Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Back to school

Its time of the year again for parents to prepare lots and lots of things for their kids before going back to school next year, schoolbag, books, stationery, shoes and socks, uniform, badges and the list goes on. I noticed that current trend, there are variety tyoe of school uniform depending on your position in school, if you are prefect then your uniform is different and so does a librarion or class monitor.

Back then it was way much easier, just differentiated by tie colour..so parents won't have to worry about spending extra cash for the class monitor or school librarian. I wore my pinafore till the end of the skirt rest above my knee and the white blouse was no longer pearly white :-)...it was hard tp keep on changing and buying new uniform.

Our school bag were different from those kids now, at one time I had a case with blue checkered and worn it till the outer layer peeled off, at those time beg peti was a hit...but the peer pressure was less and we did not care if our's was not a famous brand and being in a small town like Alor Star, we don't have many choice unless you go to shop in Penang.

Moving to secondary school we opted for backpack, my normal shopping spree was at a small shop next to Hankyu Jaya, we could bargain to suit our badget and again just bag cap ayam but it does work well for few years coz our text book are much lesser than current primary kids..most of us will adorned our bag with various type batch from White Snake, Bon Jovi to New Kids On The Block... :-)
Book band was a must-have too where we bought at mall or lorong sempit, just few ringgit and we look up-to-date.

I went to school by beca Pak Harun...just a small trishaw that could accommodate 6 pupils..six not two ya..!!we just squizzed in with our beg peti and botoi ayaq from Seberang Perak to SNC..the worst part is when the beca had to cross the bridge over Kedah River...kena turun sat pastu naik balik kat Pekan Melayu..one fine day I fell off the beca and hit the hot premix road ;-P ... those were the days..
Then when my parents had enough money I was send by Bas Mak Nab, small van actually ..life changed a bit bith more friends to minggle but need to woke up early and by secondary school I managed to persuaded my mom to allow me to go to school by Bas Bandaran which cost me only tiga kupang per trip and looks more cool with more friends to hang out and more boys from KSAH to eye...hampehh...but that was it, just look and nothing happen..we were innocent and naive but we never move forward with anything stupid... :-)

I think when we were small in the 80's life was more relax...we were not influenced much by tv commercial and what not..we just go to school with what is necessary and few cents and turn out to be like we are today compared to kids nowadays who need to be equipped with different kind of uniform, shoes, handphone and other unnecessary items.....

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Gulai Ikan Temenung dengan Ulam Raja & Mengkudu

Esok dah nak balik...satu apa pun kami tak pack lagi..kalau dulu masa dok Johor, excited nak balik Kedah..naik bas dekat sepuluh jam dari JB sampai Sahab Perdana, kadang-kadang turun depan Pekan Rabu..masa tu tough, naik bas sepuluh jam, berenti dua kali makan, pi toilet tiga kali....pusing-pusing tidur ataih bas single seat banyak kali...sedaq sedaq masuk dah tol Aloq Staq selatan...dari highway nampak dah Menara Aloq Staq depan sekolah dulu..(sekolah Convent)..masa tu dah tak sabaq nak turun bas

Bila esok tu bangun, yang best sekali dapat makan my mom's breakfast..nasi goreng campoq dengan ikan temenung goreng had semalam..tu yang sedap

Tengahari makan sambai tumeh ikan temenung lemak beli di market, boleh tambah tiga pinggan, kalau buat sambai belacan makan dengan ulam raja ambik depan rumah lagi best, kadang-kadang makan pucuk mengkudu, tapi kena rebuih dulu, baguih makan pucuk ni..pernah makan pucuk bebuaih...? mai aloq staq baru tau...:-)

Makan nasi dengan ulam-ulam ni syok kalau ada gulai ikan, kami sini suka ikan temenung, had lemak tu yang sedap...forget about cholesterol...dulu masa market lama di seberang perak, ada satu aci dok giling rempah gulai..memang sedap, gerai dia kecik dalam 4 kaki darab 4 kaki saja..tapi rempah tu kalau makan sampai bau tangan dua tiga jam melekat ;-O

La ni tak tau ada lagi ka dak..masa tu pun aci tu dah dalam 40an..

Apa-apa pun yang mak masak memang sedap..tu yang tak sabaq nak balik ni...

Raya Korban...

Aidil adha datang lagi..tapi excitement dah tak macam dulu dah..nowadays it is just a time to spend with family..

Masa dulu petang raya sibuk tolong masak sikit-sikit untuk pagi raya, kemas-kemas rumah..malam main bunga api...

Pagi-pagi raya, bangun awal..pi masuk bilik ayaq 'mandi raya', makan ketupat sikit dengan rendang daging ..lepaih tu mak panggil (my grandma) ajak pi madrasah lama kat simpang jalan...kadang-kadang kami pakai siap-siap telekung di rumah...kadang-kadang kami nak vogue ..so pakai baju kurung, telekung letak dalam plastik bag

Seronok semayang raya di tempat kecik macam tu sebab dapat jumpa ramai orang..rasa lebih akrab..time semayang tu kadang-kadang tak khusyuk jugak sebab dok tengok bumbung rumah arwah Pak Su Zali dengan pokok-pokok kat rumah dia..madrasah lama ni tingkap sampai ke bawah...tu yang dok jeling-jeling tengok macam-macam..kadang-kadang tak tengok luaq..tapi dok kira kotak di selendang Imam..selendang macam Arafat pakai yang merah kotak-kotak tu....

Lepaih semayang kami turun tangga batu yang melengkung tu dengan slownya sebab masa tu ramai lelaki dok tunggu turn depa pulak nak semayang...kena control ayu takut terpijak kain..dah la tangga tinggi tak ikut spek Bomba..:-)

Lepaih tu baru start aktiviti pi makan-makan rumah jiran-jiran sambil kutip duit raya..oo before that..kena salam-salam minta maaf dulu...

Zaman tu kami sanggup jalan tengah panaih pi sampai Lorong Ayer Puteh, Taman Brown pi kutip duit..masa tu selamat lagi budak-budak berjalan..tak macam la ni..Flat Seberang Perak wajib pi...ada satu rumah Arab tu yang paling best sebab bagi duit raya lima kupang..rumah lain bagi sikit...masa tu rasa banyak dah...

La ni tak pi kutip dah..kena bagi jugak..tapi sambil bagi sambil kutip la jugak sebab tolong kutip untuk anak pulak.... :-)..tu depa punya terus masuk akaun Tabung Haji...

Raya tahun ni first day di Penang la macam biasa..tapi tak buat korban..banyak perkara-perkara terjadi disana..so..korban kami bagi duit buat di Bangladesh..bagi bahagian saya dan Sufiya..kami bagi kat ustaz..semoga diberkati...Insyaallah...

Raya kedua ada korban di Sala,...rumah Tok..macam best pulak..ingat nak tidoq sana ramai-ramai since my hubby tak pernah tidoq sana...

So kepada semua..selamat memandu dan Salam Aidil Adha...

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pokok berhantu

Do you like to watch horror movie, or are you reading Ann Rice novels or do you owned Tamar Jalis's Bercakap Dengan Jin?..If the answer is yes, you should keep on reading..ewahh..I'm not that tough when it comes to supernatural thing but I just want to share some stories from Seberang Perak..ala-ala Urban Legend gitu..

As I was typing this, I heard a wierd sound from next door..I look back in curiosity..but as they said 'Jangan pandang belakang..' so I just keep writing this..

So back to Seberang Perak where the garbage bin is located, it was told that it was among the spookiest place back in the 70's, there was a big tree by the roadside that make a different sound at different time and create a different shadow..not because the tree could move or something like that, but they said that 'something' was staying there. Every night villagers have to passed by that haunting tree from Seberang Perak Flat to the madrasah or nearby village, for those who are brave enough would just walked by like normal..but for those faint hearted, they sure try not to look at the tree and some would walk quickly or even run...I know how it feels and I could imagine how it looks like at night especially with no street lighting. They depends on the moon to light up that area, and at night with a tree that big and the cold windy night...it's easier to feel or thought that we feel the presence of these entity..by mom told me that sometimes people saw a something behind that tree..but she's a tough and brave lady, she's willing to see anything compared to her daughter who would run from my grandma's house which is just 10 steps from my house and while running we always scream 'bismillah...'..you might not know or feel the situation, but imagine a 6 or 8 meters dark path with banana and nipah trees next to you, and sometimes those nipah tree made all those strange noises, sometimes they were like clapping..oo ya I forgot to mention that there used to be so many big brown big, I think its 'burung gud gud' coz they sounds like that..




Back in the olden days, mini concert were quite famous and there was one time they held a that concert and the stage was built near my house, the famous song of that time was 'Pontianak Jibam jibam'...what a nice name

So, you think it's not spooky at all..thats all right, this is not even an urban legend..but its true story

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

50 Tahun Pemerintahan Sultan Kedah

Menyusun sirih didalam puan

Sambil menunggu tepi perigi

Menjunjung kasih kami ucapkan

Kepada Tuanku payung negeri



Setiap negara yang berdaulat pastinya berbangga mempunyai seorang Raja atau Sultan yang dianggap sebagai payung negeri. Tugas Sultan walaupun tidak seperti pada zaman pra Kolonial, peranannya masih dikehendaki, pandangan perlu dihormati dan kedaulatan tidak diragui.

Sebagai rakyat jati Kedah, pastinya saya berasa bangga kerana Kedah sejarah Kedah adalah lebih lama jika dibandingkan dengan sejarah Melaka. Kerajaan Kedah Tua adalah bukti terdapat sistem pemerintahan yang lebih awal.

Setiap kali melihat wajah Tuanku Sultan di kaca TV, hati berbunga gembira..ada yang menganggap ini sebagai sifat terlalu kenegerian, tetapi tidak sebenarnya. Mengenali Tuanku Sultan secara peribadi adalah jauh sekali, cuma beberapa kali berada dihadapan Tuanku dengan jarak dua kaki..itupun semasa menerima hadiah di sekolah :o dan semasa menerima sijil..oh ya, yang tidak dilupakan pastinya semasa perbarisan Hormat Diraja, dimana Tuanku Sultan berdiri memberi tabik hormat betul-betul di hadapan dan semasa memeriksa barisan, Tuanku berhenti dan bertanya dua soalan. Pada masa tersebut kesemua protokol hilang entah ke mana kerana terlalu gementar.

Apabila berlangsung istiadat rasmi yang melibatkan raja-raja di Malaysia, pastinya Sultan Kedah kelihatan paling menarik untuk ditatap dengan gaya duduk kedua-dua kaki dihalakan ke sebelah.

Alangkah bagusnya jika peranan Raja-raja Melayu sekarang bukan sekadar ketua untuk upacara keagamaan malah meliputi keseluruhan seperti zaman dahulu kala sebelum dijajah.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Ketua Kampung

I heard the that the new line up of Ketua Kampung will be revealed soon, and the ceremony will be around first week of July. Hope these new committee will be much better and pro active even though with lack of fund and 'fun', more needs to be fulfilled and many eyes are staring and watching...

I know someone's name is in the list since he's one of the member of that Party since long time ago...don't know how to react..should be happy for him...

When I was a kid, there were this one house not far from my Mak's house (my grandma) that looks like a Ketua Kampung house, at least to me, who were influenced by old Malay movie, the house looks like other typical traditional house, made of timber with attap roofing but an old man in that house resembled a Ketua Kampung feature and appearance, with many people in and out of his house. There was a long entrance with split level next to it infront of 'rumah ibu' before leading to another family area. The kitchen is on other level, about 4 steps down..

The family area is quite dark but there were this line of bottles with colouful beta fish inside that makes it interesting..
.................................................

I wonder how Ketua Kampung house looks nowadays..?

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Ais Kacang

Just had an ice cream..vanilla flovour with lime coating..heavenly...but I've been thinking of having a nice and rich ais kacang..don't know where to get all this sweet things..

I know one place, but that is too far from here, its somewhere at the Stadium in Alor Setar, the price is still reasonable, and the ais kacang is not like the one you find in KL...Their's are full of colours, red beans, sago, buah nau and nuts....


Hujan emas di negeri orang kan....

Friday, May 16, 2008

Bahasa Kami

There are few staff in this office who came from the same rice bowl state..some from the northern part and some from southern..I realised that we were separated by different geographical area..Most from northern have a different accent and the southern counterpart are much influenced by Penang accent...

We always have breakfast at this stall serving Northern style 'Lempeng'...some said that we Kedahan call it 'lempiang'...but as I remember we just called it 'pek nga'...the name simply derived from the method of preparing it, prepare the mixture and spread it on a hot pan..'tempek dalam belanga...so its famous name is 'pek nga'...how simple we make it sound...

There are other words that I seldom use now..especially after married to Penangite..their's is different with Indian lenggok...

I wonder how my kids will be like going back to Alor Setar and hearing this...'jangan pi main situ..lecah..' (lecah -puddle)
or..'boleh sekilo'...'boleh' in this sentence is not meant to be 'yes'..but more of ' i got 1 kilo of...'

Some words used by Kedahan has been simplified...so the way we speak are much easier..lets take these words for example :-

pergi = pi

mari = mai

sekejap lagi = sat gi

kenapa begitu ? = awat macam tu ? or awat lagu tu ?...lagu here is not any song..!!

mereka = depa ( i wonder how we got this...sapa bagi ganti nama diri ni..?)

kau = hang (it might sound harsh for some people from Key El)


I noticed some people from Langgar speak differently with high note...

And those from Baling and Sik sounds like orang Siam..because they are just at the border..

And those from Changloon..hmm..they too sometimes sound like Siamese to me, but a bit meleret just like those from Perlis...

Some people said that we they way talk is harsh...kasaq..but we are not being rude..it is just the sound because we did not pronounces 'a' as 'e'..more to 'are'...for instance = muka, Kl said 'mu-ke' but we said 'mu-ka''..

But we are proud of what we are..kami bukan kahaq...kami memang macam ni..tapi jangan cari pasai..nanti hampa mai Aloq Setaq, kepala hampa kami putaq......

ok.. till then

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Sampah...hampeh..!!!

We had a sleepless night..Sufiya was having a bad day..badan panas..so we were rushing to the office today..and late..and the rubbish bag are still at the front door outside the house, the cleaning lady and neighbour must have a negative impression on us.....


But that could not be compared with condition in Seberang Perak, just imagine the so called Majlis Bandaraya Alor Setar (tak sesuai...!!!) just provide three ...i repeat 3 numbers of small garbage bin, 3 but small size to accommadate not ten houses but hundreds of them..what are they thinking!!..its been like that since many years ago, the worst part is, the amount of garbage are increasing each day and they only collect what ever inside the bin, that means whatever left on the ground will be there for few days and scattered on the road..like nobody's business..they should have a better solution, or is it because this is not an elite housing area like Jalan Sultanah, therefore people here don't deserved all those better treatment...better ripped off those Bandaraya title...




They only provide 3 garbage bin at these location: not far from Flat Seberang Perak, one at junction nearby old madrasah and the other one is infront of shophouse adjacent to Sekolah Keb Sbg Perak (P)...

Maybe the new gov. should look at this matter, can't wait for people to voice out then only you will take action. Anyway who is the YDP now..?


Back then the resident used to throw everything..I mean everything into the river..used mattress, food, plastic bags, furniture, bodies, ..etc..you name it....buang s*al..buang han*u...that was then, when civic and environment concern were at different level..and now with the campaign Kedah Maju 2010 or 2020 or 2040..we want a better facilities...this is only about sampah...i haven't touch about the road....hampeh.....


So folks...which is better...sampah as garbage or sampah masyarakat..bukan yg ditepi jalan..tapi sampah yg 'kebal' tu...??

Monday, April 21, 2008

From Madras to Great Wall

I bought kuih lopes/loopis or Lopez last week during breakfast as a supplement or snack before lunch, but those kuih ended up in the dustbin..kiasu betul masa nak beli..sometimes it's not the stomach but the desire or maybe the feeling that made us like that.



Back when we were in primary school, there used to be mamak with kandar selling kuih made by nearby mak cik- mak cik, there were wide variety from tepung talam (the one with white creamy and a bit salty top with brown and sweet bottom), abok-abok (round and flat but fluffy with sweet coconut stuffing plus small particles on the outer layer- maybe thats how the name was created), kuih sagu ( commonly in red with grated coconut topping, also fluffy..comes in different shape depends on the mak cik), sagon (ahhh...who doesn't loves this as a kid, I'm not sure about the ingredient, but this sweet things are wrapped in newspaper cone), and masalode (Indian kuih..)....



This mamak are all from India and make a living by selling kuih on this portable kandar, it is round with cone like lid, they usually start walking around around tea time. Most of them were wearing white shirt and white pelikat, some of them have a head scarf or something..nearby our house, there were rows of room on the ground floor of a big house where those mamak stayed. It was dark and narrow, just a small room fit for one person with timber bench as bed, and no luxury at all, those were basic, the floor were still hard clay and there was only one small window. One common bathroom were shared by them, not far from the land lord's house.

These were mamak kuih with kandar, another one is what we used to called 'keling botol'..no offense ya..because they were buying and selling used bottles, the modes operandi are the same, using a kandar but with basket...they will yelled...'botol ! botol...!! with thick Indian accent...(now we have 'old news paper..'). Some women used to scared their naughty children by saying that keling botol will come and get them if they don't behave... :-)

Another type is mamak who run a grocery shop, at our place names like Musa and Mohamed were famous, Mohamed's shop is much nearer to my house, whereby Musa's is not that far but just across the road, we used to go to Musa's not to buy toyu or chikedes but to get stamps from India. At that time, whoever have an oversea stamp could show off a little bit..! :-)
Time passed by, Musa and Mohamed are no longer here in Malaysia, I've heard that they went back to India...the shops are still standing with new operator..it looks almost the same, but something is missing... One thing that reminds me of Mohamed's shop is Popinjay soap, whoever were born in the 70's or before might remember this...

The only street player that remained until now is Maknya Ais (Nyonya selling cold drinks on push cart), she have been selling sarsi and oren bancuh since I was in primary school, no assistant..She will start her business in front of Sekolah Lelaki Sbg Perak and by evening she will be at a junction not far from her house which is infront of Madrasah heading to Tongkang Yard. Maknya's family are originated from China, they are Hokkien but quiet fluent in Malay..even his father were called Awang by old folks here. Their house are different from Malay house, there are influence of Chinese architecture with painted red floor and they have proper perimeter drain compared to other houses nearby.

These are the essence of a place, it doesn't have to be perfect..they are the street performer in their own way....

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Bunga Tanjung, Nasi Lemak & Market Lama

Sometimes its hard to get good food in KL and especially in Putrajaya, of coz there are many choices from Western, Italian, Chinese..you name it...but when it comes to local kampung food, the task is challenging..it is either you 'll stumble upon one but with bad taste or none at all..



Thinking about this, I remember our must-have Popia Mahkamah in Alor Setar, the taste is so yummy and the popia skin is fresh and they are cheap too..maybe the sauce that make it good, the cart was situated near Mahkamah building and infront of junction heading towards Jalan Putra.But the famous popia is no longer at it's original place, the descendant of this popia seller could be found at Jalan Pegawai..his son is continuing the legacy of Popia Mahkamah..the taste might be slightly different, but I just love the thought of having something that reminds me of the past...


When we were in primary school, going to pekan (town) is either by bus, trishaw or just walk from our house which took us only 20 minutes or less depends on the weather and the company..on the way back after shopping spree..there is one place that was in our list..Restoran Bunga Tanjung..this is the old one on the other side of the road, a small restaurant with green laminated seat back to back. I remember back then, we would ordered ais kacang, satay and mee rebus and always be greeted by the owner Pak Mid himself..It was kinda stuffy but we don't mind at all coz that was a highlight of the week..

Another famous eatery is Nasi Lemak Ali which famous among outsiders as well, there are always long qeues everyday..it has been there as long as I could remember...

Modern lifestyle has influenced our eating habit too..even though there are K*C and M*D..we still go for street burger..it's not mainly because of the price but due to its taste..Burger Gemilang is run by few anak muda, and the stall is just near a junction at Medan Kota...not far from Pak Musa's. They are very generous with their ketchup, mayo and other ingredient and the bun is always fluffy not too dry like others...I've started feeling homesick....

Alor Setar is growing slowly now, few things has changed but some place never and maybe would always be there as long as there are demand and there are people who would countinue preserving the old charm of the place.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Flat Seberang Perak...dahulu

Satu-satunya flat kos rendah yang terdapat di kawasan ini adalah Flat Seberang Perak yang mempunyai 2 blok (A & B) dengan ketinggian empat tingkat, dua bilik tidur, ruang tamu dan ruang makan yang sempit, dapur yang kecil serta tong sampah yang 'wangi'. Flat ini mudah dicari kerana kedudukannya di jalan mati, sekiranya kita dari simpang berdekatan Restoran Bunga Tanjung lama, hanya teruskan perjalanan dan sampailah ke flat usang ini.



Flat ini dibina pada tahun 70an di atas tapak yang asalnya kawasan memproses papan. Menurut ceritanya, banyak kejadian aneh semasa kawasan ini digunakan untuk memproses papan, ada yang terlihat kelibat manusia yang keluar dari lapisan kayu-kayu.. :-()



Flat ini kebanyakkannya dihuni oleh golongan berkeluarga, pada masa tersebut tinggal di rumah yang sedemikian tinggi merupakan satu kelebihan jika dibandingkan dengan kami yang tinggal hanya di rumah papan. Flat ini mempunyai kemudahan laluan masuk yang minimum dan jumlah tempat letak kereta yang hanya sedikit dan padang permainan yang disediakan juga adalah hanya ala kadar.

Tetapi pada masa tersebut aktiviti kejiranan di kawasan ini amat menarik, dimana Persatuan Belia 4B agak begitu aktif dengan pelbagai aktiviti seperti lawatan (biasanya ke Tanjung aka Pulau Pinang), ceramah dari jabatan polis serta pertandingan nyanyian yang semestinya mendapat sambutan hangat dari bakat-bakat yang terpendam...:-) Salah seorang yang selalunya akan menyertai pertandingan ini adalah Bakar Pulut, dan lagu pilihannya semestinya lagu-lagu 60an... Disebabkan banyak aktivit seperti ini serta gaya hidup masyarakat pada masa tersebut, boleh dikatakan penghuni disini saling mengenali...siapa yang tidak kenak dengan Pak Hitam, dia bukannya tua, bahkan masih remaja tetapi terkenal kerana perangai dan sifat nakalnya..malah sanggup menaiki van yang membawa mayat berbangsa Cina semata-mata untuk mendapat upah....

Seorang lagi penghuni yan dominan adalah gadis bernama Farid yang agak kurang siuman, beliau tinggal bersama keluarga di Blok B dan setiap malam akan melambai dan menjerit memanggil ...'abang.....!!!!' kepada kapal terbang yang menghala ke lapangan terbang Kepala Batas, tetapi satu perkara yang menarik mengenai Farid adalah sifat baik hatinya, tetapi kerana seringkalil diganggu oleh budak-budak kecil yang nakal, Farid dilihat seperti ganas apabila beliau membaling batu... :-(

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Korban Sungai

Mengikut sejarah perbandaran di negara Eropah dan juga di negara kita, sungailah selalunya menjadi titik permulaan sesebuah bandar, lihat sahaja Seine River di Paris yang masyhur dan banyak lagi bandar di dunia yang semuanya bermula dipinggir sungai yang merupakan nadi pengangkutan.

Sungai Kedah juga merupakan laluan utama pengangkutan pada masa dahulu, bukan setakat itu sahaja sungai ini berfungsi malah turut menjadi 'death zone' buat mereka yang patah hati, mabuk dan sebagainya yang tidak dapat dijelaskan.

Jika sesiapa anak jati dari sana pasti sinonim dengan cerita-cerita korban sungai pada hujung tahun pada lewat 80an dahulu. Ada yang kata 'sungai nak cari orang'...apa-apa pun yang pasti setiap hujung tahun ada sahaja mayat kembung dijumpai di permukaan sungai, di bawah jambatan atau dibawah rumah yang menganjur ke dalam sungai.

Pada suatu hari di tahun 80an, anak jiran kami (Cikgu Mara) memberitahu ibunya bahawa ada patung terlekat dibawah rumah mereka, bila diperiksa rupa-rupanya mayat seorang lelaki India yang sudah kembung..cerita tersebut heboh dalam sekelip mata, dan kami budak-budak yang tidak berapa berani ini dengan pantas menjadi P.I untuk memastikan sendiri bahawa patung tersebut adalah sebenarnya mayat..dan kami sanggup menunggu jip polis dari Balai Polis Alor Setar mengangkut mayat tersebut, masih terbayang sehingga ke hari ini kakinya yang kejung di atas jip polis...ada yang membuat andaian bahawa mungkin si mati mabuk..seperti mangsa yang lain....

Terdapat satu lagi kisah tragis yang pastinya akan diingati sampai bila-bila bagi kami disini, apabila enam orang pemuda menjadi korban dalam masa sehari, kisahnya bermula pada tahun 80an juga, enam orang anak muda menaiki sampan menyusuri Sungai Kedah pada waktu petang, entah macamana sampan yang dinaiki karam dan salah seorang penduduk di Flat Seberang Perak (Allahyarham Jit) tampil membantu, tetapi malangnya yang dibantu bukan lagi bernyawa, kelima-lima mereka telah lemas...tetapi syukur seorang lagi sempat diselamatkan..Ajal Maut Di tangan Tuhan...orang yang membantu juga menjadi statistik korban pada hari tersebut..maka terjadilah hari yang Tragis di Seberang Perak apabila enam mangsa terkorban dihujung tahun (ini menguatkan lagi mitos tentang korban di bulan Disember)..

Keesokkannya ramai yang memenuhi kawasan ini meratapi pemergian mereka, kami hanya memandang dari bawah pokok sukun yang besar bertentangan dengan surau, melihat satu persatu keranda diusung ke tanah perkuburan..memang menyayat hati...

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Tengkujuh

Musim tengkujuh sekarang sudah tidak menentu, tidak seperti 20 tahun dahulu dimana Ramalan Cuaca boleh dipercayai, tapi zaman sekarang semuanya boleh berubah dan berbeza-beza, 'global warming'...atau dah akhir zaman.

Seberang Perak adalah bersebelahan dengan Sungai Kedah, tetapi sepanjang 33 tahun (?..that old..?) hanya sekali kawasan ini dilanda banjir, itu pun semasa banjir besar melanda negara. Pokok-pokok nipah masih lagi menjadi penahan tebing dan pokok - pokok kiambang masih bertaut di permukaan sungai. Pada malam tersebut, dengan berbekalkan lampu suluh berwarna kelabu kami keluar meninjau kepantasan air sungai mengalir ke darat...dalam masa lebih kurang satu jam, air sudah memenuhi seluruh rumah dengan kedalaman 2 inci...mujurlah air tidak berganjak naik lagi, jika tidak habis semua barang perlu ditong sampahkan...

Dan itu merupakan pengalaman pertama dan terakhir banjir di sana, walaupun hujan lebat berjam-jam, Alhamdulillah jarang susah berlaku banjir disitu tidak seperti di Kuala Lumpur, yang kerap sekali dilanda banjir kilat.

Setiap kali hujan lebat pintu air di Empangan Jajar akan ditutup atau dibuka bergantung kepada situasi semasa dan isipadu air laut, kadang-kadang air Sungai Kedah meningkat tinggi dan dikhabarkan kerana air dari Siam (Thailand) mengalir banyak ke sini...

Mukadimah

Assalammualaikum,
Niat dihati hendak mendokumentasi sejarah tentang tempat kelahiran ini sememangnya telah lama ada, bahan sedang dikumpul tapi masih belum mencukupi ..dan cara yang terbaik dan mudah adalah dengan menghasilkan blog seperti ini.

'tempat jatuh lagi dikenang, inikan pula tempat bermain....'

Jika dilihat sekali lalu, tiada apa istimewanya tempat ini, Seberang Perak hanyalah sebuah perkampungan dipinggir bandar Alor Setar dan bersebelahan dengan Sungai Kedah yang mengalir lesu (meminjam tajuk buku Sasterawan Negara A.S Said). Sungguhpun begitu ia mempunyai sejarah serta kenangan buat mereka yang pernah lahir, tinggal, dibesarkan atau singgah sebentar...Disinilah lahirnya tokoh negara, penggiat seni dan pelbagai jenis manusia dengan pelbagai masalah dari ekonomi, masalah pendatang, masalah dadah dan gam serta masalah sosial remaja.

Blog ini bukan hanya mengungkit cerita lama, tetapi bakal mengetengahkan isu semasa untuk tatapan dan rujukan bersama.

Jika terdapat sebarang cadangan serta komen-komen membina, silalah dihulurkan untuk kebaikan semua pihak.