Stuck on the front line, missing the kampung and lemang

 

Syahmi Nawi, who is with the Cheras police headquarters, says he misses the food back in Kelantan.

PETALING JAYA: While Hari Raya celebrations are going on in homes across the country, many people who are frontliners marked the end of Ramadan by clocking in to work.

Among them are policemen and firefighters, who remain on standby to deal with emergencies.

A police corporal known as Safura is one of them. But she doesn’t feel left out.

Every year, she said the police chief at the Sungai Besi station, where she is currently attached, would host a Raya do at the station.

“Even though we don’t get to have a holiday, we are able to get into the Raya mood as we’re like family here with the station chief and our officers,” she said.

Although the Cheras police headquarters does likewise, Syahmi Nawi still misses the food back home in Kelantan, including satay, nasi impit and rendang.

Firefighter Faisal Abdul Aziz, 40, said they would take their leave during the fasting month “whenever possible”, which allowed them to visit their hometowns and family before Raya.

Fireman Hisyamuddin Mesnu could not return to his hometown of Batu Pahat in Johor this year for Raya.

Faisal’s colleague, Hisyamuddin Mesnu, was unable to return this year and will celebrate the festival with his wife and friends.

“I miss celebrating Raya with family members and the festive mood back in my hometown (Batu Pahat),” he said.

Hisyamuddin still harbours hope he can travel back as planned, but admits that not everything will go according to plans. “We just have to hope and see.”

Nabila Hushna Radzuan.

Retail workers are another lot who cannot celebrate the festivities with their families. But they still don their best Raya outfits to mark the end of Ramadan.

Nabila Hushna Radzuan, 24, who works at a Pizza Hut outlet said: “I definitely miss the vibe and atmosphere in my village, with many relatives around.”

Watsons’ employee Nurul Farahanim Imran, 21, said having family living in Kuala Lumpur was a blessing as it meant she could still spend Raya with them after work as it was not too much of an inconvenience.

But that isn’t the case for Farahanim’s colleague, Nur Natasha Shahira Mohd Nazri, 22, who hails from Sabah.

For her, a trip home requires a lot of advanced planning. “I couldn’t get any leave this year,” she said. - FMT