Football.....The Curi Ayam Game

**ayah 1952**

Yes..yes the football fever is on again.
Me like any others male species are hook to the game and could not resist to watch the live telecast.

Wow....hang on a minute,anyone has any interesting tale to tell about football?
Yes the 'curi ayam'slang meaning a foul play by footballers every time a players cross over before the ball reached the line.
What ever it means, it does mean something to our local foot pundits.

Me basically,my daily pocket money comes from football.
Yeap..ayah is a football umpire and active one too,
'Joe Play Go'- The Football Umpire the locals nick name him.
Call it a shot he will be there on any afternoon at the Bandar Hilir padang,that is before the Padang turns into a concreate jungle by the State Government,turning the Padang at first as a 'Sound and Lighting Arena' and later I don't know what other mall they wanted to build for a population of a small city of 100,000 population.
Gone with the playing fields supposed to dig the talented Malaccan football players and up the mass super shopping mall.
Well,any newly decorated so call city needed a brand new shopping mall,I supposed

Yes, being a football freak the Imam of my kampong,the late Iman Hj.Sapau is one freak of a footballer.
There was on one occasion,the Malacca Team led by 'The Towkey aka Soh Chin Ann" was playing for the FA Cup.It was the was the semi-finalist game,if I may recall.He refuses to leads the Fridays prayers solely to enable him to see the match at the Kubu Stadium.I wonder when will the new state Stadium would be ready?
It seems it take ages to built one.

The Padang do have historical significant.
Firstly, it was the first Padang where the Proclaimation of Independence was hail by 'The Tengku' in 1956 arriving back from the pre independence discussion with the English Authority.
During its hey day, the padang not only breezees with cooling air from the seas of the Straits of Malacca but fill with leisure activities in the evening.
After a football match ayah will walk with me to the nearest stall for supper of Rojak and Satay not forgetting Air Tebu at Wak Temu stall under the 'Old Gum tree' right facing the famous 'A Famosa'.Fresh food off course.
Arwah Wak Temu is the dad of the National Hockey player Kamaruddin Temu.


It was from this field the birth of our National Skipper, now a Dato Soh Chin Ann aka 'Towkeh' is born.So does the national hockeys players Tam Kuan Seng,Haridas,Zamani Othman,Razak Leman,Zulkifli Bakar and Adnan Bakar both are sibling is groom.
Those were the days we play football and hockey for the love of the game not for the sake of money.The pride to be able to represent the state was a honour and be look up at,since under 12 MSSM competition.

Ayah, an avid sportman ever since his young age till now has instill a high level of sportmanship in me ever since I was a wee lad.
Even though I do not excel in any sports but I do enjoy watching a good game.
It haves been instilled in me and it comes naturally.

That was how ayah got his extra money, by being a football umpire in the evening.
All the amature clubs matches, he will be there,umpiring the games.Ayah keep fit by running up and down the football feild.
Malacca has vast amount of amature football clubs, those days.Name it, Kubu United,Dunlop United,Lee Sports Club,MCI United,Kg.Morten F.C.
They were the pioneers in the minor league.

Each match the umpire service charge WAS RM5.00.Saturday and Sunday is a full schedual for ayah.At time he has to matches one in the morning and one in the afternoon.Thus if there is 5 games in a week there is an extra RM20.00 a week for ayah.
RM5.00 in early 60's is a big amount.
Considering a goverment clerk pay was only R150 a month and that is how he managed his finance to feed all four of us,educate,and dress us decently.

I bear witness to Allah Almighty, ayah is not a 'CORRUPT' government servant.
He leads his life decently and earn his piece of bread to feed us in a likely manner, far from the the element of corruption.

Anybody dares to challege this statement please do so 'BUT' beware the court is all hearing!

The evening collection will goes to his LP collection of Titik Puspha,Ernie Djohan,Lilie Suryani,S.Affendi.Bing Selamat,Gersang etc.etc.etc.Not to forgetting Matt Monroe,Big Brother Frank,King Nat etc etc.

It was from ayah I learn to appreciated collectable items.
Ayah has amazing oldies LP's and still in his possession at home.
The umpire fees, goes to his little collectable space nice and neatly arrange

His sportmanship brought him everywhere.He plays tennis for the RISDA sport club,and still plays tennis right up when he is retired up until he met with an fatal accident which causes him to limp.
A handicap man,now but he still does 'senamrobik' everyday.
You find him doing his routine at the Bukit Serindit Park everyday except when it is raining.

May Allah protect my beloved Ayah.
May be one day I tell the story how ayah tried to groom me to be a national tennis player and match me with Adam Malik the first Tennis Pro from Malaysia.Its a long to brag and it begins way back in 1970 when I was in Standard 5.

In the mean time there is only one Dad,that is My Ayah that has 'NEVER EVER'
"Curi Ayam To Feed His Entire Family"
Syukur Lillah my families purely tummy is clean.