Bakri Baharom

Upon
By
:
Bakri Baharom
16 .June 2014
bkiub14@gmail.com / www.polimas.edu.my /
019-488-1430
CONSULTANTS:
Che Tum bt Ahmad (my mother)
Said bin Mat Isa (my uncle)
Zarina bt Salleh (my wife)
Ahmad Fauzi bin Din (my friend)
Designed & Edited by : Azlida Ahmad (PTSS)
If my great grandfather, Kassim was still alive, I would be thrilled to show
him off. He departed about 30 years ago, at the age of 104. Known for his
perseverance when he and his wife, Aminah, tamed a 60-acre land of roaring
gelam trees into arable rice field, thanks to the axe and tajak alone. In the
60s, the farmers resorted to the beast of burden, buffaloes to plough the land.
My two uncles, Said and the late Hashim were quite champs at this. Their
buffaloes were trained to obey commands to step-in, proceed, turn and stop
using words like sot, cah, paling and diam respectively. After a hard day of
work, the buffaloes were rewarded to relax in a pool of mud. At night my uncles
would light up firewood at the stable to keep the buffaloes warm and mosquitoes
away. During harvesting season, they were used to transport paddy home using
a cart known as anuk. The carts were home-made from log using big saw and
beliung, initially without wheels. We used to enjoy the ride on top of the gunny
sacks stacked on the cart. The alternative was to use the big bicycle known as
gerek of which Raleigh and Robin Hood were among the most common brands.
Life was real fun then.
Paddy planting commenced after raining season. The villagers used to have a
feast known as Tolak Bala before any work started. There would be a banquet
comprising of biscuits, cucur, pulut kuning, fried chicken and bertih
(popcorn), and indeed doa recital asking for bumper harvest. Subsequent to
the ceremony, a special plot of land would be prepared to grow paddy seedling
known as semai. It took 30 days after the seeds germinated before being
replanted to the actual location. There were two systems used to get the job
done, i.e. derau and kupang. The first involved a group of farmers taking turns
to work on each other’s field. No money changed hands. The second, on the
contrary, involves payment for the same job done but only for a few kupang
(cents). At the rate of RM1.20 per session, work hours were from 7.30am to
11.30am, and 2.00pm to 6.00pm respectively. Functioned like an alarm clock,
an airplane (known as jet) would fly pass our area regularly at 11.30am,
marking time for everyone to go home for noon break.
Even though my late father was a teacher, he was very much a farmer. However,
most of the time, he hired our villagers to work on his land. Among the variety of rice
at that period were Malinja, Ria, Mat Candu and Anak Kucing. For glutinous rice,
there were Jelahak, Gondang,Telur and Gantung Alu. The black type was simply
called Hitam. In the old days, paddy was simply dried under the blazing sun and the
children would delightedly shoo away the chickens and ducks at bay with a long pole.
The paddy was then aired to remove the chaff before being sold to the dealers. Some
were kept in a special store known as jelapang of which Kedah was renowned for,
Kedah Negeri Jelapang Padi (rice bowl). I could recollect how field workers from
Kelantan used to arrive by train through Thailand to Padang Besar. For many years a
group of them dwelled at my uncle’s house during harvesting season. Skillful at
making kites, Wau Bulan, we would emulate their admirable distinctive slang. They
termed the famous branded 555 cigarette as Lima Sederet (5 in a row).
For breakfast the farmers always took glutinous rice with grated coconut and fried
fish (ikan tamban or gelama) which went extremely well with black tea or coffee.
Sometimes, steamed tapioca, cream crackers (roti empat segi) and various cucur
were served during tea breaks. I remembered it well for I was one of those always
summoned to send the ration. One thing I despised most till today were the lintah
(leech) and pacat clinging on to me. The large ones were called Lintah Kerbau. On
the way home, we used to help ourselves to exotic fruits like keriang, keduduk,
cenerai, rembia and letup. Incidentally, young cenerai also served as bullets for
our bamboo guns. The catapult (in the back pocket or around the neck) was used to
practise sharp shooting on birds in the trees. The young generation would surely envy
at our past experiences.
Before the arrival of rice mill, the
villagers resorted for the manual lesung.
A simple lesung tangan had a container
(carved log) where paddy was placed. A
six foot long wooden alu (pole) was used
to pounce the paddy to remove the chaff.
The job could also be done by up to four
persons, each one striking the alu in
tandem. The other more sophisticated type
was known as lesung hindik where a
piece of square log (6” x 6”) at the length
of about 10 feet was placed on a wooden
axle attached to two vertical poles. On one
side a two feet alu was attached while the
other end tapered to about 2” thick.
Repeatedly, the operator would step on
the side to raise the alu on the other end.
When the operator stepped off, the alu
would pound the paddy in the container. A
tampi was used to separate the white
rice, while the deviant grains would be put
back for further thumping. Sometimes,
young rice grains would be pounced to
produce a delicacy known as ringi. A
slightly more mature grain would produce
imping. The Rice Museum in Alor Setar
showcases this traditional equipment.
Should anyone long for ringi and imping,
Pekan Rabu in town should not let you
down. Incidentally, it opens every day, not
just on Wednesday.
Until the mid 1970s, rice was planted
once a year because the farmers
depended on rain water. What did they do
during the long break after harvesting
season? Quite a number of the villagers I
knew tended their fruit orchards at a
nearby hill, Bukit Tunjang. Each plot of
land was planted with mainly the king of
fruits,
durian.
It
also
included
mangosteen, petai and cempedak.
Normally, an orchard would be named
after its best durian range. For example,
we had Pisang, Buaya, Nasi Kunyit and
Batin Mas to name a few. The one that
belonged to my grandmother was called
Anak Cak. The other durian trees were
also
named;
Lenggang
Gunung,
Jantung, Kepala Gajah, Siku, Peria
and Merah. Some other durian names
include Kucing Tidur, Kacang Hijau,
Kulat Liat, etc. Our family members took
turn to spend the night in a wooden hut to
collect the durians early the next morning.
The mere sight of fresh durian laying
under the trees would bring much delight
and joy among us. We collected water
from a stream known as katur which was
very cold and refreshing. There would be a
day during the durian season that the
orchard owners would contribute the fruits
for a big feast at our local cemetery. Some
would also fulfill their vows at the long
dead keramat (holy man) tombstones.
Such practice was later stopped as it was
regarded as against the teaching of Islam
(khurafat).
In the old days, every household must
have cangkul and parang. We were
lavished with seasonal fruits like
rambai,
pupor,
remia,
asam,
rambutan, jack fruit (nangka),
pomelo, mango and macang. Macang's
strong scent makes hiding it nothing but
impossible. It has found its way in the
Malay proverb; Bau Macang which
means a distant relative. The villagers
also grew cash crops such as
watermelon, cucumber, lady fingers,
pumpkin, peria, petula and kangkong.
The widely planted ubi keledek or
ketela took about 3 months to be
harvested. A well would be dug to draw
water for the plants. It was all hard work
because everything was done manually.
The coconut trees remained special in
the life of my village folks. There was
hardly any house without coconut trees,
varying from kelapa pandan, bali to
gading. The first one came with scented
water whereas the last one was yellow in
colour with smaller trees and fruits. There
was a joke that a local villager actually
discovered gravity about the same time as
Newton in the last century. While Newton
experienced an apple falling on his head,
the villager got a coconut instead. He had
no chance to formulate the value of g (9.8
metre per second squared) and be in the
history book! Tough luck.
Almost every part of a coconut tree can be used. The coconut milk, like today, was
used to make curry, various cucur like bengkang, tepung bungkus, tepung talam,
lepat ubi and most of the time served with pulut durian. Grated coconut finds its way
into pulut udang, curry-puff and buah melaka. A slightly young grated coconut is
suitable for cucur ketayap, dangai and pek nga. The fresh younger coconuts become
the most famous drink of all, known as air kelapa muda (with tender coconut flesh). A
cut to the mayang of coconut would also produce nira which would become tuak (a
local fermented alcoholic drink) if left overnight.
There were various ways to harvest the coconut. The natural way was of course to wait for the ripe coconut to fall. Sometimes, a bamboo
pole with attached sickle was used to bring the coconut down. However, a young coconut might break if it falls on the hard ground. The solution
was to climb up the tree and bring it down with a rope. There was always someone in the village who earned a living by climbing coconut trees.
More often than not, monkeys were trained to pluck either ripe or young coconuts upon commands. The coconut climber or the monkey owner
would be paid a commission; for every 10 coconuts, 2 would go to the climber.
The other common cash crop among villagers was the bananas. There are two types of bananas, one can be eaten raw, like pisang
berangan, susu, emas, rastali, and lemak manis which is my favourite. The second range, such as pisang awak legur, awak minyak,
abu, nangka, kelat raja and tanduk are key ingredient for cucur. The first five are suitable for cucur lepat, kodok, lengat pisang and
pulut dakap as well as the famous Goreng Pisang (banana fritters). Tanduk is normally large in size and as extras in fish or beef curry.
However, some bananas come with seeds which depreciate its value in the market. The boiled jantung pisang was an all time favourite with
sambal belacan which rivals pucuk ubi kayu, janggus, cemumar, selum, samak and pegaga. A typical Malay dish must include ulam
which is believed to help maintain youthful look. Nasi Ulam had always been the special delicacy served during the Ramadan fasting month. It
is a mixture of rice and minced ulam like kaduk, putat, bebuas, beluntas, cenehum, kunyit, raja, sekentut, lengkuas, halia and serai
(lemon grass). To complement it, ikan talang masin and sayur keladi would make the dish so divine the recipe could have come from
heaven!
To catch fish using hooks was known as mengail , of which a long durable yet
light type of bamboos were used with a string (tangsi) at one end. The choice of
baits could be small frogs, worms, grasshoppers, anak-anak (haruan) and udang
padang (fresh water prawns) depending on the types of fish to catch. The haruan
could be made salted-fish and the puyu into ikan pekasam (fermented fish) and
this would see that the villagers would not be lack of protein until the next season.
Another interesting activity among the villagers was catching fresh water
fish. There were many methods used, some of which were quite ingenious. The most
common ones would use hooks, jala and pukat (net), taut, belat, sebilai, serkap
and pelompat. The last one was made of bamboo tied intact using akar (vine) and
placed like a water gate. A haruan would jump once its way was blocked and ended
up in the trap attached to the pelompat. Another natural way was to dig a telaga
(well) where all types of fishes would emigrate to when the rice plot started to dry.
The farmers only needed to drain out the water (an activity known as timba telaga)
and collect the fishes. The most common ones were keli, puyu and sepat which
were further classified as Sepat Benua or Sepat Kedah/Ronggeng.
The folks’ fishing skill was an art of its own. With katak minyak (smooth and
shiny skin) as bait to fish for haruan in the bigger river at night, this was known as
mengelau. Daytime fishing was known as menyuncat. The technique involved
placing the bait on the water surface on-and-off resembling the fish natural prey.
Angling for puyu using anak tebuan, captured by burning hornet nest at night,
was reserved for morning and afternoon only. You would wonder if the kaki
mengail (anglers) breathe and dream about fishing, or fish itself.
Life then was more at leisure pace. The annual
Pesta Kedah (carnival) in Alor Setar was something to
be rejoiced. At my place, there would be funfair and
Wayang China (opera) and sometimes Menora. Among
the events I remembered most was the public dance on
stage. The band would hit some contemporary numbers
like Anak Lima, Samba Jalan, Joget Pahang and
Batman. The patrons were required to buy tickets to
be allowed on the stage, then to ask the available
sitting dancers to dance. The merry spectators would
be cheering from the floor. Try watching old films to
witness the scenario.
1960s was the Beatles era where Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Star and
George Harrison were the idols. Their hair styles, shoes, tight trousers and
Lennon’s spectacles were the most cool fashion items among the youngsters.
Locally, the musical band was known as KUGIRAN (Kumpulan Gitar Rancak) of
which the decade was known as Pop Yeh Yeh. The legends, the bands and the
songs were like Jefri Din & The Siplap Five (Siti Haida), L.Ramlee & Teruna Ria
(Dara Pujaan, Seruling Anak Gembala), A. Halim & D’Fictions (Salam
Mesra), A. Rahman Hassan (Tak Mengapa), S. Jibeng (Selamat Tinggal
Pujaan), Kassim Selamat (LaAube), J. Sham (Resam Dunia), M. Sharif
(Pujaan Hati), and M. Othman (Suzana) to name a few. Fifty years later, the
songs remain as popular as ever. Another legendary golden voice was Ahmad Jais
with songs like Mengharap Sinar, Menelan Kabus, Kucupan Azimat, Lima
Tahun Kucari, Umpan Jinak DiAir Tenang, Bahtera Merdeka, Menanti
Diambang Syurga and Sejak Kita Berpisah that would find no match for a
long time.
The popular entertainment show was Wayang Kulit (shadow play) that
would normally last until midnight. The most famous group until today is Sri
Asun. The story line was always adapted from Ramayana, the immortal tale
of adventure, love and wisdom. The two characters, Etong and Enoi
brought much laughter with their idiosyncrasies and antics. A well-known
orchestra group, Chandeni from Batu 5, Sik consisted of members playing
various gendang (drums), biola (violin), gambus and accordion. The
singers would sing Malay, Hindustani and Arabic songs with two supporting
“lady-like” male dancers.
One of the most famous comedians was
nicknamed Hassan Bubur Kacang. He would tickle your “funny-bone” the
moment he appeared on stage. However, I have fading memory on the
other show called Hadrah which according to the elders was adopted from
the middle-east. The song titles included Layang Mas, Cinta Sayang and
Mak Enang Tua.
The Hindi Films (Bollywood) fanatics in my village enjoyed very much block
busters like Haathi Mere Saathi (1971, Rajesh Khanna & Tanuja), Hare Rama Hare
Krishna (1971, Dev Anand & Zeenat Aman), Bobby (1973, Rishi Kapoor & Dimple
Kapadia), Chupke Chupke (1975, Damendra & Samila Tagore) and the best of all,
Sangam (1964, Raj Kapoor & Vyjayanthimala). The songs by Mohamed Rafie, Lata
Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar would send them to cloud nine. The 70s also saw
Kung Fu films gaining popularity with heroes like David Chiang, Fu Sheng, Ti Lung
and later on Bruce Lee (The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon and Enter the
Dragon). Of course no one matches P. Ramlee with his legendary films Anak ku
Sazali (1957), Ibu Mertua Ku (1963), Madu Tiga (1964), etc. which will last a
thousand years.
Wedding reception was very elaborate then. It seemed that time stopped when the auspicious day came. Apart from the free
flow of food and drink, Silat Pulut performance by the local self-defense practitioners was always something to look forward to.
The best were always from the elders who combined their playful skills and witty acts. The accompanying band would consist of
gendang (drum), serunai, and gong with the players in warrior-like attire and headgear added much excitement. Another group
of village elders would also organise religious based song/choir known as berzanji. Another time would be to celebrate the newly
born with berendui. When boys reached around 10 to 12 years old, they would be circumcised. Again, the whole villagers get
together to witness the event that would mark the beginning of manhood. Who would forget the encounter with Tok Mudim ?
Before electricity was accessible, life was very much different. At night, the elders would go for casual visits around the neighbourhood, chatting
over tea/coffee. Sitting on the verandah, Bekas Pinang (betel nut, sirih, gambir, kapur ) was always available as a matter of custom. Almost all
men and women were smokers of rokok daun (nipah leave) or cigar of which Cap Ikan was the most popular one. For those using smoking pipe
(encui), Tembakau Cap Nenas was a must.
The village houses then were always two-storey high, leaving the lower opened and airy. It was used to store the
farmers’ equipment and everything else. The wooden houses had roof made of rembia or nipah. A group of ladies
would gather prepare these attap known as menyemat. A pinang tree or bamboo was cut to strips to be
mengkawan and bemban which would bind the rembia leaves together. The house floor was always covered with a
“carpet” known as tikar mengkuang, of which a laborious task and high weaving skills were needed.
In the old days, the concept of gotong-royong (cooperation) was a principle people lived by. One good example
was 'house-moving'. Yes, they would physically lift and move the whole house to a new location! Most of the time, the
distance would be less than 10 metres, except for my father’s house. Our house was originally situated behind Sekolah
Kebangsaan Tunjang until the land was acquired by the government for a new river construction. We moved the house
next to my grandmother’s home which was about 1.5 km away. The whole able-bodied men in the village extended
their service over two days, literally carrying the unit on their shoulders over the rice field during the dry season.
Foolish as it might sound, but that was the way life was and that was the kind of spirit existed then.
Before 1970s we did not have the luxury of tap water. A few nearby houses would share a well. The search for the
well would call for the village experts to determine a suitable location where mata air runs. True enough, the wells
were never dry throughout the year enabling dwellers to use it for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing clothes. As
night falls, a few pelita minyak (kerosene lamp) would be placed in the middle of the living room and kitchen. The
children who attended Quran reading night classes would place the lamp in a big tin biscuit which front part was cut
out. This was to avoid the wind from blowing out the light. A humble innovation.
There were many other pastimes enjoyed by the former
generation. The children played marble, tops, kite flying, rubber bands,
galah panjang, cakpelung (bamboo guns), police and thieves,
congkak, batu 7, sole, toi, tuju tin, fish fighting (anak karin) and
sometimes cock fighting too. Kereta Pot was a creative improvisation
of a car made of tin cans with spindle and handle. The joyful kids
would push it around the neighbourhood, annoying those taking
afternoon naps. Every game came in its own season. True to a line of
Santana’s song, “Let the children play”, every single one promoted
spirit of camaraderie and tolerance. Drug abuse was never heard of.
Life was not complicated then. We walked or cycled to school. The
teachers did not come to work with flashing cars or designer clothes.
None of them was involved in multi-level marketing, insurance or petty
business. There was no smart-phone, tablet or netbook. On the way
home we passed a stall that sold “Iced Ball” for 10 sens. Sometimes
we would buy Rojak, Mee Goreng or Pasembor from an uncle who go
round our village pushing a tri-cycle cart. There was even an old
China-man called “Ayoi” who peddled tit-bits like ground-nuts, sweets
and ingredients for cooking. The most notable item was a kind of
biscuit known as “Ayam-Itek” because it came in the form of various
animals including elephants, horses, cows and pigs too. Of course no
one cried foul as in the recent case involving Cadbury…
In retrospect, life was fun and fulfilling. At 55 years of age, I have a strong sense of belonging to my root, lots of memories to cherish and I
feel blessed in this land of plenty and peace. Alhamdulillah. Thank you God.
Footnote:
Between May and the first two weeks of June, it is normally quiet in our polytechnic. Only a
handful of students remained to take up short-semester courses. New June 2014 intake commences on 16
of the month. POLIMAS is slated to receive a total of 1216 freshies under 16 diploma. This semester we are
introducing a new programme at the Electrical Engineering Department; Diploma in Electrical and Electronic
Engineering (DEE). Norsyam bt Omar has been named as its Head of Programme (HoP). The Malaysian
Qualification Agency (MQA 01) document has been submitted to the authority before we are allowed to
advertise for intake. It contains the 9 areas like:
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Vision, Mission, Objective, Outcome
Curriculum Design and Delivery
Students Evaluation
Students Criteria and Students Support Services
Academic Staff
Educational Resources
Monitoring and Programme Revision
Leadership, Governance and Administration
Continual Quality Improvement
Let us all welcome the parents and new students from near and far. The fact that they choose
our polytechnic means they put their trust on us. The management is calling everyone to play his/her role
well. Together we make POLIMAS flag to fly high again.