i'm with you all the way
Wilkommen
Aufsteigende Flügel is German for "Soaring Wings", a beautiful piano piece composed by Masashi Hamauzu. It is a retreat, a place for me to speak my mind, my thoughts,
and my ideas. I bid you all welcome and please, enjoy your stay while you can.
In case you're wondering, the song you hear playing in the background is called Memories, composed and performed by Kow Otani for the best PS2 game of all time, Shadow of the Colossus.
This was one of the many unused tracks from the game, so I thought I might do it justice playing this lovely track here. It may take a while to load, but please pause it and give it a good listen.
Otani makes good music (unfortunately, this is the only one I know of), and this is one of them. Enjoy!
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Thursday, April 24, 2008, 13:14
Play the Dirges, Sing the Threnodies
If I could do something, I really wish I could. If I could change something, I would really try my best to do so even though I don't seem like the type who would actually fulfill such a thing. Then again, it all comes down to "if". The word "If" itself is...like a sign of false hope when it comes to matters like these. They either bring you to tears for the things you could have, should have, and would have done...or just...I don't know. Whatever it is, it hurts. A lot.
It is said that only in death will your life be eternal. By that, they meant that you'll only be truly remembered when you die.
But I won't touch on that, no, because I believe this man deserves far more than that.
Rustam Abdullah Sani, or better known as "Pak Long" among my sisters and cousins, is my late uncle who passed away yesterday. Of course, the newspaper articles can briefly explain on who he was and all. But here, I shall enlighten you about him in many ways, perhaps in ways you never expected him to be (well, I can't really cover much since I don't have much time to do this properly, so I'll just do what I can).
First and foremost, he was, is, and is still a great man. He is an academician, a newspaper columnist, a poet, besides being involved in a lot of political, social, and literary activities (taken from his blog profile, Profil Rustam). Pak Long completed his education in areas relating to Sociological Theory, Political Theory, Malay Nationalism, and many others.
He has written plenty of books and won many awards and achievements for his work. Pak Long's works were mainly on the political and economic history of Malaysia and how it slowly developed till this day. Aside from that, he also delved deep into the issues of the Malays here in Malaysia and notes the diminishing nationalism within its citizen. Pak Long also has his literary works and one of the famous work was his anthology of poems, Riak-Riak Kecil, composed in the year 1977, and won the National Literature Award for 1988/1989.
And to top it all up, he was also in charge on translating the Doraemon mangas and cartoon. Heck, even Mr. Fujiko (creator of Doraemon) came down to visit him. I can't quite remember whether he did the translation for the comic or the cartoon, but I do know he was involved with something of the sort. Forgive me for my lack of knowledge in this.
But that's the Pak Long I don't know. The Pak Long that I knew was a responsible father and a loving husband to my aunt, Mak Long (Rohani). He has two children from his marriage (who were automatically my cousin by blood =P), Azrani (his son, known as Abang Azie on our end) and Ariani (his daughter, but we know her as Kak Rini~). Not too long ago, Abang Azie was married to Kak Salha (I...forgot if we had any cutesy-wutesy nickname for her but this was the one I remember) and they both had an adorable little girl named Arissa (she's two years old, I believe. Or was it three? ^_^; I've lost my count~ too many siblings on my end here, lol~). Yes, believe me, I always get confused whenever they call out her name because they both sound the same.
Arissa~ Alissa~ Just kick the L away and replace it with an R. Hehe~ It's a pretty name for my niece, nonetheless.
So yes! Pak Long was officially a grandpa, and a happy grandpa he was.
Yet, despite it all, I never truly got to know my uncle that well. In fact, I don't believe we've actually talked properly (except for that one time when everyone else was discussing on the house inheritence, or something. I was talking to him about the things I learned in Malaysia Media History). I knew all these things about him from my Mother, who kept encouraging me to talk to him because we're both pretty much in the same field and perhaps, we even see eye-to-eye. Unfortunately, that has not been proven right, yet, or rather, it was a bit too late for me to do so.
Since I rarely talk to him, I simply try to observe him during my free time (if my sister was not bugging me to entertain her =P). From what I notice, Pak Long turned out to be a really nice uncle. Honestly, I was a wee bit scared of him since he looked as...scary-looking as my Father. But he was really nice and jovial. Heck, I like his jokes too~ But...well, like I said, I didn't stick around long enough to hear more. Aside from that, he seemed very...wise and has that silent strength about him. I often imagined him as a tactician of some sort and took some of that characteristic to be applied in the characters in my story. Hehe, they turn out to be pretty cool and interesting enough for me to develop later in the story.
But yes, that is the most I could say about him. I truly wish I knew him better, then perhaps we could go into a professional discussion and exchange ideas. But maybe, it's not just that. Maybe I'd like to know him as a person on his own. I'm sure someone like him has many stories to tell.
*sigh*
At any rate, he will be remembered. Not just as a very active political activist or a famous writer, but also as a loving father, grandfather, and uncle to us all. And he will be remembered as the man who once lived in this world, a human who once did what he think was right, and as an individual who strived to change the fate of this country.
Here's to you, Rustam A. Sani.
Here's to you, Pak Long.
And once more to you, the man who I never truly got to know.
You will be remembered and cherished.
From the niece who never really had the chance to talk to you properly,
Alissa
PS: Pak Long was suppose to have a book launch this Saturday (26th of April, 2008) at Shah Alam's Public Library. But due to this unfortunate event, the book launch will be as a tribute to his passing. If anyone's interested in going, do please give me a call (012-6609142) and I'll tell you the time and how to get there.
Labels: eulogy