I remember when dad was first transferred to Ipoh he was not given the govt. quarters immediately. So we had to stay with a relative until dad was able to get his quarters. Uncle Jin Bee was a senior govt. staff at the Postal dept. and he stayed in a big govt. bungalow in Watson Road near the Turf Club. He had a son and a daughter and owned a Morris Minor which was a great car in those days. It was the year 1952 and I was twelve years old going on to Form I in St.Michael’s Institution a premier school in Ipoh.
Cousin Ah Chye was a spoilt brat with lots of money given to him by his father because he was the only son. He used to buy lots of comics books but would not let me read them. He kept all these books very carefully and I could not get a chance to read them. When I had a bit of money I would cycle all the way to where the Rex theatre is and buy a comics book which I would read over and over again. Sometimes when he was in the mood cousin Chye would let me read his comics in exchange for his. My favourite were Kit Carson, Capt.Marvel, Batman, Superman and the Lone Ranger. There were lots of interesting episodes and my imagination was wild after reading all these adventure comics. We learnt about good and bad and values were acquired through reading comics. I used to write good essays in class and teachers would always praise me for the good
essays which I wrote. Those days, if you write a good essay teacher will ask you to read it in front of the class. I was called on many a time to read my essay. Needless to say my favourite subject was English, Maths was a torture, I could never see the logic or understand the intricacies of solving mathematical problems. Gave me a big headache.
Watson Road is a long way to St.Michael School and the only way I could go to school was by bicycle. Fortunately there were not many cars at that time. Pocket money was 20 cents a day. If you think that is big money, you are wrong, because twenty cents can buy you a plate or bowl of noodles and a cold drink which was orange crush or syrup. There was no extra for other things like movies comics or whatever. If you wanted all these things you had to save up from your twenty cents. We learnt to manage money at an early age because dad did not earn very much and what he earned was just enough to support us. Six of us in the family was not easy to support especially if you are just a wage earner.
I told myself then that I do not want to be poor and was determined to work hard at my studies for I realized that education was perhaps the only way I could do well in life later on. I set my target then of acquiring a university education as my passport to better things in life. Little did I realize that at time to go to the university required not only brains but also money.
Life in secondary school was interesting. In my secondary school days I never fell below the first five in the class. I was always at the top of the class for exams and tests. Everyone expected me to do well in the exams and I had to keep up to this expectation.
A key influence during this period were the La Salle Brothers who were some of my teachers. They were mainly from Ireland and those days we were so proud that our teachers were white men. We learnt that these brothers were dedicated group of people who gave up all worldly possessions to a life of education. Their mission was to train and educate young people not only academically but also morally. They were excellent role models and from that time on I always wondered why they were like that. How come give up everything and become teachers? This would later on leave a big imprint on my later life and career.
Amongst my favourite Brothers were Bro.Vincent, my class teacher in Sixth.Form,Bro.Oliver my class teacher in Form Five.Both were Irish and very strict teachers. Incidentally both taught English.Bro. Oliver was a no nonsense teacher and it so happened I was one of his favorite students. He taught us Literature and English and I must say that what I know of the English language today is due largely to him .He taught us for two years.Bro.Oliver was to have a big influence in my life later on.
Bro.Vincent was the deputy Director when he taught us. We learnt Literature at sixth Form under him .He was an interesting teacher and kept us interested with his many stories and tales from Ireland. We never knew what to expect from him .One day during a poetry lesson , he said ‘ Look ,its no fun learning about nature in the classroom. Follow me to the outdoors and we will read poetry there”. We loved going to the padang and get a bit of fresh air and who cares what we read.
Form 1 to Form 5 were interesting years .In school I tried to play as many games as possible. This was the offshoot of my early days in Tapah when the love for all games was cultivated. Badminton and Volleyball were my favourites tried to run but did not measure up with the rest of the guys in school. Could only run for the House .It was difficult of get into the School Team as there were many good sportsmen around. People like Ng Boon Bee Tan Yee Khan were all Michaelians and they brought glory to the school .
Nevertheless we had our share of games. There were two badminton courts sandwiched b
Between two blocks of buildings where we played badminton for free. Of course we
wanted to play in an indoor court but that cost money .The indoor courts available those. Days were the St.John’s courts nearby and we can like play there about once a month whenever I managed to save up enough money from my 20 cents a day.
Life in secondary school was not very spectacular. I spent a lot of time reading. As time went on I found that I could read pretty fast for me to get enough books .Borrowing from friends and whatever I could get my hands on from the school library were my sources of reading materials.
Having a little room to myself after dad got his govt, quarters made me have a lot of privacy. Being quite an introvert I spent much time to myself inside my little room with my books. As I grew older I began to focus on my mission of being a good student. My grades in school were always good and dad and mum were a bit proud of me. Jenny was the worst amongst us where studies were concerned and she always cried when she came back with her report card. Finally when she was in Form four or so she said she did not want to study anymore. Dad being a senior clerk in Telecoms got her a job as a telephone operator and Jenny was the first amongst our siblings who worked. Elder brother was the prince of the family. He was smart and the big brother of the house. He got a scholarship to study in Kirby the teacher training college .We were all very proud that he was going to study in England, a very big deal in those days and dad and mum were of course very proud of their number one son ,telling everyone that he was going to England. Elder brother loved me a lot, he always said I had brains and he would coach me on Maths. My weakest subject. I remember once he bought me a nice fountain pen which was a big luxury in those days.
Of course eldest brother was special in the house. He takes an afternoon nap everyday and there must be no noise from any one of us or else you will get it hot from him. He was spared from doing all the household chores .Mum and dad would always give him whatever he wanted. When he was in England he asked for a lot of things which mum and dad would send to him. I remember he took up photography there and dad had to find money for him to buy one. Not only that he toured Europe during the holidays there and dad would have to find money for him. Later I found out that poor dad had to borrow money from the chettiar to send to brother.
When brother came back from England, our whole family went down to KL to welcome him back. I remember I told mum I had no clothes to wear to KL and she took me to the shop to buy two pairs of shirts and shorts. I had not started to wear longs yet at that time. We were to stay in an Uncle’s house in town, staying in a hotel was out of the question because there were too many of us.
It was good to see elder brother again after two years .He brought presents for all of us and we spent a few days in KL before going back to Ipoh. It was my first experience in KL a big city even then. I did not like the place because there was not much greenery and there were so many cars, it was scary for a small town boy. Everyone seemed so busy and in a rush. I was certainly happy to be back in Ipoh.
Elder brother had a few days holidays before he got his posting. He set up his dark room for printing photos and he taught me how to develop films .I kinda liked it. It was fun to put the film into the developer liquid and watch the pictures take shape. It was a big deal those days and I could ask my friends to bring their films for me to develop. Of course they had to pay me a bit of money for this service.
Elder brother was first posted to Kelantan as a teacher. Mum and Dad were worried that he was sent so far away from home but he had to go as he was under contract. This was the first time we heard of a place called Pasir Mas in Kelantan. We were kinda sad that elder brother had to be posted so far away but though we missed him, soon we got used to the idea that he was away in another place. Travel those days was not easy and the only cheap means of transport was either train or bus, not the type of air con express bus that we have now.
Before elder brother left, he told me to study hard and get good results .I was determined to get to the highest level of education a available that is the university. I studied hard as to enter Sixth Form in those days you had to sit for an entrance exam. Dad wanted me to follow elder brother’s footsteps and be a college trained teacher but I had other plans. Right at this point my aim was to make it to the University one way or other.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
School Life
School was fun and I was a good student with good results most of the time. Any red marks in the report card will be accompanied by long lectures from mum and sometimes a good whacking too!
Teachers were fierce and the no nonsense type, if you are caught not paying attention in class or not doing homework you had it from them. Still we respected them for their dedication and example which they showed. They not only taught us what we had to learn but also taught us good values. Teachers were not only respected but also feared. Don’t let them catch you out at night or you will get it the next day.
We saw the other side of our teachers too, it was not uncommon for them to invite us over to their house for a meal, followed by questions which probed our values and also the things we did. I remember my class teacher well. He was a Punjabi married to a Chinese lady. Short and stout he was one of the fiercest teachers and everyone was scared of him. But despite his fierceness he will be the one who would invite us to his house and ask us to help ourselves to his coconuts whenever he was in good mood. He would take us for hikes and cross country runs during PE lessons and there was one occasion when we landed in his house during a lesson and he said” Ok boys, you have had a long run ,now you can help me clean my coconut tress.” We readily obliged and had an interesting time breaking the nuts and drinking the juice. The nuts were smashed on the ground and we had to quickly drink the juice before they spilled all over the placed. A second or third smashing and the nut would be split right open to enable to attack the meat. This was usually scraped of with a piece of the husk. Who needs spoons for scraping anyway?
We were all required to play games every afternoon after school. Football, hockey, running, rugby were games which I played. I was pretty good in running and won some prizes during sports day. Rugby was fun and we enjoyed this game most during rain. Of course mum would scream her head off when we returned home after a game with all the clothes dirty.
Football was not one of my favourites but played quite often because of its popularity. My standard position was fullback and our captain told us no one must get through us to get at the goalkeeper. I had a small group of friends who played a lot together.
Other than the normal school activities, we used our catapults or lastics as they were called to go for birds of fruits. Lastics were made by getting the right kind of branch usually from the mangosteen tree or lime trees/This branch will then be fixed with two pieces of rubber (usually from an old bicycle ).Our favourites were rambutans and mangoes. Mangoes grew in big bunches around where we stayed and the raw ones were usually eaten with just a bit of salt.
Dad on occasions would take me out with his friends to a coffee shop for coffee and peanuts. This was a real treat and dad and I would share the cup of coffee as it came .I would get some of the coffee in the saucer and dad would drink from the cup. I would quietly stuff some of the peanuts on the table into my pocket for later on, thinking that no one would see me. Of course dad saw me doing it and he told me, as we walked home that it was a bad habit. I dare not do it again for fear that dad would not take me out with him again the next time. Tapah days were happy days. It is a small town but there were lots of things for kids like us to do .We played by the riverside whenever we could and at times went to the small river to catch catfish. We were warned that catfish can sting and were always careful when we handled them. The river was a favourite place of ours and weekends would be spent there, of course without the knowledge of mum. Another favourite place of ours was the little hill at the back of our house, here we would play tumble and roll and imagine we were soldiers fighting. It sure was fun imagining that we were at war.
The market place was another favourite spot .There was one stall which sold the best beef balls and we would go there whenever we had a bit of money to spend. The old lady there knew exactly what we wanted and she knew that whatever she served would be polished off with the bowl perfectly cleaned off.
The Lim brothers (One of them is Lim Keng Yaik ) stayed at the far end of the town in a big bungalow .We envied them because they were the rich kids on the block ,but we were always better than them in studies and games. My buddies during this period were all Indians because all our neighbours were Indians. One of them Yogeswaran ended up as our national hockey coach. Another of my buddies was the son of a teacher, one of the fiercest teachers in school..
I remember an interesting family which stayed in a big bungalow. The man had eight daughters and longed to have a son. However he was told by a fortune teller that if he had a son his luck would not be good. True enough he finally got a son but soon after that he got into trouble. He was very sick and died not long after that and his children were separated as they all had to live with relatives here and there. Believe it or not!
We stayed in Tapah until I finished standard six .After that dad got news that he was transferred to Ipoh something which made mum happy as she always complained that Tapah was a small little town and she found it boring. She did had her mahjong kakis and also a game called ‘ chi ki “ which was played with some small cards. I used to shuffle the cards for them and as a reward would get ten cents which allowed me to make a beeline for my favourite beef noodle shop at the market. Sometimes mum would be very tired and I had to massage her legs. If she made money I would be paid ten cents for this service. If she lost she would be in bad mood and I would just do what she wanted without daring to ask for payment.
Teachers were fierce and the no nonsense type, if you are caught not paying attention in class or not doing homework you had it from them. Still we respected them for their dedication and example which they showed. They not only taught us what we had to learn but also taught us good values. Teachers were not only respected but also feared. Don’t let them catch you out at night or you will get it the next day.
We saw the other side of our teachers too, it was not uncommon for them to invite us over to their house for a meal, followed by questions which probed our values and also the things we did. I remember my class teacher well. He was a Punjabi married to a Chinese lady. Short and stout he was one of the fiercest teachers and everyone was scared of him. But despite his fierceness he will be the one who would invite us to his house and ask us to help ourselves to his coconuts whenever he was in good mood. He would take us for hikes and cross country runs during PE lessons and there was one occasion when we landed in his house during a lesson and he said” Ok boys, you have had a long run ,now you can help me clean my coconut tress.” We readily obliged and had an interesting time breaking the nuts and drinking the juice. The nuts were smashed on the ground and we had to quickly drink the juice before they spilled all over the placed. A second or third smashing and the nut would be split right open to enable to attack the meat. This was usually scraped of with a piece of the husk. Who needs spoons for scraping anyway?
We were all required to play games every afternoon after school. Football, hockey, running, rugby were games which I played. I was pretty good in running and won some prizes during sports day. Rugby was fun and we enjoyed this game most during rain. Of course mum would scream her head off when we returned home after a game with all the clothes dirty.
Football was not one of my favourites but played quite often because of its popularity. My standard position was fullback and our captain told us no one must get through us to get at the goalkeeper. I had a small group of friends who played a lot together.
Other than the normal school activities, we used our catapults or lastics as they were called to go for birds of fruits. Lastics were made by getting the right kind of branch usually from the mangosteen tree or lime trees/This branch will then be fixed with two pieces of rubber (usually from an old bicycle ).Our favourites were rambutans and mangoes. Mangoes grew in big bunches around where we stayed and the raw ones were usually eaten with just a bit of salt.
Dad on occasions would take me out with his friends to a coffee shop for coffee and peanuts. This was a real treat and dad and I would share the cup of coffee as it came .I would get some of the coffee in the saucer and dad would drink from the cup. I would quietly stuff some of the peanuts on the table into my pocket for later on, thinking that no one would see me. Of course dad saw me doing it and he told me, as we walked home that it was a bad habit. I dare not do it again for fear that dad would not take me out with him again the next time. Tapah days were happy days. It is a small town but there were lots of things for kids like us to do .We played by the riverside whenever we could and at times went to the small river to catch catfish. We were warned that catfish can sting and were always careful when we handled them. The river was a favourite place of ours and weekends would be spent there, of course without the knowledge of mum. Another favourite place of ours was the little hill at the back of our house, here we would play tumble and roll and imagine we were soldiers fighting. It sure was fun imagining that we were at war.
The market place was another favourite spot .There was one stall which sold the best beef balls and we would go there whenever we had a bit of money to spend. The old lady there knew exactly what we wanted and she knew that whatever she served would be polished off with the bowl perfectly cleaned off.
The Lim brothers (One of them is Lim Keng Yaik ) stayed at the far end of the town in a big bungalow .We envied them because they were the rich kids on the block ,but we were always better than them in studies and games. My buddies during this period were all Indians because all our neighbours were Indians. One of them Yogeswaran ended up as our national hockey coach. Another of my buddies was the son of a teacher, one of the fiercest teachers in school..
I remember an interesting family which stayed in a big bungalow. The man had eight daughters and longed to have a son. However he was told by a fortune teller that if he had a son his luck would not be good. True enough he finally got a son but soon after that he got into trouble. He was very sick and died not long after that and his children were separated as they all had to live with relatives here and there. Believe it or not!
We stayed in Tapah until I finished standard six .After that dad got news that he was transferred to Ipoh something which made mum happy as she always complained that Tapah was a small little town and she found it boring. She did had her mahjong kakis and also a game called ‘ chi ki “ which was played with some small cards. I used to shuffle the cards for them and as a reward would get ten cents which allowed me to make a beeline for my favourite beef noodle shop at the market. Sometimes mum would be very tired and I had to massage her legs. If she made money I would be paid ten cents for this service. If she lost she would be in bad mood and I would just do what she wanted without daring to ask for payment.
Early Years
Dad was transferred to Tapah and I had my primary education there at the then Government English School. Early days in Tapah was typical of early childhood in the forties. We stayed in Baldwin Hill where most of the govt. quarters were located. School was within walking distance and we walked to school everyday.
We looked forward to the after school activities, playing soldiers games in school, shooting birds and whatever fruits that grew on trees. Tapah is the famous River Corner where we learnt how to swim. Elder brother was the one who taught me how to swim here. Of course every time mum caught us we were given a good caning because she feared that we might get into trouble swimming in the dangerous river. It was great fun diving from the rock surface and trying to test our strength by swimming against the current.
Those days swimming pools were unheard of and the only place you could swim was in the river. You have to take your chances of course and learn which part of the river was safe and where you should not go. These were survival skills which we learnt at a very young age.
We looked forward to the after school activities, playing soldiers games in school, shooting birds and whatever fruits that grew on trees. Tapah is the famous River Corner where we learnt how to swim. Elder brother was the one who taught me how to swim here. Of course every time mum caught us we were given a good caning because she feared that we might get into trouble swimming in the dangerous river. It was great fun diving from the rock surface and trying to test our strength by swimming against the current.
Those days swimming pools were unheard of and the only place you could swim was in the river. You have to take your chances of course and learn which part of the river was safe and where you should not go. These were survival skills which we learnt at a very young age.
Early Days
Born on the 15th May 1940 in Ipoh at 3.00 am to Toh Wun Yan and Lim Choo Pek at Jalan Mansor Ipoh around the Greentown area. Dad was a government servant working as a senior clerk in Telecoms. Mum was a housewife from Penang while dad was from China, the eldest son of a China migrant who like many other overseas Chinese decided to come over to Malaysia to seek their fortune.
I can remember little about my early childhood except that in 1945 came the Japanese occupation. Mum told me that these were difficult times and we were fortunate that dad was able to work and we got our rations for food because of the fact that he was in the government service. Ubi kayu was the readily available food those days and we got our fair share of it. We all survived the occupation and life went on after that when the British returned to the country.
I can remember little about my early childhood except that in 1945 came the Japanese occupation. Mum told me that these were difficult times and we were fortunate that dad was able to work and we got our rations for food because of the fact that he was in the government service. Ubi kayu was the readily available food those days and we got our fair share of it. We all survived the occupation and life went on after that when the British returned to the country.
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