The imposter

1. This is a true account, whether you believe it or not. I was astonished the first time my niece related the “incident” to me. In the following account, I have refrained myself from using actual person’s names and names of actual positions. 

2. My niece and her mother (i.e. my sister) had gone to consult someone of authority at Wisma Darul Aman regarding a certain private matter. After introducing themselves, my niece told the senior government officer that she was the granddaughter of Md Ismail Merican which prompted the officer to ask her how her uncle, the “anon officer”, was doing.

3. Naturally, my niece was taken aback by the mention of “anon officer” and responded that she had no uncle who was an “anon officer”. Then it was known that the individual’s name was Anon Merican. The government officer told my niece that Anon Merican had frequented Wisma Darul Aman sometime in 1980s telling everyone whom he’d befriended that he was the son of Md. Ismail Merican, a one-time College* headmaster.

4. Upon further investigation, a classmate of Anon Merican had helped us to identify the real name of Anon Merican’s father which was obviously not Md Ismail Marikan. The good man told us that he was born in 1940, so he would be about 76 years old. Anon Merican would also be in his 70s. I understand that at present he is living in the capital city.

5. Of course I did not know what his intentions or motives were for pulling such a stunt. It might be that he wanted to win favour from people with influence at the Wisma Darul Aman. It might also be that he wanted to gain certain benefits by claiming to be the son of Md Ismail Merican. 

6. Now as I recall, it was sometime in the 1980s that my wife told me that her father had heard it rumoured that the next of kin of Md Ismail Merican was being looked for with regard to a certain matter. But being so foolish at the time, I simply ignored the rumour. I thought that a rumour is just a rumour. Moreover, I thought that if someone or the authority was looking for me, would it suffice just by “hitting the canang”? 

7. If Anon Merican had committed a fraud, then he would have to answer to Allah the Almighty in the Hereafter. Being a Muslim, he should know that “telling lies” is one of the characteristics of a munafiq. Wallahu a’lam.

*Sultan Abdul Hamid College