Thursday, January 8, 2009

Kenanganku bersama Ronaljo

Maaf, gambar di Doha pada 2001 tak terang

Sistem pesanan ringkasku daripada http://www.utusanlfc.blogspot.com/ pada jam 9.27 pagi berbunyi: "Bro, Johari Shawal meninggal 8am tadi sakit paru2. Jenazah di hospital Muar". Sudah tentu aku terkejut. Cepat-cepat aku "forward"kan sms itu kepada rakan-rakan lain, khususnya pegawai-pegawai sukan yang aku fikir mengenali arwah.
Sila layari blog rakan arwah di sini and a touching tribute from New Straits Times' Arnaz M Khairul here

Kenanganku dengan arwah Jo pelbagai. Namun yang paling kuingati ialah ketika menumpang kamarnya di Doha, Qatar pada Mac 2001. Apabila pasukan negara tewas mengejut 1-0 kepada Palestin di Hong Kong pada pusingan pertama di Hong Kong, aku sudah berkira-kira orang besar NSTP tidak akan meluluskan pemergian wakil empat akhbar yang bernaung di bawahnya.
Jadi aku mencongak untuk pergi dengan belanja sendiri.
Ia bukan kali pertama aku berbuat demikian. Aku pergi sendiri ke Boustead Travels untuk membuat tempahan tiket ke Jepun pada 1999 untuk menyaksikan Shinji Ono, Junichi Inamoto dan Yuji Nakazawa bermain di Stadium Tokyo pada pra-Olimpik, tempat di mana Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli menyemai benih kasih bersama gadis yang kini bergelar isterinya.
Untuk misi ke Doha, aku dimaklumkan bahawa Utusan Malaysia menghantar Jo. Dialah satu-satunya wakil media Malaysia yang dihantar membuat liputan pusingan kedua untuk kumpulan yang merangkumi Qatar, Hong Kong, Malaysia dan Palestin. Aku membuat urusan agar penerbanganku sama dengan Jo dan secara kebetulan sama pula dengan setiausaha agung Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia (FAM), Datuk Dell Akbar Khan.
Kami mendarat di Doha, tak silap aku, dah tengah malam, jadi hendak cari hotel pun susah. Dell mencadangkan agar kami menumpang bilik pegawai FAM. Jadi sambil aku menggalas beg, Jo menarik "luggage"nya lalu kami mengetuk pintu kamar Saifuddin Abu Bakar, pegawai pentadbir pasukan. Mahu tak mahu, Saifuddin terpaksa menerima kehadiran kami yang sudah menunjuk muka menagih simpati.
Sambil membuat bilik Saifuddin macam biliknya sendiri, Jo yang suka membuat lawak dengan wajah selamba mencadangkan kami berdua bermalam saja di kolam renang kalau tidak ada yang sudi menumpangkan dua musafir ini.
"Memang saya tidak boleh lupakan malam itu," kata Saifuddin, yang kini menjawat tugas penolong setiausaha agung FAM.
"Saya masih teringat bagaimana Jo menyorong begnya yang besar lebih kurang macam orangnya. Saya terkejut dengan pemergiannya. Salam takziah kepada keluarganya."
Keesokannya, aku membontonti Jo dalam mencari penginapan. Selesai urusan di kaunter dengan seorang kakitangan hotel yang berbangsa Nepal, kami pun mencari bilik kecil yang menjadi tempat kami melepas lelah dan melelapkan mata sepanjang minggu berkenaan.
Disebabkan hanya kami berdua selaku wakil media, Jo dan aku tidak membawa haluan masing-masing. Akupun buat cara menumpang, dan tidak "scoop" Jo, sebaliknya berkongsi maklumat.
Selain mengalas perut dengan puree dan makanan ala Arab dan Pakistan, Jo dan aku mengambil kesempatan bersiar-siar di bandaraya Doha pada waktu malam.
Kami dibawa ke Doha Corniche di mana pelawat boleh menaiki bot dan tentunya tidak aku lupakan pengalaman bermain sand dunes atau gumuk pasir, kira-kira satu jam dari Doha. Gambar-gambar dalam albumku dirakam oleh jari-jemari Jo.
Di negara-negara Arab seperti Qatar, kemudahan pengangkutan tidak secanggih Kuala Lumpur. Kalau hendak pergi ke stadium pada waktu malam, pastikan anda sewa teksi untuk pulang. Kalau tidak, sama ada menumpang bas pasukan atau sekali lagi buat muka kesian dan tagih lah simpati dengan sesiapa. Stadium-stadium bola sepak di Doha agak berjauhan dari pusat bandar.
Pada kesempatan itu juga, Jo dan aku merebut peluang menemu ramah beberapa individu penting dalam Doha menghadapi Sukan Asia 2006.
Jo kerap membuat liputan lumba basikal, olahraga dan bola sepak. Sekembali dari Doha, aku jarang berkesempatan berborak dengan Jo. Cuma apabila Persatuan Penulis-penulis Sukan Malaysia (SAM) atau Utusan menyertai mana-mana kejohanan bola sepak antara media, Jo pasti turun padang.
"Nak tengok macam mana Ronaljo main, hah ni dia," dengan wajah selambanya. Itulah wajah yang abadi dalam kenangan.
Tidak lama kemudian, aku mendengar dia dinaikkan pangkat menjadi ketua biro di Kangar. Aku dimaklumkan arwah dijangkiti tibi. Al-Fatihah dan takziah kepada keluarganya dan warga kerja Utusan Malaysia.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

memang arwah seorang yang kelakar dan selamba...kenangan bersama jo serta rakan2 lain di mekah sewaktu coverage sukan negara islam masih segar dalam ingatan. alfatihah.

Anonymous said...

i'm stunned by the news of jo's passing. as u, i also had my share of moments with jo, and all of them were great!

jo will be fondly remembered and my only regret is not having had the chance to shake his hands in the past 6 years or so since i left nst. cycling, motorsports, bowling, gymnastics and soccer were some of our common beats. the most memorable was our trip to japan to cover the gt c'ship races. it was at a karaoke in tokyo that i discovered jo had excellent pipes - definitely a baritone! not to forget the many long roads trips together chasing that cycle race that was once upon a time called le tour de langkawi..

i will surely miss jo and i thank him for all those wonderful memories that we shared. Al-Fatihah...

Anonymous said...

kbhl

adha said...

2 thn bersama jo a.k.a tigerjeo / ronaljo di kangar is superb...dia selalu hepi walaupun berdepan masalah..paling aku ingat, time dia bercerita, semua tangan dan kaki naik..pastu dia tak hirau org kiri kanan. pernah sekali time kitorang makan kat Kuala perlis, dia asyik bercerita..hampir2 tangan dia yang melilau masa bercerita nak tercelup kat dalam mangkuk tomyam...kalau tak, mesti kami semeja mandi dengan kuah tomyam malam tu...
one more things, jo tak pernah simpan dendam dgn kawan2, kalau dia tak suka, dia terus cakap...itu yang sronok kawan dgn dia...
skrg aku dah hilang sorang kawan baik...for sure korang pn kehilangan..al-fatihah sahabat, semoga roh mu dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatakan bersama golongan yang beriman...amin

adha said...

2 thn bersama jo a.k.a tigerjeo / ronaljo di kangar is superb...dia selalu hepi walaupun berdepan masalah..paling aku ingat, time dia bercerita, semua tangan dan kaki naik..pastu dia tak hirau org kiri kanan. pernah sekali time kitorang makan kat Kuala perlis, dia asyik bercerita..hampir2 tangan dia yang melilau masa bercerita nak tercelup kat dalam mangkuk tomyam...kalau tak, mesti kami semeja mandi dengan kuah tomyam malam tu...
one more things, jo tak pernah simpan dendam dgn kawan2, kalau dia tak suka, dia terus cakap...itu yang sronok kawan dgn dia...
skrg aku dah hilang sorang kawan baik...for sure korang pn kehilangan..al-fatihah sahabat, semoga roh mu dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatakan bersama golongan yang beriman...amin

Anonymous said...

Al Fathihah utk beliau & sememangnya saya dan sahabat2 yg mengenali beliau pasti terasa kehilangannya.

Anonymous said...

saya benar benar terperanjat dgn berita ini.... jo or better known as jonathan among a few of the foreign soccer coaches, was a gem of a fren...
i have covered a few soccer tournaments with him and the most memorable in bangkok in 2000, the asian soccer cup... we stayed on the same floor in the hotel and he never failed to keep all of us smiling, laughing with his jokes and "his selamber" action... we will miss u fren.. salam takziah kepda keluarganya..... al fatihah

Anonymous said...

Al Fatihah
I was shocked to get the sms.
I know him from our motoring days and he was such a jovial and nice fellow. very down to earth, humble and easy to get along with.
my sincerest condolences to his family.
- Harris Iskandar Taib -

ps
assalamualaikum rizal.
it's been a long time buddy.

Hakim Amir said...

Inalillah & Al FAtihah tO Arwah Joe..moga Allah merestui Roh beliau...

Thruout the years of knowing him (first as my senior in ITM, and then in the TV industry..Joe was indeed an all round nice guy...

Joe, RIP bro...

Pic of him with Ecuadorian legend, Carlos Tenorio during AL Sadd FC visit to Malays few years back..in my Fotopages below..
http://hakimamir.fotopages.com/?entry=892648

Anonymous said...

malaysia sports loose cannon saudara rizal lakukan sesuatu bagi menyelamatkan media fam, lagi parah semua benda fam buat haru biru

Anonymous said...

Bukan selamatkan media FAM saja bro, tapi FAM secara total

Anonymous said...

Brother,

If you are against the idea of another LCCT in Labu, Seremban which is being built to kill another of Tun Dr Mahathir's legacy - KLIA, please put the "No to KLIA@East" logo on your website.

The logo can be found at http://simedarbywatch.blogspot.com

Thank you.

Din

Anonymous said...

buat apa lah minta loose cannon selamatkan fam, semua yang cita-cita nak selamatkan telah pun diselamatkan termasuklah bro loose cannon ni. sebab dia orang tu bukan pun tau tentang FAM

Anonymous said...

Al-Fatihah

p/s: Woi Fariq...hutang aku bila nak bayar!

Anonymous said...

from http://ssdhaliwal.blogspot.com/

Friday, 9 January 2009
FAM nak lawan kuasa Tuhan?


Update: Thanks to a friendly Jounalist who was at Wisma FAM. Some 70 odd Kelantan fans turned up and after saying their piece handed over a memorandum to a FAM official. The same official then held a press conference saying that even though Kelantan FA were to appeal, it will do no good. So I guess we should disband all FAM committees as well, since decisions can be made without them meeting. And he said football is alive and kkicking in Malaysia as the demo showed fans are still interested in Malaysian football, rather the correct word is disgusted...

That is what was displayed on the banner at a demo held by Kelantan fans at Kota Baru yesterday. And the fireworks are expected at Wisma FAM at Kelana Jaya at 3.00pm today (read www.kelate.net).

So what brought about the wrath of the Kelantan fans? Well it has to do with the opening day of the Malaysian Super League. Rather then it being a night of celebration for the Kelantanese, for making the Super League after years in the Premier League, it was not meant to be.

Word has it that a meeting was held after the inspection of the pitch at the Stadium and the conclusion was the pitch was not fit for the match, hence the match was deemed postponed and will be played another day. Or at least this was what Kelantan were told.

Suddenly a different outcome was reached at a meeting of FAM Competitions Committee (or as some put it as FAM Technical Committee of the Competition Committee - first time I heard of such a committee). Kelantan was deemed to have not prepared the pitch and hence a win was awarded by the Committee based on the Match Commissioner and Referee Assesors reports.

This is where it becomes a bit murky as the power to call of a match lies in the hands of the match officials, i.e the referees and not the Match Commissioner and Referee Assesor. So who called of the match at 1.00pm? Rightfully if pitch was not up to standards then match should be called of at 7.00pm.

Then there comes the question of appeal. Who do Kelantan FA appeal to? The same committee who punished them in the first place without calling for their defence. That my friends is ultra vires as you cannot appeal to the same court that meted out the punishment but to a higher court, or somebody out there do not know what they are talking about when it comes to appeals.

So who is the jester in this case? It is Tuanku President who will have to intervene once again as he did when Selangor were docked three points. But Selangor appealed to the Council, so Kelantan FA, go higher if you want justice.
Posted by SS DHALIWAL at 09:40

Anonymous said...

pegawai media fam pun dah mula tukar nombor? tak nak pihak media mengganggu kecuali kroni-kroni !!! nombor yang baru ni mungkin ada pihak lain yang bayar

Anonymous said...

salam bro rizal,

just want to record my deepest condolence to joe's family.

he was indeed a great and excellent friend....i am fortunate to share several memorable memories with him in our working assignment overseas.

RIP bro joe, moga Allah mencucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan rohnya di kalangan orang-orang yang beriman.

- khawari