Jalan-jalan Jadi Supir (Part 1)

Lolly has hoped for me to travel a lot in her last email to me (hehehe, sorry for having to reply your email yet Lolly, will do that as soon as I got everything settled here). And how true it was. Thus, less postings here (tu lagik la kan – alasan la dikatakan J)

Segamat – Tenang Station – Labis – Chaah – Bekok – Yong Peng – Ayer Itam – Kluang
Kluang – Ayer Itam (Hi-Way à Ayer Keroh – Seremban – KLIA Exit – Dengkil – Port Klang/S. Alam – Klang – Meru Exit)
Meru – Papar –Kuala Selangor – Tanjung Karang – Sg. Besar – Sekinchan – Sabak Bernam – Hutan Melintang – Seberang Perak – Lekir – Sitiawan – Lumut – Pantai Remis – Changkat Jering – Terong – Taiping – Bruas Exit
Bruas – Taiping – Gunung Semanggol – Bukit Merah – Bandar Baharu – Jawi/Nibong Tebal – Juru – Penang – Sg. Petani – Gurun – Alor Setar – Jitra/Malau

I was in Kluang in the morning and Jitra at night. We started at 10am and arrived at the destination at about 11pm – that is after more than 12hrs driving. I said “we” – yes – we referring to not only my parents and I, but also one truck driver (Encik Halim) and 25 male cows. Iye, betul la tu, 25 ekor lembu jantan - they are about 3 – 4 years old, weigh at about 350 - 370kg each on average and ready to be slaughtered in the near future. We were “escorting” the 4-ton trailer all the way from Kluang to Jitra. Kalau kita duduk dalam kereta pon dah penat, can you imagine standing all the way throughout the journey without any kind of roofing, liquid and food? That’s going to be one hell of a journey, not for something that you should be looking forward to as well.

Being behind the wheels and having the direct look on their face during the journey made me really very sad. Now I know why my dad prefers to have lamb or mutton than beef. It seems so inhumane to consume the meat when you deal with them in your work. The sad looks in their eyes were as if asking for some kind of pity. They were “telling” that they are “leaving”. Because of the heat, some were not able to stand the entire journey. A few, especially, the white one, were resting their heads on the railing at the back of the trailer. Though the haze brings negative outcome to us, but for once I was glad to have the haze yesterday. At least, they did not suffer extreme direct sunlight. We had to stop somewhere after the Ayer Itam exit as my dad saw some of the cows were trampled by the other cows. He was so flabbergasted. The driver was asked not to speed as the trailer that carried the cows behind was not flat. The trailer was a bit slanted at the back, thus making the animals to easily slight towards the end of the trailer. As a result, those standing / sitting at the back will be stepped by the ones that slided behind, despite of layering the surface of the trailer with sand. The sand functions as grips to cows’ hooves, so as to make them more stable should the road becomes hilly. The best layering of sand should be about 6 inches, and please, no mixture of clay type of earth. If it rains, it’ll too slippery for the cows to balance. That’s what my dad told me. And once they were un-loaded from the vehicle, they should rest for at least 2 hours. This means no food or water will be provided, or else they might die. Abrupt or immediate feeding is a big no-no as we do not want the stressed-out animals to be in shock. They must be calm before their feed - pellets of PKC mixed with some grass and some water. It sure is no easy job. In Jitra, they were unloaded in an abattoir area. So teruk kan.

Although I am glad they all landed safely in Jitra, but I was sad when I left the abattoir last night. Kesian, these animals will be slaughtered soon. Probably after keeping them for several days. Tuan Haji said keeping them for a week is quite good as the period will help them to recover from any injury they had from the long journey, as well as to ensure that they regain and pick up on their body index. My dad said the same too. Hambali and son, Azrin, Pak Kasim, Tuan Haji, and several others were there to unload the animals. We had to escort the trailer as it was the last trailer that left Kluang last morning. The animals were the last load that was supposedly to leave at 2am the previous night. However, it broke down near the Kluang Jail, and my dad had to go and look for the trailer. Since there was only one driver, my dad said he’d follow the lorry for the fear that the animals might stand the long journey. Another 3 lorries arrived at noon in Jitra, they didn’t suffer much as the ones we had. These were animals that were loaded near midnite and they were standing for exactly 24hrs! Kesian them. I even called one of them Si Benjol, sebad sebelah mata dia dah benjol macam telor. Mata dia pon bengkak. My dad said, he probably had that masa nak naik lorry malam sebelom tu. Bila tengok muka dia, alahai … kesian betul. Aku ni cepat kesian kat animals yang ada pitiful looks.

After that, we had late supper and reached the PJ2 Hotel at exactly 1.30am. By then, I was exhausted. My dad drove for 6-7hrs till Sekichan before I took over. I did 8-9hrs till we reached Jitra. Mengantuk tu jgn cakaplah – dah la malam gelap macam kopi, jalan pulak dekat hi-way at 80-90/hr. Uishhh … berbijik-bijik jugaklah cekelat yang ku makan. And I don't think I will like that PJ2 very much. Macam tak selesa je ...