"He'd Buy Me Toys From The Pasar" – 6 M'sians Share Fondest Memories With Their Late Dads
The time we spend with our loving fathers can never be enough. This is even more true for those who have lost their father.
By Hizral Faiz Rozeman — 13 Jun 2022, 03:03 PM
Father's Day is a time to celebrate fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as to remind us of the important men in our lives
A father can mean many things for someone. For many, a father is their first love in life. The love from a great father can last for a lifetime. Some even say that a father's love is eternal and without end.
The time we spend with our loving fathers can never be enough. This is even more true for those who have lost their father or an important male figure in their life.
Yet with their great presence in life, their legacy will remain even if it's only as a memory. As memories, they will forever grace our lives as long we remember them.
"They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time." – Banksy.
In honour of Father's Day, we asked Malaysians to share their fondest memories with their late fathers.
Here are their responses:
1. "My dad would buy me a cake every day after kindergarten to make me feel like it was my birthday"
"When I was younger, I loved cakes. I loved them no matter what flavour they were. My dad never once failed to get me cakes. I loved receiving them, it would make me feel like he was celebrating my birthday every day.
"Because of that, I would always look forward to going back to kindergarten. I would get super excited and happy to go to kindergarten expecting a cake once I'm done.
"I am very grateful for what he did for me back then. He passed away when I was six and growing up without a father has been hard. But from this memory, I learned that a little effort goes a long way. It can make a person happy and the memory can last a lifetime.
"If he's listening, I hope you are doing fine. I want you to know that I love you a lot and I miss you!"
— Khate Lee, 19
2. "I loved going to the pasar with my abah"
"When I was younger, I would be so excited to go to the wet market with my father. We went there every weekend on the same motorcycle he used to pick me up from school.
"Going to the pasar may not be an exciting pastimes these days but back then it was the highlight of my week. If I was lucky, he would buy me toys from the pasar. It was my only chance of getting toys because the pasar was the only place where the toys were cheap at the time.
"Nonetheless, even if we didn't buy toys and just bought groceries, I still enjoyed the time I spent with him very much. When he didn't wake me up in the morning to accompany him to the pasar, I would cry nonstop and only he could console me.
"I really wish I could relive every second I spent with him now that he's gone."
— Noor Lida, 49
3. "When I woke up early on Sundays, we would go on adventures together"
"My dad passed away when I was 15 back in 2017.
"Back then, I remember waking up as early as I could on Sundays so I could go on adventures with him. I would run downstairs in the morning and help him with house chores and once we were done he would fulfil his promise.
"We would check out new malls we hadn't been to or tried new breakfast spots. He would even get me ice cream after. During the adventures, we would just spend time walking around and I would ask him a lot of questions.
"On the car ride back, he would make jokes and we would sing old songs together. He would take the long road home to spend more time with me.
"It's nothing extravagant but I am really grateful he took time from his only day off to spend it with me. Quality time spent with him will always hold a dear place in my life."
— Vina, 20
4. "Every day, once my dad got home from work, he would look for me right away, hug me, carry me around, and ask how my day was"
"As the youngest daughter, I was attached to him the most compared to my siblings. Naturally, back then, seeing him again after almost a day separated from each other would make me very happy.
"As far as I remember, he only does that with me so it made me feel special and I felt very loved.
"He passed away when I was seven, every time I reminisce on that memory I will miss him dearly. I really wish I had more time with him but I am grateful for the memory because it left me always remembering him as a loving father.
"If you are listening right now, I hope you are proud of the woman I've become and what I've achieved so far in life."
— Shairah Mohd Shariff, 22
5. "I miss those late nights sitting side by side with him and watching football matches"
"Some of my strongest and earliest memories I have with my late father was when I was quite young, around five or six years old.
"Baba took me to the stadium to watch my first live football match. Football has since been my favourite sport and my father was always the go-to person to talk about football with. I miss those late nights sitting side by side with him and watching football matches.
"He used to bring me grocery shopping every week too. He loved doing that. Almost every week, he would also look for video tapes of the latest movies. Baba had the same routine for VCDs and DVDs, always looking for new films to watch at home.
"And this was always the routine from when I was young until he passed away. It's always the small things we miss from people when they're gone.
"Baba passed away last year, just four days before the birth of my daughter."
— Aiman Mufti, 36
6. "Every time I was down, crying, or giving up, my papa would always say 'You're a strong girl and I believe you are'. The phrase would always give me strength even when I was at my weakest."
"Of course I love my father and every memory I have of him is precious to me. But not a lot crosses my mind when thinking of the fondest memories I share with my father.
"I only have this phrase he would would always say to me whenever I seek consolation from him.
"He passed away when I was 21. It was really though on me. But I'm glad he left me with this phrase. I still think about it today whenever I need strength."
— Noor Ameerah, 24
