Story as related by aunt Rodiah.

Since I stumbled at the foot of the five buildings of Plaza Damas and up until today, I have been forced to move around in a wheelchair. Therefore, I have a lot of time to daydream about the past.

I was born and raised in Bandar Temerloh. My house is located right in the middle of the intersection between Jln Ibrahim and Jln Abu Bakar. People say it's not a good location. It's not auspicious, they say. I don't believe all of that.

My mother's name is Ramlah, and she studied Arabic at Madrasah Batu Satu. My mother is fluent in Arabic. She used to speak Arabic with the black-skinned soldiers who were stationed in Pahang during the Malayan Emergency. I was amazed at her proficiency in speaking Arabic. It made me wonder why my parents didn't send me to an Arabic school.

My mother was busy helping my father with his textile business. She also attended embroidery and sewing classes in Kuala Lumpur for several months.

I cried and chased after my father's car as he drove further and further away from me until it disappeared from my sight.

Pak Ujang, my father's assistant, chased after me and persuaded me to be a good child.

When my mother returned from Kuala Lumpur, she opened the Temerloh Embroidery School. Our house became the school. At night, besides teaching me how to recite the Quran, my mother also taught me how to sew. During school holidays, when my mother had too much work, she would ask me to help teach... In the meantime, in the afternoon, my mother learned English because in 1954 she was busy with the struggle for independence. As the Head of the UMNO Women's Division, my mother was busy rallying as many women as possible to join in the struggle for national independence. When prominent figures from Kuala Lumpur visited, my mother had to sacrifice her personal work, especially since she was chosen to contest the Teriang state assembly seat in 1955. My mother won. As a state assemblywoman, my mother became even busier with her responsibilities to the country.

In 1958, I was in Form 3, and my mother promised to organize a birthday celebration for me for the first time... I was very happy because I had never had a birthday party before.
"Diah, we will have a birthday party for you. Invite your friends," she said.
Oh God, who should I invite? Can I invite boys?
"Can I invite anyone, Mom?" I asked, afraid to mention inviting male friends.
"Invite whoever you want, whether they're boys or girls... just invite them."

That evening, I quickly rode my red Raleigh bicycle to Fauziah's house.
Fauziah, Wan Aliah, and I, the three of us, brainstormed about who we should invite...
"Who can cook for us?" Fauziah asked.
"No problem. My mother has arranged it with the Rest House Manager."
"We'll have egg sandwiches, sardines, chicken, satay, and a cake ordered from KL."
"Don't we have any Malay kuih?" Wan Aliah asked.
"I don't know, my mother didn't say."
That very day, we came up with a list of people to invite.
(Until now, my husband still feels hurt because he wasn't invited).

My birthday in 1958 fell on a Wednesday. I hurried home from school to prepare for my birthday celebration...
When I arrived home, the house was empty... all the food was arranged on the table. I immediately went upstairs searching for my mother, shouting, "Mom, Mom, Mom!"
There was no response to my calls.

"Oh, Diah, you're back?" Mak Ngah Feah, my cousin, spoke up.
"When did Mak Ngah arrive? Where is everyone, Mak Ngah? Mom said they would be here. Where is Mak Ngah?"
Mak Ngah looked somber.
"Mak Ngah doesn't know how to tell you. Your mother had a miscarriage earlier. A big one. Your father called an ambulance and took her to the hospital in Mentakab. When they arrived at the Mentakab Hospital, the doctor asked them to take her to Kuantan. So they went to Kuantan. Your sister Wan went with them.
Your mother told you not to worry about her."

My friends started arriving. I didn't feel like celebrating. Some of them asked me to sing...
"Sorry, I don't feel well enough to sing." At that time, not many people knew the happy birthday song, so we didn't sing...

Since then, my mother fell ill. From the Kuantan hospital, she was taken to the VIP Hospital on Jln Travers Hill in KL. According to the doctors, she had womb cancer. With the help of Tuan DO Temerloh and Tuan Furgeson, the doctors were able to obtain medicine from Australia for my mother. However, the doctors eventually said that there was nothing more they could do, and it was best for my mother to seek traditional treatment. She was taken to Kg Lebak for traditional treatment.

No one can defy fate. My mother passed away on May 29, 1959.

Several years later, my aunt was visited by someone who asked for forgiveness and admitted that they, along with a few others, had bewitched my mother out of envy and ill intentions.

Only Allah knows...