FROM RAGS TO RICHES STORY - SORT OF

The second shop and home at 59, Riverside (now Jln. Laksamana). Bapak is in the middle with the sarong, sitting next to the famous Abuyah Pak HAMKA. The rest of the crowd were Bapak's firm supporters from Seberang also making their living in good old Malacca. Can you spot Puteri Hang Li Poh?

My Bapak, Hj. Abbas bin Hj. Yatim, came over from Muara Labuh, Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia maybe around the early 1940's. I was told as a child, how Bapak travelled in a small boat crossing the billowing waves of The Straits of Malacca to this land of plenty. His uncle, my Emak's father, had already settled in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur long before that. In fact, Emak, second of seven sibblings, was born in Kuala Lumpur. So marriage plans were arranged between the two cousins. Emak's father was also a trader selling bronze cook-ware at Jalan Melaka, KL. But that's another story ...

Then the newly-weds decided to spread their wings to far-away Malacca in search of a new life. Emak used to tell me how Bapak would cycle between KL and M'cca through the treacherous winding roads and steep hills of Semenyih, Selangor to ferry his goods to and fro between the two towns. Bapak started as an ustaz (religious teacher) at Banda Kaba. Many would address him as that for years even after he had gotten into another vocation.

When I think how Bapak started his business, I couldn't help but feel tersentuh. Life was hard during the Japanese occupation. (I wasn't born yet, thank goodness!) . Along was born in 1942. Emak's parents passed away, so they took under their wings a younger sister, Embun, and a baby brother, Hamid, looked after them as their own. A friend of Bapak taught him how to sew the kebaya nyonya. There were many rich nyonyas around so the market was good. Bapak would go from house to house in the Heeren Street and Jonker Street area asking the nyonyas, "Nyonya, ada baju mau jahit?" (Madam, have clothes to be sewn?) Then he would take their measurements, cut and put together the blouses himself. Emak would help him with the embroidery along the edges. This would go on for several years until his right hand fingers were swollen with holding the scissors. When business prospered, (I was about 6 years old then) the family moved to 59, Riverside, the buliding now no more, been demolished for development.

The Nyonyas loved Bapak, calling him "Abang Abeh", because he was such a good and patient tailor. They gave him good business so Bapak got to employ extra seamstress to help with the embroidery. Measuring and cutting were still Bapak's forte, the Nyonyas refusing to have non other. Emak was sent for embroidery classes in Singapore under the tutelage of the mother of one famous artist, Latiff Mohideen. Anyway, my sisters and I enjoyed those glorious days - meddling with the Singer sewing machines and there were many of them, interacting with the amoi-amoi who helped to sew. That was fun!

Besides tailoring, Bapak added children's clothes, Muslim men and women's attire - batik, pelekat, tudung, songkok, the famous H.M.Ali brand shoes and all sorts of herbal medicine - minyak urut kambing gurun, minyak unta and the like.

Bapak's shop was a favourite for all the Malay cikgus and cikgis. One of them, Cikgu Ismail Ahmad, suggested that Bapak should sell some reading materials - newspapers, religious books, Indonesian hard-to-get books, Malay educational and novels and the like. Slowly they all accumulated. He also supplied teaching-aids for the teacher-trainees from the Malay Women Training College (MWTC). Every Friday mornings, the teacher-trainees outing day, the shop would be crowded with young ladies in the familiar uniform AND also the young and not-so-young Cikgus making eyes at one another among the crowd. I was told many a match resulted from there. Hee.. hee...

Originally Bapak's shop was known as "Abbas Bandung Tailor". He sewed kebaya Bandung, so he was known "Abbas Bandung" for short. Then when he stopped the tailoring business, he changed it to "Toko Buku Abbas Bandung". Note : the "Bandung" is not that we are from Bandung.

I will end here on a happy note - mid 1960's- with the one and only famous and popular Malay bookshop in Malacca.

Al-Fatihah buat Bapak dan Mak dan Along.

Taken in 1954, standing left to right Emak, Along, Bapak. Seated left to right Alang and Angah.