At our Wednesday weekly breakfast gathering (no particular significance on the choice of day) held in the lower lobby of our local mosque, friends and neighbours spend about an hour and a half to share thoughts, information and opinions on current issues openly and without any fixed agenda. Provision of breakfast food is arranged by the operator of the sundry shop-cum-canteen of the mosque and sponsored by either the operator or individuals voluntarily. These meetings of minds of men and women, who are almost all retired professional individuals from both the private and public sectors, have been going on for over a year.
For years, ever since I moved into this community about thirty years ago, several groups of individuals have been going out, and on almost daily basis soon after the pre-dawn prayers, for breakfast at any one of the many eating shops and stalls in town. Of course over this period in time many have gone (May they rest in peace) and new ones have joined in, but the tradition continued. However the current batch of retirees, amongst the congregation, felt that better utilization of the time spent can be achieved if this gathering can somehow be structured (albeit loosely) and then see to what level the group can move on to. Indeed, the group has recently put up a letter of protest and suggestion to the local authorities over an issue affecting the community, after having discussed the issue at the gathering. So, the group can move on to be a pressure group, a think tank, an advisory group or anything for, the benefit of and be useful to, the community.
At the last breakfast gathering, and since this is the New Year in the Muslim calendar, attendees were asked if any would share their resolution(s) or anything similar on this New Year thing (within a ten minutes time limit). I stood up to talk about my decision to ‘let go’. I have, by default, and by being the eldest in the family, chaired my family grouping, the ‘Warisan TCC’ which is an association of family members that was started off by my late father. I recently decided to decline election as Chairman and paved the way for the next generation to take the lead. It is time to ‘let go’ and allow the young to take over the helm. I briefly explained to the breakfast group how Warisan TCC was formed and what the benefits gained by the members were and this generated a lot of interest amongst the listeners. What was to be a ten minute talk turned out to be a half-an-hour discussion and that span of time was certainly not enough to cover everything about what Warisan TCC was about. It may well be a study of ‘how to’ later on.
The above is an example of how the breakfast group make useful of the time available and what else can happen if the group decides to see things through to an upper level. May the Almighty be pleased with our efforts………
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Life Dreams and Achievement
Dinosaurs – the giant animal that lived and survived in the jungles million years ago. Big in size, strong and ever intimidating. They are territorial, take control and will not compromise. Some of the specie are carnivorous, some vegetarian and they fight to protect their perceived rights. Because of their size and strength they were arrogant and conceited. They damage the environment and slowly destroy their source of food and ultimately became extinct. They did not realize that when they die they were food for the ants, insects and worms, and their bodies rot on the very ground that they forget to look at when they were alive, just because they kept their heads very high up in the air. They finally end up having their bones displayed in museums all over the world!
The ‘dinosaurs’ is a study of status, of power and strength, of how these influence attitude. If only the realization of how life ends is factored into the equation then attitude will change from arrogance to humbling. No need to act privileged, to intimidate and show off, to humiliate and downgrade. Lead by setting good examples without expecting recognition which will actually come in due time…..
My wish for the future is for the ‘Leaders’ that be to come down on earth and act real. No artificial pretences, no make-beliefs and negativity. All of us have jobs to do, responsibilities to take care of and lifelong dreams to strive for. There are no short cuts to all of them. It is only hard work to achievement. May the Almighty continue to provide guidance always……..
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
The ‘dinosaurs’ is a study of status, of power and strength, of how these influence attitude. If only the realization of how life ends is factored into the equation then attitude will change from arrogance to humbling. No need to act privileged, to intimidate and show off, to humiliate and downgrade. Lead by setting good examples without expecting recognition which will actually come in due time…..
My wish for the future is for the ‘Leaders’ that be to come down on earth and act real. No artificial pretences, no make-beliefs and negativity. All of us have jobs to do, responsibilities to take care of and lifelong dreams to strive for. There are no short cuts to all of them. It is only hard work to achievement. May the Almighty continue to provide guidance always……..
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Quintessential Dad
Hj Ismail bin Md Yassin bin Abdul Jani bin Moepati
22 Nov 1921 - 8 Aug 1986
Dad, Several Years Before His Retirement From Government Service
That’s my dad. A quintessential dad, an inspiration to me especially and I believe to my siblings too. He held no secrets nor grudges on anyone and was friendly to all irrespective of colour, creed and social status. He was as comfortable mixing with the cleaners, grass-cutters and the like as he was with family, friends, neighbours and dignitaries. He was ever ready to help those in need and would share what he had with others. He was a good planner and had very clear vision and mission in life. I was often reminded to treat another person as a human being, not according to position. I was taught to respect elders always and to seek knowledge from them, to learn from their experience. I was told at a young age to always keep a note book and a pencil/pen in my pocket and use them. He told me you will forget what you see, what you hear unless you write those that you want to remember. Indeed, motivational gurus taught that you will remember only 20% of what you hear, 40% of what you see and hear, and 70 – 80% of what you see, hear and do. He once asked me to write in my notebook, “There is never any glory in never failing but a lot in arising after every fall”. I have held this close to my heart all my life. Never give up but to strive to do better always.
As I mentioned in my previous posting on my ancestors, dad was the eldest amongst his siblings. Being the eldest he learnt quickly that it was his responsibility to take care of the siblings just as it was his responsibility to take care of his immediate family. He was the eldest son (his six siblings, dad was fourth, of the same father and mother died when they were very young, and nine other younger siblings from a step-mother). Granddad was very sickly towards the end of his life and passed away at an age of sixtyish when dad was about 35. At that age he suddenly found that he had a big family to look after. Six of the younger siblings were at various stages of schooling age with the youngest just starting at year one or was it year two? (my memory is playing tricks with me, ha ha ha!). The two youngest were younger than me and one above that a couple of years older. So, my uncles and aunties became my playmates.
In his younger days, dad went to an English school in the mornings and attended religious school in the afternoon. It was in the afternoon religious school that he had eyes for this beautiful girl in the same class with him. She was brought to school daily by a fully covered trishaw (society was very strict then, a young woman and a young man were not to be seen together at all, let alone chit chat, while dating was taboo!). She had a younger brother whom dad befriended and they became close to each other. Obviously dad had ulterior motives, ha ha!
Mum, Active in Politics, Women's Movement, Community and Public Service
This beautiful girl ultimately became his wife and is my dear mum. They got married on 3rd January 1943 and I came along to start messing with their lives in September 1944. Malaya (became Malaysia in September 1963) was at that time under Japanese occupation and I was told that life was very hard then. Rice was scarce while tapioca became the staple food for a while. Milk was difficult to come by, and as an infant I was fed boiled tapioca water instead. Luckily there was breast milk and that was a luxury since mum was then a teacher and had to be away from home. I was taken care of by my grandma for a while until Mum found a baby- sister for me. That was how I had to survive with tapioca water, since breast milk supply was away from home ha ha!! Things improved a lot after the Japanese left (they lost the war, remember) and the British took over administering the country. Substitute baby milk was subsequently made available then and it was of the ‘Lactogen’ brand. Other brands were introduced much, much later. After me, nine other siblings followed to maintain messing up mum’s and dad’s lives, and together with a few of my uncles and aunties it was a crowd in the house, ha ha!
Three Days After Their Wedding on 3rd January 1943
Dad started work in the Government service initially at the Police Depot as a civilian staff and stayed in that office for several years. Many of his colleagues then, both uniformed and civilian, became his close friends and they came to the house to learn English and English conversation under dad’s tutelage. Apparently dad was privileged to have gone through an English school, learnt and studied English, and true to his character his tutelage was voluntary without expecting anything in return. I used to sit in in his English class and he was very patient and helpful to the point of being overly accommodating to the errors and omissions made when tutoring his colleagues. I picked up English here and perhaps picked up some of his character traits as well.
From the Police Department he was transferred to the Government Audit department, then to the Medical Bureau and finally to the Marine department where he retired as a Deputy Port officer. At the same time he was involved with the scout movement and also heavily involved with a political party that came into power to rule the country. I remember that he was repeatedly voted in as the Youth Chief for many years. Mum was equally involved and stayed on as the Women’s division treasurer being voted in year after year by members.
With Dad and Mum heavily involved in the current politics then and away from home so often we, the children, were left at home on our own and I, being the eldest but still in school, was tasked to look after my siblings. I learnt to do the marketing, cooking and other chores very early. Apart from that I was also exposed to many life challenges at a very young age just as dad was when he was young but his was out of circumstances while mine was out of design!! (More of this in my upcoming postings). I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to grow up and grow fast!! May the Almighty be pleased…..
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
22 Nov 1921 - 8 Aug 1986
Dad, Several Years Before His Retirement From Government Service
That’s my dad. A quintessential dad, an inspiration to me especially and I believe to my siblings too. He held no secrets nor grudges on anyone and was friendly to all irrespective of colour, creed and social status. He was as comfortable mixing with the cleaners, grass-cutters and the like as he was with family, friends, neighbours and dignitaries. He was ever ready to help those in need and would share what he had with others. He was a good planner and had very clear vision and mission in life. I was often reminded to treat another person as a human being, not according to position. I was taught to respect elders always and to seek knowledge from them, to learn from their experience. I was told at a young age to always keep a note book and a pencil/pen in my pocket and use them. He told me you will forget what you see, what you hear unless you write those that you want to remember. Indeed, motivational gurus taught that you will remember only 20% of what you hear, 40% of what you see and hear, and 70 – 80% of what you see, hear and do. He once asked me to write in my notebook, “There is never any glory in never failing but a lot in arising after every fall”. I have held this close to my heart all my life. Never give up but to strive to do better always.
As I mentioned in my previous posting on my ancestors, dad was the eldest amongst his siblings. Being the eldest he learnt quickly that it was his responsibility to take care of the siblings just as it was his responsibility to take care of his immediate family. He was the eldest son (his six siblings, dad was fourth, of the same father and mother died when they were very young, and nine other younger siblings from a step-mother). Granddad was very sickly towards the end of his life and passed away at an age of sixtyish when dad was about 35. At that age he suddenly found that he had a big family to look after. Six of the younger siblings were at various stages of schooling age with the youngest just starting at year one or was it year two? (my memory is playing tricks with me, ha ha ha!). The two youngest were younger than me and one above that a couple of years older. So, my uncles and aunties became my playmates.
In his younger days, dad went to an English school in the mornings and attended religious school in the afternoon. It was in the afternoon religious school that he had eyes for this beautiful girl in the same class with him. She was brought to school daily by a fully covered trishaw (society was very strict then, a young woman and a young man were not to be seen together at all, let alone chit chat, while dating was taboo!). She had a younger brother whom dad befriended and they became close to each other. Obviously dad had ulterior motives, ha ha!
Mum, Active in Politics, Women's Movement, Community and Public Service
This beautiful girl ultimately became his wife and is my dear mum. They got married on 3rd January 1943 and I came along to start messing with their lives in September 1944. Malaya (became Malaysia in September 1963) was at that time under Japanese occupation and I was told that life was very hard then. Rice was scarce while tapioca became the staple food for a while. Milk was difficult to come by, and as an infant I was fed boiled tapioca water instead. Luckily there was breast milk and that was a luxury since mum was then a teacher and had to be away from home. I was taken care of by my grandma for a while until Mum found a baby- sister for me. That was how I had to survive with tapioca water, since breast milk supply was away from home ha ha!! Things improved a lot after the Japanese left (they lost the war, remember) and the British took over administering the country. Substitute baby milk was subsequently made available then and it was of the ‘Lactogen’ brand. Other brands were introduced much, much later. After me, nine other siblings followed to maintain messing up mum’s and dad’s lives, and together with a few of my uncles and aunties it was a crowd in the house, ha ha!
Three Days After Their Wedding on 3rd January 1943
Dad started work in the Government service initially at the Police Depot as a civilian staff and stayed in that office for several years. Many of his colleagues then, both uniformed and civilian, became his close friends and they came to the house to learn English and English conversation under dad’s tutelage. Apparently dad was privileged to have gone through an English school, learnt and studied English, and true to his character his tutelage was voluntary without expecting anything in return. I used to sit in in his English class and he was very patient and helpful to the point of being overly accommodating to the errors and omissions made when tutoring his colleagues. I picked up English here and perhaps picked up some of his character traits as well.
From the Police Department he was transferred to the Government Audit department, then to the Medical Bureau and finally to the Marine department where he retired as a Deputy Port officer. At the same time he was involved with the scout movement and also heavily involved with a political party that came into power to rule the country. I remember that he was repeatedly voted in as the Youth Chief for many years. Mum was equally involved and stayed on as the Women’s division treasurer being voted in year after year by members.
With Dad and Mum heavily involved in the current politics then and away from home so often we, the children, were left at home on our own and I, being the eldest but still in school, was tasked to look after my siblings. I learnt to do the marketing, cooking and other chores very early. Apart from that I was also exposed to many life challenges at a very young age just as dad was when he was young but his was out of circumstances while mine was out of design!! (More of this in my upcoming postings). I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to grow up and grow fast!! May the Almighty be pleased…..
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Mum In JB
It has been a long time since my last blog posting. I have been busy?, Yes, I have been procrastinating? Yes too, I have not been well? No, not really - Ram was not well and I had to take over all chores in the house since there were only the two of us and all chores have to be done and we have no help or maid to assist us like many people do!!
I previously posted a write up of Ram's left eye cornea replacement operation which was done in early August, i.e about 4.00pm 2nd August to be precise. Since then Ram had been very careful not to exert or expose herself to the elements while the medicine, eye-drops application regime were strictly followed. So, I had to do all the chores in the house and run errands as necessary. These activities have become a daily routine and left me without much free time for the social networking activities.
There has been occasions when I had to go to JB to see Mum, and at these times Ram will stay back in her sisters' house about half an hour drive in the next town. However, some two weeks ago something prompted Ram that made her decide that she should make a visit to Mum in JB. And that was a few days before the Eid'l Adha celebrations. So we decided to take a slow drive to JB on the afternoon of Eid'l Adha, just the two of us. We took about seven hours (normally the journey will take less than four hours) for the journey stopping five times at rest areas to rest. We stayed several days in JB, mostly spent time with Mum in the family house which had been renovated and named 'Teratak Kasih'.
No Effort Pushing The Wheel-chair, Mum is Light!
Mum, ever since her fall several months ago, is very slow in her movement and is not yet able to walk on her own. She sits in bed and is moved around in a wheel-chair. Brother Abid and family stays in Teratak Kasih to take care of Mum and other siblings with their families come over to the house often, just to make sure that Mum is accompanied and not lonely. She spends her time reading the Quran, Zikir and reading religious books etc. and sleeps in between. Once in a while brother Abid and/or other siblings would take Mum out of the house to visit relatives or to go to the bank or do other necessary things, just to take her out of the house. But we notice that these outings tire her easily. No surprise though as she is already 91+ years old.
Very Relaxed
While in JB we took the opportunity to visit other close relatives, and also to go for our favourite food outlets, at times when Ram felt well enough to move around. We try to avoid crowded places, too open areas, the sea-side etc. to ensure that Ram is not overexposed to wind, dust, smoke and so on. She wears protective (and fashionable!!) eye-wear but still, we need to take precautions. So far so good.
Brother Abid Contemplating Something? Maybe Re-arranging the Flower Pots!!
Our return journey back to PJ was also a slow drive. We took longer this time. We stopped at the rest areas but most were overcrowded with travelers. Hence we just rest in the car and visited a close friends house somewhere along the way to do the necessary toilet and prayer activities. It has been a while since we met this family and a good time for a revisit while taking the opportunity to do the necessary in their house, thus avoiding the crowded rest areas' facilities.
Yup, Rearranging Pots It was!!
We arrived home quite late and Ram took several days to recover. She was complaining of headaches and numbness on one side of the head the next day, and was sleeping most of the day. Looks like we cannot make long drive journeys too often yet.
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
I previously posted a write up of Ram's left eye cornea replacement operation which was done in early August, i.e about 4.00pm 2nd August to be precise. Since then Ram had been very careful not to exert or expose herself to the elements while the medicine, eye-drops application regime were strictly followed. So, I had to do all the chores in the house and run errands as necessary. These activities have become a daily routine and left me without much free time for the social networking activities.
There has been occasions when I had to go to JB to see Mum, and at these times Ram will stay back in her sisters' house about half an hour drive in the next town. However, some two weeks ago something prompted Ram that made her decide that she should make a visit to Mum in JB. And that was a few days before the Eid'l Adha celebrations. So we decided to take a slow drive to JB on the afternoon of Eid'l Adha, just the two of us. We took about seven hours (normally the journey will take less than four hours) for the journey stopping five times at rest areas to rest. We stayed several days in JB, mostly spent time with Mum in the family house which had been renovated and named 'Teratak Kasih'.
No Effort Pushing The Wheel-chair, Mum is Light!Mum, ever since her fall several months ago, is very slow in her movement and is not yet able to walk on her own. She sits in bed and is moved around in a wheel-chair. Brother Abid and family stays in Teratak Kasih to take care of Mum and other siblings with their families come over to the house often, just to make sure that Mum is accompanied and not lonely. She spends her time reading the Quran, Zikir and reading religious books etc. and sleeps in between. Once in a while brother Abid and/or other siblings would take Mum out of the house to visit relatives or to go to the bank or do other necessary things, just to take her out of the house. But we notice that these outings tire her easily. No surprise though as she is already 91+ years old.
Very RelaxedWhile in JB we took the opportunity to visit other close relatives, and also to go for our favourite food outlets, at times when Ram felt well enough to move around. We try to avoid crowded places, too open areas, the sea-side etc. to ensure that Ram is not overexposed to wind, dust, smoke and so on. She wears protective (and fashionable!!) eye-wear but still, we need to take precautions. So far so good.
Brother Abid Contemplating Something? Maybe Re-arranging the Flower Pots!!Our return journey back to PJ was also a slow drive. We took longer this time. We stopped at the rest areas but most were overcrowded with travelers. Hence we just rest in the car and visited a close friends house somewhere along the way to do the necessary toilet and prayer activities. It has been a while since we met this family and a good time for a revisit while taking the opportunity to do the necessary in their house, thus avoiding the crowded rest areas' facilities.
Yup, Rearranging Pots It was!!We arrived home quite late and Ram took several days to recover. She was complaining of headaches and numbness on one side of the head the next day, and was sleeping most of the day. Looks like we cannot make long drive journeys too often yet.
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Ten (10) Commandments Of Those Over 60 years old.
I do not know the source of the following but it was forwarded to me by a friend. I should be practicing them now! or am I already? ha ha ha.....
1. Focus on enjoying people not on indulging in or accumulating Material things.
2. Plan to spend whatever you have saved. You deserve to enjoy it and the few healthy years you have left.
Travel if you can afford it. Don't leave anything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. By leaving anything, you may even cause more trouble when you are gone.
3. Live in the here and now, not in the yesterdays and tomorrows. It is only today that you can handle. Yesterday is gone & tomorrow may not even happen.
4. Enjoy your grandchildren (if you are blessed with any) but don't be their full time baby sitter. You have no moral obligation to take care of them. Don't have any guilt about refusing to baby sit anyone's kids, including your own grandkids. Your parental obligation is to your children. After you have raised them into responsible adults, your duties of child-rearing and babysitting are finished. Let your children raise their own off-springs.
5. Accept physical weakness, sickness and other physical pains. It is a part of the aging process. Enjoy whatever your health can allow.
6. Enjoy what you are and what you have right now. Stop working hard for what you do not have. If you do not have them, It's probably too late.
7. Just enjoy your life with your spouse, children, grandchildren and friends. People, who truly love you, love you for yourself, not for what you have. Anyone who loves you for what you have will just give you misery.
8. Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others. Enjoy peace of mind and peace of soul.
9. Befriend death. It's a natural part of the life cycle. Don't be afraid of it. Death is the beginning of a new and better life. So, prepare yourself not for death but for a new life with the Almighty.
10. Be at peace with your Creator. For, He is all you have after you leave this life.
Thank You
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
1. Focus on enjoying people not on indulging in or accumulating Material things.
2. Plan to spend whatever you have saved. You deserve to enjoy it and the few healthy years you have left.
Travel if you can afford it. Don't leave anything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. By leaving anything, you may even cause more trouble when you are gone.
3. Live in the here and now, not in the yesterdays and tomorrows. It is only today that you can handle. Yesterday is gone & tomorrow may not even happen.
4. Enjoy your grandchildren (if you are blessed with any) but don't be their full time baby sitter. You have no moral obligation to take care of them. Don't have any guilt about refusing to baby sit anyone's kids, including your own grandkids. Your parental obligation is to your children. After you have raised them into responsible adults, your duties of child-rearing and babysitting are finished. Let your children raise their own off-springs.
5. Accept physical weakness, sickness and other physical pains. It is a part of the aging process. Enjoy whatever your health can allow.
6. Enjoy what you are and what you have right now. Stop working hard for what you do not have. If you do not have them, It's probably too late.
7. Just enjoy your life with your spouse, children, grandchildren and friends. People, who truly love you, love you for yourself, not for what you have. Anyone who loves you for what you have will just give you misery.
8. Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others. Enjoy peace of mind and peace of soul.
9. Befriend death. It's a natural part of the life cycle. Don't be afraid of it. Death is the beginning of a new and better life. So, prepare yourself not for death but for a new life with the Almighty.
10. Be at peace with your Creator. For, He is all you have after you leave this life.
Thank You
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Aging - An Interesting Read
Received this from a friend who got it from the net:
MINISTER MENTOR LEE KUAN YEW ON AGING
MY CONCERN today is, what is it I can tell you which can add to your
knowledge about ageing and what ageing societies can do. You know more about
this subject than I do. A lot of it is out in the media, Internet and books.
So I thought the best way would be to take a personal standpoint and tell
you how I approach this question of ageing.
If I cast my mind back, I can see turning points in my physical and mental
health. You know, when you're young, I didn't bother, assumed good health
was God-given and would always be there. When I was about -'57 that was - I
was about 34, we were competing in elections, and I was really fond of
drinking beer and smoking.. And after the election campaign, in Victoria
Memorial Hall - we had won the election, the City Council election - I
couldn't thank the voters because I had lost my voice. I'd been smoking
furiously. I'd take a packet of 10 to deceive myself, but I'd run through
the packet just sitting on the stage, watching the crowd, getting the
feeling, the mood before I speak. In other words, there were three speeches
a night. Three speeches a night, 30 cigarettes, a lot of beer after that,
and the voice was gone.
I remember I had a case in Kuching, Sarawak . So I took the flight and I
felt awful.. I had to make up my mind whether I was going to be an effective
campaigner and a lawyer, in which case I cannot destroy my voice, and I
can't go on. So I stopped smoking. It was a tremendous deprivation because I
was addicted to it. And I used to wake up dreaming...the nightmare was I
resumed smoking.
But I made a choice and said, if I continue this, I will not be able to do
my job. I didn't know anything about cancer of the throat or oesophagus or
the lungs, etc. But it turned out it had many other deleterious effects.
Strangely enough after that, I became very allergic, hyper-allergic to
smoking, so much so that I would plead with my Cabinet ministers not to
smoke in the Cabinet room. You want to smoke, please go out, because I am
allergic.
Then one day I was at the home of my colleague, Mr Rajaratnam, meeting
foreign correspondents including some from the London Times and they took a
picture of me and I had a big belly like that (puts his hands in front of
his belly), a beer belly. I felt no, no, this will not do. So I started
playing more golf, hit hundreds of balls on the practice tee. But this
didn't go down. There was only one way it could go down: consume less, burn
up more.
Another turning point came when - this was 1976, after the general election
- I was feeling tired. I was breathing deeply at the Istana, on the lawns.
My daughter, who at that time just graduating as a doctor, said: 'What are
you trying to do?' I said: 'I feel an effort to breathe in more oxygen.' She
said: 'Don't play golf. Run. Aerobics.' So she gave me a book, quite a
famous book and, then, very current in America on how you score aerobic
points swimming, running, whatever it is, cycling. I looked at it
sceptically. I wasn't very keen on running. I was keen on golf. So I said,
'Let's try'. So in-between golf shots while playing on my own, sometimes
nine holes at the Istana, I would try and walk fast between shots.. Then I
began to run between shots. And I felt better. After a while, I said: 'Okay,
after my golf, I run.' And after a few years, I said: 'Golf takes so long.
The running takes 15 minutes. Let's cut out the golf and let's run.'
I think the most important thing in ageing is you got to understand
yourself. And the knowledge now is all there. When I was growing up, the
knowledge wasn't there. I had to get the knowledge from friends, from
doctors. But, perhaps, the most important bit of knowledge that the doctor
gave me was one day, when I said: 'Look, I'm feeling slower and sluggish.'
So he gave me a medical encyclopaedia and he turned the pages to ageing. I
read it up and it was illuminating. A lot of it was difficult jargon but I
just skimmed through to get the gist of it.
As you grow, you reach 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and then, thereafter, you are
on a gradual slope down physically. Mentally, you carry on and on and on
until I don't know what age, but mathematicians will tell you that they know
their best output is when they're in their 20s and 30s when your mental
energy is powerful and you haven't lost many neurons.. That's what they tell
me.
So, as you acquire more knowledge, you then craft a programme for yourself
to maximise what you have. It's just common sense. I never planned to live
till 85 or 84! I just didn't think about it. I said: 'Well, my mother died
when she was 74, she had a stroke. My father died when he was 94.'
But I saw him, and he lived a long life, well, maybe it was his DNA. But
more than that, he swam every day and he kept himself busy. He was working
for the Shell company. He was in charge, he was a superintendent of an oil
depot. When he retired, he started becoming a salesman. So people used to
tell me: 'Your father is selling watches at BP de Silva.' My father was then
living with me. But it kept him busy. He had that routine: He meets people,
he sells watches, he buys and sells all kinds of semi-precious stones, he
circulates coins. And he keeps going. But at 87, 88, he fell, going down the
steps from his room to the dining room, broke his arm, three months
incapacitated. Thereafter, he couldn't go back to swimming. Then he became
wheelchair-bound.
Then it became a problem because my house was constructed that way. So my
brother, who's a doctor and had a flat (one-level) house, took him in. And
he lived on till 94. But towards the end, he had gradual loss of mental
powers.
So my calculations, I'm somewhere between 74 and 94. And I've reached the
halfway point now. But have I? Well, 1996 when I was 73, I was cycling and I
felt tightening on the neck. Oh, I must retire today. So I stopped. Next
day, I returned to the bicycle. After five minutes it became worse.
So I said, no, no, this is something serious, it's got to do with the blood
vessels. Rung up my doctor, who said, 'Come tomorrow'. Went tomorrow, he
checked me, and said: 'Come back tomorrow for an angiogram.' I said: 'What's
that?' He said: 'We'll pump something in and we'll see whether the coronary
arteries are cleared or blocked.' I was going to go home. But an MP who was
a cardiologist happened to be around, so he came in and said: 'What are you
doing here?' I said: 'I've got this.' He said: 'Don't go home. You stay here
tonight. I've sent patients home and they never came back. Just stay here.
They'll put you on the monitor. They'll watch your heart. And if anything,
an emergency arises, they will take you straight to the theatre. You go
home. You've got no such monitor. You may never come back.'
So I stayed there. Pumped in the dye, yes it was blocked, the left
circumflex, not the critical, lead one. So that's lucky for me. Two weeks
later, I was walking around, I felt it's coming back. Yes it has come back,
it had occluded. So this time they said: 'We'll put in a stent.'
I'm one of the first few in Singapore to have the stent, so it was a brand
new operation. Fortunately, the man who invented the stent was out here
selling his stent. He was from San Jose , La Jolla something or the other.
So my doctor got hold of him and he supervised the operation. He said put
the stent in. My doctor did the operation, he just watched it all and then
that's that. That was before all this problem about lining the stent to make
sure that it doesn't occlude and create a disturbance.
So at each stage, I learnt something more about myself and I stored that. I
said: 'Oh, this is now a danger point.' So alright, cut out fats, change
diet, went to see a specialist in Boston , Massachusetts General Hospital .
He said: 'Take statins.' I said: 'What's that?' He said: '(They) help to
reduce your cholesterol.' My doctors were concerned. They said: 'You don't
need it. Your cholesterol levels are okay.' Two years later, more medical
evidence came out. So the doctors said: 'Take statins.'
Had there been no angioplasty, had I not known that something was up and I
cycled on, I might have gone at 74 like my mother. So I missed that
deadline.
So next deadline: my father's fall at 87.
I'm very careful now because sometimes when I turn around too fast, I feel
as if I'm going to get off balance. So my daughter, a neurologist, she took
me to the NNI, there's this nerve conduction test, put electrodes here and
there. The transmission of the messages between the feet and the brain has
slowed down.
So all the exercise, everything, effort put in, I'm fit, I swim, I cycle..
But I can't prevent this losing of conductivity of the nerves and this
transmission. So just go slow.
So when I climb up the steps, I have no problem. When I go down the steps,
I need to be sure that I've got something I can hang on to, just in case. So
it's a constant process of adjustment.
But I think the most important single lesson I learnt in life was that if
you isolate yourself, you're done for. The human being is a social animal -
he needs stimuli, he needs to meet people, to catch up with the world.
I don't much like travel but I travel very frequently despite the jet lag,
because I get to meet people of great interest to me, who will help me in my
work as chairman of our GIC. So I know, I'm on several boards of banks,
international advisory boards of banks, of oil companies and so on. And I
meet them and I get to understand what's happening in the world, what has
changed since I was here one month ago, one year ago. I go to India , I go
to China .
And that stimuli brings me to the world of today. I'm not living in the
world, when I was active, more active 20, 30 years ago. So I tell my wife.
She woke up late today. I said: 'Never mind, you come along by 12 o'clock. I
go first.'
If you sit back - because part of the ending part of the encyclopaedia which
I read was very depressing - as you get old, you withdraw from everything
and then all you will have is your bedroom and the photographs and the
furniture that you know, and that's your world. So if you've got to go to
hospital, the doctor advises you to bring some photographs so that you'll
know you're not lost in a different world, that this is like your bedroom.
I'm determined that I will not, as long as I can, to be reduced, to have my
horizons closed on me like that. It is the stimuli, it is the constant
interaction with people across the world that keeps me aware and alive to
what's going on and what we can do to adjust to this different world.
In other words, you must have an interest in life. If you believe that at
55, you're retiring, you're going to read books, play golf and drink wine,
then I think you're done for. So statistically they will show you that all
the people who retire and lead sedentary lives, the pensioners die off very
quickly.
So we now have a social problem with medical sciences, new procedures, new
drugs, many more people are going to live long lives. If the mindset is that
when I reach retirement age 62, I'm old, I can't work anymore, I don't have
to work, I just sit back, now is the time I'll enjoy life, I think you're
making the biggest mistake of your life. After one month, or after two
months, even if you go travelling with nothing to do, with no purpose in
life, you will just degrade, you'll go to seed.
The human being needs a challenge, and my advice to every person in
Singapore and elsewhere: Keep yourself interested, have a challenge. If
you're not interested in the world and the world is not interested in you,
the biggest punishment a man can receive is total isolation in a dungeon,
black and complete withdrawal of all stimuli, that's real torture. So when I
read that people believe, Singaporeans say: 'Oh, 62 I'm retiring.' I say to
them: 'You really want to die quickly?' If you want to see sunrise tomorrow
or sunset, you must have a reason, you must have the stimuli to keep going'.
-------------- ooooOOOOoooo -------------
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
MINISTER MENTOR LEE KUAN YEW ON AGING
MY CONCERN today is, what is it I can tell you which can add to your
knowledge about ageing and what ageing societies can do. You know more about
this subject than I do. A lot of it is out in the media, Internet and books.
So I thought the best way would be to take a personal standpoint and tell
you how I approach this question of ageing.
If I cast my mind back, I can see turning points in my physical and mental
health. You know, when you're young, I didn't bother, assumed good health
was God-given and would always be there. When I was about -'57 that was - I
was about 34, we were competing in elections, and I was really fond of
drinking beer and smoking.. And after the election campaign, in Victoria
Memorial Hall - we had won the election, the City Council election - I
couldn't thank the voters because I had lost my voice. I'd been smoking
furiously. I'd take a packet of 10 to deceive myself, but I'd run through
the packet just sitting on the stage, watching the crowd, getting the
feeling, the mood before I speak. In other words, there were three speeches
a night. Three speeches a night, 30 cigarettes, a lot of beer after that,
and the voice was gone.
I remember I had a case in Kuching, Sarawak . So I took the flight and I
felt awful.. I had to make up my mind whether I was going to be an effective
campaigner and a lawyer, in which case I cannot destroy my voice, and I
can't go on. So I stopped smoking. It was a tremendous deprivation because I
was addicted to it. And I used to wake up dreaming...the nightmare was I
resumed smoking.
But I made a choice and said, if I continue this, I will not be able to do
my job. I didn't know anything about cancer of the throat or oesophagus or
the lungs, etc. But it turned out it had many other deleterious effects.
Strangely enough after that, I became very allergic, hyper-allergic to
smoking, so much so that I would plead with my Cabinet ministers not to
smoke in the Cabinet room. You want to smoke, please go out, because I am
allergic.
Then one day I was at the home of my colleague, Mr Rajaratnam, meeting
foreign correspondents including some from the London Times and they took a
picture of me and I had a big belly like that (puts his hands in front of
his belly), a beer belly. I felt no, no, this will not do. So I started
playing more golf, hit hundreds of balls on the practice tee. But this
didn't go down. There was only one way it could go down: consume less, burn
up more.
Another turning point came when - this was 1976, after the general election
- I was feeling tired. I was breathing deeply at the Istana, on the lawns.
My daughter, who at that time just graduating as a doctor, said: 'What are
you trying to do?' I said: 'I feel an effort to breathe in more oxygen.' She
said: 'Don't play golf. Run. Aerobics.' So she gave me a book, quite a
famous book and, then, very current in America on how you score aerobic
points swimming, running, whatever it is, cycling. I looked at it
sceptically. I wasn't very keen on running. I was keen on golf. So I said,
'Let's try'. So in-between golf shots while playing on my own, sometimes
nine holes at the Istana, I would try and walk fast between shots.. Then I
began to run between shots. And I felt better. After a while, I said: 'Okay,
after my golf, I run.' And after a few years, I said: 'Golf takes so long.
The running takes 15 minutes. Let's cut out the golf and let's run.'
I think the most important thing in ageing is you got to understand
yourself. And the knowledge now is all there. When I was growing up, the
knowledge wasn't there. I had to get the knowledge from friends, from
doctors. But, perhaps, the most important bit of knowledge that the doctor
gave me was one day, when I said: 'Look, I'm feeling slower and sluggish.'
So he gave me a medical encyclopaedia and he turned the pages to ageing. I
read it up and it was illuminating. A lot of it was difficult jargon but I
just skimmed through to get the gist of it.
As you grow, you reach 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and then, thereafter, you are
on a gradual slope down physically. Mentally, you carry on and on and on
until I don't know what age, but mathematicians will tell you that they know
their best output is when they're in their 20s and 30s when your mental
energy is powerful and you haven't lost many neurons.. That's what they tell
me.
So, as you acquire more knowledge, you then craft a programme for yourself
to maximise what you have. It's just common sense. I never planned to live
till 85 or 84! I just didn't think about it. I said: 'Well, my mother died
when she was 74, she had a stroke. My father died when he was 94.'
But I saw him, and he lived a long life, well, maybe it was his DNA. But
more than that, he swam every day and he kept himself busy. He was working
for the Shell company. He was in charge, he was a superintendent of an oil
depot. When he retired, he started becoming a salesman. So people used to
tell me: 'Your father is selling watches at BP de Silva.' My father was then
living with me. But it kept him busy. He had that routine: He meets people,
he sells watches, he buys and sells all kinds of semi-precious stones, he
circulates coins. And he keeps going. But at 87, 88, he fell, going down the
steps from his room to the dining room, broke his arm, three months
incapacitated. Thereafter, he couldn't go back to swimming. Then he became
wheelchair-bound.
Then it became a problem because my house was constructed that way. So my
brother, who's a doctor and had a flat (one-level) house, took him in. And
he lived on till 94. But towards the end, he had gradual loss of mental
powers.
So my calculations, I'm somewhere between 74 and 94. And I've reached the
halfway point now. But have I? Well, 1996 when I was 73, I was cycling and I
felt tightening on the neck. Oh, I must retire today. So I stopped. Next
day, I returned to the bicycle. After five minutes it became worse.
So I said, no, no, this is something serious, it's got to do with the blood
vessels. Rung up my doctor, who said, 'Come tomorrow'. Went tomorrow, he
checked me, and said: 'Come back tomorrow for an angiogram.' I said: 'What's
that?' He said: 'We'll pump something in and we'll see whether the coronary
arteries are cleared or blocked.' I was going to go home. But an MP who was
a cardiologist happened to be around, so he came in and said: 'What are you
doing here?' I said: 'I've got this.' He said: 'Don't go home. You stay here
tonight. I've sent patients home and they never came back. Just stay here.
They'll put you on the monitor. They'll watch your heart. And if anything,
an emergency arises, they will take you straight to the theatre. You go
home. You've got no such monitor. You may never come back.'
So I stayed there. Pumped in the dye, yes it was blocked, the left
circumflex, not the critical, lead one. So that's lucky for me. Two weeks
later, I was walking around, I felt it's coming back. Yes it has come back,
it had occluded. So this time they said: 'We'll put in a stent.'
I'm one of the first few in Singapore to have the stent, so it was a brand
new operation. Fortunately, the man who invented the stent was out here
selling his stent. He was from San Jose , La Jolla something or the other.
So my doctor got hold of him and he supervised the operation. He said put
the stent in. My doctor did the operation, he just watched it all and then
that's that. That was before all this problem about lining the stent to make
sure that it doesn't occlude and create a disturbance.
So at each stage, I learnt something more about myself and I stored that. I
said: 'Oh, this is now a danger point.' So alright, cut out fats, change
diet, went to see a specialist in Boston , Massachusetts General Hospital .
He said: 'Take statins.' I said: 'What's that?' He said: '(They) help to
reduce your cholesterol.' My doctors were concerned. They said: 'You don't
need it. Your cholesterol levels are okay.' Two years later, more medical
evidence came out. So the doctors said: 'Take statins.'
Had there been no angioplasty, had I not known that something was up and I
cycled on, I might have gone at 74 like my mother. So I missed that
deadline.
So next deadline: my father's fall at 87.
I'm very careful now because sometimes when I turn around too fast, I feel
as if I'm going to get off balance. So my daughter, a neurologist, she took
me to the NNI, there's this nerve conduction test, put electrodes here and
there. The transmission of the messages between the feet and the brain has
slowed down.
So all the exercise, everything, effort put in, I'm fit, I swim, I cycle..
But I can't prevent this losing of conductivity of the nerves and this
transmission. So just go slow.
So when I climb up the steps, I have no problem. When I go down the steps,
I need to be sure that I've got something I can hang on to, just in case. So
it's a constant process of adjustment.
But I think the most important single lesson I learnt in life was that if
you isolate yourself, you're done for. The human being is a social animal -
he needs stimuli, he needs to meet people, to catch up with the world.
I don't much like travel but I travel very frequently despite the jet lag,
because I get to meet people of great interest to me, who will help me in my
work as chairman of our GIC. So I know, I'm on several boards of banks,
international advisory boards of banks, of oil companies and so on. And I
meet them and I get to understand what's happening in the world, what has
changed since I was here one month ago, one year ago. I go to India , I go
to China .
And that stimuli brings me to the world of today. I'm not living in the
world, when I was active, more active 20, 30 years ago. So I tell my wife.
She woke up late today. I said: 'Never mind, you come along by 12 o'clock. I
go first.'
If you sit back - because part of the ending part of the encyclopaedia which
I read was very depressing - as you get old, you withdraw from everything
and then all you will have is your bedroom and the photographs and the
furniture that you know, and that's your world. So if you've got to go to
hospital, the doctor advises you to bring some photographs so that you'll
know you're not lost in a different world, that this is like your bedroom.
I'm determined that I will not, as long as I can, to be reduced, to have my
horizons closed on me like that. It is the stimuli, it is the constant
interaction with people across the world that keeps me aware and alive to
what's going on and what we can do to adjust to this different world.
In other words, you must have an interest in life. If you believe that at
55, you're retiring, you're going to read books, play golf and drink wine,
then I think you're done for. So statistically they will show you that all
the people who retire and lead sedentary lives, the pensioners die off very
quickly.
So we now have a social problem with medical sciences, new procedures, new
drugs, many more people are going to live long lives. If the mindset is that
when I reach retirement age 62, I'm old, I can't work anymore, I don't have
to work, I just sit back, now is the time I'll enjoy life, I think you're
making the biggest mistake of your life. After one month, or after two
months, even if you go travelling with nothing to do, with no purpose in
life, you will just degrade, you'll go to seed.
The human being needs a challenge, and my advice to every person in
Singapore and elsewhere: Keep yourself interested, have a challenge. If
you're not interested in the world and the world is not interested in you,
the biggest punishment a man can receive is total isolation in a dungeon,
black and complete withdrawal of all stimuli, that's real torture. So when I
read that people believe, Singaporeans say: 'Oh, 62 I'm retiring.' I say to
them: 'You really want to die quickly?' If you want to see sunrise tomorrow
or sunset, you must have a reason, you must have the stimuli to keep going'.
-------------- ooooOOOOoooo -------------
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
Friday, July 16, 2010
Mum's Second Visit To Tempua
Members of the family, the Warisan TCC family, decided to have a 'Gotong Royong' or a group workout, to paint the house as most of the major renovation and re-modelling work are almost complete. Mum, on hearing the group workout insisted in being present to see the progress. She was excited and I was told she woke up at 4.00am and wanted to get ready to be taken to see the house.
It was 9.00am when I went to pick Mum from my sister's house, where Mum is temporarily accommodated while renovation work is going on, and only brother Zulfakar and Zulkifli were in the Tempua house. The others came straggling in within one or two hours later, some even later than that. Never mind the later arrival. Everyone was enthusiastic in helping out and sharing the work load. There was indeed close cooperation, especially amongst the younger third generation to get the work done and more importantly, the spirit of togetherness and camaraderie was very evident. That was the intent of this 'workout' in the first place. To see the smiles on Mum's face was the ultimate reward to everyone present.
Mum commented that the house is more spacious now and agreed that it will be a good venue for the family to meet often. There is no need to hold the big family gathering in a hotel as have been done previously. We have the space to hold it in the house and also utilise the compound of the house by using tents etc. In deed this was the intent after we discussed amongst ourselves, the elders of Warisan TCC, to remodel the house. At the same time it was to give more space and room for Mum in the front portion of the house, in comparison to her old room which was rather secluded, lacking proper exchange of air and ventilation at the back of the house. Her old room has now been remodelled too and rearranged such that two more, slightly smaller, rooms were made by utilising an existent space at the back of the house next to the room.
New Main Entrance
Mum's New Room With Attached Bath And....
.....Wide Bay Windows
After Touring The House
Brother Zulkifli brought mixed breakfast food and drinks for the family members to enjoy amidst all the work.....
>Mum Relaxed While Checking Out Progress
Check Out The Chandelier - Show Off,
Just Coz Mum Was There, Ha Ha!
The New Warisan TCC Corner - The Information Center
Entrance To Recreated Room and The Kitchen To The Right
An Additional Room Recreated
3rd Generation - We've Got A Job To Finish
No No No! Not Gossipping, But Sharing Information Ha Ha Ha!
3rd Generation - More Stories To Share ?
Mum stayed on for about two hours in the Tempua house. I sent her home to Sis's house and in the car she commented on the new space and whether we can hold the next family gathering in the middle of the Muslim month of Syaaban, which will be in a couple of weeks time. We have, in fact, planned for it and will have to double up to complete the work by then. We seek the Almighty's guidance and pleasure to achieve this target and may He be pleased with our efforts.....
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
It was 9.00am when I went to pick Mum from my sister's house, where Mum is temporarily accommodated while renovation work is going on, and only brother Zulfakar and Zulkifli were in the Tempua house. The others came straggling in within one or two hours later, some even later than that. Never mind the later arrival. Everyone was enthusiastic in helping out and sharing the work load. There was indeed close cooperation, especially amongst the younger third generation to get the work done and more importantly, the spirit of togetherness and camaraderie was very evident. That was the intent of this 'workout' in the first place. To see the smiles on Mum's face was the ultimate reward to everyone present.
Mum commented that the house is more spacious now and agreed that it will be a good venue for the family to meet often. There is no need to hold the big family gathering in a hotel as have been done previously. We have the space to hold it in the house and also utilise the compound of the house by using tents etc. In deed this was the intent after we discussed amongst ourselves, the elders of Warisan TCC, to remodel the house. At the same time it was to give more space and room for Mum in the front portion of the house, in comparison to her old room which was rather secluded, lacking proper exchange of air and ventilation at the back of the house. Her old room has now been remodelled too and rearranged such that two more, slightly smaller, rooms were made by utilising an existent space at the back of the house next to the room.
New Main Entrance
Mum's New Room With Attached Bath And....
.....Wide Bay Windows
After Touring The House
Brother Zulkifli brought mixed breakfast food and drinks for the family members to enjoy amidst all the work.....
>Mum Relaxed While Checking Out Progress
Check Out The Chandelier - Show Off,
Just Coz Mum Was There, Ha Ha!
The New Warisan TCC Corner - The Information Center
Entrance To Recreated Room and The Kitchen To The Right
An Additional Room Recreated
3rd Generation - We've Got A Job To Finish
No No No! Not Gossipping, But Sharing Information Ha Ha Ha!
3rd Generation - More Stories To Share ?
Mum stayed on for about two hours in the Tempua house. I sent her home to Sis's house and in the car she commented on the new space and whether we can hold the next family gathering in the middle of the Muslim month of Syaaban, which will be in a couple of weeks time. We have, in fact, planned for it and will have to double up to complete the work by then. We seek the Almighty's guidance and pleasure to achieve this target and may He be pleased with our efforts.....
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Newlyweds Visited Grandma In JB
Both the newlyweds are back at work and back into the daily grind chasing schedules and work commitments, leaving them not much time to attend to family and social needs. As newlyweds Tessa wanted to meet up with Grandma in JB and introduce Amir to her since Grandma could not attend their wedding. Saturday was the only day they could get away from the 'grind' and off to JB they went. Meanwhile we arranged with my sister Rosni to host a gathering of relatives, uncles and aunties, cousins once and twice removed, to a high tea gathering to meet the Newly weds.
Ram and I had an invitation for an evening of 'Maulid' session at the State Mosque in Johor Bahru. It was held on Friday soon after the late afternoon prayers through to dusk prayers and followed by dinner. So, we left PJ early Friday morning and stayed on until late Sunday afternoon.
Grandma In Her Best Waiting For The Newlyweds and Other Family Members
The Newlyweds
There was a good turnout. We managed to get another relative to cook laksa, Tessa's favourite, spaghetti noodles in fish sauce with several types of vege condiments prepared Johore style. It turned out to be everyones' favourite too. There were other foods as well, fruits and sweets, and local cakes more than enough for everyone present that day.
Also Newlyweds?? But why sit far apart? Ha Ha! Brother Abid and wife Juli
Mum/Grandma enjoyed the attention she got from everybody, I think, as she continued to stay in the lounge throughout the afternoon. Usually after about an hour or less of sitting in the lounge she would go into the room and lie down, but not on this day. Her younger brother, Uncle Sudin sat for a while chatting with her and later her younger sister, Aunty Saedah also came. Aunty Saedah is a little hard on hearing, hence there were some hilarious moments when Mum and her talked to each other!!
Uncle Shamsudin, Mum's younger brother
Laksa - The Bride's favourite... but then its everyones' favourite too!!
A good afternoon. Nice weather. Good turnout of relatives. Everyone enjoyed the camaraderie and togetherness.
An Uncle on my late Dad's side, Baharudin, also came with his wife and his d-in-law and granddaughter. Also the wifes of my late paternal uncles with children and grandchildren. Quite a crowd.
Another Uncle and Wife
We found out, by coincidence, that an old friend of our family, The Roccherdis, from Palembang, Indonesia, were in JB to visit their daughter, Windy, working in the Indonesian Consulate in JB. Tessa Shaffik and Sita used to be close friends and played together with Windy and her elder siblings, Lita and Yudy, when they were kids, and that was many many years ago. We managed to contact them and they came for the gathering. It was very pleasant in deed to have them visit. Coincidentally Windy occasionally goes on stage for functions performing evergreens in keroncong and thus has a lot in common with brother Abid and his daughters who give stage performances as well.
Old Friend from Palembang - Windy and Ibu Roccherdi
That's Pak Roccherdi
Hostess - My Sister Rosni with Uncle Baharudin
Hmmmmm Yummy!
Enjoying the Food
Hairani - Another Sister Just Arrived
Brother Kifli-Oops... did you bite the chilli?
Tessa's cousins on Ram's side were also present for the merriment. A good turnout in deed.
First Cousins, Second Cousins and More..... Can Amir remember all?
All praises to the Almighty, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds, for bestowing upon us the pleasure of a wonderful afternoon and the days beyond, for keeping the newlyweds and all others present in good health so that we could all meet with renewed and lasting family relationships and we continually seek His Guidance and Protection to preserve the good relationships amongst us present. And may He be pleased with all our efforts........ Amin YaRabbul Alamin....
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
Ram and I had an invitation for an evening of 'Maulid' session at the State Mosque in Johor Bahru. It was held on Friday soon after the late afternoon prayers through to dusk prayers and followed by dinner. So, we left PJ early Friday morning and stayed on until late Sunday afternoon.
Grandma In Her Best Waiting For The Newlyweds and Other Family Members
The Newlyweds
There was a good turnout. We managed to get another relative to cook laksa, Tessa's favourite, spaghetti noodles in fish sauce with several types of vege condiments prepared Johore style. It turned out to be everyones' favourite too. There were other foods as well, fruits and sweets, and local cakes more than enough for everyone present that day.
Also Newlyweds?? But why sit far apart? Ha Ha! Brother Abid and wife Juli
Mum/Grandma enjoyed the attention she got from everybody, I think, as she continued to stay in the lounge throughout the afternoon. Usually after about an hour or less of sitting in the lounge she would go into the room and lie down, but not on this day. Her younger brother, Uncle Sudin sat for a while chatting with her and later her younger sister, Aunty Saedah also came. Aunty Saedah is a little hard on hearing, hence there were some hilarious moments when Mum and her talked to each other!!
Uncle Shamsudin, Mum's younger brother
Laksa - The Bride's favourite... but then its everyones' favourite too!!
A good afternoon. Nice weather. Good turnout of relatives. Everyone enjoyed the camaraderie and togetherness.
An Uncle on my late Dad's side, Baharudin, also came with his wife and his d-in-law and granddaughter. Also the wifes of my late paternal uncles with children and grandchildren. Quite a crowd.
Another Uncle and Wife
We found out, by coincidence, that an old friend of our family, The Roccherdis, from Palembang, Indonesia, were in JB to visit their daughter, Windy, working in the Indonesian Consulate in JB. Tessa Shaffik and Sita used to be close friends and played together with Windy and her elder siblings, Lita and Yudy, when they were kids, and that was many many years ago. We managed to contact them and they came for the gathering. It was very pleasant in deed to have them visit. Coincidentally Windy occasionally goes on stage for functions performing evergreens in keroncong and thus has a lot in common with brother Abid and his daughters who give stage performances as well.
Old Friend from Palembang - Windy and Ibu Roccherdi
That's Pak Roccherdi
Hostess - My Sister Rosni with Uncle Baharudin
Hmmmmm Yummy!
Enjoying the Food
Hairani - Another Sister Just Arrived
Brother Kifli-Oops... did you bite the chilli?
Tessa's cousins on Ram's side were also present for the merriment. A good turnout in deed.
First Cousins, Second Cousins and More..... Can Amir remember all?
All praises to the Almighty, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds, for bestowing upon us the pleasure of a wonderful afternoon and the days beyond, for keeping the newlyweds and all others present in good health so that we could all meet with renewed and lasting family relationships and we continually seek His Guidance and Protection to preserve the good relationships amongst us present. And may He be pleased with all our efforts........ Amin YaRabbul Alamin....
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Former Housemates Dinner Gathering
1966 through to 1968/69. We were bachelors sharing a bungalow house in Teluk Gadong, halfway between Kelang and Port Kelang. We were all of about the same age and were all on our first jobs. One was in the Customs, others were in the shipping industry while I was with the petrochemicals/fertilizer industry. We had 'activities', innocent ones, like most groups of bachelors of that era do. These activities drew us close to each other.
All of us got married within three years of each other, all have children and all have grandchildren now. We met often in the early days, but as time went by, with pursuits of career, family commitments and life demands taking center stage in our lives, our meetings became less and less frequent. If at all we met at weddings and other rare occasions.
At the same time some opted for further studies and indeed one went on to complete doctorate level while some others improved their standings in society. We were the captains and lieutenants of our chosen industry and vocation. Some gained titles with prefixes to their names but we are all still known by our own short names when we were first together.
With impending Tessa's wedding, one of us, Rahman, suggested we should find a date for all of us to get together. Although all would be present at Tessa's wedding but it would not be a suitable occasion for us to catch up on the long lost times. A date was found and we agreed to meet over dinner at the PJ Hilton one evening last week.
Rahman and Azizah hosted and all turned up on time. A lot of friendly banter and memory recalls that night. We laughed at the antics of some and at incidents of past. We had a good time and a lot of catching up with each other. It was pleasant and it was nostalgic. Would we want to do it again? Yes everyone said and we will just have to find another suitable time to do that. We should include one or two others that we could not locate for this occasion.....
That's Rahman and Azizah, The Hosts, Checking Out If Any Of Us Have Arrived
Ismail and Wife Next. Yati too but Where Was Daud?
Yusof Greeting the Camera? Ha ha ha!
Minah and Ramlah Exchanging Greetings at the Back with Ever Smiling Daud at the Corner Forefront
Hi! Harun, Long Time No See!!
All Together Now - Lets Scratch Our Backs! Ha Ha Ha!
Omigosh! What's That Huh?
Golf Talk Of Course
Some Went For Buffet Spread, Some Ala-cart But In The End All Had A bit Of Everything!!
Ramlah On the Right, Yati Center and Masri Next to Yati
Wow! A Big Pan of Pizza! Shared by All! Waiting In Anticipation?
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
All of us got married within three years of each other, all have children and all have grandchildren now. We met often in the early days, but as time went by, with pursuits of career, family commitments and life demands taking center stage in our lives, our meetings became less and less frequent. If at all we met at weddings and other rare occasions.
At the same time some opted for further studies and indeed one went on to complete doctorate level while some others improved their standings in society. We were the captains and lieutenants of our chosen industry and vocation. Some gained titles with prefixes to their names but we are all still known by our own short names when we were first together.
With impending Tessa's wedding, one of us, Rahman, suggested we should find a date for all of us to get together. Although all would be present at Tessa's wedding but it would not be a suitable occasion for us to catch up on the long lost times. A date was found and we agreed to meet over dinner at the PJ Hilton one evening last week.
Rahman and Azizah hosted and all turned up on time. A lot of friendly banter and memory recalls that night. We laughed at the antics of some and at incidents of past. We had a good time and a lot of catching up with each other. It was pleasant and it was nostalgic. Would we want to do it again? Yes everyone said and we will just have to find another suitable time to do that. We should include one or two others that we could not locate for this occasion.....
That's Rahman and Azizah, The Hosts, Checking Out If Any Of Us Have Arrived
Ismail and Wife Next. Yati too but Where Was Daud?
Yusof Greeting the Camera? Ha ha ha!
Minah and Ramlah Exchanging Greetings at the Back with Ever Smiling Daud at the Corner Forefront
Hi! Harun, Long Time No See!!
All Together Now - Lets Scratch Our Backs! Ha Ha Ha!
Omigosh! What's That Huh?
Golf Talk Of Course
Some Went For Buffet Spread, Some Ala-cart But In The End All Had A bit Of Everything!!
Ramlah On the Right, Yati Center and Masri Next to Yati
Wow! A Big Pan of Pizza! Shared by All! Waiting In Anticipation?
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
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