At 11 a.m. yesterday I left for Hj. Latiff's house at Bukit Rasah. The "tahlil" was supposed to be at 11, but I had to finish 9 holes first at S.I.G.C. As expected there was plenty of time, because after arriving there I had a full 15 minutes before we were invited into the house for the "tahlil" proper. It was for the departure of some members of the family for the haj, which season ends at the end of this month, the 9th. of Zulhijjah 1348 H.
On Friday morning Wahid called, conveying Hj. Latiff's invitation. I'd said why are you calling, not Hj. Latiff himself, and Wahid laughed. I repeated this to Hj. Latiff when I shook hands with him. When I saw Wahid there later, I said I'm only angry because he didn't call me about Baharin Taib's passing that I found out only a week later, but Wahid said in fact he was in Johor at that time.
Hj. Latiff bin Othman was the personnel officer, Felda, Jalan Maktab, KL, who I reported to on March 15, 1969 upon accepting the offer from "Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan" for the post of "Pegawai Pentadbir" in a letter signed by Kamaruzzaman Abd. Halim b.p. Pengerusi, Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan, dated February 8, 1969. The letter said I was to reply before February 15 whether accepting or not. I came personally. At that time I was employed as "Penolong Pegawai Daerah, Alor Gajah" on a 3 - year probation. L.K.T.P.'s offer was more. I couldn't refuse.
Today, of course, this is peanuts - a general clerk starts at 1,000 now. But for perspective, in 1969 a brand new Volkswagen (beetle) cost $5,300. A bunglow in Ampang Jaya, KL, cost $15,000. I was 24. I had just graduated from U.M. in the middle of 1968, and although I went for an interview at the PSD, Jalan Young, KL, I failed to get the scholarship to read Law in England. So the Alor Gajah position, when it came, had to be grabbed. The late Mokhtar Selat, our former ambassador to Chile or Peru ( I can't remember which one - you remember the embassy kidnapping case) also attended the same interview, but he succeeded where I failed.
When Noraya Khalidun came to our table yesterday, I told her that Hj. Latiff's father was related to hers, from Tanjung Ipoh. In fact Hj. Latiff had just told me that, when I said I saw Noraya with the women, but she didn't seem to recognize me. Even Noraya didn't know that, saying she thought his father was from Juasseh. Hj. Latiff's mother was from Rembang Panas, which was where I thought both his parents were from. I know exactly where his old house is, because from 1995 to 1999 I was the State Assemblyman for Senaling, and I pass that location more times than I can remember. Noraya was with me in Seremban for a brief period, during one of my two postings there.
Hj. Latiff started as an ASP in the Police, but for whatever reason, decided it was not for him, and resigned and joined Felda. Yesterday, recalling this, Hj. Latiff remarked if he didn't leave he could have been sacked!
Like me, he also went through a few transfers between KL and Seremban, but stayed with Felda to the end. His last post was Director of Peronnel, I think. He's 81 now, is mostly wheelchair-bound because of his knees. I remember meeting him a few times in the last couple of years with a walking stick. But unlike me, Hj. Latiff always stayed in Seremban, in this very Bukit Rasah house. In fact he also bought the house next door, during the real estate downturn in the 70's. He rented it to a Korean who paid one year's rent in advance !
When he was first posted to Felda hq, he would rent a room on top of Hameed's restaurant at Jalan Gurney, close to office. I would see his old 122 Volvo parked there. Then he bought a diesel-powered Toyota, when diesel cost 50 sen, and travelled every day from Seremban. In fact many Felda officers drove diesel cars because of the amount of travelling involved. The diesel price was very cheap in those days.
When I reported for duty at Felda, Old RMC mates Halim (Rock foundation) and Akbar (A.K. Bear ) were already there, but both left for the MCS after about one year. But surprisingly, neither made it to the Chief Secretary of a Ministry, though they became top government officers. Halim even has a Masters from USA. I met Halim recently at the OPA, and A.K.Bear called about 2 weeks ago.
I remember Hj. Latiff's father and younger brother. In 1958 I entered the finals of the oratory competition for Religious Schools, N.S., held in Rembau. His brother entered the Quran reading competition - his father was a Quran teacher, I think. I won my competition, but I can't remember what happened to his brother. Hj. Latiff also remembers about that competition.
Several people at Hj. Latiff's place, I remembered well enough. All seemed different, with white hair and the aged faces. Sometimes I feel lucky to still have decent health and able to still play golf almost daily at the club. I told him I met Dollah Yusof at Datuk Sulaiman's reception. He's 77 and has glaucoma in the right eye, but is still walking on his own, except he can't drive. I also met Raja Alias at Fadzil's place, and he's still sprightly at 83, although he's also all white now.
One of the reasons why Hj. Latiff arranged for yesterday's khenduri, Wahid said, was to gather old friends. I think it's a nice thing to do. I wouldn't want to miss these if I can. If invited.
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