Hj. Jamaluddin Hj. Ibrahim.

Tues Nov. 14, 2023.

At about 11.30 am just now I stood with the others in our funeral prayers in Mesjid Sendeng, Ampangan, Seremban, for Hj. Jamaluddin. He was 89.

He was my brother-in-law's brother-in-law, of the Hj. Ibrahim, Ampangan, clan.  He died in Jalan Kent, KL, yesterday, but the family wanted him interred here, in the Hj. Said maqam in Seremban. The entire vast family considers this ancient cemetry, now officially closed, their own - Hj. Said, the religious teacher, was a close relative.

I also came because of Idah. She couldn't come because of the 3 grandchildren in the house. The youngest, 2,  is in hospital right now because of lung infection. He's on breathing machine, in fact. Our daughter is with him. Idah would have come, otherwise.  She worked for Hj. Jamaluddin for a few years until I married her. The office was in the MARA building on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, KL.

I would send her in the morning, and picked her back after office, when we were engaged. That was for almost a year in 1971. I got to know Hj. Jamaluddin then. We even went to his one-storey bungalow in the Bukit Belachan area, Ampang, I think. I met the late Khatimah, Hj. Jamaluddin's younger sister, there. Ari's marriage to Wira, another much younger sister, came many years later. The late Khatimah went on to become an Exco in the State Legislative Assembly. Ari's family fortunes emanated from that. 

I lost contact with Hj. Jamaluddin after my marriage, but after Ari's marrage to Wira, Idah would somehow reconnect with his ex-boss. So, his life's progression was in Idah's knowledge, right until the health issues because of age. I did meet him a few times, during family weddings etc. He remembered me well.

Hj. Redha, ex YB, led the final prayers just now. I think 80% of the congregation was family, but even so, it was a large enough crowd.

As usual, while waiting for the remains to arrive from KL, we met old friends and family members at the mosque. The usual banter and catching-up got everybody talking simultaneously, despite the somber occasion. Hj. Ishak even managed to talk of the "Bintang Tiga" communist incident in Rantau. I wonder where that came from. But I think it's history lesson that shouldn't be lost. I have a few similar stories  in Bukit Temensu - one relating to Tengku Fakharuddin; another to "Ah Ting" the coffee-shop operator.

Most followed the hearse to the cemetry, but I took my excuse. I had in fact gone there first, because that was Ari's message. But there was a change in plan that brought everybody to Sendeng mosque just now.

Farewell, Che Jamal, God Bless you.

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Long weekends, weddings & traffic snarls.

 Sunday, Nov 12, 2023.

Long weekends, weddings and traffic snarls go together. That was the scenario this time with 2 weddings and the Deepavali celebrations, spread over two days and about 180 km return. The distance between the two locations and the Saturday-Sunday appointed times, when the Indian community celebrated its Deepavali this time, cost me a total of 12 hours. 75% of that time was on the road to the two sites, Saturday in Kuala Pilah, Sunday in the Ampang Jaya area in KL.

I'd long maintained that the large number of private vehicles on our roads is caused by our poor public transport. What are the ratios of cars to road distances in this country, and cars to population ?

Saturday was Abin's daughter's wedding at the Melang Inn Hotel, KP. Sunday was Kak Lang Noi's grandson's wedding in the Majestique Palace in Ampang Jaya. Abin is a first cousin. Kak Lang Noi a second cousin, and she called twice. So the weddings couldn't be missed, traffic jams notwithstanding.

Abin is in a wheelchair now, not paralysed but weak in the legs. She's 70 +. Kak Lang Noi is not in a wheelchair, but is also weak in the legs. She'll be 80 end of this year.

Abin lost her husband, Sulaiman, a few years ago. She stays in Kuala Jempol, which is closer to Bahau, but had chosen to have the reception in Kuala Pilah. I wonder why, because the groom is supposed to come from Jempol also. In fact Abin had family here in Melang, but the old folks are all gone now.

Kak Lang Noi is from Bukit Temensu, where my maternal grandparents were. Both of us were also born here at the end of the Japanese Occupation - we're the same ages. In fact we attended Quran-reading tuition together, under one Lobai Net who hailed, would you believe it, from Kuala Jempol. The evening classes were conducted in Bukit Temensu. I remember another classmate, Chandoh (a nick-name), Hj. Malek's daughter from across the Sg. Pilah river in the "Seberang" kampong. When I was the GM of Felda Transport in the 80's, Chandoh telephoned me out of the blue, asking to help take her son into the company, which I did. Chandoh has died. I wonder if the son is still there, in the Shah Alam  Depot.

I also took in Kak Lang Noi's first cousin into Felda Transport. She's Alwi's daughter. Alwi was Mak Cik Limah's brother. Mak Cik Limah was Kak Lang Noi's mother. My mom was close to that family - our houses in Bukit Temensu were just across the KP-Tampin road, maybe 100 m apart.

In fact in a way I also gave Alwi's daughter (I've forgotten her name) her husband. He was also taken by me after his mother, a Felda settler from Pasoh, I think, approached me to take him into employment. I've also forgotten his name. They met at work.

When Kak Lang Noi got married to Mutalib, from Sawah Lebar, she moved with him to KL, where they have been ever since. That's how the grandson's wedding was in KL today. And that's also why I bumped into Dr. Onny at the reception. Onny's wife is from Sawah Lebar. She's also a doctor. Onny said he's semi-retired now. Just as we were chatting away, my younger brother, Dr. Din, came to our table. So there were 3 doctors from KP sitting together.

This is the style now, having wedding receptions in rented halls rather than at home. It makes sense. You have more space, air- conditioning, ample parking, and toilet facilities. And afterwards you just leave. In the house you face at least 2 weeks of cleaning. At least.

The Melang Inn Hotel affair was nice. It was comfortable and the food was very good, in taste and variety. The Majestique Hall was equally nice, but in the food section I think it was second to Melang Inn Hotel.

I told Kak Lang Noi I don't know when we'll meet again. We're both in our 8th decade, and living so far apart. But we have our own grown families, and there may be some occasions together left.

I was with Calit, in Dekna's car. We went back to Seremban via Shah Alam, because I wanted to check the venue for my meeting on 24/11. But it was the same laboured drive back the way we came. There are just too many cars on the road.

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Planning for the final 70th. anniversary.

Fri Nov 3, 2023.

Tuesday, 31.10.2023,  Nawawi got about a dozen of  us, class representatives for the 1952-1961 PD Budak Boys  group, together at the pool-side building of KGNS. The ostensible purpose was to finalise plans for our 70th anniversary "do" on 17.12.2023 at PD, but we covered more ground in the end.

This was the first time for BB Wahab, ex Navy No.1, who agreed to the offer to take over as President from BB Radzi. Radzi had asked for relief, because he has some plans in his home-state Perlis. Time would be a constraint.

Incidentally, Mat Sham also requested for temporary relief as the Treasurer. He's having some legal problems with his bank because of a 160K scam involving his credit card. So, Nor Shaari came, because he had also gallantly agreed to assume "the account-keeper" post in the meantime.

Let me see, so there was Wahab, Nawai, Mat Sham, Nor Shaari, Rahman, Halim, Raymond, Hank, Danker, Ismail, Tajuddin and me - 12 of us. That was for meeting. At lunch later BB Ghani and OP Khamis joined us for lunch at the Chinese restaurant. Ghani is the current President of KGNS. Khamis paid for the lunch, I was told. I've been in touch with "Early Thursday" (Khamis Awal lah!) on the whatsapp, but haven't seen him in years. He said he has had to lay off golf for almost a year now because of some problems with his left arm, and it showed.

Nawawi greeted me with "where's the durian?" just like I said would happen to Hank in the car earlier. Anyway, 17th December is a long way away, but I approached Mat. Sham and Nawawi during lunch to confirm the order, verbally. It's set. I'll arrange for delivery, and Mat Sham will sponsor the fruits. 100 seems a nice round figure, but Mat Sham asked to make certain the number coming.

Nawawi displayed all the figures on screen, noting our continuous activities. But as Nor Shaari, Mat Sham and Danker commented, this group is "fading fast". By definition it is what it is - the 1952-1961 people. Not like the OPA, which is on-going. So many BB's are not around now. Too many have passed away. Many have migrated. Very many are in physical decline. And many simply don't maintain contact. That's life, I guess. But the BB had striven to go on as a group, and that's where we are today, and thank God for it. And Nawawi is very much the catalyst.

I left home at 8.30 am to hitch a ride with Hank. It was supposed to be 9 sharp at S2 Mydin. Of course Hank was late. But we made it on time to KGNS, in spite of some strange turns despite the "waze". Returning to Seremban, we stopped at Amcorp Mall and visited the second-hand book corner. I bought 5 books for RM 50, and gave Hank RM 10 for a golf instruction book for his grandson. We put on "waze" again but promptly lost our way because we were turning and turning in the Balakong area until finally Hank asked to shut down "waze" and he somehow got us to the recognizable Mines area and on to the "Lekas" to Seremban. I finally reached home at 8.30 pm. That's a full 12 hours.

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