Naha passed away Wednesday morning at the Selayang Hospital. He was only 54.
On Monday 23rd. he had 'phoned me, saying the case brought against him by the Bangladeshi was d.n.a.a. by the Court last week.
Tuesday he had brain haemorrhage at 10 pm at the shrimp pond where he just started work for a month. He went into a coma and his friends first brought him home to Sri Gombak, then at 1 am sent him to the hospital.
We go back to 1986-87 I think. He worked with me until April 1994. When I left the company, he also left and operated a food stall right until last month, when he joined the Chinese pond owner.
My wife and children treated him like family, all calling him "Uncle Din". Since we moved to Seremban, meetings were rare, but we kept in touch and he made the rare visits to the house. No.1 Son even called him from Hawaii once, and Kasmah was surprised and said "he still remembers you ?" Naha replied "mau tidak, lama dengannya".
When the children were still schooling in PJ, a few times when we allowed for choice to spend the weekend, they preferred to "Pegi umah Uncle Din !", though in fact such visits were infrequent.
Work and mood sometimes didn't allow me to be as familial with Naha, or "Din" as I preferred to call him. Angry words were uttered, but he never answered back. Often after a long day he would catch fourty winks in the sitting room, and my wife was always on his side and he always reciprocated her kindness.
So when we met Kasmah that Wednesday afternoon after the burial, my wife and Kasmah cried when she said to please forgive him if he had hurt our feelings in any way. My eyes filled with tears when I in turn asked her for forgiveness for my cross words.
Naha and Kasmah have five children, but I only remember Adam and Hawa, precisely because of their distinctive and well-chosen names.
When we left Kasmah that day we asked that she invite us for their wedding, whenever that happens.
Farewell, my friend. I pray that Allah forgives you for your sins, however big they may be, and accepts your good deeds, however small they are. Amin !
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