Malim Nawar

There’s a small town somewhere in Perak called Malim Nawar, I’ve no idea where it is nor have I ever been there. But that i’ll always remember the name of that town because there’s where my pal Looi came from. I say ‘came’ in the past tense because 17 years ago at the young age of 20 he passed away.

He was my classmate and friend during my first year in university. He was actually roommates with my good friend Ray, so the three of us became pretty tight. He was a simple guy, from a humble background, a typical Perak guy of Cantonese descent. He was frank and funny, i remember one of the earliest memories was in a Sociology Class when the lecturer asked him what his Chinese name meant, he replied ‘fertile’ and ‘sufficient’ coz his parents didn’t really want another child so they named him that so that he would be self-sufficient.

The three of us used to go to the city to watch movies in the weekend, he always wore the unmistakeable oversized jeans with weird green stitchings.

Anyway during the first year holidays, he went on a team building retreat with the faculty to Teluk Batik. Something happened one night while he went out swimming, and he drowned. His body was washed ashored the next morning. I got the call at night when the search was on, and later the second call confirmed the worst. the next day i saw the report in the newspapers.

Everything happened quickly after that. Some of our friends who stayed back on campus during the holidays packed up his things and motorbike and sent it back to his mother in Malim Nawar. He has 2 brothers, one mentally challenged and another, a useless good for nothing (in his own words).

Coming back for our second year, all of us hardly talked about after the first few days. But of course, we all remember, as i do until today.

Yep, Malim Nawar. What a strange name.