In memory of

I learnt the sudden passing on of Mafoot Moss Simon, a senior writer of the local newspaper last week.

I had some contact with him when he first moved from Berita Harian, the Malay newspaper to the English newspaper, The Straits Times. I was then freelancing for The Straits Times and was covering the Malay arts and entertainment scene. When Mafoot transfered over, he became my supervisor.

By that time, I had clocked a good year of freelancing and the thrill of seeing my byline in the newspaper had already worn off. I thought it was a good time to quit the stint when he moved into the role. But he would have none of that.

In a bid to make me change my mind, he suggested meeting over lunch. I have made up my mind to quit, and I thought the lunch would be a very boring meeting. As it turned out, he was a rather interesting guy. He wasn't a chatty sort of person, by any means, but I remember he talked about his experience in the newsroom, his bike, which he named Geronimo, and I remember his wry sense of humour. At the end of that lunch, I was talked into continuing for a few more months. And that was the first and last time I saw him.

My condolences and sympathies to his family members. Al-fateha.