Part 2.

Continuation…………..

1963 - Arrived at Technical Institute Penang and was enrolled at CE1A Class - (Civil Engineering Class 1A). Only outstation students were accommodated in the Hostel. For the first time in my life, I slept and ate under the same roof with the non Malays. I had practiced the 1 Malaysia concepts since 1963. The school Principal was Mr. Oh Boon Tat, who was a sadist with the cane. My buddy, Leong Peng Yoon had already checked in into the Hostel. A few days later, Jamil Ariff and Sidambaram also joined us. I make new friends coming from the various schools from Northern Peninsular Malaya and already had friends from Form 3B of former school. We were termed as “freshies” but the seniors were not hostile. The beautiful part we were provided with a second class KTM warrant to travel between hometown Railway Station and Prai Railway Station at every school term holidays. Initially it scared me a lot as across the school complex was a Chinese cemetery but over time I was walking up the hill among the graves.

Educational aspects – Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering courses were the standard courses and each student were slotted according to their LCE results achievement. There were only 24 students in each class and for 1963 intake there were only 14 were Malays out of total 150. All notes were written on file papers instead of normal exercise books. We were trained to jot down lecture notes. All students had to attend field practical assignments and the school was very much different from ordinary Upper Secondary School. We had to undergo three (3) years of the respective courses assigned before sitting for the Senior Cambridge Exam and the City & Guilds Exam. The subjects that was different from ordinary Upper Secondary Schools were, Surveying, Physic with Chemistry, Engineering Science, Malayan Studies and Technical Drawing (Building Construction). Subjects as History, Geography and Biology were not in the syllabus. As for Civil Engineering Course I had to attend practical assignment on bricklaying and carpentry. I had to master the various joints and bonds.

The Hostel was dormitories like and my dorm was nearest to the Cafeteria. 1963 batch was very notorious and before the first month ended some of them raided the Cafeteria and emptied the goodies and chocolates. Fortunately I was not one of them. We had the famous personality of “black panther” – an Indian Muslim boy running around naked in the middle of the night just for the fun of it.

The weekend was a free and easy and students eased their brains at the cinemas or just browsing Penang streets or the island beautiful beaches. On the very day J.F. Kennedy was shot, I was with some other students and seniors on an outdoor excursion to Muka Head, Penang Island most northern tip. Hamid Ahmad, the Bayan Lepas boy introduced me to Hindi film and songs. I had Nordin Saad of Kepala Batas who was crazy anything about airplane. During the second term exam, the student right in front of me, Ismail Harun collapsed in the midst of a paper. He was rushed to the Hospital and never came back. He was pronounced dead due to a punctured appendicitis.

Federation of Malaya became Malaysia on 16 September 1963 and I was there to welcome the proclamation at Penang City Stadium.

1964 – Second Year CE2A. I was moved to a different Hostel to make way for the new intake. A week later I was transferred to another different Hostel together with my seniors. I wasn’t happy to stay with the seniors as I might be bullied but it was a blessing in disguise. Just after I left the former Hostel, the whole Hostel residents except the resident Prefect was lined up to pay homage to Mr. Oh Boon Tat and the whole lot was caned. Reason – nobody admitted that someone from the Hostel had jeered a fellow female student. I escaped and I laughed about it but not for too long.

Sometimes midterm, I had completed my carpentry project and I found a corner reading Readers Digest. Out of the blue Mr. Oh Boon Tat caught me for doing something different. Without listening to my explanation or the carpentry Master he gave me the best of four (4). The beauty was he asked me to choose the cane as he had various sizes in his Office. He also summoned a Teacher to witness the caning, that’s why I call him Sadist. For that, I will never forgive him.

Evening activities – I played hockey, sepak takraw and running around the track. I love sprinting and I was in the school second 4X100 relay team. I was the finalist for the 100 meters event.

1965 – Final Year CE3A. The present complex of Technical Institute was the former Trade School and the new Technical Institute complex was shaping up nearby. The Hostel block was nearly completed but not the academic. When I checked in for the new term I was surprised the beds were all placed in a big Warehouse and here where we were to stay with the juniors for about a month. The Warehouse was very warm at night and we were not very comfortable at all. We were supposed to be the super senior and that’s how we were treated. We even forgot about orientation the freshies because everything was in a mess.

A month later we were ordered to migrate to the new hostel block and there was a big exodus moving things around to the new location. We only stayed at the new hostel but academic as concern we got to walk a kilometer away to the old school complex. Mr. Oh Boon Tat was about to retire around this time and I was happy to see him go. The Hostel accommodation was now different, eight (8) to a room and I was allocated at 3^rd floor.

Prep time at night was at the Hostel Dining Hall and the final year student life was all in a mess. Somehow I got the key to the luggage store room at the end of the floor and I used to invite my clique sneaking into the store room either to do our revision or just rested away. The naughty one, puffed away. Mr. Ahmad Daud was the Hostel Master and one day he commented about my long hair and demanded to cut it short. Just to annoy him I went to the Hostel Barber and really trimmed it very short. The next time I met him and asked whether that was what he wanted? Sometimes at night when I felt bored, I took my blanket, put over at the wired side gate across the field and easily went across to Kampong Baru Coffee Shop to have my drinks or to see the world went by. Some other fellow students also followed suit but they must crossed back the blanket covered wired side gate before me. Mr. Ahmad Daud was not aware of my prank. My blanket could also get me a free drink from the other runaway students.

Senior Cambridge Exam – The Exam fees was handled by my father’s Trustee as he was away in Mekah for pilgrimage. The exam was held at a makeshift Exam Hall at the school new complex, so we were the first batch utilizing the new school complex. I remember at one of the paper I was having fever but I sat through. The Invigilator requested whether I had medical certificate but I had no time to see any Medical Doctor.

For three (3) consecutive years, 1963 to 1965, I was the best student in Bahasa Malaysia, after all there was not many Competitors.

After the last paper we had a party at the Penang Chinese Swimming Club. Saying goodbye to comrades who shared the good and bad time for three years was painful but we had to face the reality of life. This time around we were awarded a one way train warrant home.

I passed the Senior Cambridge Exam with only Grade 3. I got the result far off from home, in Port Dickson. I planned for my get away before the result was out. The prospect of becoming a Civil Engineer went down the drain and I was very sure I disappointed my parents.

I went on to work with ESSO Malaysia Refinery for seven (7) years and later I joined Guthrie Bhd. and Kumpulan Guthrie. I served the Guthrie Group of Companies for twenty six (26) years. For two and a half years I was on posting assignment to Felda. I retired as a Senior Manager and during my tenure in Kumpulan Guthrie, I went round the world. I covered continental Europe and whole of USA. Representing SIRIM and Malaysia, I attended two (2) International Conferences on ISO 1400 in Vienna Austria and Washington DC USA. I was selected to attend the same Conference at Kobe Japan and Stockholm in Sweden but my Director was not happy to see me hopping to every corner of the world. Was he jealous?

Footnote.

What more do I want? A simple kampong boy with only Grade 3 managed to conquer the world. Early 1950 I don’t even know a single word of English. I would not have tasted good if there was no such thing as the New Economic Policy which was introduced by the Malaysian government after May 13, 1969 debacle. Malays like me was given the chance to serve the private sector of major conglomerate. I had proven Malay can do it when given the opportunity.

Sometimes I looked back …………..what would I become if I was offered a place at Malay College Kuala Kangsar in 1960? Would I be able to see the world? My destiny would definitely be different. Menteri Besar of Perak? Minister? District Officer? I don’t think so because I get short circuited very fast and I don’t tolerate nonsense. I hate hypocrites, that’s why I just cannot become Politician and my philosophy in life is freedom and justice.

The life of Pakmus nearly ended on 9 October 2003 when he had a stroke. However being a fighter and the grace of Allah, he recovered and makes the journey to Baitullah in Mekah every Ramadan since then.

Allah had decided each and everyone journey in this world.