why people are jobless.

Sometime I wonder why some people are jobless. I always have jobs even as a teenager. Initially it would not be considered as a job, but as a runner for my mother.  When I was a little girl I was always my mother's helper. Every morning I would be given the task of buying 'nasi kerabu Mak Mah' at the 'wakaf' nearby.

Nasi kerabu is a typical Kelantan dish. It is made up of specially prepared rice with mixed side dishes. The process of blending and mixing of the various kind of chillies, onions, gingers, coconuts, fishes and all kind of fresh, thinly sliced leaves and vegetables  make it very special. The preparation is very tedious and time consuming.

In those days, a packet of 'nasi kerabu' only cost 5 cents.  It was a very basic breakfast food for us in Kelantan, but full  of nourishment. It only consist of Tumis, Sambal, Ulam, and Budu. It is our favourite now and forever. We always add-on our own flavours of ikan kering, keropok and nasi dingin

I always woke up early, so that I can eat with my mother and grand mother. Both of them are extremely hard working mother-daughter partners. They would sometimes need to check-on their 2 acre rubber trees or"kebun getah"nearby, to see if their "Pawah-partners of husband Pak Wel and his wife, Lijah", was tapping the rubber.  There were times when they had to go picked mangosteens, rambutan, jering,  petai,  young leaves and young bamboo shoots for us to add flavours to our dishes. Some times my mother would be bringing home, some dried tree brunches, to use as fire wood, on our kitchen.#

I was always willing to help my family and friends in what ever way I can, as long as I can make them happy. I remembered helping my best friends to collects long pieces of half-completed batiks # from a batik factory nearby, to help her earn some pocket money. She was my neighbour and living with her grand mother in a fairly big house. Her step-mother was also staying there.

She told me that her father was very scared of his new wife and that she was not getting enough money to sustain her and her grand mother's living expenses. I felt sorry for her and suggest that we take a job with Wan Kadir, the batik manufacturer near our house. We will be paid 15 cents for every piece of batik that had been coloured and returned.

After helping her with the "conteng batik", for  a couple of days, I started to like her job and tried a few pieces myself. The money was good. I also recruited my mother for  the job. It also gave us the opportunity to play with colours. 15 cent a piece in those days was a lot money.  We can earn as much as 45 cents per day on good days, depending on the weather. We have to let the paint dry first, before we could return it back. With that 45 cents, we can afford to buy a lot of food for our family breakfast. Each bungkus of Nasi Kerabu only cost 5 cents in those days. Now it is more than rm2.50 in Kota Bharu.

"Batik" was the in-thing then. It used to be a small cottage industry and everybody was trying their hands at it. People in Kelantan are like that. They like to copy what others are doing. If they see some one is successful in making money in certain projects, then everybody also wants to try. There were times when everyone have their own fish ponds, rearing Ikan Tilapia, because the projects were making lots of money. There were also times when everyone in the Kampung want to enter Universities, because their neighbours are in Universities. There were also times, when everybody was crazy about rearing chicken because their neighbours became rich in chicken rearing projects.

Other than making money from "Conting Batik" I would also borrow my mother' sewing machine to help design and sew clothes for my close friends. They would pay me, any amount they can afford.  I would  do it for my friends and neighbours

My mother 's love for sewing was handed down to me. She would never sit still. There would always be something for her to do. She would take orders from her close relatives to embroider pillow cases and bed covers for special occasions.  My mother was a very friendly person. She also helped  her step-mother 'Mok Noh' to make money. She would make simple children clothes that were in demand in those days. These were her daily routines, other than that she was also passionate about cooking for us.

My uncle Nik Mansor bin Nik Mustapha, was a Chief clerk at the District office, in the pre-war British era, before the Japanese invaded us.  I was told that during the Japanese occupation, he had to walk from Pasir Puteh to Kota Bharu, to bring money for my grand-mother. He  hid the  money in his shoes. It was a very long  journey. By the time he reached home, the money was all soiled due  to his sweats. He was being posted all over the district, When I was 5 years old he was working in Pasir Puteh District office and later, he was posted to Tanah Merah. At that  time I was already in school.  Later,  he was posted back to Kota Bharu, and that was when he and his whole family came to live with us. He extended the house and add more bedrooms, to accommodate all of us. He would give a monthly allowance to my grand mother. I remember him as a very strict and would not allow me to listen to the radio, when he is at home. I was very scared of him. I don't remember ever speaking to him in person. But he was always nice to my mother, and we were never short of money. We had a comfortable life.  Nothing extravagance but sweet and simple.