My Opah in 2009
By MKA It is rare nowadays to see a woman in Malaysia working on a farm or doing hard labor. But even rarer is seeing a woman in her 80s still working on a farm—especially in this millennium. Clearly, she is no ordinary woman. She is my Opah (a term for grandmother used by many Perakians). She is fortunate to have lived this long and to still remember the hardships she endured during World War II. She vividly recalls life under Japanese occupation in Malaya, recounting in detail the struggles her family faced. One of the most fascinating stories she shares with her grandchildren is about the day the Imperial Japanese Air Force bombed Victoria Bridge in Kuala Kangsar. The attack was an attempt to disrupt the British Army’s retreat to Singapore after losing most of northern Malaya. She was there, witnessing firsthand one of the most pivotal events of the war. The villagers called the Japanese fighter aircraft dragonflies (or more precisely, "cakcibor" in the local Malay slang) ...