Bang Sudin.

2.3.2014.

Bang Sudin, 82, died at around 9 p.m. Saturday 1st March, at the Kampong Baru Medical Centre, KL, the day Nora got married. Kamal called around 9.30 when I was bringing back Acad & Ameng from Subang Parade because on Friday I promised to take them there after the kenduri at Taman Tun. I was tired and had hoped the kids had forgotten, but no way.

My first visit to Bang Sudin's house in Kota Bharu - it was the government quarters at Jalan Bayam - must have been early '72, not long after our marriage in '71. After that there were maybe one or two more visits before Bang Sudin got transferred to KL. Then it was visits to his rented house in Taman Ibu Kota, behind Lee Rubber in Gombak. It's unrecognizable now, with all the new shopping malls and new roads and flats and stuff. And the new traffic, my God !

During the burial at 11 at  Makam Hj. Said, Hj. Latiff came and I spoke to him through his car window. They were classmates, Bang Sudin and Hj. Latiff. Hj. Latiff walks with a cane now, and looks his age. Bang Sudin was "Ochu" at school, "Pak Ndak" to his wife's side of the family, and "Bang Ngah" to his side of the family. But Ari and I used to call him "Cik Sam".

It's remarkable that the heart bypass he had when I was still working has lasted that long. It was partly his heart, partly his respiratory problem that caused him to be in-and-out of hospital these last two months. He never came back home after the last hospital admission. I managed to visit him at hospital twice, but Idah went numerous times.

Bang Sudin and Kak Mot usually had their late breakfast in the eating places around Seremban. Infrequently, we used to take him to lunch, once driving all the way to Nilai to a quaint place on the hill along the road to Sepang, the old way. Maybe they were tired of eating home cooking, though I think Kak Mot was just too lazy to cook, but they seemed to enjoy these outside meals. I know Bang Sudin liked the food at the restaurant in the shopping complex at Bangi, where both daughters now live.

Band Sudin shared with me the purchase of 2 acres of agricultural land in Batu Kikir back in the early 80's. The plan was to plant some fruit trees, but I never got around to it. We finally sold it to Dato' Salim a few years ago. When I gave Bang Sudin's share of the money, he grinned and kissed my cheque.

We had the first of three "tahlil" just now, at his house. I choked when I read the "Yasin" during burial, but this  tahlil was calm, unemotional. Maybe we realized that his time was close. Even Kak Long, so distressed when they wrapped the shroud this morning, managed to smile when we were eating just now. The loss surely is no less felt.

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