Ode to Pak Malim: An Epilogue

My favourite autumn picture

Pantuns, syaers and seloka, never failed to provoke the sense of playfulness that exists even in the most serious amongst us. The teasing, the challenge and counter challenge and its very allusive nature make the pantun an all time favourite. It is certainly my all time favourite, especially in moments of despair, in times when the world gets too serious, and the politics threaten to get too ridiculous.

My Choc-a-bloc blog is just what its name suggests – choc-a-bloc with all sorts of rants and jottings of just about anything from my cats and sayang mamas to things trivial that occupy my waking hours and sometimes my restless nights. So, when I feel the need to de-stress, my mind goes into a pantun mode. And as you can see I had even devoted syaers to blogspot and spammers. Oh, Kak Teh, do get a life!

As the 99^th commenter, Edelweiss noted, this certainly reminds us of the time when Abang Malaya bursts into my blog with such beautiful thought provoking lyrics that not only reflect on our time at Jalan Riong but also the occasionally rant and frustrations about the current political situation. And Abang Malaya, like Pak Malim caught the popular imagination and elicit the playfulness in us that resulted in long, and contagious balas membalas – from so many people. And Abang Malaya, like Pak Malim was anonymous and this provokes our curiousity even more in our quest to find out their identity – the people whose pens and cursors dance effortlessly to beautifully crafted words.

Syaers and pantuns feature quite seriously in my life, especially after doing my MA in Traditional Malay Literature and verses from Syaer Bidasari and Syaer Dang Sarat, which I am still studying, come dancing in my mind to distract me from the mundane things that I do.

So, thank you to all – especially to Pak Malim, Kucing Ray yang Alim and Abang Malaya, whoever and whereever he is and to those who sportingly responded in such hilarious manner and rhymes, keeping me awake and alert and certainly laughing to myself a lot during these gloomy, wet and dreary days of autumn. Thank you. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and I hope Pak Malim will still visit me.

Pantun memantun is not unknown when I get together with my siblings. Let me leave you with a taste of our brand of pantuns. After overdosing ourselves with food that Mak cooked and more from the stalls in and around Alor Setar, we’d sit lazily around the big family table, eyeing the piles of plates in the sink. Then someone would break the silence:

Baju lama baju lusuh,
Hai, pinggan banyak sapa nak basuh?

About Syaer Dang Sarat
Dang Sarat's Debut in Liverpool
A Tragic End to Dang Sarat

An Ode to Pak Malim, Kucing Ray yang Alim

It has been a terrible start to the day. It would seem as if winter has come to drive away autumn with all its might; the rain, the strong winds and the cold. From where I am sitting, I could see a carpet of golden leaves on the ground, the aftermath of last night’s ferocious attack.

So, any thoughts of going out also went out of the windows and I opted to opening YM windows and cyber windows that allowed me a peak into the outside world without the fear of being blown away.

I went to Norway to see my newfound friend, made my ritual visits to Puteri Kamaliah just to be spooked once again by her eerie stories and many more. Then I decided to look at my own blog traffic, who comes a knocking via which blog. And to my surprise, a visitor found his/her way to choc-a-blog by googling Pak Malim, the ubiquitous cat that is roaming blogosphere, leaving its lyrical pawmarks everywhere.

Pak Malim never fails to provoke a smile and tempt the uninitiated to try a hand at his own brand of verse. I have found him at Puteri’s, Pi Bani’s, NJ’s and Kay’s.

So, it is high time, says Kak Teh, sipping tea with a squeeze of lime,
That we devote an ode to Pak Malim, kucing Ray yang alim.

What do you think, asks Kak Teh, tickled pink!

An Ode to Pak Malim, Kucing Ray yang alim

Siapakah gerangan Pak Malim, banyak orang tertanya,
soal Kak Teh dengan mulut tenganga,
pandai berpantun dan berseloka, agak Kak Teh sambil membaca
dengan sungguh leka.

Pak Malim ke sini dan ke mana-mana,
merayap di alam siber, singgah di sini dan sana,
membawa maksud yang sungguh bermakna,
kata Kak Teh penuh kagum dan terpesona.

Pi Bani beria sungguh nak belikan sardin satu tin,
Untuk Pak Malim yang mungkinkah dari Mantin?
Kak Teh nak merisik asal usul Pak Malim apakah
pakai ilmu batin,

Siapakah dia tanya Kak Teh kepada seorang datin,
Dak aih!! kata Mak Datin, dia bukan dari Mantin,
tambah Mak Datin sambil memakai tudung satin,
mungkin dia kucing yang makan ikan tin,
dan kekadang bermadah bahasa Latin.

Pak Malim yang suka mengelat, kagum baca
Puteri Kamaliah pandai bersilat,
ketawa Kak Teh memikirkan Pak Malim macam ulat, mengelat,
bersilat tapi tak lupa solat.

Nak tahu jawapan Kak Teh melawat Pi Bani,
tengok Pak Malim peluk kera terlalu berani,
Kak Teh tahu Pak Malim pernah ke Indonesia,
pada Kay-Leeda, dia bocorkan rahsia,
Hish! katanya lagi, di sana dia peluk bohsia!

Awatlaaa, Pak Malim, nasib baik kucing bukan manusia!

Bukan bohsia dan kera saja dia suka peluk,
Big Bird juga dia tak kira makhluk,
kepada NJ dia cerita begitu teruk,
Kak Teh ternganga terkejut beruk!

Pak Malim ceritalah sikit tentang diri sendiri,
asal usul kamu dari mana datang ke mari,
setakat nak kenal lagi, kata Kak Teh sambil memberus gigi,
Kalau lah sudi, kita berpantun lagi,
pujuk Kak Teh hampir nak terjatuh perigi.

Baiklah Pak Malim, kucing Ray yang alim,
Kak Teh tanya dengan baik, bukannya zalim,
mana Pi Bani, sambung pulak seloka,
Kak Teh dah penat gelanggang pantun dibuka,
Puteri Kamaliah marilah ikut sama,
pujuk Pak Malim, berentak berirama.

Tapi, Kak Teh masih tertanya, siapakah gerangannya Pak Malim, kucing Ray yang alim??

Himpunan seloka/pantun/syaer Kak Teh:

Me and My Syaer on the no: 7
Syaer Untuk Sang Suami
Syaer Sang Isteri
Balada untuk Abang Malaya
Syaer Sang Spammer
Syaer untuk Blogspot
Syaer Hari Kebangsaan
Syaer Sibuk Sakan
Syaer Pilihanraya

Syaer Pilihanraya

Assalamualaikum Kak Teh ucapkan,

kepada semua kawan dan rakan,

di kampong, bandar dan juga pekan,

esok undi mu penting jangan lupakan.

Mari seketika kita berseloka,

hilangkan penat, letih dan duka,

imbas kembali janji manis bercuka,

para pemimpin kita sejak merdeka.

Demam pilihanraya semakin rancak,

panas habanya semakin memuncak,

kami yang jauh pun rasanya jugak,

dari seberang laut pun kami berhak.

Esok harinya yang menentukan,

kalah dan menang akan diumumkan,

segala janji mesti ditunaikan,

bukan sekadar nak dijadikan umpan.

Seronok dengar cerita berkempen,

bertikam lidah semua pemimpin,

menunjukkan hebat zahir dan batin,

memancing undi semasa bertanding.

Kisah dakwat menjadi berita,

mahalnya harga tidak terkata,

sudah dibeli dari India sana,

sekarang katanya tak boleh diguna.

Kak Teh terfikir seorang diri,

termenung sejenak menggigit jari,

berjuta habis dalam beberapa hari,

duit yang hilang macam mana nak ganti?

Terbaca pula kisah Pn Maimun,

usianya lanjut semangatnya bertimbun,

dah masuk Facebook peminatnya berkerumun,

berbasikal berkempen serata kampung.

Pilihlah pemimpin yang dianggap wajar,

yang tidak sombong yang masih boleh diajar,

yang berpengalaman, berjwa rakyat dan sedar

tidak lupa janji kerana kemewahan dikejar.

Sekian dulu Kak Teh bermadah,

berpantun berseloka bukannya mudah,

ingat, pangkah yang salah membawa padah,

nanti bertahun menyesal tak sudah..

Kepada bakal pemimpin Kak Teh ingatkan,

negara kita yang kita sayangkan,

berbaktilah kepada negara dengan keikhlasan.

amanat rakyat jangan dialpakan.

Klasik Nasional menggamit memoriku

Whoever it was who created the jingle for RTM1 Klasik Nasional has my everlasting gratitude. ‘Klasik Nasional. Segalanya di sini. Menggamit memori” So it goes. Since my discovery of the channel, it has been nothing else but live entertainment from that channel. It makes me feel so close to home, listening to the news in Malay, lagu-lagu permintaan and even those annoying tete-e-tete advertisements now make me chuckle.

One morning I was frying plantain, the one I bought at Portobello market as it was going cheap at five in the evening. Nothing beats hot pisang goreng cicah gula for breakfast. The aroma permeating the whole kitchen, with the dulcet tones of the DJ presenting the request programme ‘Dari Hati ke Hati’ in the background was the closest I have ever felt to home. If not for the cold air seeping in through the kitchen door, if not for the golden yellowing leaves I saw through the mistying glass window, softly falling on to the ground on that autumn morning, I would have thought I was at home.

Taufiq had kindly brought the speaker from the PC as near as the cables would go to the kitchen. And from that moment on, the kitchen was my own little world as news and songs from Klasik Nasional kept beckoning, so to speak, my memory.

From the news of the Bilik Berita (whereI once did my internship), I heard about the death of one of Malaysia’s oldest statesmen, Tan Sri Khir Johari, and I remembered Pak’s words everytime we listened to news about the then education minister from the small transistor that Mak lovingly placed on the old fridge, “Tu adik beradik kita tu...sebelah Pak.” But I never asked how was it that a man so high up there could be our adik beradik.

One day, I was listening to the news again when I heard a news item that a Datuk Seri Azizan Ariffin has been made RMAF Chief. What? Could it possibly be Jan, an old friend from those years of bell botts and flower power and mini bikes with high handles? Jan is indeed an old friend, a brother of my dearest friend from Primary One. That brief announcement brought back memories of outings to Pantai Merdeka with the family, midnight walks with the moonlight bathing the shimmering sea in search of crabs and chit chats and story telling about ghosts right till the early hours of the morning. And, of course, a little crush if I am allowed to admit now, of a young school girl who looked up adoringly to the smart and handsome would be officer and a gentleman. The last time we met was last year, as he treated his sister and I to lunch of nasi padang in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Congratulations Jan, er Datuk Seri.

What I enjoyed most while listening to Klasik Nasional is the request programmes. It is a real treat to be able to listen to old songs from those black and white movies, such as Jalak Lenteng, Bawang Putih Bawang Merah and those P. Ramlee classics. It was while frying the plantain that I heard a request for Hancur Badan Kandung Tanah by Tan Sri P Ramlee and Puan Sri Saloma...gosh, how times have changed. I then imagine Pak looking up dreamily from his newspapers, puffing his pipe, his feet tapping slowly in rythm to the music. Mak, sitting with her sewing by the window, would stop in mid stitch, a smile playing on her lips. What I really need now is Kebun Pak Awang and then I could really run riot with my memories!

Anyway, talk about menggamit memori! My last entry here, inspired by the anonymous Abang Malaya, had certainly provoked and jolted some old memories. Thanks, Abang Malaya.

One song from Klasik Nasional recently really brought back some very old memories hurtling back and you must be wondering what this song that you are hearing, Pegang Tali by S. Ahmad and Rohani S is all about.

I only used to see S. Ahmad, the veteran singer of the 60’s and 70’s, in entertainment magazines and I remember him in white suits and platform shoes with that slick hairstyle so popular in those days. Then some time in the nineties, he appeared in London and he came into our lives and became the older brother for most of us Malays in London. He made the best ever mee goreng, he told the best ever jokes and stories of days gone by in the entertainment industry and he was one of the best ever brother who was not a brother that I have ever had. He loved my children, he adored Taufiq who was then perhaps only a few years old. Three days past without seeing Taufiq, he’d ring me up and ask us to drive over to where he was working and to bring Taufiq along. Upon seeing Taufiq he’d give him the biggest hug and playfully bite and pinch his chubby cheeks.

And he had a wonderful voice. We used to meet up at Ezani’s place and he’d warm our winter nights with his wonderful rendition of Widuri as Ezani played on the organ.

Then as suddenly as he had appeared in our lives, he left. I remember the summer he went back to Malaysia never to return. He died and never fulfilled his promise to us that he would be back. To Abang Mat, Al fatehah and thank you for the wonderful times you had given us. And thank you Klasik Nasional for jolting my memory.

.

Balada untuk Abang Malaya...Dari Jalan Riong ke London

Wahai pembaca Kak Teh berseloka,
membuka cerita pada pagi hari buta,
menyahut Abang Malaya empunya cerita,
bertanyakan khabar Kak Teh sekeluarga.

Muncul Abang Malaya mengusik jiwa,
terkenang kembali waktu remaja,
Di Jalan Riong Kak Teh bekerja,
sebelum ke London ingat 3 tahun saja.

Gurindam Abang Malaya membuka kisah,
selagi tak tahu nama hati gelisah,
Kak Teh berseloka supaya tak resah,
sehingga dapat tahu namamu yang sah.

Gurindam Abang Malaya mengusik kalbu,
ke Jalan Riong fikiran ku melulu,
semasa wartawan remaja dari ITM dulu,
nak panggung kepalapun rasa malu.

Jalan Riong menyimpan seribu kenangan,
tempat bertemu kekasih pujaan,
ramai lagi teman dan rakan,
sehingga hari ini masih berkawan.

Dua puluh enam tahun di perantauan,
pulang selalu jenguk ibu dan taulan,
ke Jalan Riong mencari kawan
rasa terubat hati yang rawan.

Abang Malaya duduk di mana,
kerja di NST atau BH sana?
kalau dah pencen sekarang bagaimana
datanglah ke London makan angin bersama.

Dulu memang Kak Teh dikatakan ayu,
bersarung kebaya kita selalu,
sekarang pinggang tak ada hati ku sayu,
makan banyak semuanya lalu.

Yang mana satu Abang Malaya,
Kak Teh dok ingat jangan tak percaya,
banyak juga teman abang2 jejaka,
semuanya hemsem dan kacak belaka.

Berselang bulan, musim dan tahun,
bertambah usia, uban di ubun,
yang dulu ramping dah jadi tembun,
Botak dan boroi jejaka dah jadi rabun.

Kami masih dalam ingatan Abang,
terima kasih diucapkan datang bersembang,
dalam dunia siber kita bergebang,
bila agaknya nak jumpa berdepang-depang (this is the Trenganu influence!)

Sudahlah di sini, Kak Teh bermadah,
berseloka sakan di pagi nan indah,
ku mohon diri untuk menyiapkan juadah,
sebelum bekerja yang tak sudah-sudah.