Ombong, Kak Ngah & Aju.

 Fri 26.11.21

I could title this piece "Tiga Dara Pingitan", my first cousins. All three are single now. One is a widow. The second one a divorcee. The third a spinster. This last one I can never understand. She wasn't bad looking. In fact all three were very pretty young ladies once.

I had gotten hold of Jimi at his house at around 8 yesterday morning. He had already been booked by a doctor to take him to Juasseh or something. On my insistence, he cancelled the booking, but the doctor said "ok". I gave Jimi RM 50 as compensation, and while saying "no need-lah" he grabbed it and stuffed it into his small drawer under the car's dashboard. We came back to the house at about half-past-one, so the five hours worked out to RM 10 per hour, and that's ok to me.

First I had to go to the Department of Agriculture, Jempol. I've not been here for years. Bandar Seri Jempol looked well-developed, with nice wide roads and nice looking, apparently well-stocked shops.  I don't see the need for the locals to go to Bahau anymore. Many of the more famous brand-names are here. This is the purchasing power of the Felda settlers from Serting Complex and other adjacent Felda schemes like Pasoh, Lui and Keratong. Yet Bahau, too, has grown since the last time I was here. In fact Bahau is obviously bigger and definitely busier than KP now. I popped into a shoe store and a pharmacist. Both carry large stocks and seem well-patronised

The Department of Agriculture visit came fruitless because there is a confusion of substance in the matter of the land-use referred to in the Mukim Grant. I suggested to Taufik to call or write back to the Police so that the Police correct their earlier official request. Anyway, I told Taufik he can take his time.

We drove back via Serting Ulu. I wanted to stop at the mosque to ask for an old classmate, Mustaffa Daud. He was from Kg. Parit near KP town, and was with the Custom. Now retired, he moved back to the wife's kampong here. This was from Shaari "Mak ayo". But we missed the mosque because it's further up to Simpang Pertang, when we had instead turned to Batu Kikir from Bandar Seri Jempol, which is the opposite direction. 

We turned back to Bahau at the Batu Kikir junction to give Din Pendek a surprise visit. I'd visited his clinic only once before. Din took us for roti canai at the restaurant in the same row as his clinic. He had to leave because he had to carry out Covid vaccination somewhere close by.

The next stop was Ombong Azi, Kak Ngah Ipon and Aju, the "tiga dara".

The three are sisters. Their old house was at Kubang Rusa, maybe 3 km away. First Pak Long Jamaluddin built his tall Malay wooden house here in Juasseh Kapitan, after Ombong, his eldest daughter (that's why she's "Ombong") got married. Later Ombong and the late husband Along Nordin also moved out of Kubang Rusa when they built their own double-storey brick house just next to Pak Long's. Both Ombong and Along Nordin were school teachers. Ombong went to Durian Daun Teachers College in Melaka. I always told her it should be daun durian, not durian daun. She was also the one to introduced me to the Tamil "rendek". At that time she said it meant a couple "making romance" to each other. Only later I learned it's Tamil for "2". I guess in her case it meant the same thing.

There was a lot of catching up for us. It's been long since my last visit here.  I used to visit Ombong and Along Nordin often when they were in Kubang Rusa. In this house I came a few times. I was married. I was still a bachelor when they were in Kubang Rusa..  When I got married I came as the groom in their Volvo 122 to Lonek for the marriage ceremony. Ombong also used to teach Ari before he moved to KL. An incessant phone ringing from Pak Long's house finally took away Kak Ngah. Her last post was as an Ustazah in one of the army camps in Seremban. Aju is much younger than me. When she was schooling in TMS or TKS (both close to each other) she would stop over at our house in Tebat Kering at the end of classes before walking on to the bus stand in Kuala Pilah town. Our Tebat Kering house is close to both schools.

Ombong said Alang Ipin is not well. We're the same age, and were close when still schooling in KP. I used to sleep over at the Kubang Rusa house. He went on to Germany for his engineering degree, and now has a Korean daughter-in-law. That's international. Ombong said he's still in the same house in Subang Jaya. Maybe I should surprise him.  I could go with Jimi again. We could also visit Amat  Openg in Sg. Buluh. Jimi knows the place. Amat's real name is Ahmad Nizam (I think) but Along Nordin called him Amat Aji Openg bin Boyo. There was an Haji Openg in Sarawak at that time, as was also a Temenggung Jugah Anak Bariang. That's how the "boyo" came about. Another  brother Alang Ipin called "Mr. Balun", a name I've kept for him until now. Real name Fadhlun, a former CIMB bank officer. Still single. Even Ombong doesn't know where his house is, now that he's retired.

These are close first cousins who are separated by family and work.  The fleeting moments with unplanned visits are cherished, though few and far between now.  The older folks have left us. We can only hang on to the remainder, and all are getting on in years. But we can still laugh at funny stories of the past.

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The Gombak-Lonek dates.

 Wed 24.11.2021.

We were in Lonek a day earlier to prepare for today's return reception of the Gombak marriage ceremony between Kamil & Zalikha last Sunday.

Idah undertook the giant-share of the gift-preparations, including the 4-hour wajeek  cooking and packaging. I assured the Gombak trio that came that this wajeek is special and must not be missed. But today what was really special was the poetry Idah read before the adat menyembah.

Syair Pengantin.

Teruna bongsu kesayangan ayah

Dibawa selalu kemana arah

Lelaki tunggal tiga beradik

Kini dah besar jadi pendidik.

Jodoh bertemu kehendak Tuhan

Yang ini satu jadi pilihan

Sama sebaya sama sepadan

Moga abadi jodoh pertemuan.

Sanak-saudara rakan dan taulan

Beramai-ramai beri sokongan

Semua gembira dalam prayaan

Kasihnya ayah dalam ingatan.

Ibu dan kakak dalam keluarga

Kekal berdamping berkasih-sayang

Mahligai kini sudah dibina

Semoga bahagia yang berpanjangan.

Needless to say, there were a few tears.

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Ismail Yassin.

19.11.2021.

Wednesday I called Ismail for a game Thursday. Just 9 holes. Kak Tun picked up the phone, and Ismail agreed when she passed it to him. Kak Tun took back the phone and cautioned that Bang Mail can't hit the ball now. Just for the walk, and maybe some putting, but taking the buggy, and that might be ok. She drove him to the club,  at 8.15. I told her to come back in 2 hours. She came back 10.30. We were already waiting at the car park.

Dato' Ismail Yassin and I go back to 1995, when I first met him at the club and began our golf together right until Thursday. That'll make it more than 26 years. And with intially 15-3-3 right down to 2 ringgit per hole, RM 25 K might have changed hands. Mostly it has been my way ! In the last 2-3 years, before the pandemic, I'd given him strokes for all holes except the pars-3. And a lot of "preferred lies". It has been not only at SIGC but also other courses in other states. But Thursday, sadly, I found that, as Kak Tun said, Ismail can't play anymore. He's 83.

Ismail has an interesting career. He was a college-trained teacher and Kak Tun was his pretty student. They got hooked.

Wanting to do better, after marriage he took up Law at the Inns-of-Courts, London, taking Kak Tun along, and returned to work at PKNNS for a brief period, before putting up practice in Melaka. During Rais Yatim's time, Ismail ran for the UMNO state seat of Rembau and became a wakil rakyat. He says many times he represented the MB at state functions, to the vexation of Yazid Baba (according to him).  Musa Hitam even sent him to the UN at one time. He joined all the associations around town - the ex-teachers, Perkim, later Veteran UMNO, MUBARAK and several others. I suspect he also surreptitiously joined the "Ibu Tunggal" association without anyone else knowing, ha ha.

He got hooked to golf in Melaka, he says. It was natural. He had time and opportunity, and he had been a school athlete. And he must have been a useful golfer. It's easy to be turned off, otherwise. Coming back to Seremban, there were the scores of keen players at the only golf club in town.  He played with the whole crowd, from regular members to  the VVIP's, including Undangs and Royalty.

There were health issues before, sure,  but he overcame them, including a minor stroke. In fact he completely recovered from that particular attack. He was unflinching in the search for cure and good health, and drove far and wide for providers. But now  it's age, I suppose, and no one escapes that.

As Kak Tun got into the driver's seat, I said " let  him walk around Bukit Chedang in the morning, and ask him to finish 1 liter of water daily". Ismail has had a good run, and earned his rest. I pray that he settles in comfort, surrounded by loved ones.

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