EARLY MALAYSIANS IN ZAGAZIG [ Part 2 ]

This is the second of a two part series on our colleagues in Zagazig University. The series is written by Kamaruzaman Ali (Zagazig 1975-1981) and Abu Bakar Abdul Majeed (Zagazig 1978-1983)

Life beyond Zagazig University

L to R; Husin ( Loghat student at Zagazig ), Abu Bakar, Shaikh and Azman somewhere, possibly at Saerah’s house

With Rashidi (Tanta) resting during a walk along Zagazig River

Since there were only about 10-11 Malaysian students in Zagazig, life beyond the university very much revolved around this small and closely-knit community, led by the de-facto leader, Abang Man ( Kamaruzaman) and his amiable wife, Kak Tun (Raja Zaitun). In the 1978-1979 academic session, there were frequent visits by everybody to the girls’ abode of Kak Ani (the informal name for Saerah) Non and Shidah for in their home existed the iconic symbol of civilization of the time, i.e. a TV set (black and white, I think). Sunday evenings were often spent watching the only English/American movies on Egyptian TV at the time. The one that I remember most is Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, featuring the late Grace Kelly.

Khenduri with the Mansourians at Saerah, Aishah and Shida’s house.

I need to mention a bit more of the super-couple of Abang Man and Kak Ton. Apart from being the most senior members of the Malaysian Zagazig community, they were like our big brother and sister, and to a certain extent, like the mother and father figure. I was most impressed with their command of Arabic ‘Ammi, especially when they negotiated with landlords in trying to get the best rental deal for some of us.

Hari Raya at Raja Zaitun’s place. L to R: Roshidah, Sharifah Ainon, Saerah and our Egyptian friend

Razak (Jat) Tahir Meer ( from Kenya, a close companion of Malaysians in Zagazig ) and Abu at Cairo Airport

It seemed the Malaysian community at that time had established a cordial relationship with a few Arab families in Zagazig. Led by Abang Man, we paid regular visits to at least two of these families. Of course, initially communication with some members of the households was awkward but slowly we got by and the conversation became more interesting. In any case, it was comforting to have the locals becoming almost like foster parents. One was the family of Baba Muhammad Hellawy, with his wonderful and cheerful wife, who we called Mama. The other was the family of Madam Sousane.

Abang Man and Kat Tun’s apartment was also the main target for the boys especially when we had hunger pangs. Kak Tun never failed to marvel us with her food offerings. The normally quickly-prepared dinner or supper would be followed by an equally super-fast consumption of the meal by the boys, followed by lots of chit-chatting and playing of card/board/dart games till the wee hours of the morning. Much later, I was informed by Kak Tun that unknown to the other boys, Ramlan used to make personal visits to the couple’s apartment. This was not surprising, considering his huge appetite for home-cooked meals. Despite this, there was a good side of Ramlan. He was a rather accomplished guitar player and singer, so it was easy when there were events that required input from the Malaysian contingent. We conveniently pushed Ramlan to the front. I could still remember his offering of John Denver’s ‘You Fill up My Senses’.

Abang Man was able to get Dato’ Manaf from As-sifarah to provide financial support for the monthly rental of an apartment for use as the club for the Malaysian students in Zagazig. This was where we gathered for a game of table tennis or to keep up with the news from Malaysia from the slightly outdated New Straits Times obtained from the Embassy. The trip to Mohandessine, Cairo, then was crucial as it was our lifeline, not only for the newspapers, but also for you know what!

Weekends in Zagazig were normally quiet, there was almost nothing to look forward to in Zagazig city. The only exception was perhaps the sole cinema hall that had English movies from time to time. Allahyarham Abas was the frequent patron there, and he kept every ticket stub of the movies he watched. The cinema scheduling in Zagazig was unique, with a single ticket you could get to watch Arabic, Western and Chinese movies.

At some point, there was a weekly visit by Ustaz Farid Sheikh Ahmad to Zagazig to conduct the Usrah session. This normally started with the reading of the Quran by each one of us. There was a curtain separating the boys from the girls. Later, we were told how the girls were giggling away behind the curtain, listening to us boys trying very hard to recite the holy verses, almost unmindful of the tajwid.

Sharaf visited us from Cairo. He is on the rooftop of Raja Zaitun’s apartment. Backgound shows Zagazig mosque

Fridays were sometimes spent at the tennis court or the clubhouse nearby. On certain weekends, trips to visit our brothers and sisters in Tanta, Mansoura and Iskandariah would be arranged by Abg Man. Then there would be reciprocal visits by the Tantaians and Mansourahians, like Rani, Rushdi, Din Suhaimi, probably Izham and Amin, Ibrahim Jantan, Kadir, Razak Shamsuddin, Azazuddin, Zaidan, Khizir, Jero, Zainal, Azman, Shaikh, Razak Salleh, and the girls, too. In fact the closely-knit Malaysian communities in Zagazig, Tanta and Mansoura were fondly known as ‘The Triangle’, and combined with Alexandria, ‘the rest of the world, ROW’. There was an occasion of sporting events between Cairo and ROW organised in Alexandria.

On one of our trips to Port Said Credit: Abu Bakar Majeed

Finding staple food in Zagazig those days was not easy. According to Abang Man whenever he could find rice being sold at the market, he’d buy the whole amount on offer to distribute it to every Malaysian student there. Cooking oil was another rare commodity. At times, we needed to get it from Port Said during our shopping escapades there. Our journey to Port Said was also to shop for foreign goods. I guess everyone remembers the usual practice of reciting the Ummul Kitab by the taxi drivers at the start of the trip, however the driving after that was anything but religious.

Abu, Shida and Rehan in Athens

At least on one occasion, we organised a winter retreat to Athens, visiting islands off the city. The visa for Greece was obtained from the Greek consulate in Alexandria, with the assistance of brother Walad. And I guess, everyone without exception, managed to go on the unforgettable Luxor/Aswan trip organised by ZU during the winter break.

Bidding farewell to Kamaruzaman after successful completion of MBBCh

Kamaruzaman came back from Malaysia to fetch Raja Zaitun when she graduated.

Looking back, the stay in Egypt was quite unbelievable. We survived despite the hardship and to be frank, when it was time to leave, one really felt a deep connection with the country and some of the people left behind. I was lucky to be able to visit Egypt twice since then, and stopping over at the relatively transformed ZU during the first trip. To top it all, during the latest excursion in 2018, I was able to re-visit probably one of the most beautiful seafronts in the world, Mersa Matruh.

I’m sure to many, if not all, the beautiful memories of Egypt would remain fresh and eternal in our minds for in that country we actually spent the best and most significant years of our lives. The many challenges that we endured while studying in the Land of the Pharaohs taught us well to face the challenges of life now.