Mahani’s gift from the heart

Keeping busy is the secret to Toh Puan Mahani’s youthful looks

SHE’S really pretty — the thought flits through my mind as the elegant Toh Puan Mahani Idris Daim makes her way over to where I’m seated amidst a colourful collection of traditional hand-woven and hand-painted baskets and containers.

Clad in a flowing chiffon tunic in pleasing pink, with eye-catching pearls around her neck and ears and lots of bling everywhere else, her sparkling smile conveys her welcome.

The youthful-looking 67-year-old wife of former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, is excited to be sharing with us news about her latest endeavour – a project she and her ladies-of-leisure friends are launching to help single mothers in the country. Called Buah Tangan Sikit Aje, it’s an undertaking under their company, Buah Tangan Sdn Bhd, that seeks not only to help the mothers but also to revive and celebrate the Malaysian culture of gift giving.

The single mothers from villages all over the country produce the best of traditional Malay favourites such as layer cake, meat floss (serunding), dodol palas and other sweets that are difficult to get in the shops. These items are packaged in baskets and containers from Indonesia and can be purchased at Yayasan Seni Berdaftar (33 Persiaran Ritchie, Ampang. Tel: 03-4251 8466), which incidentally is Mahani and Daim’s first marital home.

“One day, my friends and I were discussing about how we could revive this concept of buah tangan, or the Malay way of giving gifts,” says Mahani. “It’s not quite presents as it’s not given only on special occasions. Buah tangan literally translates as fruit of the hand, something we’ve made or cooked at home and bring to give friends and relatives when we visit them. It’s our way of saying you’re in our thoughts, we love you.”

Unfortunately, this concept is a dying one today. Somehow, it seems more convenient now to grab a box of chocolates or a hamper in the supermarkets on the way over.

“But there’s a lot more thought in the traditional concept and it’s more personal, of course,” she adds.

Mahani and her friends were also keen to see how they could help single mothers at the same time.

“I believe in the saying that if you give a man a fish, he’ll eat only for a day. But if you teach him to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime,” says the mother-of-three with a smile.

“Giving donations is well and good but sometimes you just don’t know where it’s going. We have to give them something they can do, so that they can have a sense of self worth. With this project, we can help single mothers and also do something towards reviving the culture of gift giving.”

Aside from this project, Mahani is kept occupied with exhibitions and programmes at her Yayasan. But that’s not really work, the Taurean giggles girlishly. “Art is my passion and I like to consider myself a patron of the local art. Being around and mixing with artistically-inclined people is something I delight in. Ramli Ibrahim (dancer) is my soulmate.”

Does she paint?

Mahani nods her well-coiffed head. “I’m self taught. I paint what I feel but my work will never be shown… at least, not until I’m gone!” she says, with a wink.

She attributes her passion for the arts to her recently-departed Balinese-dancer mother. “The Balinese are born artists. My mother was a lovely woman who went around the world with a Balinese dance troupe. She arrived in Singapore at the age of 15 and when my father saw her… that was that. But that’s another story!” says a giggling Mahani, who herself was married at 17 (her first marriage).

Her father, the son of a Singaporean who owned lots of land, “…was a playboy and he died young,” she adds, eyes twinkling mischievously. “So I was looked after by his sister here in KL. I basically had two mums – my birth mum and the mum who raised me.”

She remembers her childhood as being rather strict. “I was brought up in an ultra-conservative environment. We weren’t allowed to sing or dance, which was a shame because I really did want to do something with music. Even to go to the cinema, we had to have a big entourage with us. The girls would sit in the centre, flanked by the boys and right at the ends, our parents!”

As the minutes tick and we near the end of our chat, I couldn’t resist asking Mahani the secret to her youthful looks.

“Keep yourself busy and you’ll stay young,” she advises. “I’m too busy to grow old. Whatever happens in your life, we are, after all, humans. We feel, we hurt — just keep occupied. ”

Before I could say thanks, she adds with a wink: “Oh, and once a month I go and iron my face. I also use the best products!”