Chapter 7: Our Community

I was not born to a rich or spoon fed family. Often we used to be broke but never poor. My maternal family used to own town and country lands in Tawau and Sandakan and a few pieces still remains. My paternal family remains a mystery, and over the years my family has grown into a large community. But those days in late fifties and in the sixties money were not readily available. I used to remember that I managed to ride the buffalo cart filled with coconuts from mile two Apas road, Tawau to kampong Karim. The Chinese used to call this place Karim par and like English spoken people called it Karim estate, but it all means the same. The coconuts were then processed and turned to be sold as copra to china man who years later become very rich.

    My maternal grandma was a Dusun convert and hailed from kampong Terawi, Penampang. Surprisingly, we still hold inheritance property there, but forbidden to be pursued by my grandma. I still remember her saying to me “Tuntut saudara boleh, tuntut waris tak boleh”. I was too young to understand, and what she said did make sense. Those who depended on inheritance are lazy people. Inherit-ant makes people forget and hate others. My maternal grandpa was born as a hard working but I never saw him as he passed long before I was born. They used to say his ancestors were from Brunei and he had a total of seven wives, spreading all over Sabah. I could only traced his whereabouts from Labuan where perhaps my great grandfather and great grandmother were buried, at Tanjong Keramat.

       My paternal family had ancestors from Brunei, and had been migrating and living in Sabah (then North Borneo) for many generations, and I am the third, my children the forth, but ever since, “I am digging those mysteries”. The Bruneis used to practice using a form 'common names' so as the names of their ancestors tend not to be forgotten. But this may led to confusion. Time passed and as we aged many thing will be hard to remember. We will then have a jig-saw puzzle to solve if not a cob-web. I had and will continue to attend family and friends weddings, and in most cases marriage among members or relatives are quite common. So the trend is going round the community, and I say “of the same breed.”

           In the search of the origin of my paternal ancestors, I managed to set my steps on the walk-ways of Kampong Burung Pingai Ayer in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. It was said that Dayangku Ganti (Nurhayati) Binti Pangeran Ahmad hailed from this water village and also possibly of my grandfather, Salleh (Nek Salleh) Bin Pangeran Daim. I was told they were either cousins or Nek Salleh was her uncle. Nek Salleh was of Brunei tutong, (from her mother's side). Grandma Dang Ganti(resting place in Lawas) as she was formally known in Sipitang, was the granddaughter of Pangeran Dato Osman. Her mother name was Aminah (resting place in Gadung, Beaufort). Not much is known about Nek Salleh (resting place in Sipitang), except he had another brother name Mustapha (resting place in Labuan). Grandma Dang Ganti migrated to Sipitang perhaps according to my estimation in the late 1800 at the age of fifteen, and probably then met and married my grandpa Nek Salleh. The reason for this migration was unwritten in any form and I say “let it stay that way”.

          I set steps together with part members of my family on the walk-ways of Kampong Burung Pingai Ayer with not the intention of claiming any position but simply, to satisfy my self that after all the search I did trace the origin here, and that I just want to make known to the descendants (if any around) of the clan that we come from the same Root. So many things and so many people had expired and forgotten and in these documentations, I intend to keep the medium and channel open to collect and piece together the missing parts and thereafter provide the conduit to search and forge again the ‘silaturahim’ among members of the clan (unnamed yet), ‘Alhamdulillah’.

            It is never for intends and purposes that I want to establish a claim for a place in the clan, nor do I intend to seek any glory or gain, but simply to document our existence being the other part of the clan. Readers are free to criticize, comment and challenge in what so ever, whatever form and feel free to direct them to me. With these I will say end my search for this part here, but wait; for my instincts restrain me going further. Those descendants  whom I will face on the one part of the line thereafter will not be from the common but who have standings and who bear the characteristics of the clan. It will be said that my footsteps and humble present had echoed throughout the Kampung Burung Pingai Ayer and Darat especially to members of the clan. A common person had come over suddenly, out of somewhere but now here with whose name had been long forgotten, but with and still have many called names emerged at times permitted. The search from this side briefly stop also and ‘InsyaAllah’ there will be a faced up, where amid any commotions there will be silence. Let it be. It will be understood that my syle is different. I will be seen and appear whenever I want to be so, similar to some Chinese who regard me as ‘Lau San Cho’.

            My relatives on this side are of no common people, as even the boat man who took us to Kampung Burung Pingai Ayer was very much surprised to see hairs of both of my hands tend to stand up. The night before, I had a dreamt of a face, and the year after when I intended to drive to Kuching and stoped at Bandar Seri Begawan while performing Maghrib' prayer another face did show up. It is said that this practiced is quite extraordinary and mostly practiced restricted to the members of the clan, who are familiar with the knowledge of 'Ilmu Wajibalujud' or in modern Islamic term 'Ilmu Tasauf' and this is of the higher level. I remember my late father did used a similar approached. At times and speaking from experiences even the graves of my father and his parents are difficult to locate, but they are right in front of me.

            Over these years, I made so many journeys from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching, a very long of over one thousand four hundred kilometers and passing through so many turns. Full of excitement, the family like driving. Just like when we were living in the United States where we covered more than twenty-six states. I will continue to drive and stop over in Brunei to visit my daughter as she is working there as a consultant engineer, and furthermore I like 'nasi katok'. Kuching is a fine city but I fear I will visit it less as I do not count to over-visit so to say forget the rest of my family and this is unwanted.