The Ahmad Mokhzani Abdullah Autobiography

FROM BIRTH
I was born in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu on 11/6/1975 to a Malay mother of Yemeni origin called Aminah. Her third paternal Grandfather, Syed Abdullah came from Hadhramaut, Yemen a few decades ago with his father, Syed Abdul Rashid to escape poverty, prevalent in Yemen at the time, and possibly also to spread Islam in the then Malay Peninsular. Syed Abdul Rashid went back to Yemen, while the son stayed and married to one of the Malay locals and had a son called Syed Abbas. My Mother is a direct descendant of Syed Abbas.
I was raised by my late maternal Grandparents for about 4 years while my Parents had to pursue their undergraduate studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia to become teachers. I was eventually taken back to live with them in Seremban. My maternal Grandmother, Wan Kumabiah or Cik, was a daughter of a wealthy Businessman in Terengganu called Wan Embong, and the father of Wan Embong called Wan Taib, was an Asyarite Syafiite scholar and main Religious Advisor to the Sultan of Terengganu at the time. Her mother was of Thai and Chinese origins. She passed away in 1991 from diabetes. My maternal Grandfather, Muda bin Muhammad bin Syed Abbas or Datok, was a practising traditional massager, and passed away in 1998 from old age. Both were like parents to me and had shaped my behaviour and characters until now. The late Cik was not very smart intellectually, quite a sensitive lady, but very soft, humble and caring, while the late Datok was intellectual but sharp tempered and stern with people. I share a bit of both, soft and caring but can be sharp tempered and stern like my Grandfather, occasionally.
My paternal Grandfather, Tok Ki Endut, passed away when my father was 15. I know nothing about him except that he was the Chief of Kampung Nyior, a village near Dungun, Terengganu where my father was born and that he had a reputation for being honest, soft and caring, unfortunately passed away at a young age of 39. To my amazement he was a third cousin of my maternal Grandmother, the late Cik. My paternal Grandmother, Cik Ajar, still alive at the age of 75, is a caring and gentle person and had been very helpful to me in the toughest times of my life. She has Persian blood.
My Father, Abdullah or Papa as we know him was born in 1950 in a state of poverty, probably that explains why he always wanted me to be better than him in every field. After his father died of fever when he was 15, he had to assume quick responsibility in looking after his younger siblings, thus that really matured him in life. He went to a traditional Islamic religious school in Terengganu, and later on to SMASZA, a modern Islamic religious school in Kuala Terengganu. Eventually despite his initial poverty, he was given the opportunity to further his undergraduate studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Islamic Studies. He met my Mother, Aminah or Our Mama there, and with her Thai-Chinese look, she was dubbed Ratu UKM. She was also studying but in a different course. After my Father completed his studies he obtained a teaching job at St. Paul's Institution located in Seremban.
My Sisters, Dina and Elya, and I grew up in a small village in Seremban called Kampung Datok Ismail, eventually We moved to Taman Dato' Shahbandar, also in Seremban and finally to Taman Paroi Jaya in 1984. Shahida, Kamel Azwad and Kamel Faizeen were born after 1984. Apart from Azwad, the rest were born in Malaysia, Azwad was born in Manchester, Britain when Papa decided to continue his studies. Dina was born in 1976, Elya in 1979, Hilwa in 1982, Shahida in 1984, Azwad in 1987 and Faizeen in 1990.

CHILDHOOD DAYS
I cannot remember much of my childhood days except that I found difficulties reading and writing, and felt left behind always compared to other friends. I still can recall moments of being called stupid by teachers who had problems in dealing with me. During the 70's, dyslexia was not known to a lot of people, thus children who had problems reading were simply regarded as stupid. I took until the age of 8 to actually begin to read and write, and by 10, I was already reading books that were only read by adults thrice my age then. Due to dyslexia, I had to go to 4 different kindergartens until the age of 5, before going to a Primary school called Sekolah Kebangsaan Ampangan located in Seremban.
And due to the fact that I could not read and write until the age of 8, I spent my early childhood days dreaming, playing sports and games with friends as well as browsing through Chinese Kung Fu comics. I used to love playing in rivers near our childhood home in Taman Dato' Shahbandar, Seremban and went home very late, only to be waited by my Father at home and beaten for disobeying him. I had a reputation for being a very obstinate and adventurous child. I also enjoyed riding BMX bikes, a craze for kids in the 80's, and could perform all sorts of BMX tricks, and also very proficient in Yoyo. I also enjoyed dancing, singing and reading Malay poetry very much.
Out of admiration for Michael Jackson, I could perform dances the way he did them. Due to dyslexia, I began to detest learning, worsened by the fact that teachers and even my own Parents were not supportive in helping me, maybe they were wondering what was wrong with their son when other children were beginning to read and write at a much earlier age. I also enjoyed teasing my younger Sisters at the time, Dina and Elya. The other siblings were not yet born. Dina is a year younger while Elya is four years younger. I was also notorious for being a Primary school gangster until the age of 10.

EARLY TEENAGE
My teenage period started around the age of 15, marked by constant curiosity and deep thirst for knowledge. I read nearly every book of knowledge that I could get hold of. At the same time, I was rebellious against the status-quo that existed around me at the time, living within the Malay community, generally known for their close mindedness, laziness and pettiness. I was not in close terms with relatives from Mama's side as I found them to be status-conscious and materialistic unlike those of Papa's.