I was born on the 7th day of April 1960 in a small village in Perlis, the Malaysia’s tiniest and most northern state. The village is known as Kampong Batu 2 Lama for being situated at the 2 milestone along the Kangar - Kaki Bukit trunk road. I was three children later after my parents’ wedlock and another three more siblings after me came along. My father was an Indonesian immigrant. He came to Malaysia when probably the country was still known as Malaya, at the age of 13 all by himself. Married to my mother 11 years later, together made their way through thick and thin toiling about 8 acres of paddy plantation as the main source of income to support the entire family.
My first knowledge about my existence was about a carefree vilage boy, strolling around the village. Life initially seem to be revolved only around the village beside a river known as Sungai Korok. As soon as seven years old, I was made to attend the primary school at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampong Salang. The days clinging to the tender mom’s protection were over once my parent sent me to stay with my grand mom. Much later in life I realized my parents was forced to part with us due to poor economical anfd financial reasons. Yet, despite being seven, the separation from my parents was not so much felt as I was much more engrossed with the responsibility of being a school-boy.
The things were not so fortunate for my grand mom even before my stay as one of my uncle who had later in life become an important figure to me had a road accident and was bedridden for multiple fractured leg. My grand dad passed away when I was in standard two making life more miserable for the old lady supporting all of us, my uncle, auntie and my 3 other elder siblings who were later also sent by my parents to join me.
I could not remember how I could have survived the early primary school years as all of my grand mum's attention was toward healing my uncle’s injury. It was only later primary school years, life has turned out to be brighter in tandem with my uncle’s recovery, from double crutches to single to none, but he has to accept that he will never able to walk normal again.
As most of my time was spent with him, there was a special bond of a nephew and uncle relationship that probably made me regards him dearer from my father. He was a teacher when the accident happened and forced to quit of his long illness. One man’s loss is another man’s gain. I was naturally made his student and emerged most of the times as a top student in the village school. There was no rigid and formal studies though but he ecourages reading. He was reading all sort of books and magazines because of his limited movement. By the age of ten I was already able to read "Desa Pingitan", a very interesting Bahasa Malaysia novel about the first person accounts of his life in Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan in Pahang. I read the book cover to cover and made to understand at that young age, the novel was a second prize winner to the national competiton organized by the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, the overseer of Bahasa Malaysia. There was no first prize winner for that particular year.
Next…….adolescent days
My first knowledge about my existence was about a carefree vilage boy, strolling around the village. Life initially seem to be revolved only around the village beside a river known as Sungai Korok. As soon as seven years old, I was made to attend the primary school at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampong Salang. The days clinging to the tender mom’s protection were over once my parent sent me to stay with my grand mom. Much later in life I realized my parents was forced to part with us due to poor economical anfd financial reasons. Yet, despite being seven, the separation from my parents was not so much felt as I was much more engrossed with the responsibility of being a school-boy.
The things were not so fortunate for my grand mom even before my stay as one of my uncle who had later in life become an important figure to me had a road accident and was bedridden for multiple fractured leg. My grand dad passed away when I was in standard two making life more miserable for the old lady supporting all of us, my uncle, auntie and my 3 other elder siblings who were later also sent by my parents to join me.
I could not remember how I could have survived the early primary school years as all of my grand mum's attention was toward healing my uncle’s injury. It was only later primary school years, life has turned out to be brighter in tandem with my uncle’s recovery, from double crutches to single to none, but he has to accept that he will never able to walk normal again.
As most of my time was spent with him, there was a special bond of a nephew and uncle relationship that probably made me regards him dearer from my father. He was a teacher when the accident happened and forced to quit of his long illness. One man’s loss is another man’s gain. I was naturally made his student and emerged most of the times as a top student in the village school. There was no rigid and formal studies though but he ecourages reading. He was reading all sort of books and magazines because of his limited movement. By the age of ten I was already able to read "Desa Pingitan", a very interesting Bahasa Malaysia novel about the first person accounts of his life in Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan in Pahang. I read the book cover to cover and made to understand at that young age, the novel was a second prize winner to the national competiton organized by the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, the overseer of Bahasa Malaysia. There was no first prize winner for that particular year.
Next…….adolescent days
P/s. I'm actually looking to read the book again and if I ever can find it somewhere.
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