The Day That Changed Its Mind
Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 11:51PM 
Please click the photo above to play the daily videoThe plan was simple: do nothing. Second day of Raya, nowhere to be, no obligations pulling at the sleeve. The kind of day you sketch out in your head as a long, unbroken stretch of idleness. But days, as a rule, don't much care for plans.
Word came through that there had been a death — these things arrive without warning, as they always do, rearranging the shape of a morning in an instant. Abang Razak and I made our way to the mosque for the prayers. There's not much to say about these moments that isn't already understood. You go, you stand, you offer what you can, which is mostly just your presence. The ritual holds you when words fall short.
We were finished by lunchtime, and the pivot from solemnity to sustenance felt natural enough. We headed to Rebung, which was mercifully quiet — school holidays keeping the usual crowds at bay. There's a particular pleasure in Rebung when it's not heaving: you can actually taste the food rather than simply survive the queue. The spread was as generous as ever, and we ate with the unhurried appreciation of people who'd earned their lunch through an unexpectedly full morning.
The afternoon belonged entirely to the sofa. I napped with the kind of commitment that borders on athletic, only to surface later with a headache that suggested I'd perhaps overdone the horizontal. There's a cruel irony in sleeping so hard you wake up feeling worse. The body has a strange sense of humour sometimes.
By evening, though, things had recalibrated. Dinner at Gardens was the gentle reset the day needed — pleasant surroundings, good food, the headache retreating somewhere behind the second glass of water. Meanwhile, Anita had shifted into preparation mode for Julia's visit next week, which involves a particular kind of domestic energy that I've learned to observe from a respectful distance. Cushions get repositioned. Surfaces get scrutinised. Standards are applied that I didn't know existed.
Later, we settled in for a film — Mercy, which turned out to be a decent way to close a day that had covered rather more ground than anticipated. From mosque to movie, via Rebung and a regrettable nap. Not the day of pure relaxation we'd envisioned, but something richer for its detours.
Clinic tomorrow, which means the holiday is officially folding itself away. But there's no complaint in that. The break did what breaks are supposed to do — it broke things up, shifted the rhythm, let the ordinary fall away for a few days. Back to it, then.
Good Night Sir
The passing of Dr Ahmad Kamal was felt at all levels at SJMC. The kindest of colleague, always jovial and knew when to press the right button. Very welcoming when I started off in Subang back in 2011.
My Facebook feed was filled with throwback photos of the smiling gentleman and even towards the end, all he thought about was coming back to work. His patients, colleagues and nurses held him in highest regard and we will continue to cherish the memories.
On a personal note, I first met Dr Kamal in 2006 when myself with Dr No Soo Chin and Dr Alan Teh attended a research course in Sabah. We went for a nice seafood dinner one evening, just the four of us. And half a decades later, we were colleagues in Subang.
His passing would also meant that I had to step up and put up the bill for the yearly Cancer Centre berbuka puasa event that he hosted with Dr Matin Mellor every year. We also felt amongst the Doctors that we should rename the Cancer Centre in Subang in his honour. After all, he helped set the unit up.
From now on, it looked like it would be only me using a fountain pen in Surgical A North Tower - at least until somebody else decided to join in. We used to talk about his own collection and his professed love for Audi. I was sure he would be sorely missed by his wonderful family.
Alfatihah.