A Kampong Home In Ampang Jaya

It was the 15th. of December 2007, a Saturday. What was so special about that date and day you would say? Very special. I was going to Pak Idrus's home in Ampang Jaya. I have met him once at Kunikuniya a KLCC over a large cup of coffee. He asked me to visit his home one day and if possible to bring my wife along to meet his wife and make it a friendship of two families. I told him I would and will do so after my wife came over from Pasir Mas on the 14th. of December 2007
An email from Pak Idrus excited me greatly as he was asking me to visit his home on that Saturday the 15th since he would be having a lunch meet with his fellow Kelab Volvo Klasik (KVK) memebers. How opportune can this be.
I shot back a reply confirming my attendance and request an earlier arrival than the 12 noon as per his invitation. Another of my request is to ask for an extra two guests as my son would be driving me there and being just married he wouldn't want to leave his wife behind. Both requests were granted.
An sms from Akmal asked me if I was going to Pak Idrus home for the lunch which I confirmed with a solid yes but apologised in advance that I couldn't help him to get there as my son's small kancil will be full with four adults. Compact cars are really small.

My son Azuan came all the way from Shah Alam to fetch us. He came alone as his wife Izzah wanted to stay home. So there were only three of us instead of four. I gave him Pak Idrus address and the directions given by Pak Idrus on how to get to his place. Pak Idrus said it would be easy for my son to find his place as after reaching Ampang Putri Specialist hospital, take the road to Kelab Darul Ehsan and after SPCA building on the left ride over the two bumps. After the second bump, turn left and proceed uphill and the first road is Jalan Dua after which is Jalan 4. At this junction take Jalan 4D. The second terrace house with the 'hutan' with a brown gate is his house. Simple enough rite? Not when you were looking for SPCA building expecting it to be the size of Ampang Putri. Not that easy when the left turn turn out to be a right turn actually. I made the mistake when recalling from my poor memory. Not that easy when MPAJ forgot to arrange the the alphabetically named roads in alphabetical order and forgot or missed the road 4B. 4H doesnt mean that you are faraway from 4D. The sight of the green Volvo 122 parked behind Pak Idurs's house and walking to the other side and seeing him standing on his serambi brought great relief to the driver who kept pestering me to call Pak Idrus and get further directions from him.


Arriving at Pak Idrus's house.

It was not quite 12 noon when we reached there and no other guests were there yet. That gave me ample time to start shooting pictures of his house from outside and inside. An electric gate opened outward to let us in. A very modern feature in a kampong look alike home. A short walk up the short flight of stairs took us to the 'serambi' of the house which is a typical feature of a Malay house. Food were already served at the 'serambi' but despite our hunger due to a very light breakfast, we chose to engage our hosts in small chats. My wife met Pak Idrus's wife Puan Asmah and after that she settled on the comfortable chairs in the lounge area while the very big flat screen TV was showing some programmes which never attract the attention of any o f us or even the host. Pak Idrus was indeed a gracious host and engaged my wife and son in exciting chat while his wife was busy in the kitchen I prefer to click away with my camera first by visiting the now famous 4 star restroom in his house. It was a comfortable one indeed. I tried the pedestal toilet for comfort. I had to do it after drinking those acasia drink as advised by Puteri for people with high water retention in the body. The drink made my bladder reach its maximum ability to contain the fluid in quite a short while from my last visit of the loo at my daughters place before leaving. Any moment longer and I would have wetted my pants.

Food delicious food were ready when we arrived. It was served at the serambi.

The large TV screen would be fun to watch the movies.

First to impress me was the brown metal gate. It was an automatic gate. Very convenient if you are in a hurry to escape from falling rains. Next was of course the serambi replete with wooden railings. Pak Idrus's pet frog will croak the minute you passed by it to walk up the few steps to the serambi. If you are just coming for a casual chat with the host, sitting around the table at the serambi should suffice. As I had bigger misson than that I had to ask the gracious host to show me around. Near the kitchen I could see another flight of steps to another room where Pak Idrus stock his 6,000 books in his study. No wonder this man could write so much. He reads alot. I forgot to take a good look and a snap of the kitchen. I will have to ask Pak Idrus for a picture of it as I guess it's so beautiful and modern that he will want everyone to share it beauty.

The serambi is a nice place for visitors to chat.

The decor of the lounge area was definitely very pleasant to the eyes. Everything was neatly arranged. The lady of the house must have loved it very much and spent lots of time arranging and dusting the many mementos from their travels and gifts by loved ones in such a neat manner. I would have spent more time there if not for the need to fill up my growling stomach which was by then trying to outdo the croaking of Pak Idrus pet frog.

The gracious host in his living room.

Two attentive listener listening to stories from Pak Idrus.



Didn't I tell you the rest room is classy?


The shower room is enclosed keeping the rest of the area dry.

It would not do much justice if I didn't tell you anything about Pak Idrus's mini garden. Located at the front end of his serambi, this garden seemed elevated from the road level by some 5 ft of height. That made it all the more fascinating as sitting at the serambi will give you quite a vista view of the neighbourhood. Though a small garden, it was complete with many plants among which was the orchid plants. A small pool with fishes swimming around made the garden complete. It was at this garden that Pak Idrus bribed the wild squirrels with fruits no less than apples to make them visit him as often as they could. I now know that the ciku fruits were not good enough to make the couple of squirells at my home to pose for me for the kind of photography sessions that Pak Idrus had managed to get with his squirel models.

The mini garden where Pak Idrus kept his guard frog. The frog will never fail to greet a visitor.

Puan Hasmah, the lovely wife of Pak Idrus.

While we were having our lunch, the frog gave another croak announcing the arrival of our mutual good friend Akmal. Akmal had taken a taxi to get there. He joined us for the lunch of delicious multicoloured nasi minyak with mutton, beef and chicken curry. Such a varied servings and you can't blame the host if you still cannot find something of your choice. The dalcha was nice too. For desert the host gave us musk mellon, chocolate fruit cakes made specially by one of his children. There were delicious biscuits too but after 3 helpings of nasi minyak, I had to forgo all the other delicacies except the chocolate cake which was too delicious to pass.

Akmal in the dark shirt came in time to join us for the lunch.

Pak Idrus's friend by the name of Encik Ahmad who used to work in Sarawak came next. Pak Idrus spent sometime doing his goverment service in Sarawak of which he had many fond memories. Another guest who came was an Encik Kamaruzaman whose face looked all too familiar to me. Pak Idrus introduced him as a former Felcra Officer (Federal L and Coordination and Rehabilitation Authority). Upon recollection, I now remeber that he was The Director General of that organization. Never too scared to voice how I felt about him as being familiar, I told him that I was an ex Felda (Federal Land Development Authority) staff. I narrowed it down to the Training Division and threw down a few names for good measure to rekindle his memory. Bingo, he was an ex officer at Felda too before joining Felcra. In fact he was my boss when I was in the the training division. I opted to go to the plantation side to get better promotional prospect. It was only for a while that I served under Encik Kamaruzaman and hence the poor recollection of him but remember him I did. He invited me to his home nearby to Pak Idrus which I declined as I want to pay another visit to Pak idrus and drag him along to Encik Kamaruzaman's place to reminince about old times.

My Ex boss En. Kamaruzaman. He was the head of The Training Division when I was a training instructor in one of Felda's Training School.

More guests of Pak Idrus came, mostly from his Kelab Volvo Kelasik. How I wished I could stay on as Volvo classic is another dear subject to me as I had rebuilt one my self when I was in living in Kuala Krai. If you see the Volvo 122 with the registration number MB 7363 running around in Puchong soon, you know it was once my baby. The car is being refurbished again by its current owner Mr. Ng Kah Sing, an old friend of mine.

A certain Dr. Chow Chee Keong who was originally from Malacca must have left the car in Kelantan after upgrading it to a newer model, a 144 or even a 164 probably. He was a medical practitioner doing his practise in Kelantan.

Taking leave from our gracious hosts Pak Idrus and Kak Asmah, we left for my sister's place in Gombak, a sister whom I have not visited for some time. With a son doing the driving, visiting places around KL is so much fun.

Its The Tag Thing Again

Thinking that I have managed to escape doing the tag after Ruby Ahmad accidentally deleted her tag posting and bragging to the world that I won't have to do the tag was a great mistake. Rita Ho immediately put the tag on me as she couldn't bear the sight of me grinning from ear to ear after escaping the tag by Ruby. Like it or not how could I not be sporting enough to do it after being tagged by such great friends especially one who is recuperating from a broken leg? So Ruby, for your pleasure and Ruby's pleasure of seeing me answering the 35 or so questions, I give you my sincerest answer as only an honest man could do it. I hope none of the readers will be pissed off by my honest answers. Other wise just dont continue reading beyond this point.

























Since you have chosen to carry on reading, don't blame me if you are pissed off.

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night.

My grand daughter Nur Alya Jazlin. She said that the smell of my fart was so bad that it could have killed a small animal. A seven year old girl speaking her mind.




2. What were you doing at 0800?

Walking with my wife to Pasar Tani Shah Alam near the Shah Alam Stadium. It is there every Sunday morning. It was quite a big one and you could get many things there. I bought a second hand transformer to bring down the 220 Volts of the Malaysian electricity to 110 Volts suitable for my daughter's radio which was bought from the US. At RM20 it was a good buy only to find that the radio was not in a working condition.


Pasar Tani Shah Alam as seen from the balcony of my son's apartment.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?

Reading Ruby Ahmad's comment that now there are two hounding me since Rita Ho has ganged up with her to get me to do the tag.

4. What happened to you in 2006?

I retired from the government services. At last I was free what I had been dreaming of doing. Doing nothing.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?

Never remember saying anything aloud. My memory must be failing me now. Sign of old age catching up on me.

6. How many beverages did you have today?

I have to plead senility again for not remembering how many. Anyway do you really want to know?

7. What color is your hairbrush?

The last time I checked myself I was of a different gender than the one who uses the hairbrush.


8. What was the last thing you paid for?

Ah this was too recent to forget. I paid for the second hand transformer at the Pasar Tani.

9. Where were you last night?

At my sons's place in Shah Alam. Were you expecting me to be somewhere else? No way when my wife was with me hahahaha.


A flowering Bungor tree (Lagerstroema speciosa) being used as landscape around Brunsfield Service Apartment in Section 13 Shah Alam.


10. What color is your front door?

The last time I was home it was in dark brown. Could have changed if my wife paid somebody else to repaint it just to surprise me after being away fom home for a month.


Can you see the color of my front door? I cant.

11. Where do you keep your change?

My trouser's pocket. Who knows I may need them to ride the RapidKL Bus again tomorrow and they require the exact amount.

12. What’s the weather like today?

About 30 degrees C. Cloudy. Can't describe more details.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?

I love the one with the yam flavour. Must be the kampung guy that I am being raised on tubers and all those kinds of food.

14. What excites you?

Reading great comments from friends on my latest postings on my blogsite.

15. Do you want to cut your hair?

Yes when it is abit longer. I do it once in every 3 weeks.

16. Are you over the age of 25?

Yes. How I wish to be 25 again so that I can relive my life, avoid doing all the mistakes that I made.

17. Do you talk a lot?

Depends on the topic and who is engaging me in the talk. If it is Pak Idrus of in passing - malaysian, of course I will talk alot as he loves to talk to each other.

18. Do you watch the O.C.?

What is O.C?

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?

None. I guess Steven Spielberg dont count right?

20. Do you make up your own words?

No. There are enough words in English and Malay words to communicate with. At the worse I can always fall back on my Kelantanese dialect. Do you want to know who did? My youngest granddaughter, she coined a few new words. It sounds something agaaga or something and I can't decipher what she mean't by that.

21. Are you a jealous person?

Who isn't? Even my good friend U Lee became one when a certain Tony walked away with his girlfriend.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.

Ashaari Amin. He told me he has the technology to detect breast cancer at an early stage. I will give you his contact number should you ever need his services. Remember, If it has reached the stage of a lump it is already quite too late.

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.

Kamaruddin. I won't tell you more about him.

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?

My daughter Azura.

25. What does the last text message you received say?

Sorry. Its private and confidential.

26. Do you chew on your straw?

How to chew when you are toothless?

27. Do you have curly hair?

Not when I keep it short.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?

Back home to Pasir Mas.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?

Can't think of anybody. Everybody seems nice to me. I will tell you when I meet one someday.

30. What was the last thing you ate?

Fried banana, Do you want some?

31. Will you get married in the future?

How could I? Though I can marry another three wives, my wife won't let me.

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?

Never see a movie anymore since I started blogging.

33. Is there anyone you like right now?

I will skip on this one. Naming one will make the others jealous.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes?

I do it everyday. Showing a good example to the grandchildren is good as everybody should chip in to help do the house chores.

35. Are you currently depressed?
Yes. I have yet to find a way how to tell my wife that I bought a new notebook which she will never approve. Please God help me.

36. Did you cry today?
Not yet. I will only cry after reading U Lee's sad story. Since no new one was posted today I havent cried yet.

37. Why did you answer and post this?
Ruby Ahmad reminded me thet there are now two ladies hounding me to do this tag. That means at least there will be two readers who will be reading it. What more could I ask?

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey.
Is this really a survey? What are you studying? I cant think of five people who loved to be tagged. I think the following 2 people will do it:

j.t of 'JAQUI's CURVE'

fye_d.flowright of 'Flying Without Wings'

Is there anybody else who wants to be tagged? Just indicate it in your comment and I will add you to my tag list.

MRT @ Kak Ton's Place.

I had the opportunity of my life to attend Mee Rebus Tuesday (MRT) at Kak Ton's place in Kelana Jaya. My attendance was made possible by courtesy of Elviza Michele who had volunteered to pick me up at IOI Megmall Puchong and later send me back to Amanputra Puchong. Without her kind assistance, I would have never made it to Kak Ton's place as I don't even have her address. Elviza came together with Acciaccatura as she herself wasn't so sure of the way around Puchong. Founding IOI Megamall wasn't difficult as it is the most prominent landmark in Puchong.
Only the traffic held her back from reaching there at the agreed time of 11.30 AM. Since Elviza was the only one who had been to Kak Ton's place before, she was allowed to show off her expertise of driving us around Kelana Jaya only to be told by Acciaccatura later that she should have taken a more direct route to Kak Ton's place by driving straight along Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong. We had been driving all along LDP from Puchong. A left turn before the PKNS hockey pitch and a few more turns took us to Kak Ton's place.
In the absence of Mat Salo, I became the official photographer. This post is only meant to show some pictures and show you who were at the MRT of 11th Dec 2007. Please use the pictures as you deem fit. They have yet to be resized though.


The group photo. Kerp is always the star in group photo.
Standing from left: Captain Yusof, Galadriel. Middle row: Kak Ton, Raden Galoh, Acciaccatura, Pi Bani, Elviza. Sitting: Kerp. Squatting: Yours truly. Ofcourse you cant see Rocky, he is behind the camera. Shanghai Stephen was still at the table accompanying Pasquale with his mee rebus.

Kak Ton's other half, Abang Ruslani. A short chat later revealed that we were both involved with Kumpulan Fima once, with him being the Insurance Consultant and me the Project Officer of Cashew Industries of Malaysia, Padang Saujana, Besut. If I had known him earlier, I would have stayed on with Kumpulan FIMA as he was so close to the late Chairman of Kumpulan FIMA, Tan Sri Basir Ismail.

Can you guess who is the demure looking lady seated between Raden Galoh and Acciccatura? If you can tell me the right answer I will think of a present for you. Those who were at the MRT are not qualified to participate.

The star being photographed with his female fans.

Husna with Elviza trying to hide her face from the camera while Kak Ton gave us a sweet smile.

Dino with Shanghai Stephen and Galadriel.

Kerp loves the mee rebus so much that he put it close to his heart while Captain Yusof gave us his Monalisa smile.

Captain Yusof telling tales of his seafaring days. "When I sailed the high seas, the waves were so big", he seemed to say.

How cuddly can you get?

Dino reciting the doa before having his mee rebus.


Yours truly with Akhiruddin Attan aka Rocky of the famous Rocky's Bru. Rocky and H J Angus were instrumental in getting me to blog beyond the first blog. Unfortunately my ignorance about how to manage the blogsite led me to delete that first blog where I wrote the reasons why I have to blog and join the other thousands of 'goblogs' in Malaysia. Some politicians hate goblogs as they tend to tell the truth to the public which may tarnish their 'good clean image' that they have been displaying to the public. Their good clean image is vital to their political survival. So now you know why politicians hate goblogs.

Can you guess whose unfinished ciggarette this is? See who felt guilty and owned up in the comment box for this blog.

The following bloggers attended MRT of 11th December 2007 at Kak Ton's place.

Pi Bani of Pi's Twist

Kerp of Let's Wheel

Acciaccatura of So What Now? (Apa Lagi Ya?)

Captain Yusoff of The Ancient Mariner

Galadriel of Euphoria In Misery

Raden Galoh of Onebreastbouncing

Pasquale of Barking Magpie

Stephen Francis of Shanghai Fish

Elviza of Write Away

Akhiruddin Attan of Rocky's Bru

Pak Zawi of Life As I See It.

Also present, Rusdy Mustapha of NST.

On behalf of the bloggers who attended MRT of 11th December 2007, I would like to say thank you to our gracious hosts Kak Ton of Tok Mommy and her other half, Abang Ruslani whose ability to make my first visit to their home felt so welcomed will be remembered forever .