What A Smile!

( Note to Redline : This is the answer to your question – what were the two pictures of the previous entry for.)

Four months ago Makcik and Pakcik were given a clean bill of health. I went home with a broad smile.

When one gives a broad smile to Pak Cik I take it that he or she is pleased over something. What if Pak cik am given a half smile or a little smile? I take it a lesser degree of pleasure, not a cynical one. There is also a dry smile. I wonder what a wet smile is.

But there is a kind of smile which Pakcik experienced with discomfort and embarrassment. I went through that about six weeks ago. It all began early one morning when I looked at my handsome face in the mirror. I usually give myself a smile but that morning I failed to form a smile on my face. The right half of my face showed the smiling expression but the left half of my face refused to move, however much I tried. I tried a wink. It was OK with my right eye but the left refused to obey. I opened my mouth and to my horror it was a distorted O. “Have I got a stroke?” ran through my mind.

Over the phone a doctor I know assured me that I had what is known as Bell’s Palsy, a temporary loss of control over one side of the face. It was named after one named Bell.

Awang Goneng’s younger brother, a medical specialist who happened to drop in with his wife three weeks after the event, asked Pakcik whether I experienced bell ringing in my ear. According to him some people had that, or something bothering in one eye. No I did not hear any bell, but it was Bell’s, nevertheless, according to him. Those in London, I can imagine, must have started to hear bells ringing everywhere as 25th December approaches. To them, PakCik, an experienced Bell’s ringer, can assure that it is all OK!

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Now that it is over, Pakcik can afford to take it light-heartedly, not during the first couple of days. The array of advice, suggestions, offers of help, prescriptions, comments and so on was impressive. At Almanar, the faces of the pupils displayed expression of horror and concern. I am very grateful indeed for the sympathy shown to Pakcik. No one smiled except for a nasi dagang seller (who is ever so grateful that her daughter was an Almanar pupil and is now a nurse, earning good money and driving her own little car). On seeing Pakcik’s failed smile, she gave a broad smile, exclaiming, “Pakcik dah dapat macam saya dulu. Lapan minggu, baik!” Her smile was a way of assuring me that all would be well because she had gone through it. Sadly I cold not return her smile except for a funny half, crooked smile!

For my own record Pakcik must list down some of those remarks made by the concerned individuals. Here it goes:

Use of morphine ( sounds deadly )

Steroid pills ( sounds less deadly)

Warm baths

Acupuncture ( Awang Goneng had this in his well researched thesis on Bell ’s palsy)

Johnson’s Baby Oil for rubbing with lots of salawat

Olive oil (minyak zaitun) to massage he face with

Jampi-jampi to scuttle away the ‘uninvited’ visitor

Plenty of rest ( teaching Almanar pupils, no exception)

Gentle massage on the affected area ( the doctor who advised this gave a good laugh when Pakcik enquired whether it would be best done by a lady – I meant Makcik of course!)

A complete body massage

And other remarks and comforting words.

When Pacik entered a sundry shop for Johnson’s Baby Oil, I was conscious that the lady owner was curious why this not-so-young man wanted baby oil. So, I had my Johnson’s, my minyak zaitun and went through most of the items listed – including some other pills (in addition to steroid). Alhamdulillah, it was all back to normal three weeks later.

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Bell’s Palsy over, Pakcik decided to tackle the next bothering condition, the cataract on my right eye. The problem on the left eye was successfully done two years ago. So on 11/11 (hence the Poppy Day entry), Pakcik went through a half-an-hour operation, by laser. I had the earlier experience, totally painless but scary. Imagine someone working on your eye when that very eye was wide open, seeing the spotlight overhead and vague shadows of moving objects working on your very eye-ball!

That too went well.

So I am as good as new with full control over the degree of a smile I wish to flash around, winking like mad, but, sorry, not driving with eyes closed.

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So, now if any of you hear loud sound of bell ringing in any one ear and you are not anywhere near a school or around the period about 25th December, try a half smile in front of a mirror, or stand outside a shopping mall winking left and right at passersby. See the outcome!

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

11 / 11 The Poppy Day

The occasion is not a good enough reason to close our Almanar. But, regretfully, Pak Cik will not conduct any classes from 11/11 to 14/11. For what is worth, let us say Pak Cik will be busy for my SPM exam!

Pak Cik Reminisces (Part 5) : 11-11-11

To those associated with Almanar, who will be sitting for the dreaded SPM exam, Pak Cik can only hope and pray that you will do as well as you can. Please remember, how important we see the SPM exam, we, human, cannot dictate its outcome.

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

Pak Cik Reminisces (Part 9) – Pencapaian

Sifting through a not-so-old file of documents, Pak Cik spotted the copy of a letter dated 12th March 1994, fifteen years ago. The letter, a four-page of type-written, was addressed to my number three who was then 22 and a long away from home. He was struggling to prove himself academically. Pak Cik had just been released from serving a ‘sentence’ of 30-year of challenging working life ( not quite 'hard labour' catagory!). He was under ‘trial’, so to speak, waiting to see what kind of sentence would be passed on him. The long letter was a typical father-and-son communication, heavy on philosophy of life. The year 1994 was just before Pak Cik began my voluntary labour at Almanar.

Pak Cik chose to end the letter with the following poem which very much reflected what was going through my mind.

PENCAPAIAN

Ku sampai kemuncak gunung
Menyedut udara nyaman
Dada yang lega fikiran tenang
Tercapai hajat dan idaman
Itukah PENCAPAIAN?

Keringatku mengering
Yang panas mula mendingin
Sang matahari yang terang
Masih tinggi dipandangan
Apakah PENCAPAIAN?

Nun jauh di bawah awan
Yang ku tinggal di belakang
Tak ada yang kurang
Tak ada yang hilang
Di mana ada PENCAPAIAN?

Andainya langit tercapai tangan
Melangkahi bintang-bintang
Memerah awan
Mengeluarkan hujan
Itukah PENCAPAIAN?

Ku tunggu bisikan angin
Ku tunggu liputan awan
Ku tunggu sinaran bulan dan bintang
Ku tunggu ilham
Ku tunggu PENCAPAIAN

Yang hampa membawa harapan
Yang kosong minta penuhan
Yang kurang menunggu tambahan
Yang rendah mengingin tinggian
Mendoa PENCAPAIAN

Dari YANG tak kekurangan
Dari RAHMAN
YANG memberi sinaran
YANG menghidupkan
MEMPUNYAI HAKIKAT PENCAPAIAN

Indeed I thought I had achieved something in life, yet so many around were seeking for help just to survive.

Today I look at this poem, holding back my tears for whatever reason it may be, and keep wondering ……

Apakah erti PENCAPAIAN hidup pada hakikatnya?

when " ................glory but leads to the grave" ( Wonder which English poet said this.)

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

End of The Tunnel ( Part 5 ) – The Last Fisherman

“So this girl, Yani, attended English class at Almanar, did she?,” the lady was looking at Pak Cik askance. “That figures out,” she continued before I had time to reply. Her puzzled expression began to change as the answer began to dawn on her. She had just been transferred to this school as its Head.

That scene was in a room of a secondary school 11 years ago. Pak Cik had come to introduce myself to the new Principal in the first instance, and to find out the 1998 PMR results which had just been released. A small group of 12 Almanar pupils were involved.

“I’ve been puzzled by some odd results of this school. This girl, Yani, for example, scored grade A in two subjects only, English and Bahasa Malayu, Nor is another one like her. ” Now she knew the answer to her puzzle was the class at Almanar. In this locality, a pupil is more likely to get A grades first of all in any other subjects like Pelajaran Agama Islam, Sejarah, Kemahiran Hidup, etc. before an A grade in English. Furthermore, Yani did not show any flare in that subject in her UPSR exam three years earlier. She did not have a family likely to help her.

After completing her SPM, Yani gained entry into UITM to do a course in tourism following which she acquired some experience working for a couple of holiday resorts. Then came her break when she was given a job as a lecturer in tourism at a private college. After proving her worth, she is now the head of a department. Today, still determined to improve herself, Yani is pursuing a degree course in Food Service Management. Compared to the achievement of many high performers we often read about, there is nothing glamorous in what this girl has managed to do unless one understands her background.

Pak Cik can claim to know Yani and her family well enough. She and three others sisters attended classes at Almanar. Two elder sisters are working and her younger one is doing a nursing course. I call their father ‘Pak Mat’ although many villagers know him as ‘Pak Yas’ (for Alias).

The proud fisherman and his daughter

Pak Mat, now 59, came from a typical fisherman family. As a boy of 16 he started to follow his elders, going as far as Tanjung Dawai in Kedah to fish ‘ikan bilis’. Being a junior he was paid only half what others earned although he claimed to have laboured no less. It was years later when he was paid the normal share of an adult member. That was FORTY-THREE years ago. Today he still goes fishing. Pak Cik worked for THIRTY years, mostly in the comfort of air-conditioned offices – and I have had enough of it!

“I will never depend on my children for money as long as I have the strength to go to sea,” he responded quite firmly when Pak Cik suggested that, perhaps, his children would now support him and wife. I know his children do not fail to give him money, but Pat Mat is too good a father to sit back relying on his children and, above all, he is a proud fisherman, proud of his profession.

A year ago Yani dropped by our house. In her hand was an invitation card to her own wedding. It was not a surprise to Pak Cik and Mak Cik. She was ready for it. And it was no surprise too when Yani turned up at our house again a day before the recent Hari Raya, this time with a smart HUSBAND and a healthy BABY BOY hardly two-months old.

The bride and Makcik

Will Yani’s boy be following his grandfather’s footstep? No, not likely, and I doubt his proud grandfather will ever regret it either – that none in his family will ever go to sea again.

The proud mother

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

A Special Note For Ex-Almanar

For the first time Pak Cik had a record book ready during the recent hari raya season for Almanar- associated pupils to jot down their phone numbers and e-mail addresses - a few having own blogs. Surprisingly enough there were about 60 of them arriving in groups at different times during the course of these few days. Some were on leave from their far-away places of work, such as the rural areas outside Tawau and Sandakan. But most of the sixty odds are still studying at various IPTA's and IPTS's. Only a handful of them were current pupils at Almanar - perhaps still too shy to muster their courage to show their faces; no doubt in good time they will.



One of your old friends proudly brought along her HUSBAND and a baby SON who was barely two-month old. Just like his parents and grandparents, the baby would have addressed me as "Pak Cik" too, if only he could talk! Of those who came around, Mak Cik and Pak Cik could hardly recognise a few girls ( young ladies, to be precise ) looking matured and beautiful, a far fetch from the shy little ones we used to see those years at Almanar - dengan hidung masih berhingus. Whreas the gallant boys, heavily outnumbered, were nearly swarmed to a swoon at the unexpected sight!



Some of you could not make it to Nuri this time around, simply 'kirim salam' through friends who turned up. Thank you for the thought. If any of you wishes to have contact numbers of your lost friends, check up with Pak Cik. I will give them to you - this time for a fee of course!



Apart from expressing our appreciations to those who remembered us through visits, salaams, SMS's, e-mail messages etc we must not forget to thank those who came along with ketupat, nasi dagang, nasi minyak, keropok, laksa, tapai, akak, cookies and so on and so forth - enough for the two of us to last till next Hari Raya had not our children, granfdchildren and our other guests helped themselves.



Thank you, children.



To those who will return to their work places, particularly schools and hospitals, please remember, it is now your contractual obligation to live uo to our motto:



Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

A Special Thank - for an unexpected gesture

Some 25 years ago a pretty girl with fair skin and curly hair was a friend of Pakcik’s daughter at an SMS (boarding school). Since then I have not seen her, now happily married with children. Pakcik was totally taken by surprise this morning when advised that a sizeable sum of money had been credited by her for Almanar.

“What triggered her to perform this charitable act before a Hari Raya?” I keep asking myself. But no, really I do not wish to know the answer. I pray that He will not just grant her what she dreams of but, instead, will bless her with whatever He alone knows is best for her and her family.

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

Tokens Of Appreciation ( Pt 2 )

Before this holy month of Ramadhan leaves us, Pak Cik should say a few words of thanks to many who have paid compliments in various forms, encouraging words, gestures and personal gifts, to Pak Cik and Mak Cik. For Almanar we have received, voluntarily and unsought for, cash, books and other materials. A local company has for the first time offered each ‘anak yatim’ associated with Almanar a sum of RM100/= as a Hari Raya gift.

As Pak Cik once wrote Tokens Of Appreciation in January 08 of the simple gestures shown by parents. Likewise the two of us, Pak Cik and Mak Cik continue to receive these small gifts,

a small paper bag of duku (in season, costing about two ringgits)

some rambutan ( dari pokok sendiri),

a bunch of bananas,

cempedak (from kebun Tok Ki!),

a packet of keropok, and packets of kurma.

The real value is in the desire to express a deep-seated feeling, no matter what the monitory value of the gift is. They are invaluable tokens of appreciation, humbly and sincerely presented, for which words are never adequate for us to express our thanks.

A real surprise was when a girl handed Pak Cik a neat bag made of cloth, containing two boxes of good quality dates.


“ Pak Cik, ini buah tangan daripada Pengetua sekolah saya.” This came from a new principal of a fairly new secondary school which in the last three PMR examinations did not have a single pupil achieving 8As, mainly for weakness in English and Mathematics. Two months ago Pak Cik offered help for the first group of fifteen Form One pupils to be tutored at Almanar. Apparently the principal is very pleased with the initial feedback. Pak Cik do not promise grade A but I promise to give the children as good a foundation as possible in these subjects.

To all the well wishers please accept Pak Cik’s many thanks. To the Muslim readers Selamat Berpuasa dan Selamat Berhari Raya.

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.