Memory in Aman Desa

Assalaamu'alaikum wa Rahmatullah!

I had not take any pictures of mine in the university when I was in my first degree. I did not have the opportunity to get a camera nor expensive phone with camera like other kids. When I was jobless just after my graduation, my dad had actually tried to persuade me to be a reporter. I guess he has this dream to see at least one of his children inherit his occupation but I don't really like the job.

He brings me to his friend who is an editor in Jalan Riong, but I am not really interested as I am just following him to make him happy. Then my dad's friend suggested me to be a stringer under the supervision of Putrajaya branch. I had only been there for two weeks and I can't take it anymore. I have no transportation and to be a reporter, we need to have a transport like a motorcycle or a car. I didn't get my payment for two weeks. Urmm that's normal because I left earlier than the time and I had to withdraw some savings that I have to buy a camera for the job in the first place. This is how I get the camera, from the saving. May Allah protects the camera, aamin!  

We do had photography sessions for our class during first degree times, but I didn't join them. Our class was divided to few groups and tribes. I and my friend, Amir was amongst the outcast in the class. It is not that we are lazy guts or skipping classes but we did not mingle with other classmates. I actually mingled with some of them like Azren and other chinese students but not as close friends for activities together. Azren is my acquaintance from Putrajaya and we were once schoolmates in SMK Putrajaya I during our lower six.  

 USM Masjid, this is the place where I cried to Him and reading scriptures during bachelor time. I have no other place to talk about my problems faced in this temporary life. Usually some brothers breaking their optional thursday and monday fast or obligatory fast of ramadhan under the tree there.

Today I had only followed my basic plan which is reading the scripture in the mosque and praying congregational prayers for dzuhr and 'asr services. I had a chat with a kelantanese brother who is the driver of the circulatory bus and he talked about university students and job. I am not really interested in job-talking but I respect him as a person older than me. He can speak in kedahan dialect so fair enough. I don't have to talk in others' language but in my own language that makes me feel lot more comfortable with myself.

 O Lord, lead me my dirty feet to You when I am without any guidance concerning this life, aaamin!

After dzuhr prayer service in the mosque, I went to a stall at Sungai Dua and having my lunch there. Quite expansive for a plate of rice, it costs me about rm5. Then I walked myself to desasiswa aman because I did not know where to head to. I have no friend at this time to at least being a company to discuss or listening to stories. Azren returns to KL to attend our bachelor degree classmate's wedding. I had been in aman desa for many times since I returned to usm. I have some memories there. I love the hostel compared to our classes when I was a bachelor degree student, it is like my sanctuary. But now everything turns to be different.

Block KO2 Aman Desa

I was a student in usm for the first time on 7th of July 2006. I lived in block KO2 desasiswa aman with the punggawa (warden) who is known as Mr. Nazru. I lived for a full year with Riduan from Kota Bharu. He is a year older than me and I heard everyone calls him duwe so I just imitate them calling him as duwe too. I don't like him to sneak with my notes on my desk when I was asleep. I could still listen to anything that happened around although I could not open up my eyes. I do not know what is so curious about me that he wants to investigate everything on my desk. I know he is a good guy, just didn't feel comfortable with his attitude. 

Aman desa canteen, I still remember the campaign for first year campus election at night was quite funny with naughty seniors cracking jokes and makin' fun of the candidates, haha. Mama is not there anymore, she sells fried noodles and other fried food with her husband at the most right lot in the pic. Most of times our past time idol, Nasrowi also hanging around there, haha.

When I was in the first year, duwe was a second year student and he was a political science student. I was a translation and interpretation student under the school of humanities but I didn't really sure what exactly my course was about because it was like a loose course. I lived in the first floor and I can't really remember who was the neighbors of my room. 

I just remember few people like nasrowi jusuh who lived in front of my room. He was a product technology student from Pasir Puteh, Kelantan. He seldom talked with people and quite weird but he has a style of his own. Amir was the one who realized about him and he talked about this guy's style to me. We were just 20 years old kids back then, haha. And then we had syed sobri from Kuala Pilah. I was not so close to him, he is close to Amir and he admires amir so much. We called him apai.

As for amir, he was the first one who came to talk with me. I still remember that when I was in the class, I was just a silent 20 years old guy. I didn't talk with others but just observing them. Then during our two weeks semester break, I came back earlier to the hostel. I didn't know that amir was a neighbor with a gap of two rooms after my room. One day, I heard someone knocked the door of my room. When I opened up, amir just slipped into my room and said that he feels boring and his roomate is out of nowhere. He needs to talk to someone. So since then, we became close in class or in the hostel.

We would have some chats and talking nonsense at the TV place. Sometimes we exchanged vocabs due to that I am an outer-state kedahan and I was just aware about old words but not new jargons and terms used by kids in kedah today. Sometimes I listened to him talking about metal music and bands. Amir is from Jitra in the northern part of Kedah.

 Block KO1 where we had to move into in 2nd year after being chased out from the building just next to it

During our second year, we had to move out from KO2 to KO1 to give way for SUKSIS (police) and PALAPES (army) students. We hate them after that for snatching our rooms. Then I lived with zaidi from kota bharu. He was also a quiet kid. The same age with me but he was from ma'ahad muhammadi. They were still with old system where students of the ma'ahad have to be in arabic preparation class before joining i'dadi level. So, in the beginning I had been quite a bully as I thought he was younger than me. Most of the times we would pray together in the room and he reads Quran in the morning. We would also pray in the musalla at the second level of the block. I actually love to have such a roomate, and I always listen to his reading although I pretend like I was sleeping. 

Zaidi wasn't a talkative person, at least with me. I understand him and I had also talked with him regarding this. Maybe he feels not comfortable to talk with a person who speaks different lingo. But now I guess I have the same problem with him too until some kids in my current hostel had also told me to mingle around with others, haha. At least he is luckier for having friends to do activities together. Sometimes I just love to be naughty and annoyed him. In the first place, I thought that he was a member of jama'at-e-tabligh because I saw him sitting together with those people in aman's musalla. For few early months I was with him that I know, he wasn't one of the jama'at. I could say that I enjoyed living with zaidi. He is a blessing from God to me for that time. The reason I could still survive in the university is because of the spirit shared among the people around. We do not have to be totally the same in everything, but at least we have something in common which is Him.

In second year too, kedahan students like pak ku aloq starq, pidot (firdaus) sungai petani, jan pendang, tompok, and alep among those that I still could recall began to develop somekind of state nationalism spirit. Everyone who have connection with kedah would be accepted as their companies. I was quite fortunate because I am a kedahan who could still speak in the dialect but just an outer-state one. If not, they would not talk with me. I noticed some northern perak students tried to talk with them but they didn't reply back nor looking at them even though those students are also speaking in northern malay dialect. 

Until the end of the semester I began to feel sick with this kind of spirit because I assume everyone as equal in front of Him. So, I tried to avoid them when they invited me for activities together like fishing or outing and hanging around. Well, maybe I should also blame my self for being a lone ranger. I had deleted all of these kids numbers because I think nobody would ever remember anyone who just temporarily appears in their life.

 

Musalla in the second floor of aman desa

Inside the musalla, nothing really change except for few notes pasted at the wall

In third year, I lived with tarmizie and I just call him mijie. He is also a year older than me. We could choose a roomate that we are comfortable to stay with but I guess nobody would ever want to live with an orthodox kid like me. Even amir, didn't want to be my roomate instead he choose mat nor who was also our classmate. I was 23 at that time. Mijie is an orthodox and quite traditional. Now, for three years I lived with kelantanese students where western coast students are so afraid to be with them. Mijie is from Kuala Qirai. He also persuades me to try budu (kelantanese anchovy sauce), and I just tried once to respect him. The result was that I had diarrhea and had to go to the clinic.

 Room no.218 where I stayed in third year

My room in the third year was at 218, just near the musalla at the second floor. The musalla at that time quite lively. Sometimes mijie would conduct a banquet or bekwoh for other students in our room. I would just support him because it is a good activity to bring everyone together in the musalla. But the food choice of course was something like nasi kerabu or we call that as khao jam in thai or other kelantanese delicacies. I didn't take part in the eating session but just helping and supporting them.

These are some of my memories during bachelor degree time. I have no pictures for those moments but I just have my memory to keep them all. Life is just like a rare drama in the TV. When the time is up, then it would be finish. May Allah bless all of my roommates. No matter what problem that we faced during our sharing of the room, I know that you people have good hearts. I hope that all of you forgive me if I did something wrong and hurt you people. May Allah forgive our sins and bless everyone, aamin!