my father

My father was a soldier.

He was a very stern man. No doubt, his daughters were all afraid of him, we afraid by any chance he will get mad if we do naughty things. Trust me I have tasted the marvelousness of rotan and hanger (proofs that I WAS very naughty). He disciplined us with his conservative style. I say it as ‘conservative’ because it was totally different with parents nowadays (you must know what I mean right). His word IS ABSOLUTE. When he said yes, it will be yes, no other than yes. Must go to bed before 10pm, must take bath before 6pm, must eat the breakfast, or else he will be super mad at us, annndddd… he will be very angry if we sisters bicker. Nope, we were too afraid to fight because of him. Some people might think that this parenting style is not relevant these days. But yeah, I am grateful for that, really. In fact, SUPER GRATEFUL that my dad was garang gila because if not, I may turn into a brat.

At one side, my dad is very thoughtful towards his family. He was very stern back then, but it all because of love. He hardly tolerate with carelessness, especially when it comes to safety. Such as, I forgot to switch off the hot iron, and he will mad if he found out. Because WHAT IF someone accidently touch it? Or, the iron gets too hot and short circuit happen? Another simple example, I run and fell my head off. Bleed myself. No no no, he will not come to pujuk me or what. Lagi kena marah ada. Hahah. Why you run carelessly at the first place?! You don’t see the stones all over here?! Ha now you step on that and fell, who tell you to run?! Go search for ubat now.

Yes yes. That’s my dad. He will get mad but always care. If we fall and bleed, he will give us minyak gamat (medicine etc etc). If he heard the coughing sound, he will give us ubat batuk and scold us if we drink ice. If we had fever, he was the one who woke up at night and wiped our whole body to reduce the temperature. He was a super-stern man 10 years ago, but now as he get older, he rarely stern-us-out because we are all grown up and can understand what he like and what he don't like on something.

Oh yes, I mentioned that my dad was a soldier. Now I understand where he got his style. He was the soldier that kept the peace of our country during the communist era. He killed the enemies, of course this guy will never tolerate mistake. To him, mistake means death. He once lived his life holding the rifle. He shoots bullets to protect his family and this land. Ya Allah, bless him with your Jannah.

When it comes to Hari Merdeka for Malaysia, I will always think of my dad. He is my hero forever. He might not be the hero that been documented in national history (well might be because he is still alive and survived) I will always thanked him for fighting for this country. I thank all the soldiers that sacrificed their life for us all. Without them, we might never able to sleep in peace.

I must get my patriotic spirit from my dad. He taught us with so many things that I couldn’t literally describe it, because he generally practices the ‘action speak louder than words’ style. He taught me to love this country, respect the leaders, be kind and befriend with everyone regardless their races and background, help others, never provoke others sensitivity intentionally, and many many many more. He will rise up the Jalur Gemilang every August for Independence Day. Because of him, my dad, that I will forever embrace the meaning of independence, especially when it comes to 31^st August every year.

To me, independence means free to live happily as a person, a community, and a country. I take it all because this is related with each other. At one point, yes, we can live happily but is our neighbor (aka community) happy with us? And, we can live happily but are we fulfill our duty as a good citizen? The main point is, independence should teach us to live as a responsible individual that take part in maintaining the peace and unity. Be kind, be sensible, be proud and support each other.

Ok. If you let me write about merdeka and such, I definitely can come out with 17 pages of assay that make you puke for reading too many letters. Let me stop here.

Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke-62, Malaysia.

I love you so much that I make doa for you everyday, for peacefulness and unity till the end of the time. Amin!