Sejarah berulang

Permulaan kekayaan. Kaki gajah Long Jaafar disaluti Bijih Timah.
Kekayaan Long Jaafar disambung oleh anaknya Ngah Ibrahim.

Jika kita lupa

Lalai dan alpa

Kehilangan itu pasti

Kekecewaan selamanya dirasai

Mendulang bijih.

Tuan yang hilang haluan

Bangga dengan ketuanan

Khayal dengan kemewahan

Mengundang kekalahan

Hamba yang kuat bekerja

Membanting tulang tak kira masa

Lupa erti kepenatan

Lupa minum dan makan

Memikirkan masa hadapan

Bukan untuk dirinya

Tapi untuk anak bangsanya

Kini menjadi tuanpunya

Kota Ngah Ibrahim kini dijadikan Muzium Matang yang
mengisahkan semalamnya.

Tiada yang kekal selamanya

Tonggak yang dibangga-bangga

Harta yang sedikit dikikis rata

Kuasa hilang sekelip mata

Cucu cicit tak dapat merasa

Hilang segalanya

Kini tuan menjadi penjaja

Itulah bahana

Lupa, lalai dan alpa....

Sejarah berulang

Namun tidak diambil iktibar

Seabad lalu Larut maju

Dikuasai penuh oleh bangsaku

Pekerja asing dijemput membantu

Di antara mereka  tidak bersekutu

Akhirnya... 

Ghee Hin dan Hai San bertinju

Tiga kali Perang Larut berlaku

Kongsi-kongsi gelap menjadi kuncu

   

Inggeris dirujuk untuk membantu

Bantuan selalu mahukan sesuatu

Sultan dan Menteri diperhakimkan

Keduanya dijatuhkan hukuman

Dipenjara di pulau yang jauh

Matinya pun di Kota Singa

Kerana kelemahan

Kerana perjanjian

Akhirnya

Tergadai segalanya

Tinggallah bangsaku bertelegu

Di satu sudut duduk mendagu

Memikirkan kesilapan yang lalu

Bagai luncai dengan labu

We should feel lucky

We came from the same herd but we are totally different in many ways.

We should feel lucky

Being born in full specs

We should feel lucky

To be born free

We should feel lucky

Married to our choices

We should feel lucky

Surrounded by friends and families

We should feel lucky

Being able to see the world

The whole wide world

We should feel lucky

Having discussions with peers

Spending times with colleagues

Shopping with loved ones

Running around as we like

But....

Not everybody is lucky

Not as lucky as we are

Not as free as we are

So......please

Remember the unlucky ones 

Understand them

It is not a choice 

It is not a want

Not even a need

It is a gift

It is fated

We should feel lucky

With whatever given.....

 Alhamdulillah

The world is in your hands...in your palm.

A little grasshopper came to visit

It brought in some news

Listen... listen....listen

Someone is mentioning you

Some is talking about you

Some spread hatred for you

But I know you

I really know you

Little grasshopper hop around

Listen... listen... listen

Care not for them

Feel not for them

Avoid them if you may

Stand up and fight

hop... hop ....hop

Swoooosh...

The grasshopper flew away

I wonder if there is truth 

But

You are just a little grasshopper

Came for a short visit

And carried tales

Unfortunately

You are just a child’s play

Pintu

Tugasnya sangat penting

Ibarat pengawal dengan lembing

Tanpanya, kita resah

Adanya, hilang kesah

Tanpanya, kita terlihat

Adanya, kita tersirat 

Buatannya dari pelbagai bahan

Ada yang rapuh

Ada yang tahan

Tiada yang membelakangkannya

Semua memerlukannya

Baik haiwan mahupun manusia
Terdapat di mana jua
Baik di rumah mahupun ditempat kerja
Tidak lupa...tandas yang utama

Uniknya..

Ia membuka dan

menutup hati kita

Bukalah pintu hatimu untukku

Kanku kunci cintamu di dalam hatiku

Selamanya

Pintu

The Unsung Heroes.....

          

A beautiful sunrise .

           Those days I used to wonder how some of the people I met were so smart, so sharp and informative... So I thought it must be their special diet.

          I was raised in a plantation deep in the jungle of Terengganu State. The people who managed were mostly foreigners. So, their children went to the same school as I was.  They don’t speak our mother’s tongue so we communicate in English.  So I scored! Hehehehhe.

          I visited the El Dorado of the East! A quiet little town now but was once a very rich and a well-known town because of its tin mining. For more than 100 years, Sg Lembing, Pahang was showered with all the best any nation would wish for.  In 1888, the English came in a big group with their families. They brought in with them electricity, types of machinery,  technologies, hospital and medications, schools, duty-free shop, entertainments, sports and of cause the language! 

 

          At a very young age, the children of Sg Lembing were far more advanced than any others around them.  Sg Lembing was ahead of anywhere else. That time, the importance of Sg Lembing was at par with  Singapore and Hong Kong! So advanced that when people of Sg Lembing went places, they were recognised immediately from the way they spent and their modern and classy attire! 

       I went around this town and realised that it is such a well organised small place of living.

They have everything that only some can only hope to have. From the old photographs that I saw in the museum, the town is as it was before! Only the buildings looked worn out and so are the elders. 

 

Sg Lembing Museum.

          I spent two mornings having breakfast in the marketplace and I realised how warm these people are. The friendship among them was something that I remembered when I was young.... they talked to one another about their daily routines, they sat and ate together, joked around and laughing out loud when a joke was cracked by any of them.  Ya Allah, how I missed this so much that I was in tears by just looking at them. This is the kind of Malaysians I grew up with... humble, warm and very nice. But slowly it’s fading away because we were too busy looking for wealth and forgot the one most important thing in life which is UKHWAH!  The elders said that they were even much closer before until politics came in the way! What have we done?

Tok Empat Dol. 

The marketplace where elders meet.

Selling antiques.

  

          The elders shared the same experiences working as tin miners. Sg Lembing was well known throughout the world because of the largest and the deepest tin mine in the world. It is known as the El Dorado of the East.  Besides tin, they have iron ore and copper. The deepest mine is 2,200 feet and the distance of the tunnel is 322km long! Can you imagine! 

 

The Underground Tin Mine of Sg Lembing

          The town was all lighted up at night and lots of activities for the miners were introduced. They even have club-house for the management and for the miners. They were provided with lots of facilities like swimming pool, indoor games like billiard, darts, music and so on. No one knew about movies but they were provided with a cinema! The people went places in a built-in train as the mean of transportation. The rails circled the town and mines. Besides people, trains are used to carry logs, fuel and most importantly is to carry the tin ore from the mines to the mill for crushing and separation purposes .....more than a hundred years ago!! 

A hundred years story about the tin....

          Their health was well taken care of. A hospital with different wards for males and females, 20 bed of each, modern medicines brought from England,  X-Ray machine, a labour room and most of all specialists doctors attended the patients 24 hours! The site is there but the hospital is long gone. What a pity. The Police Station is intact... still standing strong and well preserved. 

Morning greetings to old friends.

          When I looked at the elders, most of them speak English or at least understand English. Their children did well in schools.  They have schools for all races including the natives. The English School was run by the English. So, language is not a problem. many of their children became doctors, educators, lawyers and many more including ministers.  And I believe this little town succeeded because of the environment and the exposures of modernisations provided them with advanced knowledge. The activities around them, the language created people with a good head start.

Uncle Ah Seng. Was a miner since he was 14 years old.

          But, the children are all away. The school system took them away from home. They grew and have their own life elsewhere. Not many young ones stayed behind and because of that, not much change needed to facelift the infrastructure of this town. The old wooden buildings started to give way, but for a structure that can stand for more than a hundred years... that is amazing! Even the bridges made of steel and wood and the hanging bridges are intact and fully utilised!

 

          In the near future, the heroes of the tin mining will be long gone. The numbers will be getting less and less. This is nature. Most of them are in their 70's and 80's. But most importantly is that they have their yesterday.... a successful history that all of them will remember and cherish the memories they once shared together. Their stories keep them alive and standing tall. The worked hard and earned a lot but when the price of tin collapsed in the 1980s, so is Sg Lembing. Washed down the drain.  Mining had to be stopped. Many left. The management left too because they are done with the 80 plus 21 years concessions. Sg Lembing was handed back to the state of Pahang with a full set of everything! Slowly, Sg Lembing was forgotten.

          The year was 1986, Sg Lembing Tin Mine was officially closed. Just imagine, a once well know with its wealth and phosphorus little town suddenly lost from the face of the map. Nothing last forever. I believe that not many knows about this place and how important it was once before even we learned Ilmu Alam or Geography... but seeing is believing.

           The unsung heroes are still out there cracking jokes and surviving.   Their hair discoloured, wrinkles on their faces and some of them already lost most of their teeth. But they are a happy lot and non- pretentious at all. You can see it from their faces and through their smiles. They did many things to keep themselves occupied and killing time and to keep on living. Those who are good with agricultures did farming, run small kedai makan, some sell antiques items  and so on. 

         The beauty is, the elders shared their yesterday and they are very proud of it. They all have the same feelings and they will proudly tell us the stories of the past and that makes Sg Lembing a must place to visit. The people and the history!!

a

Hari aku melahirkanmu....

15 Disember 1984...

Setelah seminggu bercuti, suamiku mula bekerja semula.
Sedang dia bermesyuarat, tiba-tiba air ketubanku pecah. Nasib baik ketika itu kedua Almarhumah Mak dan Allahyarham Abah ada. Bergegas suamiku pulang dan membawa aku ke Hospital Asunta. Nasib baik lalu lintas tidak sesak seperti sekarang. Ketika itu kami tinggal di Gombak!

Tiba masa, lahirlah anak sulong kami Siti Nurhana. Melihat wajahnya buat kali pertama , menitiskan air mata kesyukuran. Sempurna kelahirannya, sihat tubuhnya. Alhamdulillah.

Hari ini, aku mengenang kembali saat-saat melahirkannya. Kesakitan langsung terlupa bila mendengar tangisan pertamanya. Nyaring suaranya......

Hari ini, Along berusia 34 tahun. Dia kini sudah bersuami dan berank 3. Aku bersyukur kerana kebahagiaannya disamping keluarga tercinta.

Aku berdoa semoga anakku ini mempu menjadi ibu yang jauh lebih baik dariku kerana aku tahu dia seorang yang sangat penyayang , tegas lagi bijaksana.

Semoga Allah mengurniakannya dengan kesihatan yang baik dan semoga memeliharanya dari segala keburukan di dunia dan akhirat.

Selamat menyambut Hari Ulangtahun Kelahiranmu yang ke 34 wahai anakku.

When Allah knock at your door...

Knock.... knock...
Who's there?



When Allah knock at your door
He may leave something good
He may leave something bad
He may leave something that you like
And
He may leave something that you dislike
Every one of us has a fair share from Him
Today we are happy but not others
Today others are glad but we are sad
A mother just gave birth to a baby
Another just lost a loved one
But
Allah knows everything
He knows what we want
We prayed and made lots of dua
but Allah will only give us what is best for us
He knows what we need
 He knows everything
So, when Allah knocked at your door
Open your heart and listen
Accept
Make the best out of it
And Tawakkal

Satu perjalanan

       Tidak ada sebarang perancangan. Yang ada cumalah satu ingatan dan keinginan. Secara kebetulan, sememangnya sudah ditakdir Illahi... kita bermusafir bersama.

       Minggu itu adalah minggu yang agak sibuk buatku. Pelbagai hal datang dan pergi tetapi segalanya dapat diselesaikan sebaik mungkin mengikut kemampuan dan mengikut perancangan.

Nisah dan Nasa

       Setelah selesai segala tugasanku, maka aku dan suami ke KLSentral mencari tiket ETS ke Padang Besar. Jantung berdegup. Masih adakah peluang untuk bersama kedua teman kami bermusafir? Alhamdulillah, tiket dapat! Walaupun tidak duduk bersebelahan, kami tetap bersyukur. Setiba dirumah terus mencari bilik hotel dan Alhamdulillah dapat menginap di hotel yang sama dengan kedua sahabat kami.

       Hari yg dinanti pun tiba. Perasaan kami seperti anak muda yang bahagia. Setiba di KLSentral, kami bertemu Hanisah dan Nasa. Tepat jam 11.30 malam, ETS  mula bergerak. Kami di Coach C dan mereka di Coach A. Sepanjang perjalanan kami tidur sehinggalah sampai di setesen terakhir iaitu Padang Besar.  Turun dan solat Subuh . Kenudian kami bersarapannpagi dengan dua bungkus Nasi Lemak seorang. Perghhhh.... terbaikkkk.

       Jam 8.00 pagi kami mula bergerak menuruni tangga untuk membeli tiket keretapi ke Hatyai Thailand. Harganya RM6.00 sahaja. Perjalanannya mengambil masa selama 45 minit. Keretapi disel yang tidak berhawa dingin dan tingkapnya seperti tingkap bas sekolah zaman dahulu. Ini keretapi kampung!!! 

       Tiba di Hatyai, kami berjalan kaki sejauh 500 m untuk ke penginapan kami iaitu Hotel Grand Plaza. Sebuah hotel lama tetapi selesa. Kedudukan yang baik menyebabkan ia mampu bersaing dengan hotel-hotel lain di persekitarannya. 

Turun saja dari pintu hotel, terdapat pelbagai jenis makanan yang di jual. Makanan halal di merata tempat.  Pilihan makanan pelbagai. Semuanya masakan mereka. Hanya kena pandai cari logo Halal! InSyaAllah tak akan mati kelaparan. Boleh dikatakan kebayakan pengunjung adalah dari Malaysia. Kiri, kanan , depan, belakang... semuanya rakyat negara kita. Kami saling bertegur sapa dan bertanya khabar berita.

Udang galah....murah!!

       Benarlah kata ramai orang, Hatyai ialah syurga makanan. Sememangnya tetapi bagi yang menyukai jenis masakan Siam. Bagiku masakan Siam memang kegemaran. Memang sedap. Tom Yam sudah kemestian.....memang sedap.  Namun tumpuan kami bukan satu jenis masakan saja.... pelbagai!

        Waktu pagi bersarapan di Restoren Salma. Nasi Lemak Udangnya memang dikenali. Pergi saja ke sana seawal yang boleh kerana tempat duduk terhad dan kalau lewat makanannya cepat habis. Restoren ini terletak berdekatan dengan hotel. 

Nasi Lemak Udanf Goreng

Jika ingin masakan Kelantan, pergilah ke Restoren Kelantan di belakang Lee Graden Plaza Hotel. Jalan kaki  saja dari hotel. Bolehlah makan Nasi Kerabu, Nasi Berlauk, Nasi Lemak dan Nasi Dagang!

Nasi Kerabu

  

Nasi Lema

       Jauh sedikit ialah Chabura Dim Sum. Buka seawal 6 pagi dan tutup jam 2 petang.  Makan Dim Sum dan masakan Siam. Sedapppp.

Dim Sum

     Waktu malam bolehlah cuba makan di Seafood Steamboat. Restorennya jenis terbuka. Pilihan makanan adalah pelbagai. Semuanya kita masak sendiri. Ikan dan makanan lautnya segar bugar. Begitu juga dengan sayur-sayurannya. Untuk ke tempat ini perlu tempah Tuk Tuk pergi dan balik. Jangan bayar dulu. dah sampai semula ke hotel baru bayar.

 

        Tidak dilupai, di sekeliling kawasan sekitar hotel ialah pusat penjualan makanan panas-panas. semuanya ada. Yang halal mudah kita dapat. 
 
       Selatan Siam ramai orang Islam. Makanan halal terdapat di merata tempat. Bagi kaki makan, disini banyak makanan boleh cuba. 

Tiba masa untuk pulang.

       Setelah  hari berada di Hatyai, kami terpaksa mengheret kaki naik keretapi balik Malaysia. Sesedap manapun, seenak manapu, sesuka manapun  negeri orang, tanah air Malaysiaku jugak yang aku junjung dan rindui selalu. Tetapi akan datang lagi.  Pasti ramai teman-temanku teruja untuk turut serta sebab kebanyakannya dah bersara. Jom pergi Hatyai. 

Petai.......

Tak sah kalau tak makan Pulut Mangga.

Pasar Terapung 

Kenderaan rasmi kami...Tuk Tuk