Taking part in Malay Quiz of the Malay Society in the secondary school I studied in was something I looked forward to. During the session, a lot of questions about the Malay language such as synonyms, proverbs and other things about the Malay culture would be asked.

I liked the pantun (a type of 2-line, 4-line, 6-line or 8-line poem) questions. Usually we would be asked to complete the meaning after the pembayang maksud (shadow of meaning) was given. You see, in a 4-line pantun, the first two lines are pembayang maksud and the other two lines are the meanings. As I could memorise most of the 4-line pantun, I collected a gift for each pantun question answered correctly. I gathered so many prizes that the Chairman prohibited me from taking part any further. I gave some of the staplers that I won to my friends.