Kitab Atok: tuturan alambina

TAHNIAH
kepada Naz, Zie, Umar dan Zaky atas kelahiran Aqil semalam.

posted by Atok @ 6:18:00 pm (1) comments

Maulid

Selamat hari maulidur rasul kepada semua.



Double congrats to Prof. Datuk Dr. Ismail Md. Salleh, for his appointment as the first blind senator two days ago, and for receiving Tokoh Maulidur Rasul award today. If my memory served me right, the first and last time I met Dr. Ismail , who is related to my Dad, was so many years ago, when he came to our house for dinner with his newly wedded wife; mid/late 70's? I guess.

posted by Atok @ 8:33:00 pm (0) comments

Selamat Tinggal Tok Guru

al-fatihah buat Tuan Guru Haji Abdullah bin Tuan Guru Haji Abdul Rahman yang telah kembali kepadaNya awal pagi tadi (waktu msia).... terima kasih atas segalanya. (bersambung)

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post entry:

In our family household, back in Tanah Serendah Sekebun Bunga, the title ‘Tok Guru’ doesn’t refer to the widely known person in Msian politics, but to (the late) Hj Abdullah bin Hj Abdul Rahman, the Grand Guru of Pondok Lubuk Tapah, Pasir Mas, Kelantan Darulnaim, or better known as 'Tok Guru Hj Lah Lubuk Tapah'.

I can’t actually put a date nor the year when I first encountered this great alim; it was right at my early age when memory yet to exist permanently in me, I suppose. Neither do I know if he was related to my family or simply a teacher-students relationship on my paternal side which had gone back many years. Regardless, Tok Guru knew my Dad personally.

That kind of closeness however, I had never spoken to Tok Guru directly; always on Dad’s side whenever he bowed and spoke softly to Tok Guru’s ear as the latter’s hearing wasn’t great. Dad once told me, normally that was a tell-tale of someone with ‘ilmu besi’…. whatever that might be, I don’t really know much in detail. Though I remember one of Tok Guru’s many tales was when he was warded into KB Hospital (or may be USM Kubang Kerian) for a minor surgery. As always, wherever Tok Guru went, hundreds of his students, normally in white robes, would follow. Anyway, to cut the story short, a few minutes after he was wheeled into the operation theatre, the surgeon came out and asked for his wife. He informed her that Tok Guru was under anesthetic and everything was ready, but when he put his scalpel down, it barely made any scratch on Tok Guru’s flesh, and he tried many times. She asked the surgeon if he had personally asked Tok Guru’s permission to do that? He said, as Tok Guru signed the form, that would be considered as permission. She told him, not quite, one had to ask Tok Guru verbally/personally. As the anesthetic wouldn’t last much longer, they had to abort the operation and rescheduled. It went smoothly on the second time. That I pressume, was something to do with the so called 'ilmu besi' of which my Dad knows better.

There were many more, like the one happened to one taxi man who not just refused to stop at Tok Guru’s hail but also uttered some derogatory remarks about ‘an old man by the road’. Strangely, he didn’t get any passenger all day after that morning. I must say, that happened when Tok Guru was less known decades ago. But, the one close to my heart is:

When I was small, I got into arguments and fights with my next-door cousin, N, who is a year older, on a regular basis, almost daily. I had scratches on my face many times from N’s long nails. I can’t actually recall the event that finally broke the patience of Tok Nik, his grandma, one day. But I do remember both of us being hauled into a ‘kereta sewa’*, definitely one of those old Mercs that still going strong up and down my land to this very day, and made a long trip to Pasir Mas. I mostly slept on that unforgettable trip. When we finally arrived at Lubuk Tapah, it was almost maghrib time, and Tok Nik didn’t waste any time to present N and I to Tok Guru. What happened after that was a bit sketchy, but I remember the ‘geduk’ was hit melodiously when both of us were bathed from the ‘kolah’ water at his mosque. We slept soundly that evening. Since that special maghrib bath, N and I have never ever argued, fight or cross each other again, to this very day.

Three years ago, Tok Guru gave me something, via my Dad. Something I keep in my wallet, as instructed.

Al-fatihah to Allahyarham Tok Guru Haji Lah Lubuk Tapah, the greatest of all pondok gurus in Malaysia. May Allah’s rahmah be with his soul. Many thanks for everything. I will always remember you. Amin.

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Kelantanspeak glossary:
kereta sewa = taxi
teksi = trishaw
geduk = horizontally placed drum used to announce prayer time
kolah = ablution water compartment

posted by Atok @ 10:32:00 am (3) comments

tahniah...

---------------------------------
... pada yang berjaya
rakyat telah bersuara
kitab baru dibelek buka
semoga hidup aman sejahtera.

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posted by Atok @ 10:52:00 pm (8) comments

selamat

posted by Atok @ 1:06:00 pm (1) comments

Victories

Last night, just before I went up to bed, I flicked thru the tv channels. On channel Five, there was a programme called 'Breaking into Tesco', about contestants who fought to get their products onto Tesco's shelves. As we know, an order from giant Tesco worth millions of pounds. I stoppped flicking my remote just bcoz there, stood in front of the two judges (only caught a few last minutes of the programme), were two entrepreneurs.... one was an 'omputih' lady in a suit and the other was a Chinese woman in a multi-coloured kebaya, Jennie Cook, with a product called Cook's Curry Mee Soup.

At the end of that nerve-wrecking final moment, the Tesco judges said, "Jennie, we would like to work with you!".

The 'omputih' lady was in tears when they interviewed her, coz she had worked so hard for her product. When Jennie, a 56-year old widow who came to England back in 1969, was interviewed, she said (not verbatim):

"This is a victory for myself, and for York, the city that adopted me".... and clinching her fist high up, she finished with "... and more importantly, this is a victory for Malaysia!".

I went to bed high and proud.

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Last Saturday, Kakak and her school choir group participated in the annual Woodley Festival of Music and Arts for the '11 years & under category'. They were against 5 other schools and each group sang two songs. At the end of it, Kakak & friends won! Well done girls !!!

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Every year, there would be around 500+ girls from Year 6 primary sit for a tough entry exam into the best grammar girls school in Berkshire and one of the best schools in the country, the Kendrick Girls' Grammar School, Reading. Girls came from as far as Oxfordshire, north Hampshire and west London to compete for the elusive 90+ places allocated annually.

Our 'tactic' for sending Kakak to a private primary school from day one was that she would have better education and better prepared for this very Kendrick exam.

Yesterday the result arrived: KAKAK GOT IT !!!
But now, we're still debating whether to put her there or let her stay and carry on with the current private/independent school. Dilemma.

posted by Atok @ 1:01:00 pm (5) comments