SALAM AIDILFITRI

1. Hari Raya Aidilfitri dah nak tiba. Kami sekeluarga balik kampung macam tahun-tahun lalu.Maklumlah anak Sabak ni masih ada ibu, adik-beradik dan ramai sanak saudara di sana. Kebetulan isteri pun anak Sabak. Selagi ibu masih ada dah jadi 'syarat' mesti beraya di kampung. Tak pernah seumur hidupku tak beraya di rumah ibubapa, kecuali sekali. Tahun itu aku sedang menghadapi pepereksaan Higher School Cert.(Form 6) di KL. Sedih tinggal di asrama, kebetulan aku seorang saja budak Melayu.

2.Menyambut Hari Raya dikampung lebih meriah dari di bandar. Dapat jumpa orang-orang kampungku di surau sebelum solat Aidilfitri. Ramai juga anak-anak muda yang aku dah tak kenal. Apapun itulah kampungku, 48 tahun lalu tak ramai penduduknya. Aku boleh bilang setiap rumah dan juga kenal setiap keluarga yang mendiaminya. Hari ini mungkin sekadar 10% saja ahli kariyah yang aku kenal. Dulu bilangan rumah hanya ada lebih kurang 20 kini sudah melebihi 200.

3.Dulu selepas solat, rumah pertama jemaah akan kunjungi ialah rumah Tok Imam. Ibuku dan semua adik-beradik sibuk menyediakan juadah dan menyambut tetamu. Selepas itu aku akan mengikuti rombongan tadi untuk berkunjung ke rumah jiran-jiran lain. Kini acara kunjungan secara beramai-ramai tidak dianjurkan lagi kerana jalan raya dah sebok, penduduk dah ramai dan untuk mengelak daripada berlaku kemalangan jalanraya. Jamuan Hari Raya diadakan selepas solat diperkarangan surau saja. Selepas itu kunjung mengunjung diadakan dalam kumpulan kecil.

4. Aku sekeluarga akan menziarahi rumah adik-beradik, saudara-mara terdekat yang sempat saja. Kalau nak di kunjungi semua tak cukup masa.

5. Kepada rakan-rakan sekolah yang ada di Sabak aku harap dapat berjumpa.

6. Dikesempatan ini aku dan isteri mengucapkan selamat menyambut Aidilfitri dan mohon maaf zahir dan batin kepada semua yang mengenali kami dan yang membaca blog ini.

GOLF MANIAC

1. I took up golf in 1990 when I joined Kelab Golf Rahman Putra in Sungai Buloh. At that time golf was considered a game for the elite group because golf is a very expensive game. To become a member of a club you have pay some thousands of ringgit.

2. Many people, including me, thought that golf is a stupid game. You hit the small ball, walk in the hot sun to look for the ball, then hit again and again until the ball reaches the green. On reaching the green you putt the ball into the small hole. You continue doing it for every hole until you finish one round of 9 holes or 18 holes. For a game of 18 holes it would take about 4 hours to complete.

3. In the first year of joining the club I became a golf maniac. Every weekend I would be at the golf course. Sometimes I used my annual leave just to play golf. Once in the fasting month I played 18 holes when I almost collapsed because the sun was so hot and I was thursty. Since then I have never played again in the fasting month. No wonder some people say GOLF is an acronym for 'Golongan Orang Lemah Fikiran'.

4. In 1993 I scored a hole-in-one. It is one rare achievement where you hit the ball from the tee-box and goes straight into the hole. You need skill and some luck to achieve that.

5. Today I spend almost every alternate day playing golf at Kelab Golf Negara Subang. I must say golf is a unique game, very interesting and challenging. You need to develop skill more than strength in order to play well. Not everybody can play golf. Normally people with sportsmanship talent can pick up the game faster.It is not easy to acquire the skill of hitting a long and straight ball. My regular "kaki" Hamdan Salim (photo) hits very long but sometimes the ball goes into the bush or into the pond.

4. After one round of the game you and your golfing partners normally would adjourn to the clubhouse for drinks or lunch as well. Normally we pool some money to pay the bill and the balance goes to the best player. Some people say this is betting, but I say it is a token of appreciation to the best player. Some golfers do side-bet just for excitement.

5. Golf is good for business and social networking. For retired people like me, golf is for exercise and to pass time, and getting more friends.I walk for about 8,000 meters to complete 18 holes of the game. Good exercise!