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An Alcoholic's Road To Redemption
Last update: 31/10/2017
By Ali Imran Mohd Noordin
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KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- Alcohol consumption is forbidden in Islam, and the Malay society frown over Muslim alcoholics.  Anyway there are not many such alcoholics in the community and those who consume alcohol are often clandestine drinkers.
This writer recently struck a conversation with the 58 year old Malay taxi driver who identified himself as "Abang Mat" while sharing the breakfast table at an eatery at Medan Selera Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Kampung Baru here. The conversation started with Abang Mat sharing with the writer on the eateries in the city that should not be missed and that one should take care of the health.Â
" By the age of 23, I was already afflicted with high blood pressure. I was a heavy drinker then, " he said.
This writer was a initially shocked over Abang Mat's open revelation over his past but was eager to hear what else he had to say.
PEER PRESSURE
As the conversation went by, this writer learnt that Abang Mat started indulging in alcohol even before he reached the age of 20, right after he joined the uniformed services.
"In those days we indulged in liquor while eating satay. As we were in the jungle most of the time, we had money in our hand, we drank in the jungle, and enjoyed ourselves when we were out of the jungles.
"In the 1970s, the beer was sold for slightly more than RM1. Really cheap. Unlike now where the price has gone up many fold, " he continued.
He was hooked to alcohol, and continued drinking even after he left the uniformed services and moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1982. In the capital city he worked as a bank dispatch clerk during the day and a security guard at night. Unfortunately Abang Mat could not part with alcohol.Â
"I earned RM650 working in the bank and another RM350 as a security guard, a comfortable amount then. Without fail I will send home some money, " he said adding that what he earned was almost equivalent to the starting salary of a graduate those days.
This writer was impressed that despite of Abang Mat's alcohol addiction he did not forget his filial responsibilities. In fact he took the trouble to sent back home whatever he could without fail each month.
HEADED DOWN SOUTH
However, Abang Mat did not believe in resting on his laurels. He gave up his bank and security guard job here here and landed a job at a construction site in Singapore that paid him SGD60 daily.
Abang Mat, to the decision to quit as he felt he needed a job that provided him with some physical exertion to keep him fit. Yet, again he was sober during the day and intoxicated at night.Â
"I continued sweating it out daily at the construction work site during the day and drinking after working hours. I felt better then health wise. Due to the nature of work there that required physical strength, my high blood pressure problem was under control, " he said.
For almost a decade he crisscrossed the Causeway daily to earn a living in the republic. The currency exchange rate also favoured him and with much money in his hands his drinking sessions also continued.
"During then, as soon as I crossed back to Malaysia, I would convert the currency to Malaysian Ringgit and have a lot in my hand. During then the SGD60 that I convert will bring me RM120 per day. A hefty sum in the early 1990s. Each time I sit down for my drinking session, I will guzzle three big bottles of beer. By then a big bottle of beer was selling at RM4.50. With money at hand, there was nothing to worry."
FATHER'S DEMISE
Abang Mat continued with life without any guilt over his drinking problem and the fact that he was a Muslim. He started distancing himself from the family.Â
"I was having a good time in Thailand then. That time communication channels were limited. Three weeks later, after I returned to Singapore to work, a relative living there whom I met conveyed the news that my father had passed away.
"I became very distraught. As I had depleted all my money, I had to work for a few days to save up and return to the village. When I arrived at my father's grave, it was still covered by the freshly dug soil, " he said looking out at the people walking about on the road adjacent to the eatery.
His was remorseful when he returned to Singapore and started drinking heavily. This is when he decided to return to Kuala Lumpur.
HE FINALLY REPENTED
After returning to the capital, he worked as aide-de-camp for VIPs and promised himself that he would quit drinking. Abang Mat admitted it was then even more difficult to leave behind alcohol as it is synonymous with the lifestyle of the well heeled group which he was associated with.
Only in 2001, Abang Mat finally saw the turning point in life following his mother's death.
"At that time, I would shiver when I didn't drink. By then even the beer was not strong enough for me. Hence, I mixed with the Chinese liquor to make a potent concoction. Yet somewhat I felt they were still not strong enough for me. But I knew if I continued with my drinking, my health is at stake. With my mother no longer around, I realised I need to repent."
It is now 11 years since Abang Mat had the last sip of alcohol. Now nearing his sixth decade of life, Abang Mat leads an ordinary life as a taxi driver and lives to tell the others that with determination one can come out of alcoholism.
BERNAMA
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