This is an excellent 250 odd page collection of short stories of a supposedly fictitious retired civil servant, Dato Abdul Hamid bin Dato Sidek, who was in thick of things during the decision making moments of our young nation. Being educated in MCKK, he seem to see his contemporaries wherever he goes. He has a good time enjoying life in civil service, working 'very hard' to get things in order for the country. He mixes very well with all strata of population - locals and foreigners, with the confidence given by the language and education laid by his colonial masters. He embraces other cultures with respect and confidence. This trait is somehow lost in his son whom he affectionately refers to as 'Ayatollah' and is an UMNO member. His grandson, a resident of LA, has the same wavelength as him - outgoing and modern.As you can vaguely make out, this book is a satire of sorts, with a tinge of comedy on the Malay psyche and an occasional tongue in cheek joke (like the Brits would) explaining the gradual change in the society over the years - pre-Merdeka, just afterwards and the present generation.
In the first chapter, he writes a letter to a newspaper editor reminiscing his old glory days, the cultural diversity of his MCKK (Eton of East) schoolmates of his era (all with their European wives!) and ridiculing the youngsters of today.
The next one pokes fun at the members of royal family. A group of mean looking dudes with leather jackets were riding on their Harley Davidsons menacing on the highway scaring our hero (Dato Hamid) and his European wife. They turned out to over-aged members of the royal family donning jackets with the word S.H.A.G. emblazoned on its back. S.H.A.G.turned out to be Selangor Harley Appreciation Group!
The next 4 chapters are the main attraction of the book -
- 'Dato in love' - 1948, Hamid has to accompany His Highness (HH) The Sultan on his trip to Switzerland to recuperate from an undisclosed illness. Here he narrates his mischief with a Swiss lass and a Russian temptress who eventually ran off with HH's Celestine Diamond. Hamid had a hand in it too as he must have inadvertently blurted out of its existence to the broad during their passionate love making. He, however, got scot free, as HH too was not too ill to have a fling with her himself. They replaced the jewel with a fake one.
- The Beat Generation - On his 50th wedding anniversary, he starts reminiscing a time 50 years previously (1954) when he met his wife as a student in the UK (on government scholarship). He kept failing his exams, marries his wife without knowledge of his parents back home. It also narrates of a character Nik, a suave Casanova and musician. The spineless Hamid, going through a rough patch in his marriage, decides to add some sparkle in his life by following Nik to Algiers to play in a band (with Hamid's wife too). Nik gets involved with the club boss' mistress and they end up in the streets, bruised, penniless and without their passports. After a brief moment of living in a hostile country as illegal immigrants, with 'The Wife's resourcefulness and charisma, they returned to England.
- Ariff and Capitalism - Hamid is enjoying his stint as a 'hardworking' servant of the Kementerian, working for the weekend and the weekend actually starts on Thursday! This is a story of how officers in high places are bleeding the country dry to line their own pockets. In 1972, he is sent by a Malaysian Chinese businessman to investigate (spying) on a fellow MCKK mate (Ariff) who seem to be accumulating too much wealth too fast. Instead of investigating, he ends up embroiled in a maze of zillionaires, Sheikhs and lots of money waiting to be amassed. He makes some investment instead for himself. The unhappy businessman gets him into trouble at work and pretty soon Ariff goes AWOL. The visiting Sheikh reinstates his job and again 'The Wife' with her shrewdness saves his invested money.
- Murder in Parit Chindai - This is an Agatha Christie type of murder mystery of a business tycoon set upon the east coast monsoon rain, clogged up roads and an exotic mansion perched upon a hill overlooking into the South China Sea. Hamid, 'The Wife' and Hamzah (another English educated probably gay bloke who is too smart for his pants) are assigned by his boss to be at the tycoon's house for an unknown reason. The tycoon is brutally stabbed just after the tycoon had handed over his latest will to Hamid. The trio had to resort to playing CSI as they were cut off from the police and telecommunications. The complicated arrangement/relationship of the deceased's family makes everyone in the house a suspect - the first wife, the second, we soon find out a third wife with a son, the first wife's son whose father is not the tycoon, the second wife's son, the business associates etcetera. The mystery is finally solved by the know-it-all Hamzah with everybody standing to gain from the turn of events, including Hamzah and Hamid!
The concluding chapter involves a tete-a-tete between Hamid and his multiracial friends in the soothing ambience of a gentleman's club. They reminisce the time that the country had paved from Malaya to Malaysia.
An excellent and enjoyable read which definitely deserves a second read. I cannot wait for his next book. Maybe he is too busy with his activities on the air, of late.
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