WHILE many children today are glued to cyber games and social media, those in Perlis villages are enjoying a childhood closer to nature.
Utusan Malaysia reported that these children are keeping alive the age-old tradition of menggagau ikan (catching fish by hand) in padi fields after the harvest season.
The activity, once a favourite pastime among children in the 1990s, remains alive in villages such as Kampung Bakong in Arau, where youngsters eagerly wade into muddy fields to catch haruan (snakehead), puyu (climbing perch) and sepat (gourami).
Putera Haziq Shah Putera Abu Bakar Shah said he and his friends never miss the opportunity once harvesting ends.
“I’ve never come home empty- handed. There’s always fish to bring back, and that’s the most satisfying part,” he said, adding that they did not mind getting dirty as the fun outweighed the mess.
Dimat Kamis, 75, said he never misses the chance to take his grandchildren fishing in the padi fields after every harvest season.
He said this was his childhood game and that he is happy to see the tradition passed down to his children and grandchildren.
“It’s more than just catching fish. It’s about family bonding and keeping the old ways alive,” he added.
> A veteran mountaineer has urged the public not to be quick to blame mountain guides (MGP) for the death of climber Mustaqqeem Mansoor at Gunung Liang in Perak until investigation is completed.
Sabrie Zoo, 44, who has more than 27 years of experience guiding climbers up Gunung Tahan, said it would be unfair to place full responsibility on the two guides leading the expedition.
“Every MGP underwent extensive training to ensure climbers’ safety,” he told Harian Metro.
It was reported that Mustaqqeem, 34, was found dead at the summit of the 1,933m Gunung Liang Barat in Tanjong Malim around 3.30pm last Thursday, two days after he was reported missing.
An autopsy found that he died from hypothermia (extreme cold).
The victim, who was last seen suffering from a leg injury and walking slowly, was part of an 11-member team that began their hike on Oct 10.
The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
