Future sister in law

When it is time for a young Malay Muslim man (i.e my brother Faiz) to get married his family will look around to identify a number of potential candidates. Having decided upon one particular young lady, then, the merisik* (investigation process) takes place. For this ceremony one or more wakil (representative) of the young man’s family will pay a friendly visit to the family of the young woman whom they have in mind as his potential bride. The visit is purely for the purpose of further investigation. Its allows the visitors to see the young lady. A hint will be given to her parents regarding the purpose of the visit, and their reaction will be assessed. The girl’s parents may also give the visitors some idea as to whether or not their daughter will be interested in the match. The merisik does not constitute a formal proposal. Following the visit both sides can begin to think more seriously about the possibility or otherwise of the union. It is possible that no progress may take place, and the young man’s parents or representatives will then look for another possible candidate.
In most cases, the merisik process is just a formaility because usually the couple already knew each other, dated or had a relationship for quite some time and is embarking on the next step to properly solemnize their union. Today I'm involved in one such ritual. My mom and grandma joined by my sister Izni and Faiz and me went to Sungai Buloh to visit our future sister in law's place. No we didn't use any representative or anything, our uncles are still celebrating Raya at the kampung. We just do it ourselves.
My mom and grandma did most of the talking with her dad and grandma. Her grandma was a really-really friendly person and made us felt really welcomed there. Faiz already knew the girl's dad (Dr. Z) and brother for quite some time of course. They went to the same tabligh center together. Dressed as a ninja properly attired Muslim woman is her mom. She was quite friendly too and basically went along with everything.

So the conclusion of our meeting for today is.. er I not sure. Faiz planned to have an engagement by the end of this year but my mom suggested that we hold that until March next year the earliest. I guess we all need to meet again and discuss this some time in the future. Besides, Faiz is still yet to finish his teacher's degree from UPSI, not until 2010 so my mom doesn't really go with the idea of him getting married anytime before that. Hmm somehow this scenario sounds very familiar to me. Anyway all the best to you bro. Looks like we finally got ourselves someone who can cook Penang's curry yay!

* Reference: Traditional Malay Culture.