My aunt the author

Datin Kalsom Taib (who I call Auntie Chom) and my late father are first cousins. Her family and that of my father's are especially close and, at the age of twelve, I was one of two bridesmaids, the other being my cousin Rozila, at her wedding reception in December 1966. A teacher then, little did she realise that she would go on to become one of the country's foremost human resource practitioner, gaining and honing her expertise in multinationals Shell Malaysia, Malaysia Mining Corporation and Nestle Malaysia. She retired from Nestle in 1997 as its Human Resource Director.

But Auntie Chom is not one to keep still. She has boundless energy. After her retirement, her extensive human resource experience made her a much sought-after consultant in the field. And if that wasn't enough to keep her busy, she turned a family waffle recipe into a business, setting up Waffle Stop together with her son. It started as a food kiosk in busy Jalan Bukit Bintang and now has several outlets, the busiest located in Alamanda Shopping Centre, Putrajaya.

And then Auntie Chom found her true passion - writing. Within two years, in 2009 and 2010, she researched and wrote three biographies of people dear to her: father Tan Sri Taib Andak; mother Puan Sri Zainab Ahmad; and husband Dato' Shafee Yahaya.

The first book, Taib Andak - In a Class of His Own published in 2009, records the life and times of her father (Tok Yeb to me), including his lifelong friendship with Malaysia's second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. It traces Taib's contributions to Malaysia as a civil servant, as the man trusted by the prime minister to get FELDA off the ground, and as the one tasked with strengthening Maybank after it had suffered an image-tarnishing run in October 1966. The book begins with a look at Taib's Bugis roots and ends with reflections from family members of a much loved father and well respected Malaysian. Taib, born on 4 June 1916, passed away peacefully on 19 August 1997.

I was the editor of this book, an involvement that gave me an insight into Auntie Chom's tenacity in achieving her goal. The research itself was a labour of love, as she poured through family documents, tracked down records and sifted through countless family photographs to write the book that she wanted. Then came the production phase, an aspect in which Auntie Chom was so hands-on that her visits to the MPH office to check on the book's progress must have created anxiety in more than one person. I accompanied her on a few of these visits and I'm convinced that she has been the only author allowed to pop into the rooms of the senior people there with a hello, a cheerful smile and a box of cupcakes, and look over the shoulders of the designer with suggestions on where to place this photograph and that. I truly admire her dedication, determination, persistence and refusal to accept second-best. 

There was no rest for Auntie Chom after her first book was published. She felt that her mother (my Tok Nab) also deserved to have a book of her own, "as an example of a woman who has lived her life to its fullest without regret, took her challenges in stride, and who has touched the lives of so many people around her... (a story) that encapsulates little 'life' lessons." With the same drive that had resulted in the book on her father, Auntie Chom wrote her second book, Zainab Ahmad - A Truly Remarkable Woman, and got it published in time to be launched on Tok Nab's 90th birthday celebration on 7 May 2009. Born in 1919, Tok Nab continues to amaze us with her dignity and love of life. 

And then came Auntie Chom's third book about her husband Shafee Yahaya (Uncle Shafee to me), who overcame challenges in his early life to become a respected and incorruptible civil servant, retiring as head of the government's Anti-Corruption Agency. This book, The Shafee Yahaya Story - Estate Boy to ACA Chief published in 2010, almost didn't see the light of day. The reason for this rests in chapters 10 to 14 of the book, a gripping revelation of Uncle Shafee's shabby treatment by the political administration that he had loyally served. The publisher of Auntie Chom's earlier two books declined to produce it but she was undaunted. She set up her own publishing business and did the book herself. 

Having achieved so much in such a short time, you would think that Auntie Chom is ready to take it easy. Well, she isn't - next in the pipeline is a book of family recipes. And she is walking the talk of her convictions by accepting an offer from Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to head the women's wing of Angkatan Amanah Merdeka.

"If you are in doubt about the propriety of an act, do not do it. Rather, you should do only what you know to be good. Truth blesses you with peace of mind whereas falsehood torments you with uneasiness and tension."

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), as narrated by Tirmidhi