junction between going to Kampung Tempoyang and going straight to Lepih town. Rumah Tok is just behind that station. It’s not visible from the road, hidden by a lush of trees. There used to be a small slaughter house just behind the station which was torn down when they started building that station. That’s where we used to get fresh supply of cow or buffalo meat, right before they were taken to the market!

Due to no other residential area nearby, we were left with no other choice but to befriend each other. Heh. No, really. He was the only friend I had until he went off to boarding school. Of course, we had our good days and bad days. You know, the usual siblings stuff.

We grew up in Rumah Tok surrounded by love, culture and happiness. 

I would say that our early upbringing in Lepih has provided us with a good foundation in terms of religion, culture and multi-racial tolerance. Mak and Abah giving us the freedom to explore our surroundings with just the right degree of discipline have helped us grow up in a supportive environment.

It was a fun and active childhood because we spent most of our times outdoor.

Carefree Life

No.96, Jalan Pekeliling (photo taken in 2002)

Rumah Tok was surrounded by fruit trees. From the front yard up to the back. Next to his lot was a small rubber plantation. We knew the area very well. We’d play in the rubber plantation most of the time because it was fully shaded. 

When we were being naughty, we’d pour the latex from the collecting cups and took out the dried latex from the bottom of the cups to be rolled up into a ball. Sometimes we did it just for fun. When Tok got to know about it (because the owner complained to him) we got the slash from his sash (a piece of long cloth that he’d wear across his shoulder). So we stopped pouring the latex but we’d still play in the plantation. 

We’d collect the seeds and turn them into games. 

There’s one game where we’d put one seed into each palm and tried to break one of the seeds by clasping our hands tightly. The winning seed was called a ‘Gurka’. Until now, I still don’t know why or how come it was called as such.

Biji Getah (Rubber seeds). (Photo credit: https://ibuberbicara.blogspot.my/2012/12/sambal-biji-getah-aka-sambal-rong.html)

At times we’d play domestic. The seeds would become our meal. We’d place the seeds in coconut shells pretending to cook something. Abang was the Ayah and me, the Mak. Abang would go around picking leaves off my grandmother’s plants pretending that they were fish. Wan, as we called her, planted a lot of ‘puding plants’ species around the house. So we’d have many kinds of fish. Sometimes, he’d come back and said “There was no fish at the market today. Only vegetables” and I’d answer “Laaa…So what’s there to cook?” then he’d say “Cook whatever there is”. Hehe. I think we picked that up from my Tok and Wan. 

Fruit season was our favourite time of the year. Tok had a lot of rambutan trees. We’d be up and down the rambutan trees picking rambutans for the elders. Tok had this special type called the ‘Gula Batu’ (rock sugar) because it was sweet and the texture looked exactly like the rock sugar. But Abang didn’t like to climb the trees. So most of the time I was the one climbing and he’d wait on the ground, while directing me to go here and there and yelling at me if I couldn’t see the rambutans which usually were hidden by the thick leaves. Then I’d throw some rambutans at him out of anger.

Tok also used to plant corns in a few places. He would make holes in the ground with a long pole, sharpened at the end like a pencil. We would then put the corn seeds in the holes and covered them up with soil. When the corns were ready for picking, there would be some with incomplete seeds. Tok said I must’ve planted those because at that time my teeth were still not complete. 

Tok also had a durian orchard across Sungai Jelai, not too far from his house. When it was durian season, we would all walk down to the river. While the elders went across, we would stay at the riverside, bathing in the cool water accompanied by Kak Muna, my cousin who stayed with us. When we got older, we’d follow Tok across to help him picked durians.

We sold the durians on the roadside, just beneath Rumah Tok. Kak Muna was the head of finance so she’d set the prices and we’d call people to stop. We’d also collect rambutans, tied them up with rubber band or ropes and sold them at 20 sen. Sometimes we’d put the rambutans at ‘Kedai Panjang’ a sundry shop near Clifford School which is a walking distance away from Rumah Tok. 

Our business acumen did not just revolve around selling fruits. If you’ve seen the film Seniman Bujang Lapok, there was a scene when a Chinese man came to buy used newspapers and bottles. Remember that? Well, there was this Chinese man whom we called ‘Apek’ who would come to Rumah Tok on weekly basis to purchase those kinds of things. Because the family was fond of eating rice with kicap (black soy sauce) we’d have the bottles kept so that we could sell them to the Apek. He bought the bottles for 5 sen each. We’d also rummage through the house to find used aluminium products. Once, we found an aluminium pot at the back of the kitchen and sold it to the Apek. We got 30 sen for the pot. That was gold for us! Later that night, Mak told us that Wan was still using the pot! But all was well because we used it for sale. Hahaha. 

In the mornings, when we woke up early enough, we could follow Tok to town. He’d drive his Morris Minor and parked outside the rail sidings. Then we’d cross the rail tracks to the Kuala Lipis rail station. Tok would buy his Utusan Melayu from the vendor at the station. Then he’d take us to a Chinese restaurant just outside the station, for breakfast. There was a Malay man selling roti canai at that restaurant. The restaurant owner sold only drinks and toasts. Tok would order hot Milo for us, pour the Milo onto the saucers and we’d sip the Milo from the saucers. Then we’d head on to the post office where Tok would pay his bill. Afterwards we’d go to the market to buy supplies for the day.

Kuala Lipis Railway Station. Gone were the days where this place was the hustle and bustle of this small town.

Tok didn’t eat frozen fish. He’d buy fresh fish from local vendors and also vegetables. His favourite was red spinach. When it was cooked, the soup would turn red and we’d drink the soup as if it was syrup. Tok also reared his own chicken. Whenever he felt like having chicken for meal, he’d slaughter the chicken himself. Yeah, we hardly ate frozen food then. Probably that was why we were very healthy when we were kids. 

Mak would order fresh cow milk from a Punjabi who reared his own cows in Batu 2 (second mile). Every night, the Punjabi would come to deliver the milk. Two bottles of freshly squeezed milk. Mak would heat the milk until it simmered and made us drank it before we went to bed. I hated the taste of the milk even after Mak put some sugar in it. But Abang liked it. 

Kuala Atok – place of more adventures

Before we were of school age, Mak would ‘export’ us back to Kuala Atok where her elder sister resided. Mak Long as we fondly called her, was like a second mother to us. Kuala Atok was a small village in between Kuala Lipis and Raub. Pak Long, her husband, was a retiree from the Royal Malay Regiment. They tended a piece of paddy field just next to a small stream. Well, at that time I thought the stream was quite big but when I visited the place again some time ago, I realised that it was just a small stream. 

We’d have the time of our lives when we were in Kuala Atok. Such freedom! We’d accompany Mak Long and Pak Long to the paddy field. Abang was brave enough to get into the field and helped them to plant. I didn’t dare go in for fear of the big fat leeches, especially when I saw blood oozing from Pak Long’s leg once when he was bitten. Ewww! So I’d just sit by the side. Mak Long gave me a task that is to pull a string which tied some empty cans together. Every time I pulled the string, the cans would knock into each other making a loud noise to scare the birds away. But most of the time I’d fallen asleep. Who wouldn’t? It was out in the open, under the shades of trees with gentle breeze blowing softly. I bet anyone would have dozed off to sleep in that condition. 

When they finished working in the field, Pak Long and Mak Long would take us to the stream for a bath! The moment that we had been waiting for. But it was frustrating sometimes, when we went to the stream quite late in the evening. Then we didn’t get to spend much time splashing around. Mak Long had never allowed us to go to the stream on our own, without any adults. So we had to wait for them to complete their chores or went there with my cousins whenever they were home. If my cousins were home we could go there early in the morning and bathed until late noon. At times Mak Long had to shout for us to come home. 

Gasoline lamp (photo credit: www.irjune.blogspot.com)

When it got dark, we’d watch in awe as Pak Long pumped the gasoline light. We’d shout with joy when the dark suddenly turned bright once it was lighted. Those were the days when such a simple thing could bring much joy.

When it was harvest season, we’d watch Pak Long work to split the paddy from its straw. Then Mak Long would get a few ladies from the village to help her pound the rice. They’d use two types of mortar i.e. the big one and also the small one. Harvest season turned into a feast for the villagers.

Us kids would just make ourselves busy around the elders. Sometimes they’d get us to help. Sometimes they’d just shoo us away. But I’ll tell you what, freshly pounded rice flakes tastes so good! And no, we don’t eat them with milk like corn flakes. We ate it just like that, mixed with some sugar.

Legs are used to work this mortar to lift it up and down. Good exercise for the legs! (photo credit: http://www.wikiwand.com/ms/Lesung)!

This mortar is used by taking turns to pound the paddy in the hole, using the long pole. If they sycronised, it could sound like music. Good exercise for the hands! (photo credit: http://rumpunhajiismaildansaudah.blogspot.my/2014/05/lesung.html)

Bigger and merrier feast in the village were weddings! Weddings in the village involved almost everyone from as early as two weeks before the big day. They would make all sorts of preparations together, especially cooking and setting up the ‘balai’. Balai is a makeshift cover for people to cook, usually set up at the back of the house and for guests to eat, at the front. In the olden days, the balai was set up with wooden stilts and zinc roof. At times they use tree trunks or bamboo for the stilts. Nowadays setting up balai took only just a few hours using steel pole and canvas. 

However, those were merry times. You’d see how everyone from the village converged to help each other for many days and many nights just to celebrate a wedding. 

For me and Abang, those times only meant that we’d have more friends to play with and more food to eat!

-to be continued-

Life and Death

Seems like I have not been keeping my own part of the deal to keep this Blog going. I should have used it to pen down my thoughts and my feelings. But I have been turning to Facebook in doing all that nowadays though this Blog has always been on my mind. 

I wrote in 2015 that 2016 was going to be a year of HOPE. In way, it has. 

This photo was captured in 2015

Alhamdulillah, all praises to Allah, I managed to secure a job in the middle of the year. Based in Johor where my family resides. I thought all was well until I had to travel more often than I thought I would. Not only because of my work but also because I had to attend to my elder brother.

Sadly, he was diagnosed with cancer sometime in September. Stage 4! Not any kind of cancer, it was pancreatic cancer. One of the rarest kind. It was indeed a devastating news for all of us. He was in shock. So was I and my other siblings. How could we afford another loss after all those years trying to get over the sorrow of losing both my parents?  

Since my brother was a bachelor, I knew I had to be there for him to support and help him in anyway I could. Hence I travelled from JB to KL almost every other weekend to attend to him. That's over 600km to and fro. He started his chemotherapy session in October. Prior to that, we tried to look for other alternative treatment but they were too expensive. So my brother decided to go for chemo first. 

At first, he was put on the normal chemo regime for 6 cycles. Every cycle would require him to undergo treatment once a week for three weeks. Then he'd go on 'break' for two weeks before he would go for the second cycle. However, he did only the first cycle before the Doctor at the ward asked him to go home and spend time with family. Just because the treatment has no effect on my brother! How insensitive. But the Head of Oncology asked him to be put on another regime. This time, my brother had to take the chemo pouch home for 48 hours every alternate week. There was quite an improvement. 

Unfortunately, my brother became weaker and weaker by the weeks. He couldn't eat very much. What he did was drink milk made for diabetics. Every now and then he'd ask me to buy some food but when I put them in front of him he just won't touch it. People said that's what chemo did for patients. It kills their appetite. 

My brother passed away on 20th March 2017. Most people thought that he fought the Big C in a matter of 6 months, because that was when he got to know about it. But I knew and the Head of Oncology said it himself, that he's been having this dreadful thing for almost 2 years before he was diagnosed. 

Laid to rest.

I was indeed a very sad moment for me and my two younger brothers. We've lost yet another family member. But who are we to deny his fate? 

My brother was laid to rest in line with my parents' grave. Our family and his friends were there to bid him farewell. They were there when he breathed his last breath at the hospital. Others gave tribute to him through his Facebook timeline and also through their own Blogs. It was so heart wrenching. I didn't know that my brother had contributed so much to the creative industry. 

So, 2016 was indeed a Hopeful year because we were hopeful that my brother would overcome the Big C. Finally he succumbed to it in 2017. 

Us. 1971.

In trying to make this year an awesome year, I have to face this challenge of getting over my brother's passing. It's not as easy as it seems. Me and my brother was only 11 months apart. He was my best friend and my foe since we were kids. Most people don't understand how it feels. Only those who have lost their loved ones one after the other would feel the pain. So yes, I am still in grieve although it has been more than a month. Given time, I will get over this sinking feeling. Insya Allah. 

As a Muslim, I have to move on with life. Yet I can't forget that soon, my time will also come to join my parents and my brother wherever they are. I have to live my life as it is while at the same time make the effort to increase my investment for the hereafter. For that's where my final destination will be.  

AMRI ROHAYAT BIN AHMAD RANI (2/10/1968 - 20/3/2017)

May Allah bless his soul and place him among the righteous. May Allah ease this sorrow and grieve that I am feeling and place it with His never ending love, forgiveness and mercy. 

Amiinnn.


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