My dad was English educated. He went to this colonial school in the Straits Settlements. He rarely speaks of his halcyon school days in the late 40’s, but I remember once he told me that he had a teacher called Schumacher, whom the kids called “Shoe-maker” and he had a classmate called Happy Chong.
He also told of the Japanese raids and his elder sister, my auntie, carried him piggy back into the jungle. He was the youngest of four, and he was the fortunate one to finish school and had the ultimate luxury to go to college. After that, he went to work with the government, until the very last day when he retired some years back.
Apparently, my dad was the favourite of my grandma, in as much as emotion Chinese folks from that generation ever showed (read: not much).
His best friend growing up was a distant cousin of his who lived nearby from him. But you know, it strange that even though the two of them speak occasionally, I hardly know his 2 sons, who are roughly the same age as me. Heck, I’ve probably seen them only once in my whole life.
My dad also told me that one of the highlights of his primary school years was a field trip to the F&N’s factory in town. Every kid got a free bottle of soft drink that. He said to get it was like getting a lot of money, soft drinks were a luxury reserved for the rich.
These days my dad spends a lot of time sleeping. Probably to make up for those years he lacked it by working. He can’t make it through a TV program that starts after 9pm.
5 Comments
Bob K
As the previous generations age and eventually pass on, I ache at the fact that we’re losing a large chunk of our history. Very few systematic efforts have been made to record the oral histories of folks who lived through the various stages of our nation’s evolution; from a collection of semi-autonomous Malay states and British Crown Colonies to it’s current form as a somewhat independent quasi-federation (ok .. I admit, my bias is showing).
Is there something we can do about it before we decided to take the route of the Jerai MP and rename and deliberately forget our shared heritage away (refer to his suggestion in Parliament to rename Georgetown because George is an evil, western name)?
lilian
I had been to the Fraser & Neave (hey, I can spell!) factory too and all we got was a miserable un-cork? bottle cap. I don’t remember getting a sip of drink wor.
But heck, that doesn’t mean I am old enuff to be yr mom.
simon
bob k – nice to hear from you again, bob, it’s been awhile. i’m definitely one for the retention of these colonial names. Ppl can say that it’s negative to still associate ourselves to our colonial past, and should forge our own nationalist identity, but there is still a place for some posterity value. If we want to build KL or Penang or Malacca (or Anson, for that matter) into a city of identity and historical value, this is one way to do it. ah well, maybe in another post we’ll explore that…
lilian – haha, maybe your teachers were not persuasive enuff… btw, not that f&n. it’s the OTHER straits settlement… 😉
budokid
im 30 and i cant stay awake after 9pm either..how ah? sei lor…any tips to keep awake?
simon
budokid – maybe coffee? my dad hates coffee, or else he might stay awake past the news…