IN MEMORY OF BAPAK 2

24, First Cross Street was Bapak's first shop. This is a recent photo, the building renovated by the present owner. I'm glad the building is still standing because each time we pass by this important street, I would proudly pointed it out to the grand kids and to my guests - Bapak's modest beginning in business - a fine tailor of the "Kebaya Bandung" and the maker of "songkoks". I remember living here till the age of six.

And then Bapak moved to this premise, 59 Riverside, Malacca. The photo was taken in 1953, Bapak seated second from the right. That's me standing third from the right. You notice the Union Jack buntings decorating the shop? Well, being the residents of the British Straits Settlement then, we were celebrating Queen Elizabeth II coronation. We had many happy memories here, staying on the first floor of the shop. (You can see the little windows above.) Bapak prospered here, having many clients for his tailoring business and later switching to selling and publishing books.

This was Bapak's third and last shop. He had to move from 59 Riverside because it had to be demolished making way for development. I was not very familiar with this shop, 35 Jalan Laksamana (new name for Riverside) because by then I had completed secondary education and was studying overseas. Bapak was still doing well and popular among the locals. Even to this day at the mention of his name, people from age 40 onwards would remember him. Unfortunately, the shop soon disappeared with his demise. But his memory still remains, the story of the struggle of a hard-working man from the land of the Minangkabau, my father, ABBAS BIN YATIM. May you rest in peace, Bapak. Al-Fatihah.