I listened to the all times favourite song on the radio yesterday evening by Billy Ocean...
When the goings get tough
The tough get going, tough, tough
When the going gets tough, the tough get ready
I got something to tell you
I got something to say
I'm gonna put this dream in motion
Never let nothing stand in my way
When the going gets tough
The tough get going
...lalala...
This reminds me of my yester years...
Life was not so kind in early days. Yan worked in LKTS (in the oil palm estate) as a store keeper and later a store clerk...
Yan and Mak are the toughest human being. I really admired them. Living in the staff quarters those days, very far from the Miri town (now Miri city).
One day I went with Yan to the stream nearby to catch fish. That was my first time fishing. After a long wait, we got nothing but a small fish. We went back and Mak fried the fish for my dinner.
Yan worked with LKTS until end of 1981 (when Ina was born). Then we moved to Bintulu.. At that time Yan was jobless. With not much cash, Yan opened up a company, Syarikat Jasa Bumi. According to Yan, Jasa meant "Jasmin, Asri, Sapura, Azlina".
Yan was very brave to run the business at that time..with only the support from his arwah Awang Ismail (Yan's long-distance uncle), Yan managed to secure a bank loan of RM10K.
In Bintulu, we stayed at Nenek Ulu's house (Mak's foster mother) until Yan finally built a house behind Wan's house in Kpg Mesjid in 1982.
Yan and Mak did a lot to survive... opened up a small shop at Nenek Ulu's house, supplied and processed Halal chicken, apart from doing other small contract works.
Poy and I used to walk around the kampung to sell kuih... and help out in processing the chicken. Whilst most children will play around after school...but I will take care of the shop..
My siblings after Poy will never experience this..
Today, Yan and Mak reaped the success through their hardship..
