The' duit raya' rounds

“COMPLETE  fasting the entire month and you’ll get RM30 on the first day of Syawal.”

This, I remember, was my first duit raya, given to me by my late father when I was 6 years old. It was actually RM1 a day for each day of fasting.

He would tell us this on every eve of Ramadan as an inducement to fast the entire month. If he had included sahur, we would have failed miserably as my brothers and I preferred sleeping over eating in the wee hours of the morning.

My brothers and I received the same amount until we each reached the age of 18. I still got the full amount even if I didn’t complete the month as I had a valid reason as to why I could not fast.

And our other duit raya came from aunts and uncles when we visited them at their houses with our parents or when they came to ours.

We also got money packets from my father’s non-Muslim friends who visited us on the first day of Raya.

We never got the opportunity to venture on our own or with friends to collect duit raya when we were growing up in Johor Baru.

It was not a question of security or safety back then. Our parents felt that they have given us enough duit raya for us to save up or to spend on things that we wanted.

The RM100 or so we collected from them, our relatives and their friends was a tidy sum back then.

They would, however, welcome the neighbourhood kids into our home especially during the first few days of Syawal.

My father insisted they eat the Raya cookies and drink the red “sirap”. They could leave after they had eaten and were given duit raya. Back then, 50 sen was a big deal to these kids.

One year, we had children from as far as Kampung Melayu in our area. These kids were clever to target the Malay reserve areas for their Raya rounds.

I remember that whenever we went visiting the elders in Majidee, we would see the children in their best Raya garb walking in big groups from house to house. They’ll pop up at the doorstep when you least expect them.

Most often that not, they’ll be asked, “Nak kuih ke duit raya?” by the occupants. They will settle for duit raya any time. Sometimes, they’ll ask for something to drink to quench their thirst.

Any alternative to money such as sweets or chocolates would be frowned upon.

That 20 sen or 50 sen could contribute to whatever their hearts desired — maybe that first pair of brand-new jeans and branded sports shoes.

The act of giving duit raya is similar to sedekah (giving alms), an obligation in Islam and much encouraged. The giving of duit raya is, however, not restricted to children but includes the elders.

I don’t how much children get these days, maybe 50 sen to RM1 each depending on the generosity of the occupants of the houses they go to.

My grandnieces and grandnephews are now going through what my brother and I and their own parents went through when we were young.

When kids their age were going from house to house to collect duit raya, my grandnieces and grandnephews stayed home and watched the special shows on the television. They’ll go visiting with their parents.

The circumstances have changed so much that a niece and her husband, who had enjoyed going on the duit raya rounds when he was young, refused to let their children go out on their own.

“Before, we never hear of children going missing. Now, there are so many cases,” he said. His wife would holler to their two daughters and two sons to ensure that they have not ventured out of the compound of the house.

The teenage girls do go out to their friends’ houses but their parents will send them there. A pick-up time will be ascertained as to when their parents are to fetch them.

Some parents probably think it is safe for their young children to walk in big groups but up against not one but many adults, these children would still render themselves helpless.

Children can also be reckless especially when crossing the road. Sometimes, the elder children would already be across the road while the younger ones lag behind on the opposite side.

My nephews and nieces don’t mind depriving their children of this growing-up experience, preferring that their children be safe than they be sorry if anything untoward were to happen to them.

Furthermore, in our household alone, each child can collect up to RM100 each from their generous aunts and uncles, and the other elders. This excludes the collection when they go visiting other relatives and friends, with their parents, of course.