It was a rather unusual occasion at Nuri. The two of us played host to a group of bankers - the chairman and his wife, a director, the CEO, the branch manager and a number of officials of a bank.
It began with a phone call from the chairman himself, an old friend of Pakcik.
“Hassan, I am coming to KT with a few colleagues. We are having a meeting at our branch office there. Will you be free …….. ?” Of course, not engaged in any gainful employment, Pakcik could easily make time to receive visitors, an old friend and wife of all people.
So makcik had some tea ready and I personally had a few young coconut fruit brought down from our home grown trees, my pride, for some fresh juice.
Soon after lunch they descended in five cars! With them were two large boxes containing books and dictionaries.
“A gift for Almanar from our bank,” said the branch manager.
Simply, that was that, a pleasant break from otherwise our quiet life. And I cannot but feel honoured by the visit and the gift gesture.
It began with a phone call from the chairman himself, an old friend of Pakcik.
“Hassan, I am coming to KT with a few colleagues. We are having a meeting at our branch office there. Will you be free …….. ?” Of course, not engaged in any gainful employment, Pakcik could easily make time to receive visitors, an old friend and wife of all people.
So makcik had some tea ready and I personally had a few young coconut fruit brought down from our home grown trees, my pride, for some fresh juice.
Soon after lunch they descended in five cars! With them were two large boxes containing books and dictionaries.
“A gift for Almanar from our bank,” said the branch manager.
Simply, that was that, a pleasant break from otherwise our quiet life. And I cannot but feel honoured by the visit and the gift gesture.
Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan
12 comments:
Dear Pakcik,
It is a befitting tribute to the selfless service that had been your trademark at Al-Manar. May ALLAH S.W.T. bestow upon you His Blessings and Mercies always.
(Pakcik) AK, it was an overdue pleasure and honour to bump into you last Sunday evening at Rasta. I am glad that you're looking exceptionally well and I am humbled to see you selflessly helping the kids.
I owe my career, and where I am, to your vision and foresight. A man of your calibre and integrity is hard to come by and some of us could only wish to achieve what you have delivered.
I hope to be able to drop by one day. Until then, please take care.
Zainir
ahs
You spent thirty years of your life serving the country, and that I never did. I do not have that to my credit. So now I have to make good. Salaam to you and family.
Zainir,
I never fergot you and Salwa and had often wondered how you were. That made the evening a memorable one to me, an opportunity to meet you and Salwa again.Do us the honour by coming to stay with us for a couple of days to reminisce.
AK
Dear Pak Cik,
It is most appropriate that every good deeds are amply rewarded. These often come from unexpected sources in true recognition of the selfless efforts.
Pak Cik,
Can't help noting that someone bumped into you at RASTA. The only RASTA I know is in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Were you down here?
Would really love to meet you if you happen to be down here visiting your cucus.
kaykuala,
There is a price to pay - I have to forget the idea of beating Tiger, and now Rory, and winning the prize that goes with it! What I do is simpler and more within my reach. Happy golfing.
ARZ
The owner, a very close family friend, held a wedding party for one of his sons. We were there just for the evening and back. Would love to catch up with you. Let us say next time, insya Allah.
Dear Abang Ngah,
There's some good from banks after all. That was good of them.
Yours is a good news page that I turn to on dark days. There's a little light still shining in this naughty world.
Oh by the way, your golf clubs were rotting in our garden shed, and now they are - I am afraid - unfit for a Tiger. I hope you will forgive us for that.
Dear Mi,
Surprisingly enough, there are bright sparks around, rare and least expected maybe. So whenever there is one we celebrate it and spin a story of it. It is depressing to go on thinking of subjects like the ‘time for a tower’ you wrote. Abang Ngah read it and restrained myself from leaving comments, giving others a chance to have their say first.
As for the golf clubs which I have totally forgotten, try to find some poor buyer and we split whatever fortune that comes out of it. But the children can have them for free.
Salaam from us both to every one at home.
Pakcik, I still haven't got a proper image of you after gathering the bits and pieces of info about you from your posts and the comments from your friends. As it is even if kata org Melayunya terlanggar batang hidung, I won't recongnize you and that would be most embarrassing. Please favor me with a photograph of some kind so that I really know who the gentleman that is admired by so many friends and me for his magnanimous deed is. Meanwhile barakallahu alaik. Salam.
Norza,
Your rather unusual request says a lot. For one thing it tells me the person you are, someone who is worth knowing and having as a friend. Thank you.
In a light-hearted way I tell people that I would like to think of myself as I looked some half a century ago, not the one I see in the mirror every morning while shaving. I make it a point to tell my normal hairdresser to go easy with his scissors on my head and he smiles with understanding. When asked by Almanar pupils of my age I too tell them that “I have just turned twenty eight”, at times “just eighteen” and how they laugh!
If you look at my posting, "A Clean Bill of Health - Almost"
http://almanar-nuri.blogspot.com/2009/08/clean-bill-of-health-almost.html
you will see a new photo of an old couple, and an old photo of a young couple, what a paradox!
If that is not enough you are welcome to be our guest at Nuri, our humble home, where one sees sheep and cattle holding up traffic. Then we will get to know each other better.
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