My wish to lie low during last Gawai was granted; albeit in a negative way.
On my way back to Kota Samarahan from work around 11.30pm on Gawai eve and 30 minutes before ‘ai pengayu’ (drink of longevity) toast I banged into the back of a new Axia thanks and no thanks to an Iban lady who hesitated and made a sudden stop at the roundabout after Tabuan’s Giant. Weary and spent after a long day I was not hundred per cent alert and after driving for more than forty years, it was the first time I hit someone’s car rear.
Upon reflection I remember my late good friend Empeni Lang, who held various high posts including CEO of RASCOM and lastly as State’s Registrar of Native Court, told me a driver who bangs the back of a car is certainly wrong. No question about it. That was the word of a seasoned magistrate. We bonded very well when he was Kanowit District Officer on scale A10 (Super Scale Grade) personal to holder in 1983. I was heading SMK Sedaya Kanowit (on Senior Time Scale A11…Acting – when the confirmation exercise was done 11 years later the department backdated mine to 1988 only leading a few ‘favourites’ to overtake me and a free ride to seniority).
Anyway, fast forward to last Thursday, no matter how experienced and careful a driver is, anything can happen on the road as the entire road belongs to all and is usable by all cars, especially those paying road tax. Accidents happen and in most cases none of them are planned or designed. Exercising care is good and with care one always ends up well though at times it is not always the case, especially when the road is for all, including those with ‘lesen terabang’ as a Bruneian JPJ officer called it when we joked about lousy drivers.
Of course my road record is not 100 per cent perfect. Though Thursday’s accident was the first time I was involved in a minor accident and denting a car backside, my accident record dates back to 1974 when landing a friend’s Volkswagen into a drain at Ulu Lanang Road in Sibu. In 1990 when driving a reconditioned Honda Ballade, I was involved in a fatal accident in Durin on the way to Sibu from Julau, losing my first born, a daughter aged six and my niece, aged nine. In 2000 at Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan I hit the gate of Lapau – this is where the Sultan holds Investiture Ceremonies and state’s official functions – making me the first person ever to hit the stately gate and put in BND2k as police bond. By the time I left the sultanate in 2002 the case was still pending and so my BND2k ‘kira angus’ (literally considered burnt). An Iban Police Inspector by the name of Jipun told me it was only a traffic case and no reason why I should be fined more than BND500. Anyway it was a price of folly though. Similarly this time around it is going to drain my resources too but I keep my fingures crossed while waiting for bills from our respective mechanics.
In our family group What’sApp my two brothers jokingly said I ‘puni’ Gawai because when the accident happened it was nearly time for the Gawai’s ‘ai pengayu’ (drink of longevity) toast.
Anyway, I am relieved to see people in my Saratok longhouse really had a good time enjoying last Gawai. Looking at the photos, it was obvious that last Gawai was the best ever in the last two decades. Today’s technology helps a lot for all to share the joy of Gawai and other festivals. Photos shared through the social media have kindly linked us in our festivities.
Their photos are good reminders of our Gawai in the old Kedap longhouse in 1980 when my manual Yashica FX3 camera took centre stage recording all the interesting images of our longhouse celebrants since 30 May that year. Now every family has at least an iPhone with camera. For that matter my family has a good number of such devices. Those images certainly help to lessen my trauma. They are actually speaking to me, “Be careful every time you are driving.”
