Memories of arwah Atuk Cha...

This entry below is actually taken from my uncle's facebook wall postings. Angkel Yoh wrote them right after he became a facebooker. He shared his memories about Arwah Atuk Cha with all my relatives on facebook.

Some of my friends have met my late grandfather before. He likes to wear his songkok so I think many of you might recall meeting him personally. I wish to write about my own memories about Arwah Atuk. I will do it one day. For now, you can read these stories first....

"I've read Aunty Alok's and Aunty Oyah's post about Arwah Atuk Cha and have felt his sudden presence as if he's still with us. What follows are random memories of arwah Atuk Cha which some of his cucus and cicits might not know, but may be interested to know. These tattles are mere snippets of arwah as a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a man, and above all ... a FRIEND.

Did you know ...

* He once went for a singing talent audition (Talentime) at Radio Singapore? This was the early 1960s version of the Akademi Fantasia or Malaysian Idol that we have nowadays. Imagine, if there was AF then, and Atuk was selected ... Anyway, to prepare for the audition, he would practise after he reached home after office. The song was Cliff Richard's "How Wonderful to Know" (see if you guys can d/load it from the Net). So when the time came, he joined the Wadi Hana singer wannabees to S'pore, but didn't make it. But at least he tried. So all you Atuk Cha's cucus ... you know where your singing talent comes from!

*He was a Guru Silat? The gelanggang was the living room of the quarters at Jln. Sekolah, Kluang. One night a week, the furniture and carpet would be cleared, and Atuk Cha would perform the "silat buka gelanggang" before he conducted the silat lessons. Among his students were the TNB people (arwah Mat Lamdin among them), some Kluang taxi drivers, and other government clerks. After the silat sessions, he would sometimes turn on the hi-fi, and force them to listen to Deep Purple and the Beatles! Pasang kuat pulak tu. Tok Chik could only geleng kepala ... haha ... typical!

*He used to perform the "silat pengantin" at weddings in JB? This was when he started learning the silat Sunting in JB. What made it more impressive was that he started it late - in his mid-40s. Being one of the better students, he was taught the moves and asked to perform by his gurus. Now you all know where Afik gets his moves from ...

*He was a Johor junior badminton champion? This was in his early 20s. If he was a little bit taller, he would have been the Malayan champion! Haha. I think there is still a black and white photo of him posing with his Johor teamates somewhere in Tok Chik's house.

*He once wore a wig to his office in Kluang? This was in the early 1970s when I was at Technical College in KL. I bought the wig because I was forced to cut my hair by the principal. When I brought it back to Kluang, he wore it just for a lark. That time he was serving the public at the land revenue collection counter. Imagine the public's reactions at his prank! Just shows his inexhaustible sense of humor, which many of us inherited!

*He never, never, ever said a single bad word about anyone, and I mean ANYONE, even if he didn't like them! He was always gracious about other people. That's why he was well-loved by everyone who knew him. It's something we all should emulate.

Alamak, penat menaip. To be continued ...

Did you know ... (Part 2)

*He drove around the Jln Pahang roundabout (near Tawakkal Hospital) 3 or 4 times? At peak hour! This was during one of his visits to KL when Pak Long, Uncle Seth and I were at Technical College. If Aunty Oyah can remember, he did that to amuse her (she must have been about 4 or 5). Oyah would put out her face out of the window to get the feel of the breeze. Just one of his many "unusual" acts to amuse his children. Of course that wasn't the only roundabout to get the multiple roundabout treatment by arwah Atok Cha. There were a few others in KL.

*He was the master wedding pelamin designer/maker in JB? Most if not all of Tok Nyang's children's (your atuks lah) wedding pelamins were designed by him. I remember particularly (I must have been about 7 y.o.) Tok Pah's wedding in Wadi Hana; he cut down a 3-foot tall cherry tree from Tok Nyang's garden and used it on the pelamin, in between the seats, complete with red cherries! Wahhh ... very original, very glamour!

Usually when he had to do a pelamin, the house at 28 Wadi Hana would be a mess. There would be cut-out cardboards, ribbons, pieces of shiny cloth, the silvery stardusts, etc. all over the floor. But his best work was when a wealthy Malabari businessman (a Datuk Majeed) commissioned him to design/make the wedding dias for his daughter. He was so proud of his handiwork ... like something from the kayangan! The pix might be lying somewhere around in Kluang. Just shows the multi-dimensional creative and skillful side of him that we all know so well.

There are many more snippets of Atuk Cha's talents. I'll put them down when I have the time. Like the time (the early 1960s) when he conducted Accounts classes (under the Wadi Hana house) for some young dudes to prepare them for the LCC (London Chamber of Commerce) Accounts exam. If you don't know, he was very good in Bookeeping and Accounting,being one of the stalwarts of the Johor State Treasury. He was also a speed typist. Whenever he had to do office work at home, he'd show off his fast typing skills, and we'd all (me, Uncle Seth, Pak Long) ternganga tengok dia. Fuyohhh ... terer!

Atok Cha was also very good in architectural drafting (he worked as a government draftsman just after the Japanese Occupation). He would show us how to draw 3-dimensional perspective drawings of buildings and houses. Very good with his hands, as some of us who have been given his paintings and picture puzzles can attest.

What I've posted simply reveals Tok Cha's multi-faceted skills and talent, which everyone of us have inherited one way or another. Accounts, finance, public relations, human resource (for his management and inter-personal skills) architecture, engineering, interior design, art, even comedy (haha) ... he would have excelled in any of them if he had had the opportunity that all of you have today.So before you go off, pls sedekah Al-Fatihah to arwah Atok Cha, not least for bringing us all so much happiness in his lifetime. Al-Fatihah."