Friday 6.11.2026
The last week of October saw 3 Octogenarians together in quite different circumstances. I'm talking about Hank, Miza and me, all born in 1944. I'm talking about last week, the end of October, some 82 years pass the 1944 mentioned. And I'm talking about the surprising connections through all this.
Hank had collapsed at home one morning, where he lives with an elder sister, who is wheel-chair bound. Fortunately, the day-maid his son engaged to look after the house, was on duty that day. The daughter in Tropicana Golf Resort was contacted, and they made it to the emergency ward of HTJ, where Hank was kept for 2 days before being transferred to the wards. That was when he contacted me.
My immediate visit at about 6 pm had me standing over him in his hospital bed, snoring away, but looking normal to me. I stayed for half-an hour, but left without disturbing him. I thought that was more important.
I came back at 12 noon the next day, but found out that visiting hours is actually 12.30, and these HTJ security people are strict, and the 30-minute wait had to be suffered.
We were in PD, at the then Federation Military College, in 1961. Hank had joined from VI, because his father was with the city council. But the family was from Kampong Pulau Pandan, Pelangai, Kuala Pilah. This kampong is a walking distance from Kampong Kubang Rusa, on the KP-Bahau road.
Together Hank and I went on to the University of Malaya in 1965. It was the only university in the country at that time, and didn't even have all of the usual faculties then. I would have enrolled in the Law faculty, if there was one. We had to go to Singapore for that. We even shared quarters, outside the university. There were only 3 male hostels, or "colleges", and a single one for women. Obviously Hank, from KL, and me, with no sporting activities in the application form, got no place in the colleges. My younger brothers who enrolled later, all got college accommodation because they represented TMS in sports at the combined schools level. In fact Din even played for the university in the rugby match against the Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and got a "University Blue" for it.
Dr. Onny Yahya invited me for his son's wedding at the Dewan Perdana Felda on the last day of October. The wife and I went, of course.
We're actually family.
My mother's eldest brother, Pak Long Jamaluddin, from Kampong Bukit Temensu, KP, was married to Mak Long Lijah, from Kampong Kubang Rusa that I mentioned earlier. Both are long gone. Mak Long passed away much earlier during her haj in Mekah.
Dr. Onny's mother was Mak Long Lijah's younger sister.
Dr. Onny's eldest brother, Miza, together with Alang Ipin, my Pak Long Jamaluddin's 3rd child ("Alang", remember ?), were classmates with me in Sekolah Melayu KP, in town, and later TMS (the English school built in 1930), in Bukit Temensu. We broke off in 1961 when I joined FMC. But while together, we were not only in the same class, but also went "Scouting" together, with all the outdoor activities, like hiking and camping. Plus, I slept over at Pak Long's Kubang Rusa house often.
We were fortunate in that the families were very aware of the value of good education, and made efforts to get the children receive it. And many of us did that, Praise the Lord.
I went to FMC and university. Alang Ipin went to MCKK and a German university for his mechanical engineering degree. Miza got his electrical engineering degree from Brighton, England. Dr. Onny, of course, studied medicine, as did his wife and children, including the son that got married, and that to another doctor, too. Even Pak Long attended the technical institute that later became UTM, in KL. And Pak Long's brother-in-law, Zali, got a civil engineering degree from England in the early pre-Merdeka days, quite uncommon.
Time is jealous and absolutely relentless. For me, I can only write about the passage of time. Hopefully it would leave a story to tell for the children.
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