MSH 2017

I only managed to stay a single night of the MSH Meeting this time as I wanted to have some downtime after the trip. For the first time, the meeting was held in JB and it was a resounding success. Most of the participant stayed at the same venue making logistics straightforward.

The venue presented itself with some unique issues. Trying to fit into a medical conference configuration and demand was not straight forward and we ended up having the poster in the main hall while the Pharmaceutical booths hidden away in small little rooms, away from the normal flow of traffic. I ended up only visiting half of them since it was rather difficult to navigate around to visit them all.

There was also a nice auditorium where some of the satellite talks were held. Again, it was not design for free flow of participant, with the delegates ending up entering through next to the main stage - the only entrance - while the speakers were at the rostrum. Not exactly ideal. Then came the temperature control of the venue. It was freezing in there ....

After the meeting, I was told that I would be the organiser for next year's chapter. I planned to hold it somewhere near work and the hotel next door to SJMC looked like an enticing prospect.

Timing would be tight thought with Ramadhan starting mid May. Some of the speakers were reluctant to attend during Easter and the local speakers has local University exams to supervise during the period. I have decided to cut it fine and hold it on the second weekend of May next year, just before Ramadhan.

Best to sort out the venue soon ...

The Weeks After

A couple of weeks had passed since Ba left us. We were still getting ourselves organised in terms of sorting out his paperworks. I had planned to do some paperwork with my Mum next Thursday which should take me the whole afternoon.

All of us were still recovering from the shock of the loss, but were gradually coming to terms. My Mum had been staying with Julia in the past week and I planned to bring her to our apartment in a couple of days. We have yet to decide on our long-term plans. There were a few ideas floated, but we had decided to do a bit of renovation again to our apartment to create a guess room at the expense of my study.

Plenty of our relatives had visited my Mum either at her place or at Julia's. She seemed OK but I was sure come Ramadhan, when she was active at her surau with Ba, she might miss him. At the moment she remained occupied.

The Formalities

First things first, the most important document that I had to get after Ba's passing was his death certificate. I found out that the best place to get this sorted out quickly was the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara's office near the Masjid Wilayah.

Parking was a nightmare and I ended up leaving the car by the roadside, making my way to the office complex on foot. Once there though, everything was smooth. All I needed was the burial permit, my Dad's MyKAD and a copy of my MyKAD. No form to fill and I was done within 15minutes.

The staffs were also very polite and they had a separate office for application of Death Certificate, away from the main queue.

I must commend the JPN for their effort. It certainly made the process that much easier especially during this trying times ...

Back to the Old Routine

After the time off and conference leave, it was now back to work proper. In the middle of a long weekend - Monday was a public holiday for the installation of the Agung - I was on call on the Sunday. I was at Julia's place with my Mum the day before and the day after the call of course.

Despite being a long weekend, the call was surprisingly busy. Managed some sleep though as well as the first half of the United match. By the time I was ready to go to bed, the Barca - Real match kicked off. I was too tired to watch though.

At least I had Monday to rest before starting the week. Another long weekend coming right ahead but I had another call later in the week.

I was also scheduled to be in Singapore for a meeting next week, before returning to give a couple of talks the weekend after ...

It was always good to get back into the swing of things.

To The Earth We Return

I got a call in the early from my Mum to say that my Dad was in pain. I asked to call the ambulance while I made my way across to Bukit Antarabangsa. The paramedics were performing CPR when I got there and Ba was no longer with us. Anita raced across next to join me.

We lifted Ba back into the house while the khariah from Masjid came to say their prayers after Suboh.

Neighbours visiting before we carry the body to the MasjidThen I went to the Police Station to file in the report and get the burial under way. 9 am and the van came to pick Ba up for the mosque. We bathed him. We perform the solat next. Said our final goodbyes. Even Irfan and Idlan were in tears. By 11 am, we were already at the burial ground.

It rained heavily after the burialThe house now seemed emptyI buried Ba next with the help of the neighbours. We read the talqin. I was numb the whole morning. It happened so suddenly. Unexpectedly.

My Uncles and relatives arrived from Penang as the burial was being performed. We then came back to Mum’s place in Bukit Antarabangsa for prayers and lunch.

I was glad that the neighbours were around to help me out and my Dad hardly suffered. It was a dignified passing, in the best of sense. We all are going to miss him ... Alfatihah.