Datuk Sulaiman, erstwhile Appeals Court judge, and current golfing opponent, had been talking about his in-law, Dollah Yusof, in a few of our earlier golf rounds, maybe a year ago, adding that Dollah's wife was "Miss Terengganu". Well, today he put me at the same table with Dollah & ex Miss Terengganu, at the reception for his son's wedding at Pusat Dakwah, Seremban. This was a special seating and the sign "reserved" was still intact on the table. Dollah, of course remembers me, but the wife obviously was lost. I said "I went to your house once, when I was still with Felda". That didn't help but was all I could offer her.
Dollah looked older and much more frail. I remember him as tall and thin. Today he stooped and was not so tall, and much thinner. And unlike before, with thick glasses. He's 77, he said. He has glaucoma in the right eye and says he can't drive anymore. He served 41 long years in Felda. That's twice my own time there, and maybe slightly longer than Raja Alias, our Chairman, the last non-political one. Dollah said he started in 1966. That's 3 years ahead of me. But I left at the end of 1990. That's 17 years ahead of him.
I first met Dollah in Felda at one of the regular Regional Secretary's meetings at our hq in Jalan Maktab. The "RS" was the chief administrator for all the Felda schemes in each state. He was then the R.S. Terengganu, his home-state, and the most senior among the R.S's. At the end of the meetings he would say "let's give a hand for the closure of this meeting". We had the meetings in the only meeting room we had at our humble hq, on the ground floor of the L-shaped 4-storey building that right now awaits destruction making way for more modern development in this highly-priced area of the city.
All the years that we were together in Felda, we never spoke much when we met. Dollah wasn't much of a talker anyway. Maybe that was why he got on fine with Raja Alias. A few times he was a direct boss. Dollah had a funny way of smiling at you. The ends of his upper lips would jerk up very quickly and come back to square almost immediately. That was supposed to be a smile, I think. Padir my younger brother noticed it, too, and used to comment to me about it, and we would chuckle. Later on Padir took over from Dollah.
Today, over the sumptious lunch, we probably spoke more than the 21 years that we spent together in Felda. Those were different times. I learned that he has 12 grandchildren, to my 10. His son sitting with us drove them today. He's with Shell, and I said my No. 3 Son was with Shell too, but left to join another O & G company.
I told him I met Raja Alias at Padir's house recently, and when I commented "what's happening to Felda, Ungku?" he responded simply "our time has gone". Dollah said he meets Raja Alias once in a while. Raja Alias is 83. His father, Raja Ali, died at 101. I knew Raja Ali. His second son, now around 40+, is still not married, but is supposed to be doing well, career-wise.
Many of our old friends in Felda have passed away, he lamented. Taufik, Ghani and Hj. Nasir among them. I said Padir told me about Hj. Nasir when I was in Kelang, and I drove to his house at UK Heights and found the remains already at the mosque. I saw Aziz Zakaria, Husein Menggong, Muhammad Jamil and Ismail Atan there.
Dollah knew that I joined MISC January 1991 where I stayed for almost 5 years. I resigned and stood for elections in 1995. I was a politician trying to work like an administrator, and that wasn't it. And I introduced Dato' Maulud, an Orang Besar Istana, sitting with us, to him.
And on and on we went, but I had to leave because Maulud wanted to go to Shah Alam.
48 years is a long time. But the first 21 years of those still bring memories, both good and not-so-good. This is one such note.
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