Antara Mama Dan Jakarta

Twin1 (left) and his younger brother (by 15 minutes), Twin2

I was driving one evening, with the twins sitting in the backseat. Out of the blue, Twin1 blurted out a question that totally caught me by surprise.

Abang: Mama, bila kita nak ada swimming pool? (Mama, when are we going to have a swimming pool?)

Adik: A-ah!

Me: Umm…we don’t have enough money for a swimming pool lah. Sebab tu Mama kena pergi Jakarta selalu — untuk cari duit. (That’s why Mama has to go to Jakarta frequently — to look for money <i.e. to earn money>.)

(A few seconds of silence)

Abang: Abang tak nak swimming pool lah! (I don’t want a swimming pool!)

Me: Kenapa? Sebab Abang tak nak Mama pergi Jakarta? (Why? Because you don’t want me to go to Jakarta?)

Abang: A-ah.

Adik: Alaa…Adik nak swimming pool sebab Adik nak cannonball. Abang! Nanti Mama boleh beli apa-apa. (But I want a swimming pool because I want to make like a cannonball when I dive into the water. Big Brother! If Mama goes there, she can buy us all sorts of things.)

Abang: Abang tak nak Choki-Choki. Abang tak nak Nyam Nyam. Abang nak Mama je. (I don’t want <brand names of food stuff from Indonesia>. I only want Mama.)

A few days later, I asked him if he wants a swimming pool. He answered: “Tak nak! Sebab swimming pool tak best!” (I don’t want one. Because swimming pools are not nice.)

Now you know why I haven’t been to Jakarta for quite some time now…

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Postscript: “Antara Mama Dan Jakarta” — which means ‘between Mama and Jakarta’ — is a wordplay on the title of a song called “Antara Anyer dan Jakarta“, popularised by Malaysian jazz queen, Sheila Majid.