“Today we just decided to take the train, we don’t want the jam! If we had taken the car, we wouldn’t even have reached here yet. Driving back to our hometown at Kelantan takes around 8 hours without traffic, but during Raya it should be around 12 hours. I remember for Hari Raya Haji last year, it took us 16 hours to reach Kota Bharu. Thankfully its my husband who’s driving! We would love to take the train or the motorcycle, as its a really quick trip. But because of the jam, we’ll take the car. Once at Kelantan I’ll just want to go to sleep, right after giving the kuih-kuih I’ve made for the entire family and relatives.”
“When driving, I’m thinking of getting back home as fast as I can! Or if I have problems with my girlfriend, then I’ll definitely be thinking about her! Usually if want to go to the toilet, we have to wait until we arrive at certain train stations, where we can stand by. Usually its the PWTC station, and that’s where we take our ‘day leave’ for bathroom or prayer breaks. Same goes for when we want to do our Asar and Maghrib prayers, we have to apply for the day leave and perform it at certain stations only. My train is leaving soon, I have to go now!”
“The train cannot stop because of us, what can we do! So I usually pack my food or buy something. Today I plan to break my fast by eating Roti John (a type of Malaysian sandwich)!”
“Even my mother who hates cooking during the rest of the year, she will prepare so many plates of kuih, she’ll spend hours in the kitchen to cook for other people. Our clients are nicer to us because they understand that we are fasting, so they shout less. You don’t use the indicator on the road, I say ok lah I don’t have energy to fight with you, go go. Everyone meets up at the bazaar for iftar, and friends are more excited to see friends than food. Then we donate money for charity, RM 1, RM 2 – do you do that when it’s not Ramadhan?
We just become better people. We become happier people. And we are happier and better because we choose simple choices.”
‘Raya won’t feel like Raya if your mom didn’t shout at you, if your siblings didn’t fight with you on the things you need to do. Sometimes the good memories happens when everybody’s at home, you and your sisters will fight a bit as to who will do this and that – like who will fix the new curtains, who will help mom with the cooking, and if that doesn’t happen, Raya will not be Raya – because that is Raya.
‘Also what I miss the most was my cousins and me who were only one or two years different – we all bought the same clothes together every year. And it was like that until around Standard 4, when we decided to say no more to wearing the same clothes, and that moment I felt a bit sad because we don’t have the same attire to wear.
‘I also had my grandmother with me, but after she passed away things are a bit different. When my grandmother was still alive, every Raya morning I would make jokes with her, ask her to make some dried rendang… so when she’s already passed away I don’t have that vision anymore, she’s not at my table anymore. Its a bit sad, but of course life goes on, things change.
‘But I’d say preparation for the ketupat was the best part of any Raya, and if you can’t feel your mom’s nagging at you, and you don’t fight with your brothers and sisters on your duties – Raya just won’t feel the same.
“Pak cik just go take the train every single day from home. People help me to get around, its really easy. Pak cik now heading off to sell tissue (paper). How many do I sell in one day? Maybe around around 100 tissue papers, its quite a lot”.
(The uncle was really lost, you really had to point him to the direction he’s heading – the stairs, the train, the exit. And everyone, I mean everyone, was out there looking for him, literally going with him up the stairs, helping him cross the ticket crossings, and telling him when the top of the escalator is so he can prepare his footing. Well done Malaysians!).
‘Its been a long time since I balik kampung (going back to one’s hometown). Its been two years, since I came here to do my degree. I’m buying some handicrafts to bring back to my hometown in Aceh. Some clothes like jubah and scarves for my mother, and ‘Kuala Lumpur key chains’ for the rest. Just wanted to tell everyone that if you’re driving back to your hometown, please drive safely, and not too fast. Vehicle accidents has been rising every single year, so drive safely. Read your prayers and have a safe journey.’
‘And they came to see me. The whole family came to see me. The husband, the wife, the parents and grandparents are all there because she could not get pregnant.
‘As the gynecologist, I examined her, and I found out that she had an IUCD in her womb. An IntrauterineContraceptive Device (IUCD) is a device which is inserted into the uterus (womb) to prevent pregnancy. She’s got a contraceptive device inside her womb.
‘When I found that, I asked her to sit down, I just kept quiet, and asked everybody to go out, including the husband, and the whole family. I then asked her – why?
‘You are coming in to see me because you cannot get pregnant, but it turns out you have an contraceptive inside of you. Tell me why.
‘She told me that when she got married to him, she did not know who the man was. Her family is poor. She got married because the man sends a certain amount of money to her family.
‘When she got married, her family over in Indonesia told her to put the IUCD for fear in case if the husband mistreated her, she still has a chance to run away.
‘So I asked her, ‘are you happy with the marriage?’
‘And she said yes, that the family is very nice to her. So I said lie down, and I will remove the IUCD for you, and she said yes, please do. So then I removed it, and then called in the entire family back.
‘I told them your wife is fine, just work hard on it and you’re going to get pregnant.’
