Ayahanda Bonda: May You Bloom and Grow Forever

Bismillahirrohmanirohim
Penghulu kata, pendulu bicara

Izinkan saya sedikit masa,
Berkongsi sepatah dua kata,
Sambil duduk bertentang mata,
Sebelum kita menjamu selera.

Assalamualaikum dan Good Afternoon,
Kepada hadirin dan kedua Tun.
Jika bunyi kurang santun,
Mohon maaf, mohon ampun.

Kita berkumpul sebagai keluarga,
Meraikan bapa dan ibu tercinta,
Tak ada mereka tak ada kita,
Itulah ayat pendekar tua.

Bukan tujuan mahu meminta,
Tidak juga ingin bercerita,
Cuma mahu bertentang mata,
Mengatakan kasih kepada Tun berdua.

Di sini kita duduk bersama,
Adik kakak, abang dan anak,
Dalam suasana penuh gembira,
Kerana kita berkeluarga semua.

Jika dahulu Tun Mahathir berkuasa,
Didamping pula Tun Siti yang setia,
Kini, mereka dah ada yang lupa,
Mungkin tak sengaja...

Wahai kedua ibu dan bapa,
Kami ikuti kisah mu berdua,
Ke sana ke mari seia sekata,
Pahit manis dirasa bersama.

Tempoh hari Tun terlentang
dalam kesakitan jantung diserang,
Kami, adik kakak, abang dan anak
risau dan gundah, tidor tak nyenyak
namun, berat mata memandang,
berat lagi bahu memikul
Dari jauh ramai juga yang datang,
Meninjau kesihatan berdoa panjang.

Berkat doa kita semua
dengan usaha tabib istimewa,
permintaan kita dikabul jua
Tun pulih sediakala,
Berjuang terus tanpa kira
Kadangkala menunggang kuda,
Membikin kita risau semula.

Jika diikut langkah mereka,
Semakin jauh kita menjaja
Membawa khidmat mengebar bendera,
Negara tercinta semakin ternama.

Jangan dikira usia mereka,
Ia cuma angka semata,
Cuba selami jiwa mereka,
Mungkin terasa semangat waja.

Budi dan jasa ditabur merata,
Tunjuk ajar diberi percuma,
Ramai penerima mengumpul harta,
Tak kurang juga yang mudah lupa.

Years ago when you were in power,
Never did once you surrender,
Acknowledged by all as the consumate leader,
Taking the nation to the world yonder.

Ninety-seven, and, ninety eight,
Turbulent years, everyone said,
Street wars and currency raid,
We found ourselves going into the red.

When others were full of doubt,
Instead, you chose to shout,
And proved beyond a shadow of doubt,
Why we need to stay above board.

If, today we have excelled,
It's partly because you taught us well,
Now, allow us to wish you both well,
And may your good fortune continue to swell.

Still,
If there's anything you need, pray tell.

Udah, cukuplah dulu kita bercerita,
InsyaAllah disambung di lain masa,
Mari kira raikan ibu dan bapa,
Tak ada mereka tak ada kita.

Pulau pandan jauh ketengah,
Gunung daik bercabang tiga,
Hancur badan dikandung tanah,
Budi yang baik dikenang juga.

Pisang emas dibawa belayar,
Masak sebiji di atas peti,
Hutang emas boleh dibayar,
Hutang budi dibawa mati.

Kalau ada jarum yang patah,
Jangan disimpan di dalam peti,
Kalau ada silap dan salah,
Jangan disimpan di dalam hati

Ahmad A Talib (from his blog here)
10 julai, 2007
Perdana Leadership Foundation, Putrajaya

The above verses was penned and presented by Dato' Ahmad A Talib at the celebration of the recent birthday of Tun Dr Mahathir's and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah's birthday, which fall on July 10 and July 12 respectively. Near the end of the reading, there was a hint of “teriak” or kedahan slang for melancholy in his voice. Perhaps, it was his expression of sadness or, perhaps it is his gratitude.

Love him or loath him, no one would deny Tun Dr Mahathir’s presence in the history of this country. The sceptic may say what they wish, but he provided in that 22 years the leadership for a nation brimming with potential and yearning for progression.

As mortal, he may have erred here and there. I myself had some disagreement but resign myself to accept that he is not out there then to merely please me alone. The long and short is he did his best, even if some may detest.

Leadership is not a simple subject to describe. The people lead, and situation warrants its own brand of leadership suitable to the requirement of the time.

R.J. House in his book, Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The Globe Study of 62 Societies (2004) defines "leadership" organizationally and narrowly as "the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations (or nation in this case) of which they are members (or citizen in this case)".


Perhaps, on another significant occasion of his life, it is worth deriving a lesson from it. As I reflect, the truly significant legacy and lesson from Tun Dr Mahathir that he has imparted to us and for us to emulate is the myriad of leadership qualities he exhibit.

Leadership needs a vision and that vision need to be articulated well. Leaders display a passion and strong conviction of, what they regard as, the moral correctness of their vision. That conviction comes with great confidence, determination and persistence.

Leaders is not about image building only, without the role model of competency, credibility, and trustworthy. Outstanding leaders are great communicators that are able to drive its followers to a certain high performance expectation.

The most indelible mark of Tun Dr Mahathir's leadership to me must be his currency crisis management and his brave message to our former colonial master, I'll buy from you last!.

It is now best left for history to judge him. Be it friends or fore and whether they care to admit it or not, I strongly believe we miss his leadership, brevity and decisiveness, more than anything else.

I guess I can emphatize with the sadness felt by Dato Ahmad A Talib. The treatment he gets display a bad trait of society today. We have lost the attribute to respect our elders, a representative of our past. The fascination for new this and that and amplified further by slogan for paradigm shift represents a digression from a Malay culture for positive continuity and continuous progression. People and nation without continuity with its past shows disrespect for its history. Such people and nation is doomed.

Again, happy birthday ayahanda Tun Dr Mahathir and bonda Tun Siti Hasmah. May I end by dedicating these verses from Edelweiss, the song from the movie Sounds of Music, for you both:

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever