Apa Khabar?

2 simple words between 2 people. Magical Words that can connect 2 worlds together.

Merenung ke luar jendela Bayu pagi meniup lembut Lihat bintang di angkasa Purnama menerangi gelapku Dan bila fajar menjelma Itu permulaan hari baru Dunia gamat bunyinya Sunyiku hanya Tuhan tahu

“Are you ready?” I asked. “Yes Coach”.

“Eh? Hari ni, Aku bukan Coach.”

"Player-Coach la" with the quick response.

It’s been 2 years since I coached him and now he’s suiting up to play alongside me for our 1st game together. I joked about it and now it’s happening. I remember him asking me once “Coach, kenapa aku tak boleh besar lagi?” He was the runt in the family. All his brothers were gifted with the rugby physique except for him. But this kid can play. He reads the lines well and moves into space before anyone else sees it.

Anyway, today is that day we take the field together.

U16 Team. Champions Cobra 10s Mini 2016.

Dalam perjalanan banyak persimpangan Di mana kita bertukar arah Kau lurus ke kiri aku tegak ke kanan Di mana kita tersilap langkah Kadang-kala waktu berhenti Ku toleh ke sisi Engkau tiada di sampingku Tapi lebih seringkali Bertemu dalam mimpi Semuka dengan sahabatku

Aku tanya apa khabar Aku tanya apa khabar semua

“Hey look who’s following daddy’s footsteps?”

The boy takes ball out of his backpack and starts dribbling. Between the legs, cross-over and zips to the middle of the key, teardrop. Swish!

“Ooo…that’s some fine skills”

I see the father shakes his head looking bemused. The father and I balled together a bit. Just amateur leagues and pickups. Got older, married and kids. We didn’t see much of each other for awhile. Only updates were him posting about his family or fetching food for them on social media. Now his eldest has grown up a bit and has picked up the basketball bug. So lo and behold, he turns up with his son. To share his love of the game and his team with his son.

Dude hasn’t changed. It’s always about others. Anyway, time to ball. Teach his son the finer arts of the pivot foot later after I cross his daddy up.

Flames Celebration Dinner 2007. 3rd Place at NCBL Tournament. No superstars. All Heart and Hustle.

Mereka kata masa depan kami sungguh cerah Lirik dan rap kami bak anugerah Ini semua sebelum semua anugerah Masa bila lapar semua makan mee segera

Show pertama luar KL di Pulau Pinang Lapan orang naik dua Kancil tapi semua senang Dua bilik empat katil jadi empat di lantai Kalau tidak silap ada yang sampai di tepi pantai Dan kali pertama kita diserbu peminat

“Remember when we went to Penang?”

he asks...

“How can I forget?”

I answered.

In a rugby game, I faked an injury to buy the team some time so we can rest. I remember what he told me, “we have no more subs and we need the rest, so next time in a ruck, stay down”. And that’s what I did.

We like to talk about the days gone past. Not just about the games played but where we went to after. Some of the stuff that we did and thankful there were no smart phones then. One of his favourite subjects were the “extras” or “dark arts”. The magical arts only a seasoned campaigner can do and get away with it. Stuff of Legend. More-so, he likes bringing up the stuff we prefer kept in the past. It’s cool, keeps us honest to some extent. Keep’s us humble on the fact that we made the same mistakes when we were young guns ourselves.

Anyway, he can’t drink as much but his company is always welcome and we chill by the corner.

2004. Work to me away from the team. Injuries does that too.

Aku tanya apa khabar Aku tanya apa khabar semua Pada mulanya kita menjajah Lagu-lagu bahasa penjajah Dan kita berdua budak belasan Kau pandai buat percaturan Industri penuh dengan peraturan Semua kita bahas dan pidatokan Sebab ini dua budak bijak Kita kata ya mereka tidak Kalau gagal merancang itu merancang untuk gagal Ku masih ingat pesanmu

"Coaching too. Saw his post with Giannis?"

"Who do you compare to looking at this Rookie Draft class?"

We start placing the parallels, but as time goes by, most of us are trying to accept our age and transition to other ways to stay with the game we love. Sharing the experience and trying to make the young guys better at their craft. Sharing the mentality that it took just to get pass the rough times.

Him being a dad as well, hits home with us. And every-time, this guy will share something new for us to live that parallel. Albeit not as glamorous.

Anyway, we tune in again, he just posted another vid.

Slam Magazine Cover. 1996 Rookie Draft Class.

Ingat Zal kita Z paling handal Zal Suntikan semangat untukku Setiap persembahan phenomenal Beribu lagi fans luar stadium Lepas pusing satu Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia Angan-angan jadi impian impian jadi cita-cita Kata-kata jadi lagu puisi jalanan tercipta Siapa kata jangan bermimpi doaku pada Yang Esa Mungkin permulaan baru di ketika berbeza Kadang-kala waktu berhenti Ku toleh ke sisi Engkau tiada di sampingku

Tapi lebih seringkali Bertemu dalam mimpi Semuka dengan sahabatku

We live with hope and dreams. Not all will come to reality and it leaves us with more questions than you can cope with. I do want to ask;

Aku tanya apa khabar Aku tanya apa khabar semua

Note 1:

Lyrics taken from Joe Flizzow's Single featuring SonaOne. Slick Rhymes and Cool Beats in a Poetic Package. The music video is deep and dope. Note 2:

If this piece touches you in any way, go pick up the phone and make a call, just ask "Apa Khabar?". Let it flow from there.