Where there's smoke

1. Recently a young employee had made a statutory declaration alleging that his boss attempted to sexually assault him. I found it hard to believe that the boss would face the same situation again that in the past had him charged, tried and found guilty of sexual assaults on two occasions. What is mind-boggling is that the boss is an eminent political figure in the country. In the following account I will refer to him as “the pied piper.”

2. In my youth, I used to idolise the pied piper, a charismatic figure, and saw in him a promising future leader for the country, but it was not until 1975 that for the first time I heard someone made derogatory remark about his behaviour. The remark came from a colleague of mine who became a close friend during a one-year specialist course in art education that we attended at STTI, Cheras. It was a coincidence that the pied piper was his peer at a prestigious elite school in Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

3. Later in 1979 I went for my first degree at the oldest university in the country where I saw disgusting name-calling scribbled at the back of toilet doors that was directed at the pied piper. That brought to mind my colleague’s remark about his behaviour four years back. Consequently, I began to wonder if there could be smoke without fire.

4. During the outbreak of political unrest in September 1998, the controversy of a political decision made by the then prime minister became the ubiquitous topic of conversation across the country. It was at that time that a friend related an account that had happened in the early 1970s when he was working in Baling. It happened that one day he was listening to the pied piper delivering a fiery speech to a crowd in an open place hitting out at the ruling government. As he listened intently, a friend came up to him and said if it were worthwhile listening to one who had a darker side to his character. The friend of my friend, also a peer of the pied piper, went to the same above-mentioned school in Perak.

5. There are other accounts including comments on social media relating to the strange behaviour of the pied piper that undoubtedly have proven detrimental to his public image, but curiously enough not challenged in court. At present the pied piper is still fighting for his survival on the political scene in spite of the controversies shrouding his image.
6. In certain countries politicians readily step down at the slightest hint of corruption or wrongdoing. So I wonder why the pied piper is so intent in pursuing his course of action. Does he really believe or want people to believe that he is the victim of slander? There do seem to be some grounds to suspect his honesty because he remains evasive about his strange behaviour. The story of the pied piper is a tragedy in itself. He puts the general public in a great dilemma. The people are in limbo while waiting what might come next. I for one believe that it is unethical to have a hypocrite for a leader.

Cheapest in town

Cheapest eatery in town

1. It was a wet evening. It seemed that the drizzle might prolong a little while longer. We decided to eat out and ignored the wet weather for a while.

2. It was the end of the month and money was short. So we resorted to a mamak restaurant about three kilometres away.

3. Upon arrival we settled down at a small square plastic table and a waiter promptly approached us to take our orders. My wife ordered mi goreng (fried noodle) and hot plain tea with lime, our son ordered two pieces of capatis and hot plain tea with ginger and I asked for a piece of roti canai (flatbread) and warm plain water.

4. After a while our orders were served almost simultaneously; the drinks came first then the food. My wife finished half of her mi goreng and pushed her plate over to me. So I handed my plate with some leftovers to her for her to eat up while I savoured the mi goreng. That's our usual “practice.”

5. Then my wife gestured to the waiter and ordered two pieces of roti canai for takeaway. We ate up our food and drinks without leaving any leftovers. The mi goreng is one of the best in town.

6. We paid only RM10.90 for our meal plus the takeaway. The eatery is the cheapest in town.

Respect and goodwill

1. They still call me pak cak [pɑːk tʃʌk]. Pak cak is Kedah Malay dialect for bapa besar literally big father. Actually, the precise translation of pak cak is uncle.

2. Yes, they still refer to me as uncle when I met them last Saturday (7 December 2019) at a feast held by Haji Hasbi to celeberate his daughter’s wedding. The rest of the siblings I met at the occasion were Ismail, Balkis, Sabariah and Latifah.

3. They are the children of Darus bin Samaun who I refer to as abang Darus (brother Darus). However, we are not related by blood. Abang Darus was a son of a younger sister of Chik binti Hassan, the first wife of my father.

4. Thus abang Darus was related to my father by marriage. The relationship was further strengthened when my father adopted Abdul Hamid, another nephew of his wife’s. Abdul Hamid married Hamisah binti Saad, a girl from Kubang Gajah, Perlis. They were blessed with a son and a daughter.

5. However, Abdul Hamid died young and subsequently Hamisah was married to abang Darus. I refer to Hamisah as kak Ah and she called me adik [ɑːdɪk] and not by any other appellation. They settled down at Jalan Kaki Bukit on the outskirts of Kangar, the capital of Perlis.

6. Ismail once told me that my father used to visit the family and was usually served with his favourite local seafood dishes such as crab, scampi, squid and snapper. As a matter of fact, abang Darus was a fishmonger at a wet market in Kangar.

7. Abang Darus and kak Ah revered my father and all of their children refer to him as tuk wan (grandpa), so in consequence they refer to me as pak cak (uncle).

8. On occasion my brother, Hussin, and I used to spend our school holidays with the family. We would journey north to Kangar by bus and I for one very much enjoyed the scenery along the way, inspiring me later to show off my watercolour skill that caught the admiration of my “nephews” and my “nieces.” Thus, I earned their respect and goodwill.

An irony of life

Mat (left) and Syadhwan: Good friends

1. My son, Muhammad Syadhwan, has a good friend who is a very skilful car mechanic. His name is Ahmad Yusairi, but he is well known by his pet name, Mat [mɑːt].

2. We would take our cars to him for services or repairs and he is capable of delivering a very satisfactory job. Mat is a dedicated worker, very down-to-earth and honest young man. 

3. He has been married for several years and only now he and his wife are expecting their first child. Syadhwan would share Mat's ups and downs with me, so I know that Mat is facing problems with his health condition.

4. Apparently, he is struggling with symptoms of diabetes that has begun to threaten his livelihood. He has been admitted to the hospital a few times due to diabetes complications such as diabetic coma and extreme fatigue.

5. Weeks ago, I got a shock when Syadhwan told me that it had been a while since Mat was diagnosed with insulin deficiency and consequently he has been injecting himself with insulin ever since. 

6. I felt deep pity for Mat because he is such a promising mechanic, but due to his health condition he is probably going through hard times.

7. At times I heard Syadhwan said he would spend weekends at Mat's workshop to learn the ropes from the expert. "Don't say," I told him. "Just do."

8. I felt like telling him off for being irresolute. My dear son, say what needs to be said only, otherwise just do what needs to be done.

The courtier's advice

1. Folklore around the globe holds troves of interesting tales of morality. They include many stories about attempts by those who possess power and wealth to do injustice to ordinary people. 

2. Essentially, there is a resourceful character in every story. He might be a wise sage or a witty courtier who plays the role of protecting the have-nots from being victims of unfair treatment. Consider the following tale of instant justice.

3. Once upon a time, an emperor who was accompanied by several courtiers, stumbled over a piece of rock in his garden. Being in a bad mood and feeling embarrassed by the incident the emperor pinned the blame on his gardener and odered his arrest and execution. 

4. On the following day, the gardener was asked to make his last wish before his hanging and he asked for an audiece with the emperor. As he knelt before the latter, the gardener hacked and spat on his footwear. 

5. The emperor was stunned and just as he was about to explode with rage, his favourite courtier stepped forward in the gardener’s defence. 

6. He explained that there could be no person more loyal to his master other than the accused. He pointed out that the unfortunate man had acted against his will in order to give the emperor a good reason for hanging him; otherwise he feared that people would say the emperor hanged him for a mere trifle. 

7. The courtier's explanation opened the emperor's eyes to a great injustice that he could have done. So the gardener's life was spared. 

8. As you might imagine, the gardener wouldn't dare to insult the emperor on his own account; he had acted on the courtier's advice all along.