THE BONGEK-MOMPOGHAH CONNECTION WIH REFLECTION OF ABU SUFI-OTHMAN RASHID

When US President Barrack Hussein Obama followed a tight schedules in the Malaysian Capital of Kuala Lumpur on 27 April 2014, Abu Sufi Hassn and Ahmad Fadzil Yassin of the Gadong Waris had a busy schedule down south reflecting the Bongek-Mompoghah Connection. These two waris took their time travelling the feeder road linking Bongek in the north to Kg. Perah (Mompoghah as popularly known by the Gadong people) in the south and finally settled themselves in the comfort of the A'Famosa Clubhouse with Tampin ex-DO cum TBS 62, Hj. Othman Rahid, the man from Kuala Sawah, a kampung about two km west of Astana Raja.  Along the way these two "otai" of the Waris Gadong of the Biduanda clan kept themselves busy recalling moments in time how the linkage of the Bongek-Mompoghah  came into existence.It was the then one Federal Minister Dato' Mokhtar Hashim who proposed the idea to build a feeder road along the foothill of Banjaran Titiwangsa.

A moment to cherish as well. Starting in Bongek the two "otai" glimpsed through  the recent history of one kampung boy by the name of Ismail Ambia, who received his first taste of education at the Sekolah Melayu Bongek just a few meters from the Tampin-Seremban Main Road junction with the feeder road. Ismail then went to Gvernment English School Tampin (which later renamed Tunku Besar School Tampin after Merdeka in 1957.This was the boy who later became Malaysian Ambassador.He and one other kampung boy by the name of Abu Sufi Hassan became close friends within diplomatic staff working relationship.  Abu Sufi or Dak Chupi as he is popularly known as a Gadong Darek boy was fortunate to have Ismail as his boss. Ismail was very cordial and friendly and yet plain and simple and so was his wife, Datin Ruhani Yunus, TBS 1958 (?).

Then there were two famous sons of the Gadong-Tanah Datar families in the religious circle: They were the  two Kadis, one each from Gadong and Tanah Datar. The one from Gadong was the "Orang Semenda" Tok Kadi Hj. Abbas, who was Abu Sufi's Grandfather. Another was Tok Kadi Rembau Utara, Tuan Haji Yatim Hj. Zainal, who became "orang Semenda" of Ulu Gadong. The Madrasah of Ulu Gadong was later renamed after him as Sekolah Menengah Agama Haji Mohd Yatim of Ulu Gadong. Haji Mohd. Yatim has a younger sibling, Hj. Yassin, the co-founder of the Madrsah. The father of these two siblings were from Gadong Baruh, had a younger sister named Lamah, who had a son-in-law from Chengkau, Cikgu Abbas Ali, translator of Rembau Sejarah Perlembagaan Adat Istiadatnya. The book was originally written by C.W. C Parr and W.H.Mckray printed in 1953.

Popular among the Gadong-Tanah Datar folks were the two penghulus: Penghulu Haji Bakar  and Penghulu Abd. Ghani. They were "orang Semenda". There was another "orang semenda" also a penghulu, named Penghulu Mizan Maah, the younger brother of the late Undang Rembau, Dato' Haji Adnan Maah. Another famous "orang Semenda" of the Tanah Datar clan was one Tiang Balai Undnag, The hereditary title, Datuk Samsura Pahlawan from  Mungkal clan. He was Aji Hussein, married to a Tanah Datar woman, Halimah, who was related to former minister, Dato' Shaziman Abu Mansor and the current Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar 

Pix below say a thousand words and you may describe them in your own words:

Hj. Othman Rashid (left) and Abu Sufi Hassan

Abu Sufi's sweet home in Jalan Kekwa, Sungai Tua, Batu Caves, Selangor

Abu Sufi (right) with Hj. Yassin sibling,  Basrah Yasin and her two children, Siti Azirah and Sharir Bakhtiar Aziman Shah in Gadong..

Panaromic view of Kg. Gadong from Bongek-Mompoghah feeder road KTM flyover. Abu Sufi family house is in the foreground while Khairy Jamaluddin family home is in the background.

Abu Sufi (left) with Ahmad Fadzil Yassin on the KTM flyover of the feeder road Bongek-Mompoghah link.

Abu Sufi (right) with Mohd. Ruskeen Suleiman of Fadzil Entreprise, Tampin.

Abu Sufi (right) bersama Satpam Sekolah Kebngsaan Bongek, Md. Yunus Musa.

Sekolah Kebangsaan Bongek The "ori" school is in the foreground.

Au Sufi calling somebody infront of the Surau Bongek, in Selemak, built in 1922, probably one of the oldest in the vacinity.Dato' Ismail Anbia'kampung.

the signboard tells all.

the Surau as viwed from the feeder road in Bongek.

During childhood this must be the place where Dato' Ismail Anbia called his playground.

A home is still a home untuil its occupant/s left it for good. This house is situted next to the Bongek surau.

A well-built bungalow next to Sekolah Kebaangsaan Bongek. Very familiar to those who travel the Bongek-Mompoghah feeder Road  towards the end of the northern junction

Banjaran Titiwangsa in the background nd Abu Sufi's family home in the foreground on the left.

The house of the Abu Sufi Family, standing tall. the house on the left is Khairy Jamaluddin fmily home.