An “Eulogy” on your Opah Your Opah passed away peacefully last Tuesday 1st July 2003. Her demise was a surprise to me and to many others far and near. She had not shown that she was very sick. She just had a little “womanly” problem and was going to have a little operation on it , to be exact 1st July, in the General Hospital in Taiping. She was all pepared to go to Taiping that morning and after taking her bath and was about to dress herself up she complained of feeling tired. Your Wan Yah, our housemaid, advised your Opah to lie down to rest. She did and during these last two or three minutes of resting your Opah just left us for good. It was that simple. Allah must have loved her and taken her away that peacefully with just a few of us around her i.e Ki, Yang Lan (Ki’s son), Ijan (Ki’s grandaughter) both of whom were back home for that week-end , Wan Yah, and our family friend Pah Endit.
Your Opah was born in this very kampong where your Pak Chu Haji Rahman and Chu Nandak's house is to-day. She went to the Sekolah Melayu Perempuan then in Kampong Lalang. Imagine your Opah had to walk all that distance to school in those days. In those days young girls and anak dara riding a bicycle was taboo! Your Opah only passed her Standard Six in the Malay School and after school she settled down in her kampong and attended her Arabic and religious classes at the Madarasah Falahiah, at this Kampong Buaia. It is not known how good Opah was as a student at the religious and Arabic classes but it is well-known today that your Opah read the Quran well and was considered the “champion quran reader” of this kampong and its surrounding. Being a local boy Ki remembered that your Opah was invited to many Khenduri Perkahwinan in this Kampong Buaia and outside Kampong Buaia.
Ki married Opah when Opah was only 16 years old. It was an arranged marriage between your Opah and Ki by our two families. Both the families were already interrelated. We got married on 7th April,1947 (56 years ago!). Over our marriage of 56 years we have 6 children, 4 girls and 2 boys all married except Ki's son Che Om (Shahrome} who is not yet but will be soon. We have 9 grand-children 3 grandsons and 6 grand-daughters.
When Ki married your Opah she was a truly kampong girl being born and bred in this kampong. Her grandmother (my Pah Tah) was a kampong disciplinarian in the fashion of olden days- no contact with boys, no very outlandish activities in social lives, was brainwashed thoroughly about sopan santun , about housekeeping. Cooking was a must. At the age of 16 your Opah was almost very matured.
In the first year of our marriage I took her with me to Kuala Trengganu where I became an English School teacher at the Sultan Sulaiman English Secondary School. We lived in Kuala Treangganu for almost 9 years. To-day I still consider it as my second home and we still consider many people around the kampongs as our own relatives especially your Opah who was loved by all. She was a very simple girl. Everybody knew her as Cik Sang! (Trengganu slang!)
After 9 years in Kuala Terengganu I was still moving around in the country being an officer in the top government civil service in Selangor, in Negeri Sembilan, in Melaka, in Sabah and in Perak itself as a senior government officer. I have served as the District Officer in Kuala Selangor and once again as a District Officer in Taiping. My final office was as the Perak State Director of Lands and Mines.
All these years your Opah was with me. As the years moved on your Opah also moved with time. When I became a more senior officer with high position your Opah did not change her outlook in her life.. She was still as simple as she ever was - ”tak sombong, tak mengada” For many years as time went on I was quite involved in a number of voluntary organizations especially in the Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia and in Rotary International both of which took me to quite a higher status than many. As a government officer and in these voluntary organization your Opah and I have travelled a bit around the world. Together we have been to the United States of America, the United Kingdom (England,Wales ans Scotland), to Europe covering Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany. We have been to Mekah twice. In Souteast Asia we have been to Indonesia (Java), Thailand, Japan,, Korea, and to Taiwan. We have also been to Australia.
It surprised me that your Opah took up all these new experiences very ordinarily meaning just being herself! At social functions abroad or at home in Malaysia your Opah has been seated at VIP high-tables and many times with royalty . At suh occasions your Opah was always as cool as a cucunber in the midst of such high personalities. She did not speak English very well, only a smattering of the language but that did not deter her. If she could she would answer simply but somehow I could see that they “were talking away warmly”. May be the other party could not speak English herself or himself as well!!
Your Opah has set herself a certain standard when being addressed At a higher level your Opah would always be the first to start a small conversation herself to break the ice. Among her relatives, her friends, her acquaintances and such people your Opah address herself as Che Tah, Mak Tah, Kak Tah . At times she addressed herself as Tah to older people She did not bother herself if people do not address her as Datin or Datin Seri, even in the Istana , except in a very protocolled occasion!
As far as I remember your Opah never failed her solat even if she was sick to even the last one or two days before she died last week. She also never missed to read the Surah Yassin every Malam Jumaat.
I feel that your Opah was a good wife to me and a good mother to her children
Let us say a little Doa to your Opah. We will always remember her – seorang anak kampong yang disayangi ramai. To Ki, Ki berdoa Allah SWT akan memelihara Opah dengan kasih sayang dalam peliharaaNYA
Termaktub di Kampong Buaia
20 Julai,2003
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