GOL?

Ayah and Me

by Elizabeth Wong

It was set in motion when a bright spark decided it could be advantageous for me to meet his boss – touch base, drink tea, shoot the breeze. Since I’ve always been intrigued by them, we decided to have our first introductions on the final night of World Cup.

My only encounter with this society was some years ago, during a by-election in Malacca. I was in a car with politicians on their nightly ceramah rounds. We arrived driving on freshly tarred roads to a tiny village bathed in ochre light. Being behind time as always, the politicians leapt out of the car towards a house with tents and a makeshift stage, leaving the driver and me behind.

When I got out of the car, I noticed a red Mercedes with a single digit, ‘Setiausaha Politik’ seared on the plate, parked a few feet away. Two steps towards the tents, I had my doubts it was a Barisan Alternatif ceramah. Tents at that time would be a little too posh. Another five steps, the politicians walked briskly towards our car and hissed, “Wrong kampung… let’s go… fast!”. Once in the car, I heard the story of Tiga-Line for the first time.

So tonight I am scheduled to meet this society, so fearsome as urban legends go, their name is whispered, never spoken. The bright spark who had initiated the meet-up was nervous, repeating dos and don’ts.

At the rendezvous point, around a hundred people had already parked themselves on white plastic chairs, waiting for the match. Here, I’m not referring to football.

We sat down for a meal of ayam penyet, satay and Raja Ulam, together with his boys who ate with their eyes fixed on us. I figured, tearing at chicken wouldn’t be appropriate at that point, and that maybe, I really should have worn a baju kurung.

My conversation with Ayah spluttered and wheezed like an old Morris on a cold morning. Ayah was outfitted in white, accessorized with a shock of pepper mustache and shades. His voice soft and measured. He spoke a little about growing up in the backstreets of Kuala Lumpur, working for a local Umno politician. I asked if his society’s patron was still Pak Lah. Yes, he replied and the rest was lost in the din of the live band.

He went on to talk of the times where he witnessed politicians treating people badly. Once, someone chased away a group of poor who had gone to seek help.

“He called them animals. I hope you aren’t like that.”

“I don’t want to be like them.”

“Hmm.”

Ayah described himself as a peace-keeper of the area, where discipline is key, and how he had to take care of his boys. He said he liked what I was doing in his turf, having activities once in a while for the residents.

“I guarantee you, next week, Umno will organize something here, but what matters is that you did it first!” he laughed aloud without warning.

I asked Ayah, how many members he has. “Many. That’s why we have three Ayahs here.”

“And he is also an Ayah,” he pointed to the man who had been sitting silently on my left.

The man dressed in blue batik nodded.

Minutes before kick-off, I had to leave for another World Cup function. When we exchanged contacts with plans for a tea meeting with all three of them, Ayah lifted his shades and noticed something about my telephone number.

“Seven-seven? Good.”

“Why?”

“Seventy-seven is a powerful number.”

Finally a breakthrough. This could determined the course and substance of our future interactions.

“What is the meaning of seventy-seven?”

“We believe there are seven layers above, and seven layers below us.”

I told him seven was my favorite number.

“Good, keep that number, but you must have two sevens.”

“So I pass?”

He laughed. So did everyone at the table, eyes still trained at us.

Related posts:

1. (ST) Netherlands vs Spain by Shannon Teoh ~~~ Got San Miguel, and we were supporting Spain. Set. Pay a bit more and get, well,...
2. (UA) Netherlands vs Spain by Umapagan Ampikaipakan ~~~ I used to think football fans were just angry people. Now I realise those are just...
3. [KR] Germany vs Spain by Kam Raslan ~~~ What a lot of people don’t know is that Paul the octopus sits in a coffee-shop...
4. Brazil vs Netherlands by Kubhaer T. Jethwani ~~~ Robinho took a picture with me in the toilet. He’s a big fan of Fat...
5. Netherlands lwn Denmark oleh Radzi Tajuddin ~~~ Kalau sistem demokrasi di Malaysia adalah paling demokratik di dunia, tetapi yang di atasnya adalah Ibrahim...