Cerita Datuk Lela 1

The Cannibals
I was tempted to give this story the title of Cerita Datuk Maharaja Lela, but that sound too glamourous.
Truth is, I already forgot the man's name. I havent met or heard anything of him for the past 20 years. He could have died by now. Semoga Allah mencucuri Rahmat kepada roh nya, if he has.
Datuk Lela was originally from Temerloh, Pahang. He lived in Temerloh, Pahang with his wife. His adventurous streak took him to apply and got the job as a halal slaughterman in New Zealand back then. That was when our paths crossed in those days.

'Kamu asal mana?' he asked.
'Tanjong Karang pakcik.' I said. It was and still is Malay protocol to call everyone older as uncle, auntie, grandma and grandpa. That means you are polite and berbudi bahasa. It is also a protocol that if you are being introduced to an older person, about the age of your parents, you shall bend down and kiss his hand, to seek his/her blessings. (I always cringe when someone kiss my hand, probably that I dont deserve it)
'Pakcik biasalah tempat kamu tu. Berbulan bulan Pakcik kat hutan paya belakang tu. Air tinggi dada, kena harung. Hutan tu dulu tempat komunis tu. Terpaksa masuk sebab kapalterbang kat atas kata ada kem kat dalam'
'Betul tu pakcik, masa saya kecik dulu selalu dengar bunyi meriam, kadang hampir tiap hari'
'Kompeni Askar Melayu pakcik dulu kena tugas jaga Cina Sekinchan, sebab komunis asyik bunuh Cina Sekinchan.'
Sekinchan is a town 8 km north of Tanjong Karang. Before the Emergency, Chinese farmers build their houses on their rice plots in the district, but they have become easy prey to communists. So they were brought together in new village for their safety. The local Malays call this village 'kurungan'. Sort of saying that the Chinese are penned like animal/pig.
OOps wrong choice of word, duck or chicken?

Datuk Lela showed me his old picture in the Askar Melayu. He was skinny. That was the first time I saw Askar Melayu uniform from the fifties. He wore short sleeve shirt and khaki short, knee length. Large pockets on both breast, and large pockets on sides of the short. His shotgun fixed with bayonet, standing was about his height, 5" something. The picture above is from Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia website.
'Pakcik dulu kurus, sebab hari hari asyik risau pikirkan masalah bangsa. Bagaimana nak membela Melayu.'
'Ada satu rahsia yang isteri pakcik tak tahu, kalau dia tahu mesti mengamuk dia.'
'Rahsia apa tu pakcik?' I asked. Not expecting anything gross.
'Kami dulu benci betul kat komunis ni. Kami satu platun tu janji kalau dapat bunuh komunis, kami nak makan! Jadi satu masa tu kami ada operation kat hutan tempat kamu tu lah.'
He was talking about Sugai Tengi Forest Reserve, a stretch of hutan paya that separate verdant coastal Selangor and hilly areas of Batu Arang and Tanjong Malim, which is now cultivated with palm oil.
'Satu masa maka dapatlah bunuh satu komunis laki, dan kita bawa balik ke kem. Janji nak makan komunis memang dah janji, jadi kena buat. Kita orang pun buat mesyuarat. maka cook pun potonglah satu ketul dari bahagian punggung agak lebihkurang sekati. Kita rebus dah 3 jam minyak masih keluar lagi.
Sorang dari kami kata, "Dah lembut kot."
Kita orang bahagi bahagi kan sorang sebesar ibu jari.
Pakcik gigit punyalah keras. Tak lalu pakcik, terus muntahkan balik. Semua orang tak lalu makan, termuntah. Tapi ada sorang tu, si Man namanya, dia selamba saja makan. "Eh sedaplah daging ni" katanya.
Komunis yang kita bunuh kena bawa balik ke garrison, buat report etc. Jadi kita tutup elok elok, macam tak ada apa berlaku supaya tak dapat di kesan orang atasan. Kita semua satu platun berjanji tak lepas cerita ni, semua orang tak tahu, kalau orang tanya, kata itu luka kena bayonet.'

My jaw dropped. Yuk. Cannibalism? But I didnt say anything out of deference to the old man.

'Satu masa tu pakcik terlepas cakap kat bos pakcik kapten Mat Saleh tu '



will continue.