<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>19396.2 in reply to 19396.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,210866,00.html?
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#000000 colSpan=2><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" bgColor=#000000><TBODY><TR><TD>SOMETIMES, ITS NOT SO SIMPLE</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w>Son visits once a year, but dad understands </TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12w>August 19, 2009</TD><TD width=30>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rightline vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12 vAlign=top align=left>ONE visit and $20 for pocket money a year - that's all he gets from his 25-year-old son.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-2]ONLY COMPANION: MR Hassan listens to his radio to while away his time. TNP PICTURE: GAVIN FOO[/SIZE][/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Mr Mahmood Hassan Shaik Jan Bux, 59, accepts it.
He said in a mixture of English and Malay yesterday: 'What to do? My son is working and he's busy. He cannot visit me often.
'I call him almost every day just to talk, but he always says that he's not free. If he's busy, then I don't want to disturb him.'
Mr Hassan's son, Mr Muhd Razali, confirmed his father's story when contacted yesterday.
The construction worker said he could only visit his father once a year during Hari Raya because 'he's not free'.
Mr Razali said that he works almost every day, including some Sundays.
'When I'm not working on Sundays, I don't visit him because I'm tired and I want to stay at home,' he said.
But their relationship is more complicated than that of a father with a seemingly uncaring son.
Mr Razali, an only child who's single, has lived with his mother in Bedok since his parents divorced about 20 years ago.
Asked if he gives his father any pocket money, he replied: 'He never asked me for it.
'Anyway, I'm not close to him because I've been away from him since I was 4. I've got my mother and that's more than enough.'
When The New Paper visited Mr Hassan at his one-room flat in Redhill Close yesterday, there was a distinct musty smell in the air, although the windows in the flat were open.
The flat is sparsely-furnished, with two single beds, a two-door wardrobe and some shelves around the living room area. A prayer mat was on the floor next to Mr Hassan's bed.
Mr Hassan, who used to work as an office assistant, shares the unit with another room-mate.
Poor fare
There is no washing machine, rice cooker, stove or oven in his small kitchen, only an electric kettle to boil water to make coffee.
The only food items in the kitchen were a packet of sugar and sachets of three-in-one coffee mixes.
Mr Hassan told The New Paper that he eats bread and drinks coffee when he gets hungry.
Occasionally, he would go to his neighbour's flat in the opposite block for lunch.
At home, he usually spends his time reciting prayers, listening to the radio or sleeping.
'I ask God for my family to be happy and for them to have a long life. Sometimes, I also ask for a better life and better house,' he said.
An old radio is his trusty companion as its tunes lull him to sleep.
Mr Hassan survives on $350 monthly. He says $100 is from Islamic Religious Council of Singapore but is not sure where the other $250 comes from.
He gives $70 to his room-mate who settles the rent and utilities bill and spends about $150 of the remaining $280 on cigarettes.
Whatever is left is used to top up his ez-link card and handphone's prepaid card and to buy necessities such as detergent and three-in-one coffee mixes.
He admitted that he feels bored at home sometimes but is thankful that he at least has a shelter over his head.
'As long as I have a house, I won't feel sad,' he said.
With the fasting month starting on Saturday, Mr Hassan hopes his son will break fast with him at home, but adds that his son has never done this before.
When his son visits him during Hari Raya every year, he would give his father goodies such as pineapple tarts, dates and the $20, Mr Hassan said.
'I asked him for new clothes before, but he told me that he didn't have the time to buy it,' Mr Hassan added with a tinge of sadness in his voice.
Mr Hassan wouldn't say if he was a good father and declined to elaborate on reasons for the divorce, except to say it was personal.
But he said he doesn't blame his son for not visiting him more often.
Ervina Mohamed Jamil, newsroom intern
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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#000000 colSpan=2><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" bgColor=#000000><TBODY><TR><TD>SOMETIMES, ITS NOT SO SIMPLE</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w>Son visits once a year, but dad understands </TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12w>August 19, 2009</TD><TD width=30>
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He said in a mixture of English and Malay yesterday: 'What to do? My son is working and he's busy. He cannot visit me often.
'I call him almost every day just to talk, but he always says that he's not free. If he's busy, then I don't want to disturb him.'
Mr Hassan's son, Mr Muhd Razali, confirmed his father's story when contacted yesterday.
The construction worker said he could only visit his father once a year during Hari Raya because 'he's not free'.
Mr Razali said that he works almost every day, including some Sundays.
'When I'm not working on Sundays, I don't visit him because I'm tired and I want to stay at home,' he said.
But their relationship is more complicated than that of a father with a seemingly uncaring son.
Mr Razali, an only child who's single, has lived with his mother in Bedok since his parents divorced about 20 years ago.
Asked if he gives his father any pocket money, he replied: 'He never asked me for it.
'Anyway, I'm not close to him because I've been away from him since I was 4. I've got my mother and that's more than enough.'
When The New Paper visited Mr Hassan at his one-room flat in Redhill Close yesterday, there was a distinct musty smell in the air, although the windows in the flat were open.
The flat is sparsely-furnished, with two single beds, a two-door wardrobe and some shelves around the living room area. A prayer mat was on the floor next to Mr Hassan's bed.
Mr Hassan, who used to work as an office assistant, shares the unit with another room-mate.
Poor fare
There is no washing machine, rice cooker, stove or oven in his small kitchen, only an electric kettle to boil water to make coffee.
The only food items in the kitchen were a packet of sugar and sachets of three-in-one coffee mixes.
Mr Hassan told The New Paper that he eats bread and drinks coffee when he gets hungry.
Occasionally, he would go to his neighbour's flat in the opposite block for lunch.
At home, he usually spends his time reciting prayers, listening to the radio or sleeping.
'I ask God for my family to be happy and for them to have a long life. Sometimes, I also ask for a better life and better house,' he said.
An old radio is his trusty companion as its tunes lull him to sleep.
Mr Hassan survives on $350 monthly. He says $100 is from Islamic Religious Council of Singapore but is not sure where the other $250 comes from.
He gives $70 to his room-mate who settles the rent and utilities bill and spends about $150 of the remaining $280 on cigarettes.
Whatever is left is used to top up his ez-link card and handphone's prepaid card and to buy necessities such as detergent and three-in-one coffee mixes.
He admitted that he feels bored at home sometimes but is thankful that he at least has a shelter over his head.
'As long as I have a house, I won't feel sad,' he said.
With the fasting month starting on Saturday, Mr Hassan hopes his son will break fast with him at home, but adds that his son has never done this before.
When his son visits him during Hari Raya every year, he would give his father goodies such as pineapple tarts, dates and the $20, Mr Hassan said.
'I asked him for new clothes before, but he told me that he didn't have the time to buy it,' Mr Hassan added with a tinge of sadness in his voice.
Mr Hassan wouldn't say if he was a good father and declined to elaborate on reasons for the divorce, except to say it was personal.
But he said he doesn't blame his son for not visiting him more often.
Ervina Mohamed Jamil, newsroom intern
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