The Movie-going Pair

When I was teaching in Jerantut, Pahang I spent most of my evening going to the Tees to watch black and white TV or going to the cinema with Jimmy Ho, my buddy then. There were two cinemas in Jerantut but I can't recall the names right now. Anyway, there would be a movie that attracted both of us in either of movie-screening houses. I used to fetch Jimmy with my Honda C-70 bike (ridden all the way from Penang with my friend, Yong Cheng Suan who is still in Raub) when we wanted to see any movie of our choice.

We liked centre-corner seats and we were given H1 and H2 seats every time I put my hand in to pay for the cinema tickets. The ticket-seller must have recognised the Citizen watch I was wearing then. After the show Jimmy would be in my rented house in Ruby Garden chatting with my housemates Tan Ching Hong, Boo Ching Kee and Simon Ching.

Later Jimmy further his studies in India after obtaining a scholarship to do an engineering course there. Since then I have not heard of Jimmy until my student Shirley Teh told me the he married her cousin and had three children.I hope Jimmy is as pink in health as he was then.

The photo of us is below this post. Look at the bell bottoms of our pants. It was the fashion then. He towered over me in this photo taken 38 years ago.

It is Teacher's Day today

Today is Teacher's Day in Malaysia. It is celebrated to show appreciation to teachers for their dedication in their profession.

As a retired teacher I still can remember vividly how my students took paisn to prepare food for us and entertain on stage with various types of performance such as singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and doing sketches.

I really miss tasting the food prepared by Koh Hong Choon whose father owns a restaurant. He would be bringing very delicious food for the teachers of St Theresa Secondary School where I served in from 1979 to December 1989.

As for stage performance I enjoyed watching the dances, sketches and singing of my students in Sek Men Jerantut Pahang where I taught from 1974 to 1978. Sometimes teachers went on stage to add merriness to Teacher's Day celebration.

Floating on Sungai Salang

When I was small, I used to play on the beach, picking seashells and chasing waves. My father was very strict and he told me not to swim in the sea. Believe it or not, I followed his advice. That explained why I did not how to swim although I lived near the sea. It was in the teachers' college that I joined the swimming club and learnt how to float. This training really helped me when I was teaching in Jerantut, Pahang because I used to go to Sungai Salang (I can't remember the correct name, anyway) with my colleagues. There I enjoyed floating more that swimming because my breast stroke was hopeless as I could not propel myself to go forward. I had to contend myself with my dog swim, that is, paddling with both hands to move forward.

Staying in an 'air-condioned' wooden room

The cool morning this time of the year reminds of my days in Jerantut, Pahang. I was posted to teach in Sek Men Jerantut when I graduated from a teacher's college. When I went to the school, I met the Principal. He was then typing something with his typewriter (computers were not common then). He was glad to meet me. I liked him instantly because he was very cordial. He asked me whether I needed accommodation and I nodded. Soon he took me to see Mr Kok, a former teacher who was then serving as an insurance agent. At that time, there was no vacant room in his two-storey wooden house but he put me up in a teacher’s room temporarily. The teacher was attending an in-service course and would not be back until three months later. The rental was very low – a mere RM40.

I like the room. It was very airy and cooling. In the morning, the air inside the room is as cool as an air-conditioned room. Usually before Chinese New Year, the air there is icy cool. The only disadvantage of staying in a wooden house with wooden floor was that whenever any tenant was back, his footsteps were audible to all the tenants.

I stayed in this house for a month and shifted to a single-storey terraced house in Ruby Garden, sharing it with two other outstation teachers. The teacher from Bemban, Melaka was Tan Ching Hong, and the one from Tangkak, Johor was Boo Cheng Kee. We had more privacy staying in a terraced house. It was during the stay in this terraced house that I started to contribute Malay articles to Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh for publication. There were mostly exam questions and translation of Chinese short stories to Malay. The honorarium earned enabled me to pay for my newspapers and magazine. I subscribed to Nanyang Siang Pau, the Straits Times (now New Straits Times), Berita Harian and Galaxie magazine. My housemates enjoyed reading them free but I did not mind because I did not lose anything by allowing others to read my newspapers and magazines.

The day of savouring 'rendang' and 'ketupat'

Looking back at my days in school as a government teacher in Pahang really brings back fond memories.

When I was posted to Jerantut Secondary School, I really enjoyed teaching. Firstly, the students were well-behaved and I had no disciplinary problems with them. Secondly, I had the chance to mix with them during sports practice. I liked to run with them and show them how to throw the discuss or shot put, all of which I had learnt when I was at a teacher’s college.

Teacher’s Day was another day I looked forward to. Besides the class party where special food was offered to teachers, I got to watch their performance on stage, only to realize that they really had latent talent which was tapped on such a day.

My Principal, Cikgu Yaakub Isa always invited us to his house for Hari Raya Aidilfitri feast. I really enjoyed savouring the ‘rendang’ and ‘ketupat’. According to him, one year he slaughtered a goose for the ‘rendang’ but I still liked it as it was very sumptuous.

So much for some recollection of the old days in Jerantut.

Those were the days, my buddy

I still remembered how Yong Cheng Suan, my buddy and I went to most places with our Honda C70. We rode the same type of bike from Penang to Pahang, a distance of well over 400 miles. At that time, the traffic was not so heavy. However when a fast-moving bus passed by us, our bikes would be sucked towards it, making us nervous.

Yong Cheng Suan was posted to teach in Raub and I was sent to Jerantut which is 60 miles from his place. I used to travel to Raub all alone with my Honda C70 to visit him at weekends. As I have mentioned in my earlier post, I had to negotiate a total of 200 turnings before reaching Raub. It was a cool journey as the road flanked by leafy trees was cut off from the scorching sunlight.

I like to taste the 'ngaunam min' (noodle with cow's stomach wall slices) and bitter gourd fried in fried bean curd. I also enjoyed putting up at the house where Cheng Suan squatted with a pastor as it was as cool as an air-conditioned house.

I even joined the trip with Cheng Suan's students to Cameron Highlands. Those were the days.

Watching Michael Jackson on black and white TV

The death of Michael Jackson on Thursday due to cardiac arrest is a loss to the world of entertainment. I still remember how I watched Jackson Five in Jerantut, Pahang some 35 years ago. At that time, colour TV had not come to Malaysia and still we enjoyed the black and white shows of Jackson Five, with Michael Jackson as one of the singers.

We glued our eyes to the idiot box in the house of Uncle Tee, the father of my student Tee Guat Hoon who was studying in Form 2 then. I was teaching her Integrated Science. During weekends and sometimes weekdays my housemates, Tan Ching Hong, Boo Cheng Kee and I would be at the Tees to watch television shows. The Jackson Five show was one of our favourites. The other shows included Sixth Sense and Rockard Files (whose main character, the private eye used to call his father by the name, much to my surprise as Chinese like me won't call our father by his name).

Later, my impression of Michael Jackson was that he looked like a girl with very fair skin. At one time, I knew that 'Beat It' became a hit. I enjoyed watching him dance while singing. He was so fast and agile. Frankly speaking, I am not a fan of Michael Jackson but on and off I chanced to listen to his songs and dances on TV screens at home.

Rafting down Pahang River

Have you been on a raft before.

Well, I have. During my stay in Jerantut, I had the chance of rafting on the Pahang River with my colleagues who taught in the same with me.

One day, Tan Pek Seng, a temporary teacher told us that the aborigines had left a raft afloat after having transported the rattan from the forest to Jerantut for sale. Usually, they would leave their raft in Jerantut and went back by bus.

We planned to raft down the Pahang River. As a safety measure for me, I wore a life-jacket because I was the only one who was not good at swiiming.

On the way down Pahang River, we could see birds and iguanas all along. Pek Seng navigated the raft with the help of a bamboo pole.

It was quite risking sitting or standing on a makeshift gadget like this. I dared not imagine what would happen if the raft were to disintegrate. After an hour's slow journey we finally arrived at the nearest small town and went ashore. Then we went back to Jerantut by bus.

Thus ended the memorable journey on a raft down Pahang River

He concocted medicine for me

Whom do you turn to when you are sick? Well, you will see a doctor.

When I was teaching in Jerantut, Pahang, the person I went to see was Mr Tan, the Hospital Assistant when I fell sick. He acted as a doctor and dispenser. I remembered how he concocted a cough mixture which helped to cure my stubborn cough. For running nose, I received piritons from him with some vitamin C tablets. Mr Tan was very friendly with the teachers.

As he stayed in the quarters near the clinic, we sometimes went to see him after office hours, and he obliged us when we asked for medicine when we were sick. There was not much red tape in a remote place like Jerantut then. He could get liquid medicine or tablets for us as he had the key to the store room where he kept his medicine. In those days, HA's attended to patients and dispensed medicines when doctors who only came on certain days were absent.

Running with my students

When I was a young teacher, I liked to train the boys and girls in the running events. It was in Jerantut that I had this chance of running side by side with my boys when they came for sports practice. As I have told readers in my earlier post, I could run 30 rounds in the field of the teachers' college I attended. Hence I did not feel tired running along side with my students in the field. For one thing, I got to exercise. For another, it was an inspiration for them to run as best as they could because they would not like to be beaten by their teacher. With my size, people could not really differentiate the teacher from the pupils when we were running along the track in the field.

Quiet students turned active

When I was teaching in Jerantut Secondary School, I enjoyed watching the variety show put up by students on Teacher's Day. Surprises were in store for us. Quiet students turned alive and active singing or acting in sketches much to the teachers' amazement. Sometimes teachers also went on stage rendering evergreen songs to entertains fellow teachers and pupils.

It was a day of joy and laughter for all of us.

Travelling in darkness on a motorcycle

Have it ever happened to you when the front light of your motorcycle went off?
Well, it happened to me one day when I was coming back from my colleague's house. Tan Peng Seng stayed near the Pahang River and I started my journey back to Jerantut, the place where I served as a teacher in Pahang, when the front light of my Honda C70 went off and I could not see a thing in front of me as it was very dark. I had to stop by the road and waited for passing vehicles. When a car passed me I quickly tailed it from behind so that I could see the road in front of me but soon it outsped me and I had to stop again to wait for another vehicle. How I wished I had brought my flashlight along. After waiting for quite some time and no vehicles passed my way, I had to take the risk and rode on very slowly. What a relief for me when finally I reached Jerantut and the light around enabled me to reach home safely.

From this incident, it showed that we must equip ourselves with some light producing gadget in case we are caught in a situation like mine.

Red Streams

Serving in Pahang brought me to many interesting places. One weekend, Boo Cheng Kee took me on his motorcycle again. This end we headed for Sungai Lembing. I had heard about the town being an iron-ore mining area but had not been there before.

After a three-hour journey, we finally set foot on Sungai Lembing. What impressed me most was that the streams in Sungai Lembing were red in appearance. Could it be the iron content that made it acquire the colour? No ron-mining activities were carried out. The small town seemed very quiet.

We continued our journey until we reached the sea. There was no through road and we had to turn back.

Shangri-la in Jerantut

When I was serving as a trained teacher in Jerantut, my colleague Boo Cheng Kee used to take me along on his motorcycle to somewhere in the country side. The place we went to was scenic, peaceful and invigorating. Vegetables grown by farmers welcomed us as we strolled on the road flanked by luxuriant green grass. The smell of the grass endeared us to Mother Earth. Our faces were caressed by the cool and soothing breeze that blew as we sauntered in the country side.

We just walked around beaming to the country folk who were chatting after a day's hard work. They seemed so contented with life, unlike city-dwellers who never feel having enough money and property to their collection.

My friend, Boo gave the place a name, that is 'Shangri-la'which carries the meaning of a piece of pure and untouched land where nature is left as it is with no pollution whatsoever. I agreed with him because we did not feel any pollution anywhere here then.

Drowning twice

When I was small, I did not go into the sea to play although I lived near the sea then. My dad had told me not to dip in the sea and I listened to his advice. That explained why I did not know how to swim before I joined a teacher's college.

I had the experience of getting drowned twice. The first one occurred at Sungai Pinang (Pinang River) when I was still a scout. I was sitting on a rock when I slipped and fell into the river and sank. After failing to get myself float (I did not know how to do it anyway), I lifted my hand twice to ask for help. Soon I felt someone approaching and then he brought me to the shore.He was a King Scout. I was very scared at that time.

The drowning repeated when I was teaching in Pahang. One day, we organised a trip to Taman Negara (the National Park). On the first day, we went to one lake to swim. It happened again when I fell off a rock and down into the lake I went. I sank and sank all the way down. When I struggled to go up I sank further until I touched the bed of the lake. I sprang to go up to lift my hand to ask for help only to find myself sinking again. Twice did I do this. Then help came when Anchor Choong, one of my colleagues approached me and brought me to safety.

Watching variety shows in school

Whenever I watch variety shows on television, I always recall the ones put up by students of Jerantut Secondary School. I never knew that my quiet pupils in class were so valented when it comes to singing and dancing. They sang like profesional singers and performed traditional dances so marvellously.

An hour or two passed by very fast with me and colleagues sitting in the hall watching our students' cultural performances and singing not forgetting the sketches too. They showed their best talent on occasions such as Teacher's Day and Speech Day.

The moral is 'never judge a book by its cover'.

A nut-loosening journey

When I was teaching in Jerantut, Pahang the nearest town was Mentakab some 50 kilometres away. To go there, I rode my Honda C70. It was an uncomfortable journey there as I had to choose smaller potholes to ride on because the whole stretch was full of potholes, small and big ones. The bumpy ride took me an hour before I reached my destination.

I went to the supermarket to do some shopping and went around the place before leaving for home. The same bone-shaking trip back to Jerantut rendered my bike in bad shape as some of the screws had loosened and I had to go the workshop to have them tightened to make it road-worthy again.

I think the condition of the road there should have improved by now.

So much for my nut-loosening journey.

Old vegetable seller who could speak Mandarin

I still could remember an old woman who sold vegetables in the market in Jerantut, a small town in Pahang. My wife and I would buy fish, meat and vegetables in the market at weekends for cooking. I did not take my wife there every day because I was teaching in the morning session then.

What surprised me was an old lady selling vegetables being able to speak Mandarin - the language we used to talk to her as my wife could not speak Cantonese. Although I could speak some Cantonese, I was more at home with Mandarin.

This incident shows that when there is a need to learn a language to communicate with others to do business, anyone is motivated to do so. If an old lady could do it, young people should have no problem doing so at all.

We will leave you in Penang

When I was teaching in Jerantut, my colleague, Simon Ching liked to bring our pupils to Cameron Highlands and Penang for sightseeing. I would be one of the teachers accompanying the students.

One year, we took the students to Penang, my home town and I was the tourist guide. At that time the Chingay Procession was on. In the procession various teams representing government departments and private companies were bearing colourful flags along the main roads in town, including Penang Road and Macalister Road. They usually showed their skills by balancing the long and heavy bamboo poles on their shoulders, backs, heads and even on the teeth of their lower jaws.

We parked our bus at Brickiln Road and led the students to stand along Macalister Road to watch the flag-bearing performance. The students were asked to go in a group of four and they had to stick together so as to avoid getting lost in the crowd.

In the midst of enjoying the show, one pupil was found missing. We had to look for her along the road. I walked the whole length of Macalister but failed to spot her. The other teachers' effort to locate her was in vain too. Then it dawned on us that she might have gone back to the bus waiting for us.

Sure enough, she was in the bus, all alone. We went up the bus and gave her a harsh telling-off. Then we said, "We will leave you in Penang.". Her face turned pale and we had a good laugh. Of course, she went back with us to Jerantut.

We would be in trouble if she were to be kidnapped or lost in Penang as her parents would go after us for negligence.

A unfortunate fall in my life

When I was in Jerantut, I did many things which I had not done before. For example, I learnt to swim and to solder. A local guy, Tan Peng Seng and I ordered amplifier DIY sets from Hong Kong. When they arrived, we started to solder the components to the circuit boards. We were unsuccessful in our job because being inexperienced we rested the soldering iron too long on the legs of the transistors, diods and resisters.

One day, Peng Seng brought his roller-skates to my house. I borrowed them and tried to skate. I was able to roller-skate for a while. Suddenly, I slipped and I had fracture at my left wrist. A teacher took me to Kuantan for treatment. The orthopaedic surgeon applied plaster of Paris on my left hand and arm to demobilise my wrist.

Later, a local sinseh (Chinese bonesetter) came to see me. He told me that I need not inconvenience myself with the cast and so he removed it and wrapped my wrist with short splinters after doing some bone-setting and applying herbal concoction. He made a sling with which I rested and supported my injured arm.

It turned out that the bone did not grow to the right place and I had a crooked wrist.

What an unfortunate fall in my life!