Al fatihah

I must record this of a mentor, also a friend who passed away last week. We met online through Sang Kancil Forum way back in the mid 90s. Our political discussions were always fun and a learning session for me (cos' he had served 3 PMs and had a lot to share) and although we did not subscribe to the same political persuasion, we shared similar concerns about arah tuju bangsa Melayu.

One day, bored with writing my PhD thesis (I was finishing the last couple of chapters from home), I asked Dato' B if he had any part time job for me.I needed the distraction to keep me sane.He was then the President of an NGO.They were looking for someone to head a project and he asked if I were keen on joining.It was of cos' voluntary work.No money involved.I didn't mind.I just wanted something new other than writing a big fat thesis. Naturally, I said yes!

So began a r/ship with a community.When I left the organisation (I had to return to REAL work upon finishing my PhD), I would still occasionally write to Dato' (who also left the NGO the following term due to health prob) either for poltical comments or ucap selamat hari raya. The last time I wrote to him was last year when I asked if he had any friend/relative in the US who would be able to advise me about living in the USA as I prepared myself for my Fulbright stint at Cornell. Dato' B introduced me to Haji Zaidon, his close friend (who was with him during their PTD stint but had migrated to the US). It was Haji Zaidon who told me of Dato' B's demise last week.The funny thing is, even the NGO he once headed didn't know that he had passed away.But Haji Zaidon told me there were a lot of people who visited.He was well-liked by everyone, across age.Memang aruah tak byk cakap dan tak suka mengata orang.Kalau menegur, tak sampai orang berasa hati (I know cos' kita selalu bercanggah pendapat! He would be so diplomatic when he put forth his opinions.Ini cara orang lama.A true gentleman.I would always remember his gentle ways in dealing with people, his humility).

Dato' B (or 'Enda' as he preferred to be called), you will be sadly missed.Al fatihah.