Snippets

MERDEKA!

1. Sambutan ulangtahun merdeka yang ke 51 tahun ini sangat malap berbanding tahun-tahun lalu. Apa sebab sebenar aku tak pasti. Ada yang kata sebab ekonomi yang meruncing. Ada yang kata keadaan politik yang sedang kucar-kacir. Apa pun bagi aku semangat cintakan negara dan menghargai erti kemerdekaan tidak luntur. Dirumahku Jalur Gemilang berkibar. Sangat sedikit Jalur Gemilang dikibar dikedai, gedung, rumah atau kenderaan.

2. Sewaktu negara mencapai kemerdekaan pada tahun 1957 aku baru masuk sekolah Darjah Satu.Sekolah itu namanya Sekolah Umum Simpang Tiga, Bagan Datok, Perak. Sambutan perayaan merdeka diadakan di sekolah agak meriah. Tapi aku tak begitu mengerti apa ertinya merdeka itu. Yang aku ingat dapat makan dan minuman percuma.

3. Kerana negara merdeka aku dapat meneruskan persekolahan. Di Tingkatan Enam aku dapat biasiswa walaupun tak memohon. Sampai ke Universiti pun aku dapat biasiswa Kerajaan Persekutuan disamping dapat pinjaman Mara. Itulah keistimewaan Bumiputra.

4. Dengan Dasar Ekonomi Baru aku dipilih untuk berkerja di sektor swasta. Kerajaan sanggup mengecualikan aku daripada berkhidmat dengan Kerajaan semata-mata kerana hendak meramaikan eksekutif Bumiputra di sektor swasta.

5. Walau apa pun orang kata aku tetap mengenang jasa Kerajaan yang ada. Merdeka!


Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

1. Esok kita akan mula berpuasa kerana bulan Ramadhan yang penuh berkat sudah tiba. Bersyukurlah kita kerana di beri peluang olih Allah menjalankan ibadah puasa sekali lagi.

2. Disamping puasa ibadah lain juga jika dilakukan akan mendapat ganjaran 70 kali ganda berbanding bulan-bulan lain. Kalau nak bayar zakat harta dan pendapatan pun elok dibuat dalam bulan ini.

3. Diantara adab berpuasa ialah:

a. Jangan mengumpat
b. Kurangkan makan dan minum
c. Kurangkan tidur
d. Menahan diri daripada memikir perkara yang tak penting
e. Mengingati orang susah

4. Selamat menjalankan ibadat puasa dan mentadabburi Al-Quran.

SAWAHKU KAMPUNGKU

I was born in Parit 4 Timur and my wife comes from Parit 2 Timur. Both of us come from the 'jelapang padi' of Selangor. We still like going back to the 'sawah'. We enjoy looking at the vast padi field and breathing the fresh air. Sabak Bernam and Tanjong Karang were the first padi area in Malaysia that introduced double-cropping enabled by modern irrigation system.
Mechanisation and fertilizers were introduced so as to make padi farming more productive.

When I was small I used to help my parents working on the padi farm. At that time working on the farm were done manually. We used parang and changkul to plough the field. It was torturous working in the hot sun. Today I don't complain about the hot sun when I play golf!

With double-cropping the farmer's income almost doubled as well. Some farmers could afford to change their old bicycles to motorcycles. Not many households had motorcycles, what more with cars. My late father had an old Hillman car, black colour(not metallic!). I remember when we visited our relative's house for kenduri the kampong boys would be crowding around the car curiously admiring the rare invention. At that time there were less than 15 Malay kampong individuals who owned a car in the whole district.

I own a small acreage of padi farm which I inherited from my parents. But since 1969 when I left my kampung to further my studies in KL I have never step into the field anymore. My brother-in-law manages the farm.

As the population is small most people know each other well. They are friendly and helpful. We feel proud that many of them still can recognise us and greet us whenever we go back home.

When I was small I used to cycle to nearby kampongs visiting schoolmates, which can be miles away from my house. Sometime during school holidays I even slept at their houses, except female friends. Those days boys and girls could only talk to each other in their school. Outside school even classmates would not dare to meet if they are of oppposite sex. The orthodox kampong folks would be embarrassed. They would become suspicious and start gossiping among themselves.

In our hometown things are cheaper than in KL. Fresh fish are sold by the Chinese fishermen in the small town of Sungai Besar. The Chinese 'bagan' (fishing village) is by the seaside a short distance away. I can recall some of my Chinese schoolmates by names like Tan Soon Eng, Tee Hock Bee,Tang Soong Kiew and Chia Kwang Meng.

Sometimes when I go back to hometown I would drop by at small food stalls for a drink and eat local kueh. On one occasion I paid RM16 only for the drinks and kueh taken by 10 old friends whom I accidentally met there. You won't be able to 'belanja' 10 friends in KL if you have only RM16 in your pocket!

KENDURI KAHWIN

Semalam Ahad 17/8/08 aku ke Teluk Intan ke rumah Abu Hassan Ashaari menghadiri kahwin anaknya. Disana aku jumpa rakan sekolah antara lain Baharom, Tawaf, Yahya Emat dan Che Mat Bahari. Balik kenduri aku dan Baharom Sabudin melawat asrama sekolah. Dulu di panggil Asrama Khir Johari sekarang dinamakan Asrama Yayasan Selangor.




Dibawah ini gambar Che Mat Bahari@ Osama, Abu Hassan(bekas gurubesar), Baharom dan aku. Tengok poket baju tuanrumah kembung dengan sampul surat!

Che Mat Bahari bin Hj Kasri lahir di Kampong Baru Sabak. Abu Hassan Ashaari bin Shafie dari Batu 40 bapanya berniaga di kedai Malay Bazar (kadai papan untuk peniaga Melayu kini dah diroboh). Baharom bin Hj Sabudin bersekolah rendah di Simpang Lima, membesar di Bagan Terap. Aku, Ahmad Murad bin Hj Jailani, lahir di Parit 4 kemudian berpindah ke Sg. Lias Sg.Besar.

Kami diketemukan di Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Inggeris) Sabak Bernam kini dipanggil Sekolah Rendah Khir Johari Sabak Bernam.Kami bersekolah bersama hingga ke Form V tahun 1968.

Ramai lagi kawan sekolah yang belum aku temui. Yang aku tahu ramai telah berhijrah dan sebahagiannya masih ada di kampung-kampung dalam daerah Sabak Bernam. Ramai yang telah bersara.
Inilah diantara ribuan 'anaksabak'.