Often we like to look back on our life..reminiscing the past can be pleasant, nostalgic, happy, funny and sad..all the reflections would bring us to remember things and experiences, the anecdotes and events as we passed through the passage of life. When we were born and grew up we have our parents and siblings to hold and guide us. As we went on life these protections would no longer be there. In turn we would become the torch to guide others under our care. From a care free life to where we have to take our own responsibility. From the kampong setting covered by green foliage or even closer to the forests, from rural to urban...from kampong school to urban school. We went through many phases-from school to college to university. Our education either sponsored by our parents or by the government. There were less crime at that time, more so crimes were not as violent as they are today. We are getting better educated and the criminals have become more sophisticated. From totally dependent on the parents for financial or emotional assistance or help to being independent is a tremendous challenge. Life changes in front of our very eyes. Fast and with certainty. We settled to a job in the government or private sector. From being single to married with children and grandchildren of our own. We then begin to understand and appreciate what our parents went through and the sacrifices they made to bring us up.
I was at a kampong school, then moved to an urban school where I could see the disparity and gaps. The urban schools had the best of everything...from building to teachers and facilities. Definitely we were at a disadvantage. This was from my personal experience. I was fortunate to be sent for my upper secondary education and higher education overseas. My parents had to sacrifice to enable me to study overseas. Fortunately two of the siblings succeeded and qualified as barristers. When I was doing my final I was married, arranged by my dear mother. I was blessed. I started working in the government and was on the bench at 26. I stayed for a couple of years in the service and then left and became a banker until I was forty years old. At forty I practiced at my brother's firm as an advocate and solicitor focusing on corporate matters. From 1990 to 2009 I was a Cabinet Minister...It was quite an experience. In 2009, when I ceased to be a Minister I was unemployed for more than a year. Then in 2010 I went back to public service until now.
From a Minister to an ordinary backbencher, was an interesting and challenging period. When I became a politician and an MP, I understood what my father experienced. Life is just like climbing many steps and you had to go through one at a time. With people who become friends or those who consider you foe. One needs patience and perseverance. Most importantly believe in the Almighty Allah and the guidance as contained in the Quran and Sunnah. Nothing is constant, everything changes with time. You learn and relearn. Human beings from time immemorial are complex beings..
FBSHApost@3 July 2016
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