Salam Eid Mubarak

The exciting part of Hari Raya or the ending of Ramadan itself is the announcement in the media over the radio and television that the great festive day will take place on such and such a day. Of course these days, Hari Raya is already predictable as a result of modern technology to accurately calculate the exact position of the new lunar moon for the Muslims. These days, even the daily prayer times are predetermined to the minute seconds. During my early childhood, it was all touch and go when it comes to determining the Hari Raya. The real sighting of the new moon decides the Hari Raya.


Hence there is a lot of suspense all round as far as the housewives are concerned. The moment it is announced in the radio that it is Hari Raya on the following day, the whole village becomes alive with activities all directed to making the day a joyous day of eating. Out comes the lemang and the daging rendang and the ketupat and of course the wajik and the dodol as well as the Bahulu which is a must to complete the days serving for guests and families.


These days, generally speaking, our wives need not have to bother to prepare any food whatsoever as they can procure these from the shops and from others who make them for a living during these festive seasons preparing and selling the rendang, ketupat and what-have-you. Life is a breeze to today’s housewives. Aren’t they lucky indeed!

Coming back to the official announcement of the Hari Raya, this is always done by the Mohor Raja Raja Melayu or the Keeper of the Rulers Seal, a senior administrator of the Government. I am not quite so sure who makes the announcement during those days, but one thing I am very sure of and that is at one time, my late dad was the Keeper of The Rulersl Seal when he was in the State Capital of Selangor, which was Kuala Lumpur then, Of course Kuala Lumpur is now a Federal Territory with its special status as the Capital City of the country and no longer under the tutelage of any Ruler, so to speak. Hence nothing is formal until and unless the Hari Raya is announced by the Keeper of the Rulers Seal, which makes our country very unique indeed.

Hence like every year’s past, when it comes to Hari Raya Puasa or even Hari Raya Haji, it is the time of the year when everyone is in the mood to have a good time. We look forward to the good and delicious food that will be on the table for everyone to enjoy eating whilst for those whose diets are restricted due to health reasons, then the alternatives could be pretty scarce though. The new dresses displayed by the wearers most certainly make the day even more colorful and delightful to look at. The little ones would join in the excitement but for them it is even more rewarding when the elders would give them some "duit raya" for the occasion. These days the little ones are generally very fortunate because almost anywhere they are taken to for visits, they are sure to receive the festive "duit raya", which at the end of the day, could add up to be quite an attractive sum of money. That’s something that I had never enjoyed in my childhood because it was never practiced by the families then - at least not in the Negeri Sembilan Royal family. I was exposed to this custom only after I got married to a Northerner. Ainul hails from Kulim which was then a close knit town where everybody knows everybody.

It is interesting to note though, this festive money token or better known as Ang Pow to the Chinese and Duit Raya to us Malays, I can dare say, is copied or adapted from the Chinese custom of giving Ang Pows to the unmarried and children. They usually come in red packets, as the colour "red" symbolises good omens to the Chinese. As for us Malays of today , we would get the special packets given free by the banks and commercial houses and hence these could be very colourful. Just what is the expected Ang Pow or Duit Raya that is given then ? Well, these could vary from One Ringgit upwards, depending on the givers financial status or ability to give. It is deemed rude to open up the packet in front of third party and as far as I can remember we have never encountered any child opening these packets upon receipt of same. Parents of children would immediately keep the packets from their children for fear of losing them through their own carelessness in the course of the all round excitements of the occasions.To the children, receiving these gift packets have become as a matter of course and hence generate no excitements anymore - so it seems to me. With the generosity and spoiling treatments that children go through these days in their daily lives, Hari Raya or Chinese New Year or Deepavali is like any other day of the year to them. They have been given lots of money most of the time and the buying of new clothes is just a matter of course to all parents these days, with the exception of course to the poor whose lives are a constant struggle to make a decent living.

Of course the giving of the red packets or Duit Raya is not confined to the kids alone. Generally working parents and their working children would give something to their parents too. We recalled doing this to our parents in the past years when they were around but both of us sure miss the occasion this time around since both our parents have passed away. Now it is our turn to receive something from our own children, although we do not really insist that they should, knowing that they are sometimes already over stretched financially, considering the high cost of living and all round domestic commitments. Even then, we cannot help feeling elated when we happen to receive something from our children. It is a nice feeling that they still think of us ! It is not the amount of money that they give us that matters. As the saying goes "It’s the thought that counts" and to us old folks, we rejoice in the thought that our children appreciate our presence ! But of course there is always the exceptions to some old folks attitude when their expectations are a let down by the fact that their children’s Duit Raya turns out to be so small, when to their minds, these children are earning a lot of salary.



The essence of the whole thing is we should not expect anything from our children. Bringing them up is the unquestionable responsibility of parents, just as it would be for them later on for their own children. It is life’s cycle - something that remains unavoidable.

Coming back to Hari Raya, this is the time of the year too when so many cars and motors accidents happen on the roads. No matter how much is done to monitor the traffic flow and warnings and advices on careful driving to the motorists, these accidents never stop let alone to see the number of fatalities reduced. People are forever reckless in their driving. These days, we cannot find a decent or polite drivers anymore. Almost every driver thinks he owns the road and refuses to give way to others who are about to park or get out of parking bays and hogging the speed lane when driving way below the maximum speed. Worst of all, when we signal them to make way, they would be adamant or show you rude finger signs when you eventually overtake them. It is just unbelievable and as such it is not suprising that the number of road accidents never let up over the years. The highways are great these days, but even these could not cope with the heavy traffic that builds up during going home time at Hari Raya. Now the highway lanes are increased and the constructions and repairs are forever on going but the traffic continues to increase. In those days it took us eight to ten hours to reach Kulim by road whenever we travelled home two to three days before Hari Raya, and I would have thought with the three lanes highway of today things would change for the better. Unfortunately it is not so. It can take even longer time to reach Kulim because of the traffic build up. Just where are we heading for in this case. The answer has to be with mass transport such as buses, trains and airways but even these cannot cope with these festivities exodus. Best thing is to remain where you are and take a delayed trip home, but then, where is the Hari Raya excitement of family gathering in this case ?

These days, Hari Raya is also celebrated at distant resorts all over the country. This year for instance, we ourselves are venturing out to do so at a resort in Port Dickson. It is all Ghazali Nichols idea, to which we all want to give it a try. Hence there will be 37 of us ‘migrating’ to Port Dickson for a three day two nights full lodge and boarding vacation. It was most unfortunate for Ainul and I though, in that this is the very first time ever that Farah, Farahat, Farazil and Izzat’s families could not join us due to unavoidable reasons of their own, for which we fully understand. However, at least Farahat and Izzat’s made up with the Idilfitri’s prayers with us, and later Hari Raya visit and feasting at Fadzlina’s house in Puchong, whilst unavoidably Farazil is in Sabah and Farah’s in Chicago. May be the next Hari Raya Puasa, Insyaallah, we will have the full family’s reunion.

written by Tunku Farid