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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