Introducing Opah Tekah!

When I was small, we used to visit my paternal grandparents in Lahat near Ipoh (which was about 45 minutes away from home in Temoh) almost every week. And more often than not, my almarhum bapak would dropped in on my great grandmother (my Moyang)'s place in Kota Baru (near Gopeng, Perak) which was along the way to Lahat anyway.

I don't have that much of a memory of Opah Moyang (or affectionately known as Opah Tekah among her grandchildren including my Mak) except that she had the whitest hair ever. But one thing I remember though was that she's a gentle lady (which I'm sure those who have had the previlege of knowing her up close and personal would agree in a heartbeat).

Opah Tekah had a long life. She passed on in 1971 (when I was 7 years old) at the age of 102. She (real name Halijah Panglima Perang Uda Lahid) was married to her second cousin Talib Sulaiman and together they have six children. The oldest was Sapiah, my Opah Temoh. Other children were Hashim (Tok Ngah), Ni Khadijah (Opah Ami), Tan Sri Osman (Tok Man) and Halimaton (Opah Chu).

Interestingly both Tok Talib and Opah Tekah were direct descendants of Saiyid Hussain Al Faradz, said to be the official religious teacher to the first Sultan of Perak. Saiyid Husain Al Faradz, in turn, is said to be the 37th generation of Saidina Hussain r.a, beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad SAW. Alhamdulillah!

And last Sunday, a family gathering of “Keluarga Tok Talib dan Opah Tekah” was held for the first time in Bukit Damansara. The gathering, the brainchild of one of the grandsons Datuk Seri Yunus Mohd Tasi (Ayah Chu) was organized to bring together the surviving members of “Keluarga Tok Talib dan Opah Tekah” to get to know each other and to reinforce their family ties. About 500 members of the family attended the event.

It was humbling to see so many relatives, many of whom I met for the first time and many I have not met in a longest time. A pictorial entry on the Perjumpaan Keluarga will follow suit... soon.