The catch

Though Pulau Ketam is for poor sportfisherman but the catch is ok.
Not bad at all according to my lowly standard.

Cos you can't compare with the double digit kilos catches somewhere else but the fun factor easily compensate the extra kilos.

You'd suprise at the variety of fishes around the island.

My first boat?

Its not a boat but a sampan. Bought when the fishing bug really had me by the throat. A couple of grand in late nineties.

A boat, an explorer fibreglass boat & a 15hp motor will enable me & gang to explore Pulau Ketam & its vicinity.

Pulau Ketam is the heaven for poor sportfisherman looking for their fishing fix in those days. There are few islands crisscrossed by inland rivers. You can take cover in the small rivers when the weather is not favorable or you can dart across the wider water when the weather is ok.

Kg Ketapang, Pekan

Ini ialah Kg Ketapang, Pekan Pahang.
Tak ingat tahun bila menetap di sini, tapi peristiwa semasa tinggal disini amat jelas dalam ingatan.

Masa tu agaknya tak sekolah lagi. Tak ingat pun memori ttg sekolah. Shall ask Tok about that.

Yg paling ingat main lastik gelang getah. Dulu panggil tagan getah. Loads of getah gelang was placed on top on discarded milk cans or empty bottles. A line was drawn about 15 feet away. Everybody will stand behind the line & take turn to hit the cans or the bottles with slingshot. It's not that easy you know.

The challenge is to hit the can or the bottle & pocket the booty, rubber band or getah gelang. The winner will slides the booty up his arms.
The boy with his arm covered the most will be the undisputed champion. He will strut around until his mom caught up with him for not taking his bath on time.
Berbilur...
That's the word to describe the red marks on your calf after being hit by batang ubi kayu.
Ha ha champion kena rotan. The rest cepat2 pegi mandi.
What a fantastic life.

Dulu banyak lori tanah besar like those in mining pit, parking tepi jalan di waktu petang. Tanahnya warna merah. Its not tanah but boxite.

D'ya remember?

Do you remember this house?
This place? Ayah A would, I guess.

I was in Darjah 6, which meant he was in Darjah 3? What school? I can't recall.
This is the very house we call home
back in 73. Was it called Kg Benggali?

I wasn't expecting to see this place still exist. Smack in the heart of town.

Like being in time warp, minus the people. 30 odd years and it is still there?
Waiting for me to see it for myself?
Maybe it's waiting for Ayah A too.


Still remember konda kondi games? The paperboat race during rains.

Tok colleague, Syed Dollah, fellow from Tekal, rent a house a little further down the road. His son, Syed Badri, I still remember.

The house under the bamboo trees was occupied by a single teacher from my school too. Can't remember his name.

The house( with the public phone attached?) is the landlord's.
A lady with a beautiful daughter.
She sold those ice cream malaysia(those syrup drink frozen in plastic tube) in those hot afternoon.

Alma mater

Recent CNY I'd been to Kuantan, when someone offered my wife free lodging at her resort in Sg Soi, near Tg Lumpur.
An opportunity opened up to do stuff I'd been meaning to do for quite sometimes. Trace my places of personal history in Kuantan, after 30 odd years.

We moved a lot during primary school years as Tok was an Askar Wataniah instructor, teaching villagers the rudimentary of civil defence.

That was in 72 & 73 if I weren't mistaken. The first house we moved to was high up in Bkt Sekilau.

Went to to a town school called Sek Keb Teruntum. Spent 2 years in that school. One of the best years of my primary lives. I was good, the school was good & the teachers were super.

The headmaster was a fellow from Kerdau named Cikgu Ariffin. Cikgu Ariffin went on to become my cousin when he married Embong Waimah, anak Mak Andak Miah in later years. He passed away a couple of years ago. Cikgu Ariffin was the handsome guy in dark suit you see in the pic.
The other is my best teacher, Cikgu Malik.
Really wish to see him.

Go fishing

Why do people go fishing?
Why do people go fishing in the wilds?

There are few ways to explain this.

Subconsciously fishing let me go somewhere I am at ease.
The view calms me down after the rough business of making a living & making ends meet. No peoples of interest, only places of interest.

Then fishing let me go somewhere with people I like. Of course you go with people whom you enjoy their company & vice versa. You can go on making endless small talks without having to gaze into their eyes.

Lastly, fishing connects me to nature.
The setting is natural
Fish where there are abundant of fish food
Places where fish can live & breed

Fish with something that make fish think it's their food
What fish take is natural or something that immitate nature

When fish take is also govern by nature
It teaches something about nature, mind you.

Take your kid fishing.

Pic worth a thousand words?
More, definitely more.
Its pure joy written all over his face.
Over a fat catfish
the lord of Sungai Bt Tiga

It didn't take much
aint it?
Didn't burn a hole in the pocket
No monthly installment
Go the cheap old fashion way

So you know what to do
Take your kid fishing.
If you don't know where
Call me

And the kompang rolls.

And the kompang rolls.

The bride blushes, her face glows with happiness.
We all do.
Maybe for a different reason.
She is happy bcos she is into a new phase of her life with someone she dearly loves.
Not that she didn't love her parent ok.
I was happy to catch up with people I know.
Occasion like this allow me to enjoy what little time I may have & trade nonsense with my friends,brothers, sisters & uncles.

Yaya's new life..

It's has been three weeks since Yaya left home & went to live her new life, at a hostel in Shah Alam.
We were wondering how she copes; new enviroment, rules to follow, tight schedule from 5am till 11pm everyday except weekend. Queue for meals. Wash own clothes.

But she surpassed my expectation. She survives & maybe she does enjoy life there.

Well done.

The shameless antics of the pols.

Had been donkey years the last time I had something to write. Maybe now I do have something.

This Anwar vs Shaifol saga has again brought the ugly truth about pols & their politics.
If you read the Metro which carry the h/l, "Shaiful buka baju and Anwar tutup langsir". For Godsake why didn't he scream & bolt?
Why do they(who are they?) have to lose their minds over politics? Do they care if the innocents school children come across the paper? Do they care about what we think? I don't think so. As long as they're winning.

Why do pols do what they did?
Their chequebook is not balanced.

This game of being popular especially (when you have nothing much to be proud of) needs sizeable investment. You need to "hulo" in order to get elected. So when you finally get elected, that the time you can recover your investment or make handsome profits!
And let the game begin.

Pols are lawmakers. One set of law for them & another for us.

Who's to blame?
Greed is not limited to pols but they have the means. Can we say no to our supporters? Wives? Kids? Mistress? Ourselves? When there are piles to be made?

Not many pols are the likes of Cikgu Jabar or Tok Guru.
They are just like us, mere mortals.
The next guy who replace the frogface carry no warranty it won't happen again.
What say you?