Living away from home

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Living away from home

 Assalamu 'Alaikum

Living away from home

Shopping in Oxford Street or wherever is the least of our priorities. In whichever country we visit experiencing life and the environment of the locals is our priority. I am particularly pleased to be living with my family in this apartment in Stanmore, North London at the end of the Bakerloo line. It belonged to a primary school teacher, Anita, who will move in with her mum elsewhere whenever she rents out her apartment to overseas visitors to London. Apparently this is a lucrative source of income for many city people throughout the world now. For travellers who are not travelling on company expense, staying in city stay apartments makes a lot of sense. First you don’t have to pay the exhorbitant price the hotels charge; second you can cook which is very important to a lot of travellers.

When I was a student in London many, many years ago Stanmore is never, never land too far away for a student to stay. I only know the Bakerloo line as far as Willesden Green which I thought was far away enough. Today I find Stanmore a delightful little town. The apartment we’re in is on the second floor of an apartment block surrounded by similar apartment blocks. The residents must be on the highly paid side looking at the cars parked outside the apartment. It comprise of a bedroom, one toilet and a kitchenette cum living room. Reading the free newspapers distributed on the tube I learnt property prices in London has shot sky high. I estimate this apartment we are in to costs around 300,000 pound sterling which translates to almost RM1.5 million for Malaysians to compare. If no one compensates for the evil of fiat money very soon not many city people anywhere in the world will be able to own their own homes.

London in some ways have changed a lot ; in some ways it hasn’t. Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, Bond Street and Trafalgar Square has hardly changed in the metropolitan sense. Its international crowd is still there and so are the luxury shops and restaurants that characterise the place. What has really changed are the docklands of London, what the 1970s Malaysian student population would call South East London. The Financial Centre have been uprooted from the City of London and placed squarely in previous dockland now known as Canary Wharf. Its sparkling skyscrapers and all round glint of a modern city would shock many who has never seen it before. They also have a new skytrain service called DLR which I eventually learnt to mean Docklands Light Railway. What we knew as Polytechnics are now Universities. Woolwich Polytechnic became University of Greenwich. Taking over the premises of the Old Royal Naval College its campus is steeped in history with buildings designed in days gone by a certain Christopher Wren. I don’t know what University of East London was as a polytechnic but I don’t think many London polytechnics exists any more.

 I was lucky enough to have been invited to Islamic Finance Receptions at both universities mentioned above. I am glad I was able to attend one, but had to miss the other. At the University of Greenwich Reception I was fortunate to meet a member of the House of Lords who was particularly supportive of Islamic Finance. His Lordship is a Muslim of Indian subcontinent origin but of true blue Tory blood! With Britain scheduled to issue their first Sovereign Sukuk soon we await with bated breath the subsequent growth of Islamic Finance in Britain with Prime Minister Cameron having also declared to want London to be a Centre of Islamic Finance on the same par as Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. Will we be intelligent enough to take this opportunity to reshape Islamic Finance in the mould of equity? With the current international financial system based on debt on the verge of collapse; we tremble with anguish as to how an Islamic alternative financial system also based on debt, but with Arabic names, can prove to be significantly different!

Today is rest day in our apartment giving my sprained knee and Zahir’s cough a much needed rest. Tomorrow in sya Allah its Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace and a Thames River Cruise. Leaving for home only next Friday, in between work and appointments for Papa next week , Mama and the kids have agreed to join Papa down some memory lanes, including a stroll down Finchley Road, and a walk to a certain Templewood Gardens in Hampstead. Beginning to miss my Mum and Dad already. Love you both dearly. AlFatihah, and may Allah swt place you both in the highest of Jannah.

Wassalam,

Zahid

Thirty One Years Later

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Thirty One Years Later

Thirty One Years Later

Assalamu ‘Alaikum,

It was with eyes wizened with years that I take in the English scenery this morning as  the taxi drove us through the autumn scene from Heathrow to our apartment in North London. Ironically I did not compare this experience with the last time I was in England exactly thirty one years ago but with my first landing as a wide eyed teenager an additional eleven years earlier. I remember that experience vividly, the apple trees and the English cottage-like houses that lined the lanes took the sixteen year old boy with much awe. Leave aside it was my first trip on an aeroplane and alone at that on a journey that crossed thousands of miles. I was glad however the BOAC stewardesses did not hang a “child travelling alone” placard round my neck like they did to the poor little English boy they sat next to me on the plane trip from Kuala Lumpur. I also remembered the thrill of transiting at Rome airport where I bought a post card and stamp to write home to Granny and Grandad. I was supposed to have left earlier with the entire family in February of 1971, when Dad took up a Diplomatic post in London. However Dad volunteered me to stay back at MCKK with a certain MCE- taking elder brother who in spite of his tantrums failed to convince Dad to allow him to go earlier. So it was with a pleasant surprise I received a telegram in June from Dad asking me to come as quickly as possible as my school year in London starts in September.

I did not have much occasion to return to London since I left as a student in 1982. So it was also a pleasant surprise recently when fate occasioned me to return this time on a work commitment. I am adviser cum consultant to a certain English company interested in Islamic finance. I looked benignly at the three little seasoned travellers travelling with wife and me. At such a tender age they have seen more of the world than Dad ever had occasioned to at their age.

We sidestepped the hotels scene and decided to try the current craze of staying in city stay apartments. We found a delightful little apartment in North London allowing the kids to experience the true English suburbia lifestyle. The transport cost to Central London will of course be a bit pricey but then we already made a hefty saving compared to the costs of a city centre accommodation. There is much work for me to do in the days ahead but the kids will survive I’m sure as foreign places seems just a different environment for them to play games on the Ipad and Mum’s phone in. Of course the usual London attractions will be on the itinerary for them including a weekend trip to a certain foreign capital in a train that goes underneath the sea.  But for now it will be parks and ponds to the tune of singing magpies in English suburbia. The days ahead will also be much trips down memory lane for Dad. May Allah make it easy for Dad in his work and we return safely home for other responsibilities.

Wassalam,

Zahid

Events

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Events

Assalamu 'Alaikum

Events

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah for keeping this slave busy with life with the end objective, with the Grace of Allah, to uphold His command. I have covenanted daily, my solat, my ibadah, my life, and my death is only for Him, Ruler of the Universe. There is no partner to Him, and I am ready to be commanded, and I am one of those who submits. Such illusion is life for it is none but a platform for the slave to serve.Why do we cooperate to drive each other away from the truth? Why do we belittle what is sought from us by our Maker?  For a total obedience to total commands, suffices for the slave. Where has He gone wrong in His commands? SubhanAllah, He does not err! Do we love Him and His Rasul more than anything else in this world? Or we love this world more than we love Him and His Rasul?

I pledge to You my Rabb with the years You have given me, with the strength You have bestowed me, with the knowledge You have showered me, with the worldly things You have endowed me, I pledge to You my Rabb I will do what is required as Your slave. I shall free those who need to be free or I will die trying. I shall free the shackles of evil that has been dressed up as benevolent. I shall expose and break up the evil axis that has robbed humanity. I am but a slave who possess none except those that You willed, so will me the strength and the tools to reach the goal. Soften the heart of good men to Your cause and cast asunder the evil who opposes You.

Guide me for I am none but Your frail slave. I fear none that do not fear You. Why do men not think as You constantly beseech them? Why do they love the world so much they do not love You? Why do they awe at Your creations when it is You who is rightly to be awed? Why do they not believe the truth You have conveyed to them through your Rasul? Why do they not fear You? Why do they not think?

I am but a slave who craves for Your blessings, for Your guidance and Your strength. My Rabb do not forsake me in this hour of reckoning. I am not worthy as worthy are previous worthy souls. I am driven only by singular faith, and I pray for the strength of unseen angels You have sent to Badr. Unite men of good heart and let my words bring peace to the hearts of fighting men. Let fear tremble in the hearts of evil. Victory of the good over the evil is not in the strength of the good and the weakness of the evil. It lies in consummate obedience to Allah Almighty, the Sustainer and Ruler of all the Universe.

Peace and aching salutations to the love of our lives, Muhammad salallahu 'alaihi wassalam.

Zahid 

72S

A Trip Long Overdue

Monday, September 2, 2013

A Trip Long Overdue

Assalamu 'Alaikum

A Trip Long Overdue.

For the typical KL primary schoolboy that I was Port Dickson or more popularly known as PD was just about a heavenly seaside town as we could imagine. Well we didn’t know about Langkawi and Tioman and all those strange names for as a senior civil servant my Dad was too busy nation building to take us to those places. Taking kids to seaside trips was a job taken over by our favourite Pak Lang, bless his soul. I remembered a caravan sunrise on the beach near Si Rusa with Pak Lang, Mak Lang and our girl cousins, it was beautiful. And PD waters was still pristine. And Si Rusa at the southern tip of PD was just about the edge of the world for us. I didn’t know what lay beyond Si Rusa and it piqued me no end. Once as a grownup I did venture beyond that imaginary boundary but however only as far as Teluk Biru or Blue Lagoon. I wished I had an occasion to travel that kampung road down to Melaka and kill the notions of dragons and whatnots beyond that divide. But no, somehow Melaka remains a least contact state to me and all visits will be to Melaka town via the Seremban Highway and not through the seaside coastal road I’d loved so much to explore.

Yesterday I had the occasion to make that long overdue trip. When Arman my former staff at a previous employment posted in his facebook that he is getting married in Jasin, Melaka I already started planning the trip. With my family gang of five we stayed at a seaside hotel in PD on the Saturday before, just nice to begin the trip to Jasin via the coastal road after checking out the next day for the wedding. PD no longer held the awe for us although the kids still enjoyed their floric in the pool. I do long to hear the official public relations announcement that PD seawaters are now clear of whatever traces of ecoli and porcine elements found earlier to regain our endearment to this wonderful holiday place so many KL people grew up with. Perhaps I missed that bit of news, I hoped.

Jasin we saw on our mobile phone maps and wayze was on the other side of the Seremban highway. So we gleefully had no choice but to take the coastal Melaka road I longed so much to explore. Maps and wayze were not pleased of course as they wanted us to take the boring PLUS highway but we humans must put these robots in their place occasionally, you know.  I had a rush of adrenalin as we drove past Blue Lagoon and beyond into the heartland of coastal Melaka. The quaint little steps leading up to traditional Melaka kampung houses and the mosques and suraus with catching Chinese architecture captured our imagination. Mum and Dad also had a hard time explaining to Zahir who was the real hero between Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat.

Part of the reason I wanted this trip across Melaka was I really wanted to see what Masjid Tanah and Alor Gajah looked like! No particular reason but since I was in Prep School I had school mates who came from this quaint towns I had no occasion to visit! It was thrilling to first visit Tawau, Bintulu, and Sandakan but I had no schoolmates who came from these places. I remembered Lokman was from Masjid Tanah and Halim from Alor Gajah but I can’t remember where Anuar and Aziz and the many others came from. Ghaffar was from Tampin but that doesn’t count as that is in Negeri Sembilan I know. Also had fun explaining to the kids how Kelantan lost Besut to Terengganu, and Negeri Sembilan lost Semenyih to Selangor. In the same vein did Melaka lose Tampin to Negeri Sembilan or is that just a figment of my not so well informed history? Anyway as the saying goes, that is another story.

Praise be to Allah it was a satisfying and memorable trip for me and family, and we now know where Jasin is, as also we learnt about interesting Melaka town names like Kelemak, Lendu and Lubok Cina. My next project and wish is to do the Lenggong back to kampong trip via the Perak coastal road. Teluk Intan, Pantai Remis, Setiawan and Bruas are next on my truly piqued list.

Zahid,

Class of ’72 Sulaiman House.

Hari Raya is how we defined it / Hari Raya ialah sebagaimana kita takrifkannya

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Hari Raya is how we defined it / Hari Raya ialah sebagaimana kita takrifkannya

Assalamu 'Alaikum,

Hari Raya is how we defined it

 A month of Ramadhan is supposed to bring the believers to the highest of iman. For fasting purifies the body and soul whilst the ibadah uplifts one to a higher plain. Eid is the result and climax where one is said to return to the fitrah or the sinless origin one began life with. The beginning of Eid which is as soon as dusk sets on the night before, is also the time when all manner of blasts pollutes the serene air, from fire crackers, to bamboo cannons to fireworks that lights up the night. What has these got to do with the cleansed soul all Muslims are or should be experiencing on the night of Eid? Happiness and celebration and silaturrahim, yes we got that right. Full marks I believe, but we also did other unnecessary things on our exam paper which just goes to reduce our marks!

 

But that is just as it has been for countless years. I recall Ramadhan in a Perak kampung with my Granny and Granddad many many moons ago; the lemang that we burnt under the house, the dodol that we stirred with great effort and difficulty, and raya cookies that Granny cooked in tin cans inside the earth underneath a bonfire! That was what is called a natural oven! That of course matches the wrought iron iron with hot charcoals inside as the source of heat.

 

We also have a malam tujuh likur which I believe is the 27^th night of Ramadhan where the entire kampung is lighted up with kerosene lamps perched on bamboo sticks. The kampung kids which weren’t too many as it was a small kampung would play in semi darkness in hilarious fun. This too I believe is a misinterpretation of the night of Lailatul qadr. The adults did the right things of course but the kids had such fun. 

 

I recalled my Granny wakes up at 2am to prepare sahur including ‘giling’ of curry paste to make fresh curry for Granddad! Recalling that we retire for the night at 9pm on those pre-electricity days sahur at 3am isn’t then such an unearthly hour. Subuh was much much earlier than now before we decided to take up Sabah time as our time in Peninsula Malaysia. Sahur is supposed to be as late as possible; we had ours at 3am but Grandad made up for that by staying up to eat and drink until the very last moment!

 

On the night before Eid the Muslim is supposed to takbir all night long in celebration of the victory of Ramadhan but I think honestly most of us in Malaysia seems to do everything else but. Our source of raya takbir is of course the occasional ones they showed on TV after everybody’s favourite reality show involving our Penyimpan Mohor-Mohor Besar DiRaja. If we then retire to the kitchen to assist the wife with the rendang and the ketupat or nasi himpit that’s fine but some decided they had gathered too much pahala and decided to reduce some by watching the all manner of lagha and non aurat observing shows that pass as raya entertainment on TV.

 

Syawal is  another story where it can sometime have 31 days as people run out of Syawal to have their open houses. Of course we suffered during Ramadhan where we empathised with the poor; in all fairness Syawal must therefore be the balancing act to empathise with the rich, as we gorge ourselves on the open house feasts. Yes the shin of the lamb is the Prophet’s saw favourite part of the lamb but kambing golek every day at every open house is something else. I still recall vividly the tears that flowed on Saudi religious talk show when a caller called from Somalia asking whether it is okay to continue fasting after Maghrib as they have no food to break fast with.

 

Yes, Ramadhan, Eid and Syawal is as we defined it. We do it good, in parts; we just need to much improve in others.

 

Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir Batin.

 

Zahid
‘72S

 

 

Hari Raya ialah sebagaimana kita takrifkannya

Sebulan Ramadhan sepatutnya membawa orang yang beriman ketahap iman yang paling tinggi. Puasa seharusnya mensucikankan jiwa kita. Hari Raya adalah hasil dan kemuncak di mana kita kembali kepada fitrah tanpa dosa. Namun malam raya yang hening jugalah merupakan waktu apabila semua acara letupan dilakukan dari mercun, meriam buluh dan bunga api yang menyala malam. Apa kaitan pencemaran ini dengan jiwa bersih yang telah dicapai oleh semua umat Islam pada malam raya?

 

Kebahagiaan, perayaan dan menghubungi silaturrahim, tepat sekali amalan kita. Markah penuh saya percaya, tetapi kita juga melakukan perkara-perkara lain yang tidak perlu pada kertas peperiksaan kita yang hanya mengurangkan markah kita!

Tetapi sudah bertahun tahun kelaziman perkara ini berlaku. Saya masih ingat Ramadhan di sebuah kampung diPerak dengan Nenek dan Tok Aki saya dimasa lampau; lemang yang kami bakar di bawah rumah, dodol yang kami kacau dengan penuh usaha, dan kuih raya yang Nenek bakar dalam tin di dalam tanah di bawah unggun api! Itu adalah apa yang dipanggil ketuhar semula jadi! Seangkatan dengan seterika besi yang mengguna arang panas sebagai sumber haba!

Kita juga mempunyai malam tujuh likur yang saya percaya adalah malam 27 Ramadhan di mana seluruh kampung dinyalakan dengan lampu minyak tanah yang disangkut pada batang buluh. Anak-anak kampung akan bermain ditanah dengan penuh keseronokan . Ini juga saya percaya merupakan salah tafsir malam Lailatul Qadar. Saya yakin yang  dewasa lakukan perkara yang betul, tetapi kanak-kanak cukup bergembira.

 Saya teringat Nenek saya bangun pada jam 2 pagi untuk menyediakan sahur termasuk 'giling' kari  untuk membuat kari segar untuk Tok Aki! Oleh kerana kami tidur pada pukul 9 malam dizaman pra-elektrik dahulu, bersahur pukul 3 pagi tidaklah terlalu awal. Subuh adalah jauh lebih awal daripada sekarang sebelum kita memutuskan untuk mengambil masa Sabah sebagai masa kita di Semenanjung Malaysia. Sahur sepatutnya selewat yang mungkin, kami bersahur pada pukul 3 pagi tetapi Tok Aki mengimbang keadaan dengan makan dan minum sehingga waktu yang terakhir!

Pada malam Raya orang Islam sepatutnya takbir sepanjang malam dalam menyambut kemenangan Ramadhan tetapi saya rasa ​​ramai kita di Malaysia banyak melakukan perkara yang lain. Sumber takbir raya kita sudah tentu yang ditunjuk sekali sekala di TV selepas rancangan realiti kegemaran ramai yang melibatkan Penyimpan Mohor-Mohor Besar Diraja kita. Jika kita kemudian bersara ke dapur untuk membantu isteri dengan rendang dan ketupat atau nasi himpit itu sudah baik tetapi oleh sebab kita telah mengumpul terlalu banyak pahala kita putuskan untuk kurangkan sedikit dengan menonton hiburan lagha tanpa jaga aurat di TV .

Syawal adalah kisah lain di mana ia kadang-kadang boleh mempunyai 31 hari sebab kita kehabisan Syawal untuk membuat rumah terbuka. Sudah tentu kita mengalami keperitan pada bulan Ramadhan di mana kita menjiwai segala kesusahan orang miskin; jadi untuk mencapai keadilan pada Syawal kita mestilah bertindak mengimbangi keadaan dengan menghayati keadaan orang kaya pula dengan mengelojohi pesta makan di perayaan-perayaan rumah terbuka. Ya betis kambing merupakan sebahagian kegemaran Nabi saw tapi kambing golek di setiap hari dirumah terbuka sudah perkara lain jadinya. Saya masih ingat dengan jelas air mata yang mengalir di setesen TV Arab semasa ceramah agama apabila pemanggil dari Somalia bertanya sama ada boleh mereka teruskan puasa selepas Maghrib oleh kerana mereka tiada mempunyai makanan untuk berbuka puasa!

Ya, Ramadhan, Hari Raya dan Syawal adalah seperti yang kita ditakrifkan ia. Kita melakukannya dengan baik pada sebahagianya , kita hanya perlu lebih perbaiki pada bahagian- bahagian yang lain.

Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir Batin.

Zahid
'72S

Today my seven year old became a man

Monday, December 17, 2012

Today my seven year old became a man

Assalamu 'Alaikum

Today my seven year old became a man

It was a nostalgic journey as I drove my circumcised son out of KL heading for home. I recall vividly this same journey 46 years ago when dad was the driver and me and my immediate elder brother the passengers. My elder brother was in pain and let dad knew about it. Dad chided him for not being like me who was not groaning and taking it like a man. Of course I did not remind Dad that elder brother was circumcised a bit earlier than me and therefore his anaesthetic has gone off while mine is still strong! In brotherly rivalry I still gloat over that day until today.

Times and things have changed tremendously compared to those days. Our circumcision was done somewhere on the premises of GHKL but the stiches were real and had to be pulled out with much agony many times in the weeks that follow. Today the stiches will evaporate, sort of, and doesn’t need to be pulled out.  Dr Zain my classmate advised that Zahir would fare better under laser cutting than clamp. I am informed the clamp is less painful but takes longer to heal and vice versa for the alternative. I took his advice unreservedly, although I would have like to brag the clamp which could have been used on Zahir was actually invented by another classmate of mine Dr Ismail Salleh! Dr Zain is a family doctor of sorts and has been of much service to me and family especially when we had to comply with all minutiae of medical examinations the Saudis require before allowing me to work there many years ago.

Praise be to Allah all went well and in sya Allah the boy will recover soon. It took quite a few postponements due to Papa’s busy schedule before Zahir can have his big day. He saw on U Tube how the parents of the boys in TTDI arranged for the Bomba to hose them down before the collective circumcision in the local mosque. I apologised I could not arrange that but Zahir already had his fair share of inducements. It was actually his own decision to be circumcised at the ripe age of 7. I thought it was because of rivalry at his local Agama school but mum revealed the bravados of Upin and Ipin did have a little to do with it.

The hanged sarong over the bed of the circumcised boy to cover his genital area is customary in the Malay household. When we arrived home I realised we had not prepared this. We improvised by tying the sarong to the wall lamp and Zahir laid on the sofa instead of his bed, in the family lounge, so that Astro and family around him will make him forget any pain. Ice Age 4 and Transformers VCDs to be watched on the laptop next to him, plus a tablet, and Mama’s handphone to play games on, the 2012 little circumcision patient hardly feels the pain anymore. Anyway he showed exemplary bravery with hardly a tear except when mum and I made a mistake with the first iodine swab. Mum is the better doctor and nurse then dad especially when dutifully following the hospital’s stern instruction to remove the gauze on reaching home.

Alhamdulillah all’s well that ends well in sya Allah. My friend Alambo said there are now two men in the house; that’s a delightful statement to a proud dad.

Zahid

Renegade unidentified hopping objects on the Highway

Friday, October 26, 2012

Renegade unidentified hopping objects on the Highway

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

Renegade unidentified hopping objects on the Highway.

It was an ordinary start to a Raya balik kampong trip. We had planned it months before. Tok Aboh had made a special wish to sacrifice a cow for a grandchild each from all his child bearing sons and daughters.  We nominated Kakak for the honour and I threw in a cow for my own reasons but Tok Aboh said one cow is enough but he will accept my proceeds for the kubah of a musolla he has started building on his Gong Lilit Kem Ibadah. I agreed and there we were on Wednesday evening starting our journey back to Qurbanland on the shores of the South China Sea.

We were in the middle lane just after the Behrang layby on the north bound highway when I heard something hit my car. Wife in the passenger seat was also shocked with the unceremonious bang. A limping lorry on the slow lane just ahead of us told us it was a renegade tyre off the lorry playing unwelcomed hopscotch with our 4 wheeler CRV. It was the sort of accident which was truly destined to happen for there was nothing I could have done to avoid it. It wasn’t a lapse of concentration or driving weakness which could be pinned on me. The sound of the whack told me I’m not going to be left with a minor scratch. With trepidation we slid to the emergency lane to examine the damage. It wasn’t pretty, the front left bumper was deeply indented like a lost front tooth; the rebound dirtily indented the bottom panels of the border between front and the back doors dislodging the front rubber lining. It was a sort of Samsung and Apple made-up as we took pictures with my Samsung K-phone whilst the wife’s Apple of the IPhone became an overpriced flashlight for me to give the car engine and axle a clean bill of health. Did I not just paid Honda Service Centre hurtful bucks a few hours ago to replace the wheel bush, mounting and power steering whatnot to get this 8 year old back in trim? Wife said this is a signal to say bye bye, or buy buy if you know what I mean, to our dear trusted horse. I quickly hushed her and hesitantly made a mental note of her logical deduction, as Hondie has been to us, almost family.

Mindful of the need to lodge an accident report within 24 or was it 48 hours we exited the highway and made our way to the Slim River Police Station. Now this was one town whose name fascinated me from small. It was always there in our journeys to and fro from hometown Perak and I never did once had an opportunity to see what the town looked like. I knew it was named after a major British hero during the Japanese war and I also remembered how we hurt the entire Slim progeny with the innocuous Malaysianisation of the hero’s name to Selim River. And that was just how we spelled it! If they knew we pronounced it as Selim Riva….! Anyway I thought it was magnanimous of the authorities to revert back the town’s name to the original name in honour of the man who had after all laid down his life. It was just about midnight and I probably did not see all of the town but it turned out to be rather ordinary. The Traffic Sergeant was a bit slow dealing with the guy ahead of me so I called for reinforcement and brought up mum and kids from the car. That hastened his report taking somewhat particularly with Zahir’s light emanating top wheezing across the police station floor every so often.

We had already booked to stay at this hotel in Ipoh so I thought we should just proceed there to consider our options. We had to return to Slim River tomorrow anyway to collect the official version of the report. Cancelling the trip was uppermost in our mind. Kids were long in faces and I had to play the Kidzania card near Curve Damansara to appease the swelling rebellion. But what struck us most was, every seeming acceptance by Tok Aboh with our decision to miss his Qurban event on second Raya was annulled with a second sms from him offering a counter suggestion of how we could still make it there. So when the Chinese mechanic/foreman we consulted gave us the green light to proceed onwards with our shakened but not beatened Vehicular Pal, we thought we should honour Tok Aboh’s unspoken wish. So that was how we ended at this Banding hotel this Raya Haji night with another 150 km journey to continue tomorrow insyaAllah. The last time we gave the Salam Dari Perantauan salutation we were in Riyadh!

Selamat Hari Raya ‘Aidil Adha and Eid Mubarak to friends, family and all.

Wassalam,

Zahid and family.