Seperti kebanyakan tahun-tahun lalu, tiada 29hb Februari pada tahun ini. Namun 19 tahun lalu pada tarikh 29.2.1988, almarhum ayahanda Mior Md Isa Mior Mahmud kembali ke rahmatullah. Sudah 19 tahun rupanya. Semakin hari semakin jauh bapak (panggilan kami anak-anak kepada ayahanda) dari hidup ini.
Bila sudah lama berlalu saat kami hilang bapak, makanya makin terhakis ingatan dan kenangan terhadap almarhum. Namun sesekali teringat jugak akan bapak… sewaktu memandu sendirian, waktu sukar melelapkan mata, waktu melalui hospital Tapah dan Ipoh (tempat almarhum sering berubat). Dan sering kali jugak berkata dihati “Kalau bapak hidup lagi pastinya dia bangga punya sembilan orang cucu kini,” Bapak memang suka bebudak, apatahlagi yang sembilan ini cucu dia sendiri. Pastinya kala anak-anak kami masih kecil akan dimanja dibelai. Pastinya sekarang ini giliran Azizah berulit merenget manja bersama seorang datuk.
Kalau bapak masih hidup, saya pasti bapak akan penuh bangga memperkenalkan cucu-cucunya yang lain pada setiap orang yang ditemui – I’m pretty sure the following would be how he’ll describe his grandchildren.
Safia would forever be his sweetheart,
Soraya would be his sweetest angel,
Sabrina would be his beloved joy
Adam would be his handsome buddy
Alia would be his beautiful princess
Asma would be his adorable confidante
Arissa would be his pretty honey
Azam would be his cute little sidekick
And Azizah would be his greatest pleasure.
Saat sebelum menghembus nafas terakhir, bapak sudah beberapa bulan terbaring di katil menderita sakit kencing manis, darah tinggi, dan jantung. Malah seingat diri ini bilamana tamat pengajian di UM lewat hujung 1987, saya pulang ke rumah menanti peluang pekerjaan. Dan masa itu bapak sudah pun berhenti kerja dari Maybank. Dapat medical release letter dari doktor. Namun sewaktu mula-mula berhenti kerja bapak masih boleh berjalan dan duduk. Malah seringkali jugak saya jadi supir dan sidekick membawa bapak pergi check up di hospital dan sesekali ke Behrang melawat ladang kelapa sawit keluarga almarhum. I’m sure we talked a lot during those long drives (ya ambik masa sebab masa tu PLUS highway tak de lagi) but I simply could not remember those conversations.
For many people, bapak came across as a serious person and garang kot. But not to us his sons. Of course, he lost his temper occasionally (I did too with my daughters) but we can talk to him. Anytime. There’s no such thing about we have to go to Mak to ask something like money. We went direct to both of them. I believe I am now continuing his favourite activity of forever and ever menyakat anak-anak.
When we were in primary schools, he would drive us to school and he would purposely sang one of his lagu-lagu asli as we were about to alight in front the school gate. And he did so on top of his voice. Malunya masa tu Tuhan jer yang tahu. Lagi dilarang lagi menjadi.
Bapak was an exceptional cook. After he retired and if he was up to it he would prepare out of this world dishes for the afternoon meal, while Mak was in school. Masa tu both arwah Wan Je (our beloved housekeeper/nanny) and I would be on standby to assist mana yang patut. I tell you, his pancake was deliciously outstanding.
He also possessed vicious sense of humour. I believed his brothers and sisters would agree on this. I heard lots of stories of how he (being the eldest) viciously bullied them when they were younger. Luckily he never subjected us his children to such ordeal. But still he retained his jovial humour. I remembered once while sending me to catch a bus to go back to UM, I was showing off my pantun-pantun melayu (as told by one of my lecturers then). Bapak responded by rattling off his versions of hilarious pantuns. I wish I could remember those pantuns.
Once I drove him to Behrang one Sunday morning. Perkara yang patut diselesaikan pada hari tu berakhir cepat. Hari masih pagi, pukul lapan pagi lebih kurang. Then on the spur of the moment we decided to go to KL, saja jalan-jalan. So off we went, siap dengan tak bawak ubat dia lagi. Zaman tu KL-Temoh bukannya dekat, kurang-kurang 3 jam perjalanan maklumlah ikut jalan lama. I think we went to Wah’s place (his sister) kat Kelana Jaya and Shah Alam. Only after we reached Kelana Jaya barulah we called Mak kat rumah telling her that we were already in KL. (Maklumlah manalah ada cellphone masa tu). Risaunya mak masa tu.
Needless to say, we arrived home safe and sound. I am so grateful for that day for it was just me and my bapak having a fun time together.
Bapak passed away when I was 23 years old – about five or six months after our KL trip (which incidentally was also his last trip to the capital city). Chor was a year older than me while Mi was 19 at the time. Our youngest brother arwah Azmir was 14 then and mentally challenged.
Bapak meninggal pada malam Selasa. Masa tu saya mengikuti kursus kewartawanan di NST (dan menumpang di rumah Ayah Chu and Mak Su), Chor di Kluang sudah bekerja while Mi was in ITM Manjung.
I called home that night and spoke to Mak. And while talking to Mak I heard Bapak’s voice asking who was calling. About 15 minutes later, Mak called back and said bapak dah meninggal. And what happened in the next few hours or so just went by in a flash. I reached home that morning dalam pukul 2 pagi, followed by Mi an hour later. Chor who drove all by himself from Kluang arrived just before azan subuh.
Yang paling menghibakan sekali ialah adik kami Azmir macam tak faham yang bapak dah tak ada. He was his usual self that day minding his own business. Nasib baik dia tak meragam hari tu. The three of us did what we have to do and our last act as anak-anak bapak were to meriba bapak waktu mandi. That was really a powerful experience and I must say that I am tearing up while typing this away.
Up till that moment, I was feeling numb more than anything. It was just before solat jenazah that an overwhelming and emotional grief swept over me. Suddenly, it hit me that bapak was going away forever and for good. And then Azmir just came up and sat near jenazah bapak. That was when I simply broke down uncontrollably.
Petang tu both Chor and I went somewhere (can’t remember where) and Chor said to me: “Kita tak akan lupa hari ini. Ever”
Yes! I can never forget that day. The day bapak left us all. Never to return.
Al-Fatihah!
21.2.07
Kong Hee Fatt Choy
Dulu masa kecik-kecik, Tahun Baru Cina was spelt Kong Hee Fatt Choy and not sepertimana sekarang Gong Xi Fa Cai! Lupa lak nak tanya yang arif bagaimana ini boleh berlaku.... Anyway, like in previous years Chinese New Year holidays memang dinanti-nantikan kerana cutinya panjang-panjang. Best oo. Anyway tahun ni oleh kerana ada perkara yang berbangkit, my CNY leave went longer than expected... cuti seminggu! Empat hari emergency leave and empat hari CNY leave. Ambik!! Raya ari tu cuti dua ari jer. Boleh????
The day before CNY we were in Kampar still and I tell you, the town is still macam dulu-dulu jugak. About 20 years ago, my good friends Salleh dan arwah Mat came along to bercuti CNY with me and they were literally stunned sebab the amosphere was simply very the Hong Kong. In fact, this year, on Friday tu both Yan and I wanted to go to the town market but could not get near the darn area due to the CNY bazaar. Sebijik macam kat Mongkok.
It was a good thing that Mak decided to follow us back to KL to recuperate and Kak and family tagged along! And the drive back to KL (on Saturday tu) was really pleasant. We sped along the PLUS highway while laughed at the north bound vehicles yang bersusun-susun nak balik kampung.
That night both of us went to Tesco Puchong nak beli groceries. Ingatkan malam2 Raya ni tak de la orang ramai. Boy! Was I wrong or what...manusia punya lar ramai termasuk lah kaum Cina. Heran sungguh! Bukan kaum Cina kena makan-makan dinner ker malam hari raya and then gather-gather reramai? Ini tidak... ada pulak tu shopping sayur ikan segala. And ada satu nyonya tu siap beli dapur lagi malam tu. I rest my case!!!
The day before CNY we were in Kampar still and I tell you, the town is still macam dulu-dulu jugak. About 20 years ago, my good friends Salleh dan arwah Mat came along to bercuti CNY with me and they were literally stunned sebab the amosphere was simply very the Hong Kong. In fact, this year, on Friday tu both Yan and I wanted to go to the town market but could not get near the darn area due to the CNY bazaar. Sebijik macam kat Mongkok.
It was a good thing that Mak decided to follow us back to KL to recuperate and Kak and family tagged along! And the drive back to KL (on Saturday tu) was really pleasant. We sped along the PLUS highway while laughed at the north bound vehicles yang bersusun-susun nak balik kampung.
That night both of us went to Tesco Puchong nak beli groceries. Ingatkan malam2 Raya ni tak de la orang ramai. Boy! Was I wrong or what...manusia punya lar ramai termasuk lah kaum Cina. Heran sungguh! Bukan kaum Cina kena makan-makan dinner ker malam hari raya and then gather-gather reramai? Ini tidak... ada pulak tu shopping sayur ikan segala. And ada satu nyonya tu siap beli dapur lagi malam tu. I rest my case!!!
14.2.07
Yan Mimpi Lagi!!!!
Last night, Yan mimpi lagi. dah lama Yan tak mimpi and bila mimpi memang max dia punya pelik. It goes something like this.....
"Yan dapat jemputan pergi majlis bertunang Kak (her elder sister, which I must say is one of the most fantastic super single moms we ever come across). Majlis diadakan kat rumah Yong (their eldest sister) di Simpang Pulai. Yan punya lar confuse sebab dia tak involve langsung dalam aturcara majlis. Hanya tercangak-cangak jadi jemputan semata-mata. Siap dijemput duduk untuk menyaksikan majlis sahaja. Duduk dengan Nyah and Abang Lan lagi (her brothers). Yong as a host memang ler sibuk ke sana ke mari. Dah ler tu, yang bertunang tu pun (mengikut mimpi Yan, yeer), pun tak duduk diam. Asyik sibuk melayan orang yang datang. Yong siap keluarkan set pinggan mangkuk baru lagi. Dalam mimpi tu Yan siap berkata dalam hati lagi "Cih, Yong ada set pinggan lawa rupanya. Tak aci betoi!!!!"
Anyways, hantaran dari pihak pompuan temanya kaler hijau tua. Dan rombongan lelaki pulak ala-ala mamak gitu. Dan kaya-raya. Tapi depa tak pulak bawak hantaran. Lepas makan-makan kat rumah Yong, hadirin dijemput ke sebuah dewan. Rupa2nya hantaran pihak lelaki ada kat situ. Dan hantaran pihak lelaki ni besar-besar gedabak ler pulak tak pernah dibuat orang. Agaknya kereta pun ada jadi hantaran. Maklumler kahwin ngan orang kaya.
Lepas tu, pihak lelaki ajak para jemputan untuk menikmati jamuan satu round lagi. Kali ni, Yan duduk sebelah Datin Rosmah Mansor (ala Najib punya wife tu). Sibuk Yan tolong tolong sendukkan nasi segala kat Datin ni. Dalam hati Yan masa ni siap berkata" Ini kena bagitahu Wancik and Chu (both are my aunts) kat Pengkalan nih!!!"
Dalam pada menjamu selera masa ini, para tetamu dihidangkan perihal slide show bagi memperkenalkan pengantin lelaki. Dalam slide tu pengantin lelaki ditunjuk tengah bergambar dalam lab buat kerja -- rupa2nya PH.d student ler pulak. Masa ni Yong pulak cakap " Eh! menantu saya pun belajar kat sini jugak... coursemate Azham rupanya ya".
Lepas tu Yan pun terjaga sebab dah azan Subuh.... let's keep our finger cross kot kot ada sambungannya nanti....
Tapi penatler mimpi style ni.... kan kan!!
12.2.07
Will You Follow ME????????
Anda kenal mereka???? There are everywhere and they bring so much joy into our lives, kan? They look funny, scary and even corny all at the same time. This is menatang kaler kuning Digi. We like. We like. We like.
8.2.07
Should I........????
I'm tempted, really. But should I?? Went to MPH yesterday in search of The Google Story which seems to be the talk of the people in my circle. Not wanting to be left behind (and after baca Suhaimi Sulaiman's blog about the book) I went to Subang Jaya MPH but the title was out of stock. Went to MPH Summit USJ last Sunday and that outlet lagi lar macam hampeh. Anyway, saw the book lying on my boss' desk. Tempted giler to rembat..... Should I??? I should actually because I don't like the guy but I shouldn't because mencuri itu perbuatan yang berdosa....
Still contemplating ni sebenarnya.
Anyways, since dah tak dapat the Google Story, I ended up buying Jeffrey Archer's latest False Impression. Yes, I'm like two years behind but due to my present budget situation, I no longer can afford to buy my favourite author's hard covers. But in true Archer's fashion, False Impression is simply magical. Read On!
Still contemplating ni sebenarnya.
Anyways, since dah tak dapat the Google Story, I ended up buying Jeffrey Archer's latest False Impression. Yes, I'm like two years behind but due to my present budget situation, I no longer can afford to buy my favourite author's hard covers. But in true Archer's fashion, False Impression is simply magical. Read On!
6.2.07
Bila Asma meraung guling-guling...
Kalau anda ada peluang melihat Asma meraung-raung sambil berguling-guling dengan penuh drama maknanya ......
Bapak beli latest books by Faisal Tehrani (Kekasih Sam Po Bo) dan Ramlee Awang Mursyid (Cinta Sang Ratu) tetapi gave the books to Mak instead. And then Mak pulak tayang-tayang buku-buku tu kat anak nombor dua dia.... Makanya Asma pun meraung-raung berguling-guling kononnya kecik hati sesangat
Itu lah yang terjadi semalam.....
Saya ibaratkan Faisal Tehrani dan Ramlee Awang Mursyid seperti Sydney Sheldon dan Jeffrey Archer Malaysia. Karya mereka merupakan karya kontemporari Bahasa Melayu yang saya baca. Saya bangga kerana masih ada penulis Malaysia yang dapat membawa cerita-cerita yang menarik. Saya masih tidak berpeluang membaca karya novelis-novelis lain di Malaysia ini... pernah mencuba tetapi yang banyak berkisah tentang cinta antara lelaki dan perempuan dan permasalahan di dalam percintaan itu. Penat ler kalau isu cinta saja yang asyik dibaca.
Bapak beli latest books by Faisal Tehrani (Kekasih Sam Po Bo) dan Ramlee Awang Mursyid (Cinta Sang Ratu) tetapi gave the books to Mak instead. And then Mak pulak tayang-tayang buku-buku tu kat anak nombor dua dia.... Makanya Asma pun meraung-raung berguling-guling kononnya kecik hati sesangat
Itu lah yang terjadi semalam.....
Saya ibaratkan Faisal Tehrani dan Ramlee Awang Mursyid seperti Sydney Sheldon dan Jeffrey Archer Malaysia. Karya mereka merupakan karya kontemporari Bahasa Melayu yang saya baca. Saya bangga kerana masih ada penulis Malaysia yang dapat membawa cerita-cerita yang menarik. Saya masih tidak berpeluang membaca karya novelis-novelis lain di Malaysia ini... pernah mencuba tetapi yang banyak berkisah tentang cinta antara lelaki dan perempuan dan permasalahan di dalam percintaan itu. Penat ler kalau isu cinta saja yang asyik dibaca.
3.2.07
Malaysia Boleh!!Zab and Joe Jer Boleh!
OH! MY! Zabrina and Joe Jer won! Yes! Our favourite team won the Amazing Race Asia. To make it sweeter, the two are also the first ever all-girl team to win an Amazing Race competition. No other all-female team has ever done that. Malaysia is truly proud of you two!
Really, we were on the edge of our seats last Friday night and what an amazing feeling it was watching the two Malaysian girls ran up to the final mat to claim first place position.
At home, The Amazing Race Asia has been the centre of our lives for the past 10 weeks or so. Although we are overjoyed that Zab and Joe Jer won, it was also bittersweet feeling that there’ll no more raced to follow.
It has been a really enjoyable watch, and I dare say that it’s better in almost every way to the American version. For a start, the 10 teams were really diverse and colourful.
And since I’ve got nothing better to do at the moment, and since this is my BLOG, anyway – I’m going to do rundown of the 10 teams. Saja suka-suka and untuk membuang masa.
10. Ernie and Jenna (The Philippines) – This is the team we did not get to know because they got eliminated too soon. Looking back, I still believe that if they did not blunder in their attempt to secure the Fast Forward in the second leg, they will definitely stay on and be a force to be reckoned with. They were among the leaders going into Jakarta and it was sheer bad luck that they got lost while searching for the school for that Fast Forward task. I would say that they are one of the smarter teams in the race. Just watch Episode 1.
9. Aubrey and Jacqueline (The Philippines) – Many put the two ladies under the teams you loved to hate category. But I found them to be funny. Yes! They did flaunt their beauty and sexuality all the way. I called that strategizing. And they are not as irritating as the many all-female teams in the TAR US version.
8. Sahil and Prashant (India) – I still wish that Ernie and Jenna beat them to the Jakarta Fast Forward. Remember their exit? They defied one of the rules of the competition (they claimed they did not know about the rule, ya right!) and for that they were penalised. But still they left the competition under the misconception that they were the strongest team in the Race. Macho konon. Bodoh ada lar. In true Bollywood fashion, they are both smug and muddled. And M&M just confirmed (in a newspaper interview) that both Indian boys are cocky.
7. Sharon and Melody (Singapore) – Like a true blue Malaysian, I was so ready not to support these Singaporean lasses. But their tenacity was so endearing that they won me over. Furthermore, they came across as genuinely nice people and I would definitely want to be their friends. Remember that Sharon was the only one who gave the girl on the swing in New Zealand task a hug for making the girl waited for them in the cold for so long? And when Melody leaped down screaming during the bungee jumping task in New Zealand, our heart simply went out to her.
6. Howard and Sahran (Sri Lanka) – My all time favourite team in the history of Amazing Race series. The moment they introduced themselves in Episode One (where Sahran list down their phobias which were practically almost everything that you usually associated with the race), you simply cannot not like these two drama kings. Their one-liners are priceless. They are simply funny, nice and you just can’t stop rooting for them. It was quite sad to see them got eliminated.
5. Andy and Laura (Thailand) – The team many people love to hate. But they are smart and can be incredibly lucky. Enough said.
4. Mardy and Marsio (Indonesia) – Another favourite. And very hilarious. Marsio seems to be talking non-stop. Remember the “Our bodies are designed to eat and sleep” line? It seems that they spent all their money on food and more food. After Team Sri Lanka left the competition, the M&M provided the much needed drama.
3. Andrew and Syeon (Malaysia) –Impressive performance throughout. They were incredibly clever and played the race really well. Remember when they were the first team to locate the girl on the swing in New Zealand? And they picked the right gondola in the Eye of the Emirates challenge right on!
If they had engaged a taxi driver to drive them out of Kuching to the Sarawak Cultural Village instead of relying on the Lonely Planet guide book, they would certainly win the competition.
2. Sandy and Francesca (Hong Kong) - Sandy and Francesca are fun to watch, and funny, too, especially when Francesca is "freaking out" (which was often). Trust me, if you are watching any of the American contestants freaking out during the race, it will irritate you to the maximum. Somehow, it was not the case with Fran - you simply empathised and laughed. Don’t know why lar? And Sandy is a picture of calm. Just found out that he finished the eating challenge in seven minutes while Marsio took more than an hour to complete his. Waah!
1. Zabrina and Joe Jer (Malaysia) – Who would have thought that they would win the big one, right? But looking at the earlier episodes, they were quite strong and always finished in the upper half. Although they came across as not as competitive as other teams (must be the editing lar) they were quick thinking, personable and nice. It was nice to see that the duo take the time to appreciate the places and people they meet along the way.
Some statistics
Teams that were saved by the of pre-determined non-elimination legs of the Race!
Ø SanFran in Kuala Lumpur
Ø Howard Sahran in Wellington
Ø Zabrina Joe Jer in Bangkok
Ø M&M in Dubai
Teams yielded
Ø Andy and Laura in New Delhi
The only team related by blood
Ø M&M
The only married couple
Ø Ernie and Jenna
Teams that reached the pit stop first more than once
Ø Andrew and Syeon
Ø Andy and Laura
Ø San Fran
The other teams that came in first
Ø Sahil and Prashant in Jakarta
Ø Howard and Sahran in Bali (Zab and Joe Jer came in first but was penalised for not completing a task)
Ø Zab and Joe Jer for the big one in Bako.
All-Male Teams
Ø M&M
Ø Howard Sahran
Ø Sahil Prashant
All Female teams
Ø Zab and Joe Jer
Ø Aubrey and Jacqueline
Ø Melody and Sharon
Couples
Ø Andrew and Syeon
Ø San Fran
Ø Andy Laura
Ø Ernie Jenna
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