THE MALAY HOME THAT AYAH BUILT LIVES AGAIN

The last touches to the dame. Indeed it is great to see the old home standing majestically again in all its finery and may it continue to chart its new history.

IT WAS GETTING TOO CONGESTED, with no fresh air and breeze to cool the wooden house. It has been in the city for several decades now and rightly we have found a quiet and peaceful place for the old home, what more it being beside the Anak Bukit River in the Kepala Batas area. Now it will once again enjoy the pristine atmosphere of the country side with the added advantage of being cooled by the river, the bamboo and greenery surround.

At 11 years old you could see the carpenters constructing the house with artistry and skills of craftsmen yet they were helped by the barest of rudimentary tools and assisted more by physical strength and skills. Pak Mid, a former prison personnel and his team-mates were employed to construct the house. My father in his wisdom had decided on replacing the old home which had stood on the site with the new home as early as in 1948. Daily upon reaching home from school I would climb the ladder to get to the top and remember enjoying the views as even the Zahir Mosque and the Clock Tower could be seen from our home,

Now sixty plus years later, I am still able to roam in the open spaces of the house as the contractor went about rebuilding the house again. As I have described in earlier blogs, we moved the house after dismantling it piece by piece and later rebuilt it, of course substituting some of the wooden pieces with new ones. Since hard wood the likes of Chengal, Merbau, Tembusu and other quality woods were used, the replacement was quite minimum. Yet of course the rewards to the skilled craftsmen exceeded previous allowances. Still they have done a wonderful job and completed the exercise within five months. Besides waiting for electricity to be connected and cleaning done, probably we could move in before Hari Raya Aidilfitri. It has been a labour of love by all and a good exercise in rebuilding a heritage home.

A detailed description of the home will follow later as we take you to see the intricate detailed sections of the house. In the meantime please enjoy the pictures as much as we had the golden opportunity to see and observe how a Malay heritage home was born again. Surely it would be hard to expect a similar building of its size in present time.

The old timber lattice stood again where it was.

The open veranda welcomes guests and visitors and bamboo clumps by the river side.

The house as seen from the rear. An open veranda has been added and so too a small out-house by the side.The rambutan and mangosteen trees by the side of the house incidentally helped to make the workers happy as their fruits were a welcomed additions.

My architect wife designed and provided the sketches to the contractor. This being part of the instructions for the construction of the small hut by the side.

Sectional parts of the house as seen while in construction before the painter moved in. Wide open windows provide cooling breeze.

The small lane moving through the bamboo clumps takes you to the main road .

The river banks, by the side of the lane right in front of the house.