Tuesday 27 April 2010

..awang goneng, kota bharu and pakmat..

..the new Parkson/Giant getting a bit of rain..

..unlike Awang Goneng, (whose blog can be viewed here) who grew up in Trengganu and put out a book and a blog about Growing Up in Trengganu, I did not grow up in Kelantan..for a few years as a kid, I was in Kuala Krai and Pasir Mas..later, I was transplanted to Perak and Kuala Lumpur..coming back to Kota Bharu in early 1969 as a strapling youth..I like to think that I spent the best part of my youth in Kota Bharu..whether as a bachelor or as a newly married young man in the seventies..before being transferred to Kuala Trengganu in 1974..

..sometimes I pined for the old Kota Bharu, ..but unlike Awang Goneng, who laments the lost of old Trengganu, and wrote so beautifully about it in his blog and his column in NST, I cannot put into words the way he did my feelings and emotions..my mastery of the language is limited, as it were..and I do not have much experience in travelling, either..not having ventured beyond the peninsula, except once to Lake Toba. so  I cannot do much comparison..

..but sometimes I missed the old Kota Bharu....like the day when from an aimless wondering around the town, trying to get familiar with a town that has changed so much that I felt a little bit overwhelmed by the strangeness of it...I came across a street from my youth of 40 years ago, Jalan Ismail...I found myself standing in front of a restaurant that I used to frequent back then..Restoran Seng Huat..standing at a corner of a junction of Jalan Ismail..

..I stood there next to my car and felt a rush of memories and I wondered how would Awang Goneng go about writing about it if I was him..

..and I recalled his words, that he wrote so skillfully in his column..that words, laughters and tears of yesteryears did not just settled into dust or decay..but somehow they remained there...reverberating among the walls of old buildings..playing endlessly in the labyrinths of minds like this old coot...

..I walked into the restaurant..the table was still there..we were having chicken chop..her laughter was teasing....'Marry me..'I said. She let her laughter hung in the air..her sparkling eyes consented..

..as I walked in, I heard her laughter again...

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

and this lady was number...? :)


number 1...

June Malik said...

memang romeo pak mat :)

mekyam said...

"..my mastery of the language is limited"

ag would be the first to contradict you, pakmat!

and i and many of your regular readers would be jostling right behind to echo him. :D

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Hmmmm...someone's being humble here... purrr...meow!

Unknown said...

..hi, anon nombor 1..salam..

hi, JuneM..no..lah..masa muda-muda aje..best of luck with your virgins..:)

hi, mekyam..ag is someone I strived to be like..:) I simply loved his writings..and that bit on Blair, the mild sarcasam, the dig, was entirely enjoyable..to be knowledgeable and to write well are two qualities that's difficult to attain..esp. the knowledgeable part..without knowledge you cannot write well..as I soon discovered when I started my blog..cheers, mekyam..the weather is looking up in the big apple?..:)

mydearcat..no, cat..when u see better writers, you cannot help but be humble..:) regards to Brad..

nurmisnan said...

salam Pak Mat
when u said "Marry me" rasa macam bagai di syurga.. ialah kan orang tiba2 propose kita..mesti that lady tuh dalam hati berdebar2.

teringatr mr. hubby propose kita.. =)

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Aiyoh Pakmat like that kenot lah, compared to yours, my language skill can be considered as ‘cheh khai’ (mediocre) lah, like they say no fight at all….kekeke. AG is different, he got KT behind him what, all the inspiration he’ll ever need, talk about lucky fella…..hahaha.

Like you old sentimentalists, I do really2 missed my old Johor Bahru too and I can empathise with u each time we come across an old place that is still standing, (that was part of our growing up,) all the childhood memories comes rushing back. That 'feel good' feeling is simply indescribable!

Well we can only keep those memories alive!

Cheers,
Tommy

Unknown said...

salam nur..no, heaven is when looking into those sparkling, laughing eyes..and pleasure is remembering those moments of careless youth..

hi, tommy..yeeah..ag is one lucky guy..not only he has trengganu behind him, he also has a fellow scribe as his life's partner..covering all the 10 corners of the earth..sheesh..what more can a man asked?

..remembering old Johor Bharu, hey..yeah..I remembered it, too..had and uncle who was the Commissioner of Land and Mines in the 80's..his house on a small hillock overlooking Lido Beach..but the the last time I was there, Lido Beach is no more the beach I used to know..

..so cheers, Tommy..maybe ag has a point..and we should be huffing and puffing like him to keep all those remnants from being totally wiped out..

Pat said...

Pak Mat, I didn't get round to thanking you - for I found Awang Goneng via your blog! So, thank you.

And I, too, loved his work in the NST (those were the days!!!), and now I enjoy his blog :)

You may not write in his style, but my friend, you do give him a run for his money!

Lovely post.

Justiffa said...

Salam pakmat..

I too have my own memories of the old KB. kebetulan when we were courting my father was based in bukit cina so during semester breaks, i'd go visit him n we get to see each other in KB..

i remember the kapcai bike rides along small kg lanes.

i remember sun too and sharing sundaes & chicken chops.

i remember the excitement & the uncertainties of youth.

and above all i remember the love, as strong then as it is now :D

JDBB pakmat.

Unknown said...

..sheesh, justi..you r as sentimental as me..and your memories ran parallel to mine..only it was not a kapchai,but a vespa..and suntoo was the in place to be seen then..lots of kids have their dates there..maybe once you sat next to my table..cheers..and take care..

sot said...

My old Kota Bharu memories mostly during my school days at SMS Pkln Chepa (77-81) - the pasar lambak infront of Panggung Odeon. Roti payan gulai kambing near panggung Rex. Panggung Lido and Tmn Sekebun Bunga, all gone with the wind. Pasaraya Bersatu, Chin Seng & Rasa Sayang, Restoran SunTo. Yap old memories, never really know how to describe the feeling inside. Wish my English is as good as yours, Pak Mat.

Mat Cendana said...

Just 20 or so years ago, I never expected Kota Bharu to have all these new buildings. I had thought they wouldn't be sustainable. And based on the 80's and 90's, many would have had the same opinions.

You might remember Shamelin around the Jalan Bayam area, which went bust. And Hankyu Jaya, plus Parkson behind it that closed down.I was at Hankyu when it opened in the mid-80's -- the place was jam-packed with people and it was so hard to move around!

But I also noticed something else which portended its future. Despite the massive crowd, there wasn't the same level of activity at the payment counters.Most of those present were just spectators on a sightseeing trip, not customers.The crowds gradually thinned out after a couple of weeks.

The development around the Renaissance Hotel and Billion that began around 1996 was probably the start to "the real thing". And the land reclamation near the bridge where Tesco is... plus KB Mall (my favourite)that

There's Giant too, of course -- I arrived back at Kota Bharu from Kuantan at 10PM on 18 Dec 2006 after `Missing in Action' for 16 months and was shocked to see the building springing up. But something about Kota Bharu - there seems to be the element of "no system" as compared to places like Kuantan, which to me is one of the best places in Malaysia.

Unknown said...

salam sot..yes..LIdo and Taman sekebun Bunga..and the police Rakit tied to the river bank..those are old memories..memories that peeled away and set adrift in the Kelantan River..

salam MC..there is something haphazard in our planning..but generally, to me mind, the authorities did a good thing in the new traffic system..the traffic flows..and certain part of KB is left untouched..like Jalan Ismail..and I am glad..and this old man prefers Tesco to KB Mall..the parking is sheltered and free, and the the praying area is well sorted out..:)