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Aalva Jitab

June 13, 1975 - October 6, 2021

A loving father, husband, son, brother and friend who loved God faithfully.

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  • 2021-10-15 03:20:12 View / Comment (0)
    Soon Hong Cheah

    Soon Hong Cheah

    Soon Hong Cheah

    Eulogy from Dad - Kris Jitab (Part 1) About a hundred years ago, a young teenager witnessed someone playing the violin. He thought the sound produced and the music made were so heavenly that he wanted to make music himself. At that time, there were no music schools even in the capital Kuching. The giving of music lessons was a private arrangement. It was given in Kuching usually to the children of important people and of the wealthy. Unfortunately, the teenager lived in a small village surrounded by jungles. Kuching was some 22 km away. By our standard now, it wasn’t far. But at that time, it was considered very far mainly due to the lack of roads and to transport being a big problem. Due to that, very few of them had ventured to the capital. So, he could not fulfill his desire. He continued to go to church every Sunday in his village, and sang bass. No one had taught him how to do that. It was something that came naturally to him. Please note that – bass. B-A-S-S. It will crop up again later. More than 50 years later, that teenager’s grandson, who was also in his young teens, was very interested to make music, too. He was Aalva Ari Eero. Eulogy from Dad - Kris Jitab(Part 3) I enrolled Aalva at a music school and bought a piano for him. He was good. He passed all his exams. In fact, he was so good that even before his final exam, he was invited by the principal of the music school to coach new students. Of course, he was paid for it. While he was studying for the various stages of his piano-music education, Aalva also learned to play the violin. He was good at it, too. Thus, he realised his grandfather’s desire to make beautiful music with the instrument. When Aalva had completed his fifth form, he said he did not want to go to the sixth form. He expressed his desire to go into music full-time. Most parents in my situation would have said ‘no’. They would want their children to complete their secondary school education and go to university to read to become physicians, engineers, lawyers, accountants, architects, etc. But Aalva was not like most children. Like all his siblings, he was always obedient and behaved well at home and outside.

  • 2021-10-15 03:20:35 View / Comment (0)
    Soon Hong Cheah

    Soon Hong Cheah

    Soon Hong Cheah

    Eulogy from Dad - Kris Jitab (Part 2) He and his siblings are the best children any parents would want to have. And they loved me so much that when I came home from work, they all rushed to the front door to undo my shoe laces and take my shoes off. All of them kissed me goodnight before they went to bed. So, if Aalva had made a decision, it would be something he had thought carefully about in an intelligent, mature way. Recognising that he was also highly-talented, I agreed for him to go into music full-time. Then his extraordinary talents became even more evident. He added several other types of musical instruments to his assembly of music tools. And played them as well as he did the piano and the violin. He played at the concerts of several well-known singers. He composed a few songs for them, too. The songs went up to the top of the charts. As well, he composed short pieces and formed a company to sell them online. These have been bought by advertising agencies, production houses, etc., worldwide. Surely, he had inherited his incredible talents from his grandfather. But he was not the only one. His sister Cheryl and brother Marc both play the piano well, and, of course, can read music scores, although they have never received any formal instructions. Besides playing the piano, his brother Marc is also into creative writing.

  • 2021-10-15 03:20:50 View / Comment (0)
    Soon Hong Cheah

    Soon Hong Cheah

    Soon Hong Cheah

    Eulogy from Dad - Kris Jitab (Part 3) For her first birthday, I sent Kate, Aalva’s first-born, a gold ring and a dress. A gold ring was a piece of jewellery my late mother gave to every first-born grandchild. I carried on that tradition. My late mother was the beautiful daughter of a Chinese who had emigrated from China and opened a shop here. Aalva told me that after they opened the packaging containing the dress, Kate immediately put it on and danced. How many one-year-old would do such a thing? An incredible one-year-old, she was. Today, Kate is very much into dancing. Clearly, creative pursuits and talents are inherent in the Jitab family. Meanwhile, the source of the extraordinary talents still went to church every Sunday, rain or shine, and sang bass. He was blessed by God with successful children and grandchildren, and to live till past 100. In a sense, one could say that Aalva’s awesome talents had gone to waste, as he had left us early. But, no. The story has not ended. A new chapter has begun. His son Jack, now 13, first taught himself to play the bass guitar. B-A-S-S. Remember I said to note the word ‘bass’? He is good at it. So, where his great-grandfather sang bass, he plays the bass guitar. Doubtless, Jack will take over from Aalva. And soar to even greater heights. You will, right, Jack? I miss Aalva. But, obviously, God wants his company now. God wants him to now make superbly beautiful music with a band of angels in Heaven. So, I humbly surrender him to God. And console myself with the certainty that his grandfather is beaming, and heart bursting with pride, while watching and listening to he and the angels making extraordinary music. Give it all you've got, my son. I love you.

  • 2021-10-11 16:43:13 wrote:

    Ben Kho My deepest condolences to Sherine and kids and Jitab family. We will keep you all in our prayers. Aalva will be greatly missed but we take confort that he is with our Lord now.

    2021-10-11 16:43:13 wrote: Ben Kho My deepest condolences to Sherine and kids and Jitab family. We will keep you all in our prayers. Aalva will be greatly missed but we take confort that he is with our Lord now.

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