Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Pak Alwi and his Alfa

Former national cycling coach Pak Alwi Ahmad can be considered an Alfaholic, someone who's passionate about his choice of cars and his Alfa Romeos. Pak Alwi and his trusty Alfa GTA, with a bunch of cyclists inhaling the smoke emanating from the Italian classic machine's exhaust pipes, were a common sight for road users around the Jalan Semarak and Keramat area in the 70s.

Long before I entered the world of journalism, I always felt there was a bond between Pak Alwi, his son Rosman and me. Not only because I liked to wave at them whenever our paths crossed when I was a kid, but my arwah dad was also an Alfa Romeo enthusiast.

Pak Alwi had a similar model

Today Pak Alwi is no more on the driving seat. He is not exactly in the pink of health. Like another sports figure Sidique Ali Merican from the same era, Pak Alwi is bed-ridden, suffering from stroke as highlighted by Harian Metro yesterday. Please read here

Our family used to travel the length and breadth of the country with something similar to this Giulia saloon petrol-guzzler

6 comments:

kajang-today said...

what a pity. I used to wave at him too circa 1995/96 when I was staying at setiawangsa. He was riding motorbike though,not driving Miss Alfa.

Ahmad A Talib said...

Beb, kalau u terjumpa mana-mana alfa giulia super 1.3 or 1.6, tolong bagi tau saya. I used 3 Alfas, and they gave me one hell of an exciting time (plus heartache too). My giulia was white in colour and i used to hit 120 MPH between KT and Kuantan on some straight road. As they say in the Alfa ads of old ... when you fall in love, it'll be forever! Betul tu!

pahit manis

Anonymous said...

Sebenarnya sdr Pak Alwi bermula dengan kereta Ford. Tapi memandangkan Fordnya tak ada pick-up, diapun ikut beli Alfa macam Datuk Mazlan Ahmad, masa tu bleum jadi ketua pengarah msn pun. Datuk mazlan masa tu dengan JKR lagi tapi aktif basikal. Kerta Ford Pak Alwi tak terkejar kelompok masa race, jadi dia tukar alfa. Sdr highlightlah orang yang berjasa dalam basikal, jangan lupa orang macam Shahruddin Jaafar, Fadzil Othman, Daud Kassim, Sharif Hamzah, Tan Sri Elyas Omar.

Ahmad A Talib said...

Beribu ampun dan maaf,

tertinggal satu para dalam komen asal. Saya berdoa agar Pak Alwi mendapat belaian kasih sayang ahli keluarga. saya harap juga Pak Alwi menghadapi ujian getir ini dengan sabar.

pahit manis

Arnaz M. Khairul said...

Pak Alwi has been in this state since last year. But it was worse earlier. Many went to see him at the hospital thinking he wouldn't survive, but I guess, once a fighter always a fighter.
Rosman also back here in KL, now working at CIMB again when I seriously believe he did a damn good job at raising Kedah cycling from the dead in just two years.
I don't know which is sad.. Pak Alwi at his old age, or a clearly able Rosman being cut out of cycling by his so called "political adversaries".

rizal hashim said...

Datuk AAT,

The Alfas you mentioned belong to the museum, or worse still, the scrapheap...jangan marah