<h3>A FEW GOOD MEN</h3>

We came back last night from Kuantan, after getting news on Monday night that my granduncle, Syed Mahadzar Bin Syed Ahmad Al-Hinduan, (affectionately known as Tok Bah) is very ill. Tok Bah eventually passed away that night at 1.27am in the hospital. He is actually my grandmother's cousin so that makes him a really distant relative but he is such a warm and friendly man that we all feel that he is almost like our grandfather. He is such a knowledgable man and one who keeps up with technology. He is 69 but is fully adept at computers. He is even proficient in Adobe Photoshop, much to our shock. Having retired since 10 years ago, he spends his time now compiling religious doas and ratibs into books for circulation among family members and other Al-alawiyyin. He also charts our salasilah (family tree) and takes the time and effort (not to mention the cost of printing) to make customised salasilah for every male member of the family lining our linkage from Nabi Muhammad s.a.w directly.

Above all else, he is a man who practises humility and takes the initiative to find and erect closer ties with family. He is often reffered to as "Penghubung keluarga" as travels far and wide to find other branches of the family elsewhere in the region. His passing is truly a great loss to everyone in the family. As expected, there was a huge turnout at his funeral. There were sooo many people there was hardly space to sit in the house (despite the house being humongous. People stood by the lawn amid the scorching sun just to pay their last respects to him. The cars parked stretched out a good km away from the house. There were even traffic police escorts all the way to the place of burial. All this for a simple man, with no rank or stature. I guess what they say is true. Only at one's funeral will you know how noble a life he has lived. Just like the funeral of Singapore's ex-President Wee Kim Wee, who passed away on the same day.