Monday, June 04, 2007

For Loga, and for days that have now long gone

Loganathan Arumugam or better known as Loga of the Alleycats passed away at 10.50am this morning at the Mount Miriam Hospital in Penang. He was 54.

Loga (3rd from Right) and the Alleycats will always remain a memory of how cool we once were

I will always identify Loga and the Alleycats in general with their afros (even though only Loga and his brother David had them) and evergreen Malay tunes, which at the time I first heard it as a child really told me that we live in a country truly blind of colour, creed and religion.

The Alleycats, together with P Ramlee, cartoonist Lat, Tan Sri Khir Johari and Sudirman were of a small number of personalities who truly personified the muhibbah spirit we espoused as children, upheld at teenagers, questioned in our 20s and now view with askance and cynicism in our 30s (I imagine a few 30-somethings are reading this).

You know another group that did it for me? The Selangor football squad of the 80’s, with legends of the game like Mokhtar Dahari, Santokh Singh, the immortal “Spiderman” A Arumugam, and group, and other Malaysian greats like Soh Chin Aun and Ghani Minhat – all of whom I was fortunate enough to see in action during the old (pre Semi-Pro rubbish) days and in a number of Merdeka Tournament games my father and uncles used to take me to.


SuperMokh brought the 'fear factor' and a sense that something could happen onto the field

I was a big fan, and I am proud of a childhood and teenage years where I scoured the back pages of the newspaper for the latest news and results on local football (with as much enthusiasm as I do these days with the EPL), and have vivid memories of painting my face red and yellow, trudging along with the many other Selangor fans from Rex theatre to Stadium Merdeka for home games.

Those were days when we really believed we were great on the football field, which we were by virtue of grinding out hard-fought results against South Korea, Japan, and other Asian nations who, sad to say, have far, far eclipsed us in the arena of international football.

'Spiderman' Arumugam gave the centrebacks Santokh and Soh Chin Aun confidence to foray upfield

Those were the days when I truly believed we were a great nation, growing up as I did to influences such as these. I wonder who and where our children these days turn to for inspiration, and what defines their generation. Mawi? Siti? Academy Fantasia? RM6 billion allegedly high-performance sports training academies in London? I’m not weeping for Malaysia yet, but with a list like this, it won’t be long I guess.

For now, strains of Alleycats’ hit Andainya Aku Pergi Dulu Sebelum Mu ring chillingly true these days for Malaysia, as much as it does for the late Loga.

Our condolences to his family, his brother David and the rest of the Alleycats. Rest in peace Loga, and trima kaseyyy for all the memories.

22 comments:

Sangeeta said...

So sad to hear about his passing - so young some more.

If I remember correctly, Alleycats were playing at Uncle Chillies a mere few years ago. Great songs!

Anonymous said...

Wah, I thought finally Dish-Bish posts something non-football related when I saw the Alleycat's tribute. Read on and lo and behold we're back to football again!!!

If anything, you're consistent buddy.

RIP Loga!

Lily G said...

they used to play at jay's place too.

david arumugam lives in my neighbourhood. so does dj dave.

Unknown said...

May Loga rest in peace. I miss spiderman Arumugam, Super Mokhtar too. Luckily I got chance to see them play when I was a kid.

I used to see David around the place I stay.

lived-legna said...

"the muhibbah spirit we espoused as children, upheld at teenagers, questioned in our 20s and now view with askance and cynicism in our 30s"

So well put Keropok! And so sad.

Desparil said...

i've cried for malaysia a long time ago. my tears have long since dried. now i just cry inside.

:(


sampaikanlah salam.. cintaku padanya..


R.I.P

Nour said...

such a sad loss to the M'sian Music scene..I have always found their songs to be very enlightening and entertaining.

Lovely entry keropok!

Visithra said...

football was still not so bad in the early 90s i used to religiously sit and watch tv 1 during the red giants games ;)

n then every final it was this huge family affair - even got grandmas carpet spoilt by sirap water on a bet with a cousin;p

n then the massive rasuah cleanup happened n the players got dilluted - n now its trully bleh



rip loga

Mirebella said...

RIP Loga.

You are so right re: muhibbah tho. Sudirman, DJ Dave, Shariffah Aini, the football duo.. those were some of the good ol' 80's days that actually INSPIRED Malaysians to be one. What happened? Not wanting this to be a racial rant - things these days just seem way to secular..if you know what I mean. The changing of the official language back to Bahasa Malaysia is on the right track but is it too late? I wonder.

Red Raven said...

Long gone the excitement of watching Malaysia in a tournament...with hopes and expectation of wining...now, it's more like who else is gonna humiiate us...Papua New Guinea maybe?
Now..rather than the result on the pitch, we are waiting for another State FA releasing a press conference saying they dont have a budget...bankrupt..no money to travel.hmm...sad..sad..sad.

RIP Loga...will always be fave in K'ok session..

Doreen said...

Very nice one dude. I echo Mong's comment.

Anonymous said...

"Next song... (breathes)... bertajuk... (breahtes)... SAMPAIKANLAH SALAMMMMMM... enjoyyyy..."

This was really how the Alleycats used to perform, simple but kick ass!

NB. Youk apprentice really tak boleh harap. Classic failure of outsourcing: Malaysian style!

Anonymous said...

yeah...i remember those days..where your bedsheets were covered with either emblems of manu or selangor F.C...after the era of Sanba n Azman Adnan..the scene really died down

Lily G said...

Azman Adnan was dishy. Saw him snogging Aida Rahim at HRC. he he

UglyButAdorable said...

alleycats...aaaa..those memories..my nephews cannot even relate to p.ramlee movies...soo sadd...

wonder when our football will be back like those days..kalid jemlus pun tak lepas kat europe...hancuss..

anttyk said...

Rest in peace Loga.

Don't worry Keropok. Malaysia is stronger than you imagine.

Anonymous said...

I watched the tribute to Loga on TV1 on Wed nite. Will try to catch Part 2 this coming Wed.

Monster Mom said...

I saw they sang live once.... once a legend...still a legend...

Anonymous said...

Happy Father's Day! :P

Da Winged Acrophobic said...

Sheesh. Three drop of tears rolled reading this: For David, for Malaysian football and for my aging self.....

Red Raven said...

lama tak update bro>?

All Thing Viral said...

if i not mistake alleycats never got any award(20 years ++) until after death one of its member.

means-our music industry is so bad