Lina is 18 today.

Lina Masturah turns 18 today. She's one of the lucky teenagers who did not have to go to PLKN ( National service training camps). I'm quite happy with that. To pay for her driving lessons, she took a part time job in the office where brother Fahmie works. She passed her Undang-undang (highway code) test today. She's grown up now, and sooner or later I would have to give her some kind of freedom, which I hope she will use wisely and with responsibility. Remember, your mum and dad and brothers love you. Make us proud, whatever you do.

In Memory of Mak

Among us brothers and sisters, there are two significant days in the year which we will never forget. That is 11th of August, and 7th of October. 11th of August is our late father's birthdate. 7th of October, which is today is our late mother's birthdate. (She would have turned 83 today). I would like to share with you, these words of love from her children, in remembering this special day : From 7th child (6th son) Fajar : I love you Mak from deep down in my heart (our hearts). We love you Mak. Al Fatihah.. From 3rd child (3rd son) Maher : She sees in me like no other sees me, knows me like no others know me. All of us has a special place in her heart as she is in ours. May Allah bless my mother Hajjah Haniffa bt Hamad Abdul Azyze and may He keep her safe at all times. Al Fatihah.... From 5th child (1st daughter) Jeniffa : Al Fatihah... for the dearest, sweetest, kindest soul, our beautiful Mak. From 6th child (5th son) Izron : With only ALLAH's consent we live till this day 7th October 2008. We are able to remember that today the QUEEN of all our hearts was born. How did we serve her when she was around is what that counts. How much are we now helping her with prayers and deeds to keep her at ease while in Eternity, that counts too. The Queen of all our hearts will never fade even until we meet our fate. May her soul be blessed and in peace. Al-Fatihah........ I feel that there are not enough words to express how much we all love and miss her. Al Fatihah ... to Mak and Bapak and also Abang. From 8th and youngest child (2nd daughter) Helinna : Words (like you say) cannot do justice.I miss Mak, her face, her touch, her smile, her kindness, Al Fatihah......... (Will update if there are more messages).

O my Papa

This morning I recieved several smses from my siblings remembering our dear aruah Bapak. My brother Maher sent a few lines of the song 'O My Papa'. I wonder why, whenever I hear that song, I get all misty eyed and all choked up when I sing it. I'll try to put down the lyrics here (as far as I can remember) so that his grandchildren and great grandchildren can read or sing it, and feel what we feel about their own papas. O my papa, To me he was so wonderful O my papa,to me he was so good. O my papa so gentle , so adorable O my papa ,he always understood. Gone are the days When he would take me on his knees And with a smile He changed my tears to laughter

O my papa,so loving, so adorable Always a clown,so funny in his ways O my papa to me, he was so wonderful

O my papa,to me he was so good.

In memory of arwah Bapak, Hj Mohammad Ibrahim Dadameah, born on this day (11th August), 90 years ago.

Al-Fatihah for arwah Bapak, Mak, Abang and other dearly departed family members. May Allah bless their souls and keep them amongst the blessed. Ameen.

Hajjah Jamilah is back.

Been too happily occupied this weekend to post my blog. On Friday, the person that we (the family and me) missed so very very much returned from her pilgrimage. Shahman,Lina,Shafiq (my youngest son) were at the Bayan Lepas airport to recieve her. At about 1.00 pm, we saw her pushing her baggage trolly out of the gate. We hugged and kissed each other and shed tears of joy. She was overjoyed that her little boy Shafiq was there to meet her. Shafiq just smiled and smiled and hugged his mum. He just overflowed with his affection, snuggling his head in her body and showing every one that she is his mum. Fahmie and Fadzlil stayed home to wait for their mum. Firdaus,Zu and Hasif would come by later in the evening. My sister in-law and brother in-law (biras) returned together with my wife. Their children came to fetch them. I greeted my biras with a hug and kissed his cheeks, just like brothers. I just gave a respectful salam to my sis in-law. I think she would be shocked, mortified if I hugged and kissed her. You see, my wife's family are the conservative 'kampongist' type. My wife seems to have lost some weight, she looks smaller a bit. And she was coughing a lot. People say that most Malaysians who come back from the pilgrimage usually get colds and coughs. The atmosphere and humidity in the Arab Peninsular is dryer and extremely hot by day and extremely colder by night. From news reports and first hand experience of our new Hajjah Jamilah, shukur alhamdulillah no major catastrophe as happened in previous years happened. The Saudi govt had done a good job with the security arrangements. Since our beloved hajjah is still suffering from 'jet-lag', looks like domestic duties cannot be handed over yet, until further notice. To everyone out there Happy New Year 2008. 2008, I'm ready for you. Bring it on.

We Survived Aidil Adha

Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidil Adha everyone. You know, we survived Aidil Adha, without the presence of our Queen of the house. A few days before Aidil Adha, we (the kids and I) discussed on how we are going to celeberate the Raya. Some decisions were to be made. 1. Wake up early (this task was not accomplished very well by certain members). 2. Spring cleaning. ( Fahmie and Shahman handled this). 3. Ironing our baju Melayu. (Lina's task) 4. Raya cookies. ( No volunteers, so we bought keropok and kacang to serve visitors). 5. Traditional Raya breakfast of nasi himpit and kuah kacang. This is a must have delicacy for any Raya in our family. ( No problem , bought the pre-packed nasi himpit and kuah kacang. But sad to say, the pre-packed peanut sauce is way below the deliciousness of our beloved Milah's cooking.) Yes, two of our neighbors sent us some ketupat and rendang. 6. Lunch. ( We planned to have beef curry, had already bought beef, potatoes, etc. Thanks to the pre-packed food industry, our beef curry turned out okay. Our neighbor sent some chicken masak merah, so we had two dishes for lunch. The curry lasted until dinner. But there was something we couldn't have - tomato rice. Nobody dared to experiment. so we settled for ordinary plain white rice. We didn't go visiting anybody, and nobody came a-visiting. Raya Haji is very laidback in this state. What's important is that we are together and are happy like that. And we miss you Milah lots and lots. Salam Aidil Adha to all my family and friends and blog visitors.

Single Dad ?

I've been a single parent for two weeks already. My beloved wife Milah and beloved mum to our brood, is in the Holy City of Makkah. She is accompanied by her sister and brother in law. Why am I not with her ? We could not leave our children (especially two of them) on their own. We have six kids. The eldest is Firdaus. He is married, and both he and his wife work and live in Alor Star,Kedah. They have a three year old son (our only grandson). Our second son is Fahmie. He works and lives in Penang island with his work mates. The third son is Fadzlil. Used to be a very energetic and enterprising youth, but now, because of an unfortunate accident, lies paralysed and confined to his couch or wheel chair. Fourth son is Shahman, finishing his final year at a college in KL. Fifth, and only daughter is Lina, she's in Form Four The youngest is Shafiq , born with Downs Syndrome and totally dependent. He goes to a Day Center for Special Children, not far from home. Its not so hard to handle the domestic chores, after all I used to help my wife...sometimes. Shafiq is quite easy to handle, you just have to understand him. Fadzlil is the one that I really need help with. Even though he can't move his arms and legs (he's quadraplegic) his mind is active and he can grumble and complain and talk like you and me. And he has a good appetite, he eats anything that he likes. Even at night, he would ask for a burger, hotdog or char koeytiau. His body is not like those typical paralysed patients, all shrivelled and loose flesh. His is well fed and muscle toned. The cruncher is when you have to lift him from his bed to the wheelchair. From the wheelchair to his couch in front of the tv set. Carry him again at bath time. After changing him, carry him back to his couch until bed time, which is after the last tv show he watches. I could never lift him by myself, Milah would help me. My two eldest sons, aware of this problem, decided to take leave from work, one at a time. Firdaus took two weeks off, Fahmie will take leave after that until Shahman returns home for his break. And my sons, I'm proud to say are capable cooks as well. So, my dear wife should not worry about us, concentrate on her Haj. Thank you Allah for blessing me with such a loving wife and wonderful children.

Shafiq is Thirteen

Yesterday, 23rd August was my youngest child Shafiq's 13th birthday. And I feel so awful that I had forgotten about it yesterday. All of yesterday, I was on the island, attending a seminar on PDKs ( Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti or Rehabilitation in the Community). This is a centre for disabled children and adults, set up by the Social Welfare department, for the disabled within their own community. Most of the kids here were rejected by the Special Education section of the Education Ministry. The main reason was that, some of these kids were not capable of looking after themselves (meaning that they cannot handle them if they wet or dirty themselves). Shafiq attended one of those classes when he was seven. But each time I went to pick him up, after school, I would find him wet or dirty. They never changed his diapers. Even though we provided enough spare diapers, a towel and change of clothes. After a few months, my wife and I decided to send him back to the PDK. He had attended the PDK since he was six, instead of kindy. At least the PDK teacher was more caring than those specialist teachers. Well, he's a big boy now. Good looking and very neat. He is not wearing diapers anymore. He can control his bladder during class. When at home, if he feels like peeing or pooping, he would go to the bathroom and take a bath, fully clothed. After soaking himself, he will strip off his clothes, do his business and continue with his 'hosing' bath. His mum or dad got to soap him up, and let him continue his bath. He will be 'showering' four or five times a day. As for dressing, he likes the comfortable soft worn out ones. He hates the new crispy clothes. And no collared shirts please. The only collared shirts he wears is his uniform. He is very particular about his footwear. If the slipper or sandal straps burst and if his feet outgrows them, we got to find the same design,color as the old one. Those mentioned are some of Shafiq's 'quirks' and habits , we the family has to learn to accept.Its not easy to change him. He does'nt want to change. I'm sorry son, I forgot your birthday. Promise I'll make up to you. (Lina says sorry too, she also forgot your birthday).

Selamat 'Aidil Adha & Tahun Baru 2007

No new year resolutions for me. Don't always keep 'em anyway. Just take things in stride. Not very organised, but it works somehow. Just managed to log in. Been trying for some days, since that Taiwan earthquake damaged the whatchamaycallit cable. Hari Raya Qurban falls on New Year's Eve this year. So, I advise all the decent Muslims boys and girls not to go and make a nuinsance of themselves on New Year's eve to welcome 2007. Respect the Aidil Adha. My daughter made my wife and me proud by her good performance in the PMR ( seven As). That was a fine present for her mum who celebrated her birthday yesterday. Selamat hari raya 'Aidil 'Adha and selamat Tahun Baru 2007.

Selamat Hari Raya

On this blessed day, I humbly seek forgiveness from Allah Subhanallah for my late parents, my parents in-law ,my late elder brother Emran, my late relatives near and far, and friends who have gone forever. May Allah bless their souls and and have compassion for them as they had been compassionate to us in their life time. On this day too, I sincerely seek forgiveness from my wife, children and loved ones who I may have hurt, offended or slighted in any way. I say these things every year, and then I forget and start being nasty and harsh. But it has to be said. Like a reminder. One way would be, is to put myself in their place and I might see what I have done. May Allah guide me the right way. Milah, I love you and the children very much. I will never let you be hurt, ever. Please forgive this cranky old man. Selamat hari raya everybody.

Ba'in and his Honey

Some time in the early 1940s. Ba'in (Ibrahim) was coming home to Penang for his vacation. He was so eager to see his mum and siblings again after some time. He was posted in the Singapore PWD as a draftsman. There was so much news he wanted to hear about his family. How his mum is coping with the family. He was very keen to see his little brother Naim's girlfriend ,Yon, whom he has heard so much about. One day they, Ba'in,Naim, and Rahim (Naim's buddy) cycled from their Jelutong home (Kurau Road,off Perak Road) to Yon's house in Western Road ( facing the psychiatric ward of the Penang GH). Having met Yon, he was introduced to two other girls (Yon's sisters). There was Z (Zohara) who was Rahim's girl , and the eldest one was Haniffa. They were all beautiful girls, but Ba'in was melted by Haniffa's classic looks and gentle ways. When he went back to Singapore, he couldn't stop thinking about Haniffa (or Honey as he called her). He would send ' epistles' ( those days people don't call or sms, they write letters called epistles). Naim and Rahim were his despatchers (postmen). It was the Japanese Occupation, and out-of-control Japanese soldiers were misbehaving and put fear in the hearts of parents with young daughters. The girls' father Azyze accepted Ba'in's suit and so Ba'in and Honey were married in 1943. The other sisters married later on. And so began Ba'in and Honey's life together. It would last for 25 years. But Honey stayed true to the love of her life for 46 years until her own death. That's our mum, Honey. A most gracious and loving soul there ever was. May Allah bless your souls Mak and Bapak. Happy Birthday Honey.We miss you.

Shafiq gets MyKad

Our little boy Shafiq became 12 on 23rd August. Looking at him,one wouldn't believe that he is already 12 years old. With his cute baby face,soft and smooth skin, fine hair and clear sparkling eyes. And he stands four feet tall. He can hardly say a word,but he understands you. Can be precocious and cheeky like other kids. Can be stubborn and annoying too,sometimes. He is after all a kid that won't grow up. By the way,he is showing some signs of puberty.I can see some fine hairs growing in their respective places. According to the law of our land, every kid who turns 12 has got to have an identity card (MyKad) . On his 12th birthday Shahman and me took him to the nearest NRD office in Kepala Batas town. The office was not crowded at all, just some parents bringing their 12 year olds for registration,like me and Shafiq. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Shafiq was dressed in a blue checkered shirt and his hair neatly combed for his very important photograph. He sat nicely in the chair and was ready for the shoot. And then, they turned the spotlight on him. He turned his head away and just looked at the floor. He seems uncomfortable with the light on his face. We coaxed and comforted him to get a good pose.It took about 15 minutes to get a satisfactory photo. By then, his hair was tousled and his shirt was crooked. And they did not get a full frontal image, a bit senget like half turned face. Then it was time for fingerprinting. Parents are fingerprinted with ink on the application form. Shafiq held out his thumb to be inked. But MyKad applicants are electronically fingerprinted. The clerk took Shafiq's thumb to be scanned on the fingerprinting gadget. He saw the blinking red light on the gadget and pulled his hand away. That red thing must be hot,he thought. More coaxing, cajoling and finally managed to get both thumbs printed. In two months time, we'll see how his MyKad looks like. Note : For those who don't know, Shafiq is a 'special kid' with Down Syndrome. He is God's gift, to be loved, to be cherished,to be protected. He is my amanah as are all my children and my wife, that I will bear till the end of time.

In Memory of Bapak

'I can't remember his voice, I can't remember his scent.' How could you, little sis ? You were only seven when he left this world. Missing all the fatherly attentions in your formative years. Proudly presenting your report card for his approval and signature. Being cuddled in his chair,and to be told 'you're too big now to sit on my lap' A peck on the cheek as he sent you off to school. When you were a little baby, he lulled you to sleep with his deep gentle baritone. Just like he did for the rest of us. When you were naughty, he would be stern and did not spare the rod. After the punishment, he would embrace you and cried with you. He sang songs with you and Mak and all of us. He loved to sing your favourite song "Burung Kakak Tua' Sis, I had him for twenty one years.It was not enough. There were so many things I wanted to pick from his wisdom. I so badly wanted him to be my friend as I became a man. But God decided that we could'nt have him forever. God took him back when he was 49. Today,August 11th is his birthday. He would have been 88. Bapak,Mak, we your children, your children-in-law and your grandchildren and great-grandchildren ask Allah Subhana Taala The Almighty to bless your souls, forgive your mistakes and place you among the faithful.Amin.