After resting for a while and having refreshed ourselves in the hotel, most members of our entourage then decided to proceed to a shopping supermarket which is located next to our hotel to browse around.

The weather that day was rather bad. It was raining quite heavily. This spoilt our programme of having dinner outdoors at the Esplanade.

Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang

As the weather was poor, the group then decided to have all types of Penang food, especially Thai fare, which was available at the ground floor of the supermarket. I remember having fried prawn fretters, asam laksa and kuih pulut stuffed with bananas.

Later, with many members of our group fancying to opt for Chinese food, we then adjourned to a nearby Chinese outlet for fried koay teow Penang style, fried rice, mee hoon goreng, koay teow soup, and many other varieties of food. With drinks all round, the entire bill for the group came to a total of about RM80 or so.

Being free, with nothing much to do on Saturday 22nd October 2011, the group then went sight seeing. At Burmah Road, the group visited the famous Sleeping Buddha Temple and the Burmese Buddhist Temple. Our next visit was to the Kek Lok Si Temple in Air Itam. Prayers were made and without a doubt lots of photographs were taken.

At the foot of the famous Kek Lok Si Temple, we stopped at a restaurant to have our lunch and refreshments. After lunch, some members of our group went shopping. Others decided to go back to the hotel for our much needed rest.

My Family Getting Ready For Dinner At Corner Club, Penang

On Saturday evening, the group was supposed to attend a Chinese dinner which was held at the Corner Club in nearby Pulau Tikus. The above dinner was given by my son’s in laws in our honour. The dinner ended at approximately 10pm.

On Sunday, the 23rd of October 2011, we were to leave Penang for home. We finally left the island at around 2pm. The journey back home seemed to be more tiring. At Tapah, our van stopped for a rest. We bought a big sour sop for RM16 and a few other fruits as well. After 4 hours, we finally reached Klang at 6.45pm.

What did I learn from the trip to Penang this time around?

The journey to and back from Penang was a smooth ride. The weather was cool and not very hot. Penang Island after all these years, has undergone much development. One thing that was observed was that the city these days appear much cleaner. But the roads there were as usual traffic congested.

The 2nd Penang Bridge is currently being constructed. With it, without a doubt, the amount of the traffic in Penang will become even dire. How will the authorities deal with this problem, is left to be seen.

Another thing I recall was the Penang Bridge was then being constructed. I still remember very vividly, how I used to sit on a slope, in front of the USM chancellor’s office, every evening looking across the sea towards the mainland. The view was just enchanting.

Back in October 2011, my family and I had to come back to Penang Island again. Our entourage consisted of my wife, my daughter and my son. It also included our niece, San Fa from Hong Kong and her 2 children both boys.

My granddaughters and my niece’s sons

Not forgetting also my sister-in-law and her husband. The total number of people that went to Penang was nearly 10 people. As Penang from Selangor was approximately 560 – 600 kilometers in distance, it was decided that the family rent a 12 seater van for our 3 days visit to the island this time around.

In my earlier postings in this blog, I remember telling readers that my wife, does visit other countries for her holidays. To date, she has visited China, Europe, Turkey, and Korea, just to name a few. We therefore got hold of the taxi driver who used to fetch her and her friends to and from Klang to the KLIA in Putrajaya.

Incidentally, the van driver was an experienced driver about 50 years old. Besides driving us all the way to Penang, the driver Mr Phua B.T. was also entrusted to take us sight-seeing in Penang.

Among the places we intended to visit were the Esplanade, the Siamese Sleeping Buddha Temple, and the Burmese Temple, both of which were located in Burmah Road. And of course, there was also the famous Kek Lok Si Temple in Air Itam.

Readers might want to know how much it costs the entire entourage for our 3 days visit to Penang. Well, we or rather Mr Phua used a Mercedes 1200 van with registration number MBK 2511. The above van was not only comfortable, the air-cond was cool and travelling all the way to Penang and back was indeed delightful.

In short, there weren’t any complaints at all. But the most important of all was this driving instructor of 45 years experience who was sitting in the front seat next to the driver Mr Phua, was very impressed and felt very safe with Mr Phua’s mode and manner of driving.

Mr Phua, in my humble opinion was indeed a good and safe driver. I feel one cannot get a better driver as compared to Mr Phua. We were in fact, in safe hands, so to say.

Later I will proceed to describe to you why he considers Mr Phua to be a good, if not an excellent driver. I have been coaching or teaching people how to drive for so many years now should be able to assess another driver’s capability to handle a vehicle. I’m sure you will agree.

Before continuing any further, how much did we pay for the 3 day endeavour to Penang Island? In reality, we had to pay RM1200. Some may contend it maybe a little expensive. Besides the above, we had to provide a place to lodge for the driver, Mr Phua.

Wherever possible our driver was to join us for “makan” or during “meal time”. A good working rapport between the driver and members of our entourage was very important if our trip was to be made interesting, enjoyable and less tiring.

Me and my wife visiting the Siamese Sleeping Buddha, Penang

Besides our van travelling to Penang for a period of 3 days, my eldest daughter, Swan Nee and her hubby, Kin and their 2 children Joey and Raey, were also travelling to Penang by themselves in their Toyota Prius. They left their Kota Kemuning home, one hour later than us, at 10.30am and they reached Penang at around 6.45pm.

Before leaving for Penang, the group decided to take breakfast at Rantau Panjang, 4 ½ miles from Klang. The group had and assorted menu of wan tan mee, kueh teow soup, chee cheong fun, and toasted bread. For drinks, some took barley water, kopi oh, soya bean, ice tea and so forth.

We in fact had our breakfast at a restaurant called “30-30”. Food and drinks in the above place was rather cheap on the whole. And about 10.00 am or so, the group finally left Klang, heading towards the north, for Penang!

Let me tell readers why our driver, Mr Phua B. T. was considered a safe and good driver. Relating to readers the qualities of a good driver is important. Readers might wish to imitate the antics of this driver and drive safely when they have to drive long distances to Penang or Singapore, which is more than 500 – 600 kilometers away.

Among the good habits this instructor observed about our van driver, Mr Phua were the following:-

i) He does not exceed more than 110 km/h all the way to Penang. This is well within the limits of expressway driving in Malaysia.

ii) When Mr Phua meets heavy traffic on his way to the north, he is sure to slow down as he realizes it is dangerous.

iii) In his attempts to overtake the vehicles in front, Mr Phua is sure to make certain that there are no vehicles approaching behind him.

iv) Mr Phua, as a driver does not make sudden swerves in order to overtake vehicles in front of him. This is indeed a good practice which other drivers travelling long distances should try to emulate. All in all for the entire 500 – 600 kilometers journey to the north, we were lucky to be in the hands of a very good driver indeed.

v) One further good practice which was followed by our driver Mr Phua was after travelling every 150 kilometers or so, the above driver was sure to make stops at R and R (Rest and Recreation) spots which dotted the entire north to south highway. This provided the opportunity for passengers, which included both children and elderly folks, a chance to ease themselves.

Mr Phua himself will get the opportunity to take a short much needed rest and also stretch his legs as well. Occasionally, the van driver takes a puff. I’m sure this makes him a better and alert driver as well.

For readers information, we stopped at Kuala Kangsar, Perak’s royal town, at Selama and also at Bukit Mertajam which was opposite Penang Island.

For lunch, Mr Phua took us to a Chinese restaurant which located opposite Penang Island. We order six dishes; we had fried squids or sotong, lemon chicken, two or three types of fried vegetables and taufu or fried beancurd as well. With assorted drinks all round, the bill came only to RM108.

If we were to have the same type of dishes in our hometown in Klang, I would not be surprised if the entire bill comes to well over RM200. So readers, how about it? Stop at Bukit Mertajam, which is directly opposite Penang Island and enjoy your lunch there.

After a 4 ½ hour journey, our van finally pulled into the compounds of Berjaya Hotel, which is located in Burmah Road, Penang. Our entire group occupied a total of 5 rooms at the 25th and 26th floor of the 29 storey hotel. In less than half an hour, we had already checked in.

Since this post is getting rather long, I will continue to share my experience returning to Penang Island after a span of 3 decades in my next article.

The British, under the auspicies of the East India Company, came to colonialise Malaya during the 2nd half of the 19th century. J.W.W Birch, Sir Frank Swettenham, J.G Davidson and Sir Hugh Low, were amongst some of the early and well known residents to arrive here from England.

In the 1950’s, a British High Commissioner, Sir Henry Gurney, was ambushed and assassinated by the Communists, near Fraser’s Hill, another well known and famous hill resort. Early British residents and commissioners, infact dreaded coming to Malaya in those early days. Malaya, in the 2nd half of the 19th century, was not only hot, wet, and humid. It was also infested with malaria laden “mosquitoes” as well.

The British administrators of early Malaya, were more accustomed to the cool, temperate atmosphere which they found in England. Due to the above, the British residents high commissioners and other district officers, very soon found an alternative solution to solve their predicament here in the tropical heat of the Malay Peninsula.

That was the reason which soon led to the opening of “hill” resorts or “tempat-tempat peranginan” all around in our country. Amongst the cool, hill resorts, opened by the colonial folks, must surely be Cameron Highlands, Fraser’s Hill and of course Penang Hill.

My wife and I once had delicious Penang laksa while we were up Penang Hill in the 1970’s. Genting Highlands, of course came to be opened very much later. The 6,600 meter gambling resort, started when its founder Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, made a decision to set up the now famous resort approximately 45 years ago.

Hill resorts in this country – Cameron Highlands, Penang Hill and Fraser’s Hill were in reality, places where early colonial administrators and high ranking British officials went for their holidays, rest and recreation. Even after the British, had finally left the shores of Malaya, in 1957, when we finally achieved our independence, Malaysians, still fancy visiting the cool and beautiful hill station of Cameron Highlands, Perak, even up till today.

As early as the 1950’s and 60’s, bus loads of tourists, especially young Malaysians, used to visit Cameron Highlands. It can be said that if you were young once a upon a time, and you have never visited Cameron Highlands before, then you would have missed a valuable experience in life.

But then, to travel up Cameron highlands, to Ringlet a town, which is more than 6,666 feet high, is no easy, matter. Travelling by chartered bus, up the winding road to the top of Cameron Highlands is no easy matter. For those who easily become giddy and prone to vomiting, will obviously find going up Cameron Highlands a big struggle indeed.

Why do so many people fancy going up to Cameron Highlands, one might ask? Amongst some of the reasons why this resort is very popular, even with Malaysian are:-

1. Then cool temperature and fresh air there.

Compared to lowland temperature of 38° – 40°C, the temperature in Cameron Highlands is around less than 20°C. Even with the sunshine shining through during the daytime, the atmosphere is cool and very relaxing. At night, the temperatures can sometimes be even colder. Spending a few nights holiday there would be very relaxing indeed.

2. Beautiful flowers and plants thrive in abundance down there.

Cameron Highlands is reknown for its large blooms and flowers. Many people go up to Cameron Highlands to see the beautiful and colourful flowers that grow there. With such beautiful flowers around, taking photographs of ourselves and our family, for the sake of remembrance, is a favourite hobby of many people.

Most people opt to travel up Camerons, during long weekend holidays and school holiday. As a result, the Cameron Highlands is indeed a popular resort, not only with Malaysians, but even foreigners are attracted by many things which the resort has to offer.

3. The abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Being a cool place, fruits and vegetables tend to be able to grow well up in the Cameron Highlands. As a matter of fact, most of our daily vegetables and fruits come from this highland.

Visitors who go up the Cameron Highlands, usually come down with armfuls of vegetables and fruits. These items are not only fresh, but they are cheap as well. Not buying these items on our visit to Cameron Highlands would indeed be a waste of good opportunity.

4. Availability of strawberries in Cameron Highlands.

Besides the Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands appears to be one of the few places in Malaysia that is known for strawberries. The strawberries found here in the Cameron Highlands may not be as big or as sweet as those in other countries, nevertheless, having the chance to taste our own strawberries is indeed a great joy. However, strawberries here may not be cheap. This fruit is as a matter of fact, rather limited and are therefore expensive.

5. An opportunity to see tea plantations.

Cameron Highlands is also reknown for the cultivation of “tea”. Malaysia’s most famous brand of tea, “BOH” tea is infact grown up in the cool temperatures of the highlands.

On a visit here, now you can see tea plants are grown and how workers, especially women, harvest tea in the highlands as well. I have not been to the Cameron Highlands now for well over 30 years. Therefore, I am not very certain if visitors there are allowed to purchase a few packets of this famous item.

6. A chance to see English “Tudor” architecture in Cameron Highlands.

One of the things few things our once colonial masters brought to this country was “architecture”. Some of the older buildings built during the English colonial era were styled according to “Tudor” architecture.

Such buildings nowadays are rarely seen in our country today. In Cameron Highlands, a visitor will have the opportunity to see such old buildings still standing around in our country. Therefore, Malaysians should take the opportunity to go up to Cameron Highlands to see those old colonial buildings.

This short article on why people choose to visit Cameron Highlands, was meant as an introduction before I begin to talk about the recent “horrific” bus accident which befelled a double-decker bus. 28 foreigners, mostly Thais died in this fateful accident that day.

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I read somewhere, friends are like leaves. They grow old. And they fade away. Dropping to the ground. New leaves then will grow in its place. That’s how friendship is described as I ponder over the above saying very carefully. Find for yourselves, how true the above is.

Thinking over the vast number of friends, that I have had, since young, since my school days, I sometimes wonder, where some of my friends are these days. First of all, I shall try to recollect friends of mine during my primary school days.

One close friend of mine, I remember was none other than my cousin, T.C. He lived in a kampong or village, next to mine. I was then staying at Kampung Martin, in Telok Pulai Road, Klang.

T.C. and myself, happened to be in the same class, quite a number of years. To be exact, we studied until standard six together. I still remember, I was slightly better in studies than my close buddy, T.C.

My cousin, T.C. and I were rather close friends. Being rather small sized and a thin kid when young, I used to depend on T.C. for protection in our schooldays. Being a lot bigger and stronger than I was, I had to seek out T.C.’s help, when faced with school enemies and bullies, out to intimidate me.

My close friend and I went places together, enjoying our young days, frolicking in the sun, swimming in the pools and muddy ponds and rivers, abundant around our kampong. We fished and caught fish, like “fighting fish” in the drains.

One thing I could still remember of T.C., was that he was strong. He could throw a “stick”, approximately 1 foot in length, at fruits such as rambutans and mangoes hanging high on the branches. He was reputed to be able to even able to throw at “sentul” fruits.

For readers’ information, the sentul tree was a very high tree, sometimes growing even 80 to 100 feet tall. Only strong boys like my cousin, T.C. were able to achieve this fantastic feat.

Even though my cousin, T.C. and myself were very close in our friendship, our close relationship like I said, was destined to come to an end eventually. As both of us grew up into our teens, we began to drift into our separate ways. Being a better student, I went to better classes. While my cousin, T.C. or better known as “Sunny Boy”, eventually was put in a weaker class.

And so, as we grew up into secondary classes in school, we saw less and less of each other. Although we met and saw each other practically every other day, as time progressed, due to different itinerary and programmes, we grew apart.

When we left secondary schools, T.C. did not pursue his studies any further. I think T.C. went into employment with Malayan Railways, in Port Klang, as a “telly clerk”. While I went into becoming a temporary teacher in 1963 in Telok Datok town, 20 miles from Banting. Later, I was to take up a teaching diploma course, aspiring to become a teacher instead.

Although my friendship with my cousin T.C. did not last very long, only a few short years, during our primary and secondary school days, as I think back, over the years we were together, those short lived years, were indeed wonderful and carefree days.

Where is my cousin T.C today? Even though, I have lost contact with him for many years now, we do occasionally meet each other from time to time, at relatives’ weddings and when we attend funerals and so forth. And not to forget also, our yearly meetings at Deepavali house gatherings at my cousin’s sister’s house in Simpang Empat, Telok Pulai, Klang.

You see, my cousin sister Daisy, who is of Malacca Chinese decent like me, is married very happily to her childhood kampong friend, Segeran. Unfortunately, Daisy is said to be not very healthy these days.

My elder brother, my younger brother and my only sister, Molly, makes it a point to visit Daisy, during the Deepavali celebrations each and every year without fail. We infact enjoy visiting her to taste her good cooking and eating all sorts of rendang, curries, muruku, keropok, ketupat, assorted Malay cuisines and kuih-muih such as “baulu” and “love letters”, which she without fail will arrange for us.

All close relatives, including T.C. will without fail, be at Daisy’s house every Deepavali. It is now the month of July. Very soon, Deepavali will be fast approaching. And good willing, all of us will gather again at my cousin sister Daisy’s house this year.

We will talk about her mother, my mother and father and all other interesting things such as her brothers Henry and Tony, who have both passed away a few years ago. One thing this author is certain is, my childhood close buddy and close friend, T.C. will surely be there too.

I look forward to meeting him, to talk about the good old times when we were both young and about our young days at the Anglo Chinese School, in Jalan Raya Barat, Klang.

Next, I would want to talk about 2 other close friends that I knew. I shall refer to them as Tan and Wong. They were infact partners in business. Initially, I found them to be very close buddies. They were always together, having lunch and breakfast most of the times. Each, does not go anywhere without the other.

My friends have always reminded me, time and again, that when we become friends with someone, make certain that the friendship is cultivated upon a 50 – 50 basis. In that way, they say, friendship will thus will last longer. And how true it was.

Today, Mr. Tan and Mr. Wong are now not on speaking terms with each other. They are at logger heads. It was said, as the story unfolds, one day Mr. Wong struck it rich at some 4 digits games. Mr. Tan came to know about it.

According to sources, one day Mr. Tan requested for a loan from his close buddy, Mr. Wong. Mr. Tan borrowed quite a lot of money from his good friend, Mr. Wong. The story has it that after the money was borrowed, Mr. Tan failed to keep his promise to pay back the sum of money he took from Mr. Wong.

When Mr. Wong claimed back the money he lent to Mr. Tan, both friends began to quarrel. As Shakespeare once said, “Never a lender nor borrower be.” How wise Shakespeare’s advice was.

Today, it has been brought to my knowledge that the two good and close friends, no longer speak to one another. They have infact, become enemies. And all because of what? Because of money!

Both Mr. Wong and Mr. Tan have since grown apart. If once, they were close friends and buddies, today, they are no longer friendly with one another. They have become enemies.

At the onset of this story, it has been said, “friends are like leaves. Like leaves, they grow old and fade away. Eventually they will drop away onto the ground.” New leaves will grow in its place, to replace them. And new friendships will then develop.

Think about what I have been saying. You will certainly agree what I have suggested is true. We may have cultivated many instances of friendships in the process of our lives. Where are our good friends these days? They have disappeared from our lives. They are no longer beside us. That’s life, I suppose!

In The Star newspaper dated 7th August 2010, with its headlines entitled “Travel Bar”, reported that some half a million Malaysians will soon be facing a travel bar. The above reported that the Immigration Department will be taking steps to prevent many people from travelling overseas.

And upon reading the above interesting report further, I discovered one amazing thing. The report went on to say, the youngest person to be blacklisted, as according to the Immigration Departments security director, Ibrahim Abdullah, was just 25.

Permit me to ask you one simple question. How on earth does a young person whom I assume, just received his or her degree from the local university, ever end up being listed amongst the list of 196,473 bankrupts? For all I know, the 25 year old graduate mentioned above, has not even as yet attended his or her convocation ceremony.

The only reason I can think of, is that the 25 year old graduate must be owing an educational loan which he or she has taken from the PTPTN or the National Higher Education Fund Corporation. And she has failed to repay her loan.

Immediately after reading the article mentioned above, entitled “Travel Bar”, I wrote an article on it, airing my views on the subject. In it, I quoted two friends, who attended an off campus course to secure their degrees. And both of them failed to repay their loans the authorities provided them. Inspite of the fact, both of them were then in their forties and holding on to posh, lucrative jobs.

Recalling the initial article that I wrote, I now regret writing it. In the first place, I wrote the PTPTN loan article because I was utterly frustrated over a few things.

One, I’ve spent nearly RM20,000 in the 1970’s to secure a better education. Likewise, my 2 friends. But the difference was, they received their goals with educational grants from the government. But they did not reservice the loans from the National Higher Education Fund? Was it a fair decision on their part?

Upon reading the article, “PTPTN Loan, an emotional Strain on Grads”, I immediately felt remorseful. It dawned upon me to then decide to write an article to comment further upon this subject.

As said in my first article which, may or may not have been published in my blog yet, readers reading it might be tempted to comment, that this 65 year old pensioned writer has no right to comment on PTPTN loans at all.

If you should happen to read my article later on, you will find that, the fact is I have the right to make known my feelings on the subject of loans taken from the National Higher Education Fund. I have “locus standi”, as they say.

Because, my youngest daughter, Lin, who graduated a few years ago, from the Multimedia University in Cyberjaya took a hefty RM60,000 loan from the PTPTN corporation. This article therefore, is meant as an advice to all potential undergraduates, who are currently registered at all higher institutes of learning. Parents likewise, should ponder over my advice carefully. Do not end up like “PTPTN Prisoner”.

Permit me to quote further from “PTPTN Prisoners” article. Although I do not wish to plagiarise anyone’s writings, nevertheless, I feel it’s only right, PTPTN Prisoner be allowed to tell her own story.

PTPTN Prisoner, as she claims, is a recent graduate, with a huge education loan over her head. She says, even before she can even get a head start in life in the working world, she tells us, she is currently saddled with a RM48,000 loan.

PTPTN Prisoner continued, from the moment she started working after her university days, she had been paying small sums based on what she could afford. Fair enough, isn’t it?

But what’s troubling her is that, the amount she has so far paid, cannot even come close at all to administration fees charged by the PTPTN Corporation!

I can verify PTPTN Prisoners’ laments. What PTPTN Prisoner said, are unfortunately true! My daughter, as I said earlier is unfortunately facing the same predicament. As far as I am aware, the administrative fee charged by PTPTN or the Higher Education Loan Corporation is a whopping RM150 alone!

If this were to continue, let me tell you, no student, who has taken an education loan, can ever dream of ever repaying whatever education loan taken from PTPTN?

The government or whichever authorities that are responsible for the repayments, should study the matter seriously. Otherwise, PTPTN Prisoner and other students cannot settle their debts, ever.

If PTPTN Prisoner, like my daughter, has not made it a point to settle her education loan, well and good, go ahead, blacklist her by all means. She deserves it.

But inspite of making loan repayments every month, making almost RM450 without fail and finally to realize that the capital amount owned has not even moved RM1000 lower at the end of the year is, I tell you – Disheartening! Something must be wrong somewhere!

The administration fee presently imposed is simply ridiculous. Why charge such a massive administrative fee for a loan that has already been taken years ago? But to impose administration fee month in and month out is not only absurd, I would say, but tantamount to being “insane”!

This is being likened to fleecing the poor undergraduates. It is not fair at all! The authorities, especially the Prime Minister, should step in immediately to alleviate the poor students who have taken an education loan to secure their degrees

As PTPTN Prisoner herself said, sooner or later, she will have no alternative but to default upon her repayments. Do you, as readers know, why some 46,887 students aged between 25 and 35 are to be blacklisted soon under the government’s “Travel Bar” decision?

To the Immigration Department’s Security Division director, Encik Ibrahim Abdullah, and to our beloved Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tin Razak, on behalf of poor PTPTN Prisoner and my own daughter, and many of her friends, this 65 year old pensioned father, would like to make an urnest appeal to you, to restudy and restructure the repayment scheme of the Higher Education Loan Scheme immediately!

Do it now! Many will be grateful to you, I believe! “Pinch your right hand, and your left hand feels the pain”, so the saying goes.

Whenever my youngest daughter, who is now approaching 30 years, and currently repaying a car loan, still single, and with a RM68,000 loan hanging over her hand, it breaks my heart, to see my daughter facing such a massive dilemma trying to make repayments towards her education loan to PTPTN every month!

As a parent and a father, permit me to make an appeal on behalf of all fathers, to allow our sons and daughters, a chance to repay their loan fairly.

Very recently, I handed a meager sum of RM2,000 to my daughter, to help her settle her education loan. As an educated father, I realized that unless a person makes a monthly repayment amount of over RM500 per month, the capital amount owned will not move lower even by an inch, so they say.

To the authorities, this parent will like to finally end this article by imploring, “do not be like Shylock, the Jew, in the Merchant of Venice”, by Shakespeare, trying to get his pound of flesh from Antonio! In doing so, Antonio may eventually bleed to death.

But the government should ideally not face the same consequences as Antonio. At least, in my opinion, not yet!

There are many ungrateful students, who have the money and yet refuse to pay up. There are also many like PTPTN Prisoner and my daughter, who struggle every month to repay, but are unmercilessly burdened by PTPTN unfair tactics. This in my opinion, Mr. Prime Minister, is not one of the ways towards achieving 1 Malaysia! Think about it.

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I enjoy sharing interesting articles with readers of this blog. With this in mind, a recent article which appeared in a local newspaper entitled “Traffic Cops in India to Go Mystic” has intrigued me. I therefore decided to relate it for the reading pleasure of all readers.

First and foremost, “pyramids”, which were used by the Egyptians since the early days of the Pharoahs, are said to possess “mystic” powers. “Mystic” has been explained by certain dictionaries as “something which causes a feeling of amazement”.

In today’s world, many countries, including Malaysia, are very worried about the high rate of accidents, which the nation faces. With this in mind, our Road Transport Department announced very recently, its intention to implement the Automated Enforcement System (A.E.S.).

For your information, with the above system, some 1,200 closed circuit television cameras will be installed at all accident proned areas throughout the country.

Besides Malaysia, India, which is reputed to have an accident rate, the 2nd highest in the world, the first being China, has recently been said to be experimenting with pyramid powers to reduce accidents. Pyramids, which have been credited with supernatural or paranormal properties since the days of ancient Egypt, will now be adopted or harnessed by the Indian police to minimize road accidents there.

It has been reported in Mumbai, formerly known as “Bombay”, that traffic authorities there in Nagpur, 870km west of Mumbai, will be using “small pyramids”, which will be placed at 10 accident proned areas in the city to see if their claimed “positive” energy can reduce accident crashes.

According to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic Division), Sahebrao Patil, this innovative idea was mooted after a meeting with a “Vastu” expert. “Vastu” is an ancient Hindu system of construction which is reported to be very similar to the Chinese “feng shui”.

Mr. Patil, the assistant commissioner said, he had placed a number of such pyramids on the roads outside the city, and the results have been found to have been encouraging. Suggestions to have the idea implemented in the city have not been met with any disapproval from the Police Authorities.

The idea of installing pyramids at 10 spots will begin shortly. Pyramids will be placed at “squares” or near traffic lights, so that they won’t disrupt traffic movements.

According to Vastu expert, Sushil Fatehpuria, each pyramid will have a copper bottom and five smaller pyramids inside. He believed that accidents are a result of negative forces. Minimizing or converting these forces into positive energy might therefore reduce accidents eventually. The “pyramids” will be energized and positive thought will be transferred into the pyramids.

Whatever it is, Bombay’s police officers will however continue with “human power”, in their efforts to reduce accidents. A wise move, I would say.
This innovative idea of the Bombay police department is to continue for the next 6 months. If positive results are achieved, then, that would be excellent.

India’s rise in accident rate is believed to have been attributed to a combination of an increase in drivers, many of them untrained, poor road planning and a lax law of enforcement. All these, have led India’s roads to become one of the most dangerous in the world today.

The world as a whole, especially we in Malaysia awaits India’s mystic experiment with the ancient pyramids. If successful, who knows, our Road Transport Department chief, Datuk Sureet Singh, might even be tempted to adopt it into our system after all!

For readers’ info, the only pyramid system currently being used by Malysians, is the “pyramid” system of selling things. Unfortunately, this mode of selling or doing business is deemed “illegal”. And Malaysians, are strongly advised against participating in it!

To conclude this interesting article, it should also be reminded that Malaysia has many “feng shui” experts in our midst, in the likes of Lillian Too and Joey Yap. Who knows, one day, their services might one be garnered to assist the country in reducing road accidents here as well.

Malaysia, which has only a population of approximately 30 million, including Sabah and Sarawak, unfortunately is ranked as having one of the highest rates of accidents in the world today! Something has to be done. “Feng shui” may very well be the answer!

Who can anticipate, like Spain, which became 2010 World Cup winner, Malaysia would one day become the leading nation to use “feng shui” as a means of combating rising road accidents!

The annual sports meet of our school, was always one that could not be surpassed by any school in Klang, except may be High School, Klang, our rival school. The sports meet was a grand affair, not to be seen today. It was like a fun fare, with loud speakers and music being played loudly. Races during those days were started by guns. I clearly remember one well known “starter”, a Mr. Koh Teck Chong, dressed in “white”, starting most of the races.

Many secondary schools, especially in Klang, even from as far as Kuala Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and even at times far as Ipoh, coming for our 4 X 400m relay race. Believe me, this event was a major attraction of our annual sports meet.

One other major attraction of our annual sports meet I remember, was the “tug of war” contest between “present pupils” and “past pupils” or old boy’s team. This was usually the last event of the day.

Pupils, I remember would encroach round the main guest tent to witness this interesting event. Old boys, being adults, were mostly big sized and pot bellied. Their combined weight alone was good enough to ensure their success.

The school team, which was made up of current students were nowhere compared to the old boys’ team. Without a doubt, the old boys’ team would usually land up as the eventual “winners” of the day.

Besides the many events available during the sports day, were events such as 100m, 200m, relay races for 4 X 100, 4 X 400 open school relay events, high jump, long jump, officials race, shot putt and javelin.

The A.C.S. annual sports, which is normally held from May to July, must surely be a grand event, never to be seen again by the folks of Klang town. As an ex A.C.S. pupil, I really miss it a lot. With the tents of the participating houses beautifully decorated for the “Decorations Cup”, and with all sorts of drinks, cakes and ice cream stocked in them, the atmosphere of our annual sports meet wax one that should not be missed by the pupils of the school.

Besides the annual sports meet, A.C.S. Klang is a venue for important football games. I once remember the Selangor Malays team in which “football king” Abdul Ghani plays for, once met another famous and well known team, Selangor Rangers represented by famous stars as Lourdes and Govindaraju.

This exciting game was held at our school padang. Tickets were sold. Black cloth was installed all around our school perimeter fence as high up as 6 or 7 feet high, to prevent spectators from looking into the padang or field. The entire bamboo fence which enclosed our school, was completed patched up to prevent our boys from trying to enter the school premise without playing.

Being an ardent fan of football, but unfortunately, unable to purchase the tickets to the Selangor Malays vs Selangor Rangers match, I finally had to climb up a nearby tree to witness the game. I just could not let the chance of seeing famous football stars such as Abdul Ghani Mirhat, Govindaraju, Lourdes and Arthur Koh, playing at our own A.C.S. field.

And finally, when talking about my secondary school days, which were from 1958 to 1962, as an A.C.S. boy, I feel I should talk about our school fun fare which is called the A.C.S. Carnival.

Most schools raise funds for school projects such as buildings and libraries, our school, A.C.S. Klang, is no exception. Under the principalship of Mr. D.R. Daniel, A.C.S. once every few years will hold a carnival or fun fare called the “A.C.S. Carnival”.

The A.C.S. Carnival is a big fun fare, unlike other fun fare, games and competitions are abundance. Every class was responsible to put up a stall, be it a stall for games, or a food stall. There were lots of fun and food around.

Months before the carnival arrived, art teachers such as Mr. James Pandian and Mr. Koh Yan Hoe, were busy getting students to draw up “posters”, which were to be put up all around arches that were built to surround our entire school. Beautiful “neon” lights decorated our school premise. A.C.S. was like a fairy land, believe me.

Tickets will be printed. And pupils obviously will be responsible to sell as many tickets as possible. Many competitions to sell tickets were organized.

All types of games and competitions were set up. Food stalls of every type, catering for food and drinks were also set up. Popiah stalls, stalls selling bubur chacha, rojak, drinks such as red beans and so on will be set up when the “Carnival” Day arrives. Tickets, normally be made up of 20 cents, 50 cents, and one dollar, will be printed to allow as many students as possible to partake in this interesting carnival.

Sometimes, the committee that organizes the A.C.S. Carnival will even launch a competition to select a “carnival queen” for our carnival. Handsome prizes were sometimes given to the lucky winner.

It is hoped that this article on my Alma Mater, A.C.S. (secondary) will bring back fond memories of your younger days when you were studying in it many years ago.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about A.C.S. secondary school, as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you! “Sapientia Potentsia Est” or “Knowledge is Power”. Long live A.C.S. Klang! I’m extremely proud to be a student of this school.

In 1962, I sat for my Overseas Cambridge Examination and obtained a 2^nd grade certificate. With a heart as “heavy as lead”, I finally had to bid farewell to my school teachers like Mr. S.P Subramaniam, Mr. Rathi Chandran, Mr. A.R Muthiah, Mr. K.O Chandy, Mr. and Mrs. T.O George, Mr. Sonny Tan, Mr. Kao Yan Hoe, Mr. James Pandian, Mr. Muthulingam, (the 6.6 feet tall) teacher from Kuala Lumpur and finally to Mr. D.R. Daniel who was my principal for many, many years.

God bless you all. Take care!

When I first decided to write about “My Alma Mater – Anglo Chinese Primary School, Klang A.C.S“, little did I realize that it might one day be read by readers who, once a upon a time, like me studied at the above school.

Even classmates of mine, whom I have since lost touch with years ago, have written into this blog, to relate about their childhood experiences they had while they were there in the 1950’s and 60’s. Their comments on this blog, has once again led me to decide to write a follow up article on my alma mater, that is the school I love so immensely.

It is hoped that, with this 2nd article on A.C.S Klang (Secondary), ex-students of this well known secondary school in Klang will go on to enjoy more memories of our old school.

A.C.S. primary school and A.C.S secondary school are infact situated in one and the same location. Both share a common ground. And also a common “tuckshop” or “canteen” in the early days of 1950’s and 60’s.

However, the A.C.S. primary school has its own toilet facilities though. So does the A.C.S secondary school. Today however, things regarding the two schools are a little bit different. The A.C.S. primary school of today has its own entrance at the back of the school in Jalan Melawis while the A.C.S. secondary school has its entrance and exit gates in front.

Although many years have since gone by, both my “Alma Maters”, have not undergone much alteration. The buildings and classes still remain the same. Only maybe the students are different.

I attended the A.C.S. secondary school in my younger days, from 1958 to 1962. The A.C.S. secondary school was located at Jalan Raya Barat, Klang. In those days, this road was also known as “Jalan Raya West”.

Coming out from the entrance of the school, one faces the well known “Fort Hill”. On top of this hill, is the famous private school called the Convent Girls School of Klang.

Some three to four hundred yards away from our alma mater, lies the Methodist Girls Secondary School (M.G.S), Klang. As a young secondary school boy, I still recall very vividly, M.G.S. being called the “Monkey Girls School” and what did the girls of M.G.S. nick name our school? They call us “American Cock Suckers”. Another famous and well known school in Klang, the famous High School, Klang its pupils were labeled as “Hungry Soldiers”.

To those ex A.C.S. students, like myself, who may have forgotten how our alma mater school looked like in the 1950’s and early 60’s, a huge field lies strategically in front of it. It was in this field, that interesting football games and our Annual Sports were held.

If I remember clearly, there were a few huge “raintrees” surrounding our school padang then I remember playing marbles underneath those big, shady raintrees. Sad to note that today, such massive beautiful raintrees are no more to be found in Klang.

However, I read with immense joy when reading about the Ipoh Municipal Council’s decision to insure “raintrees” in Ipoh for a few million dollars. I think it’s a wise decision after all. Syabas, to the Ipoh Municipal Council.
Talking about the time I was in A.C.S. secondary school, I think I should make mention of our school caretaker, I’m certain any A.C.S. boy will surely remember a small sized Indian man called Vijandran. Naughty students like myself, used to nickname him “Kapar Road”. Nothing makes Vijandran angrier than being called such name.

You see, Kapar Road, in those days was famous for its many “brothels” and the presence of “prostitutes” along that road. This would make anyone associated with it “flare” up, like poor Vijandran did.
In a twinkling of an eye, 50 years have since gone by. Is Vijandran still around today? I really don’t know!

To talk about my alma mater, A.C.S. (secondary), mention I think should be made of its headmasters. Earlier on, when I was 13 while I was in form 1, we had a G.S. Arumugam as our headmaster. Then came a Chinese man, from Kuala Lumpur, a Mr. Tan Teik Beng, I think.

Mr. Tan as I reiterated earlier in my article on A.C.S. primary school, was a bespectacled and likeable old man, not strict all. He is very much loved by us students.

Naughty students, when found “fighting” along the school corridors will be asked by Mr. Tan not to fight. Mr. Tan would normally give students a dollar each to go to the school canteen for meals and assorted drinks.

In 1958, came Mr. D.R. Daniel, from Ipoh, I think. Mr. Daniel’s wife, Doris Daniel was also a teacher in the A.C.S. primary school, which is incidentally located directly behind our secondary school. The A.C.S primary school was then, if I’m not mistaken, under the head ship of Mr. Ng Moh Say, a bespectacled Chinese man.

Mr. D.R. Daniel arrived to become the headmaster of our A.C.S. secondary school, as I said around the years 1958 or 1959. Daniel was to hold on to the principalship of A.C.S Klang for many, many long years.
I remember Mr. Daniel arriving at our school with a great “impact”. He was around 35 years of age then. A dark, huge man with spectacles,
Mr. Daniel doesn’t laugh, he infact “guffaws”, like Englishman usually do. Mr. Daniel is a man with very strict discipline. He is very strict where discipline is concerned. I still remember how he used to cane undisciplined students in his principal’s office.

The echoes of his canings still rings in my ears even today, 50 years later. As an A.C.S. boy, I can safely say, that Mr. Daniel can be labeled as a leader by example person. For your information, Mr. Daniel in those days drove a black 180 Mercedes Benz.

The first thing Mr. Daniel did on his coming to A.C.S. secondary, Klang, was to be involved in a friendly cricket match between the school team and the staff. I remember him hitting a “sixes” from the centre of the pitch.
His “hit” or “strike”, as one calls it in cricket, went well over the 2 storey block building in front of our school and landed in the vicinity of the school canteen, a distance of at least 300 – 400 yards. It was indeed a fantastic performance by our new principal, Mr. D.R. Daniel. He had proven he was indeed a good sportsman.

Besides being a good cricketer, Mr. Daniel, was also rather good footballer as well. Although, he was a huge man, he was adept in playing football as well. At that time, I was representing the school football XI. I remember playing against the staff team many times, with Mr. Daniel playing as “goalkeeper”.

Frankly speaking, Mr. Daniel plays well at the goal. It was not easy at all to beat him, let me tell you. Trying to get a goal past Mr. Daniel, was not easy.
When I left the A.C.S secondary school, after taking my Overseas School Exams in 1962, Mr. D.R. Daniel still remained as A.C.S.’s principal for a few more years, until he finally retired later. A.C.S. Klang then came into the hands of another great principal, Mr. A.R. Peters, whom I understand, hails from nearby Taman Ardales, Klang. I personally know Mr. Peter, quite well.

Talking a little bit more about Mr. D.R. Daniel, I had the opportunity to work with his younger brother, a Mr. Vincent Daniel, in Methodist English School (M.E.S.) in Telok Datoh, Banting, way back in 1963, when I was roughly 17 years old then. I was a “double” partner of Mr. Daniel, in badminton in those days.

If you are an A.C.S. boy, you will surely know that the A.C.S. had a scout movement called the 5th Klang group at that time; it was one of Klang’s top scout movements. The 5th Klang group scout movement produced many “King” scouts in those days. Many of my uncles and cousins, were also old boys of A.C.S. my uncles, Boo Choo, and his brothers Boo Hock as well as Boo Huat, were excellent king scouts in those days. They were able to cook very well.

Even my cousin brothers, Henry Lim and Tony Lim were once “king” scouts who belonged to the 5th Klang group. All A.C.S. old boys should be proud of them. They had all brought “fame” to our Alma Mater!

The 5th Klang group, used to carry many scouting activities. They were extremely active, especially during our Annual Sports Day, which was a grand and special occasion for all A.C.S. students.

Sports houses, to which students were divided into, were all beautifully decorated with leaves, ferns and bunting papers and balloons during our sports day. How much I enjoyed our sports day then.

The “scouts” did yeoman services decorating the houses. Around 1959, our scouts organized a big “camp fire” around the school premises. For that event, the 5th Klang group of scouts invited a real Red Indian from America to perform at our school’s annual camp fire then. I still recall the Red Indian as “Tom Two Arrows”.

Tom Two Arrows’ apache rain dance and the “wigwams” that he built in the middle of our school field or padang, will always remain in our memories, even after many, many long years have come and gone.

After the visit of Tom Two Arrows, the interest in scouting activities in our school increased tremendously. Many pupils, including myself felt as students, we should join scouting activities. Without a doubt, Tom Two Arrows apache “calls” and the smoke signals he conducted at the camp fire that night, went a long way to creating a great interest amongst many A.C.S. pupils.

This blog, the “Driving School Malaysia”, is a unique blog indeed. It is a blog written specially for people who are interested in “all things pertaining to the driving school industry in Malaysia today.” I have up till today written, very surprisingly though; well over more than 500 articles, both in Bahasa Malaysia and English. I am very glad to announce, the blog now has a readership of well over 700 people per day.

Do you know that this blog’s leading article entitles, “JPJ Undang-undang Test Passing Tips” was read by well over 30,000 readers? Well, I’m sure you’ll agree that this infact is indeed a fantastic achievement.

Amongst the many topics covered by this blog, include for cars covers 1st Party Insurance and 3rd Party Policies as well. Besides insurance, this blog also emphasizes upon subjects such as courses a potential student has to go through in his or her quest to obtain a driving license.

The 5 hour Kursus Pendidikan Pemandu and the 6 hour Theory Courses on engines are but some of the few courses breached upon by me in this blog.
To only talk about courses and spare parts in this blog alone, without making a mention about the “men” responsible for the maintenance of our second hand vehicles will be rather grossly unfair. What am I trying to imply is, what about trying to write an article specially on the “mechanics” whom I have known all these years.

To tell you the truth, I’ve driving for quite some years now. To be exact, since 1970. This morning, it dawned upon me that I should pay a small tribute to some of the many mechanics I know since I was a young lad.
In writing this article, specially for the mechanics I know it is done randomly. No special preference is accorded to any one mechanic whatsoever.

It should be made known to readers, since getting my driving license, at a young age 24, I have been driving mostly second hand vehicles, Volkswagens, old Datsuns, Marinas, Fiats and other famous continental models. Without a doubt, such cars, being old, required the services of many of my mechanic friends.

To tell you the truth, I feel I should quote you a famous quotation once made by the well known opposition political figure, Y.B. Lim Kit Siang, at the Letchuman Hall, Klang, after his party’s landslide victory, many years ago.

The above figure, who is a very famous orator said, and I quote: “without you, the electorates, there is no me. And without me, there is also no this party’s success.” Very powerful words, this writer feels.

So in fairness to my mechanic friends who years ago helped me, I feel I owe them a lot for the services they have rendered me all these years.
One of the mechanics I still remember even up till today must surely be “Wah Chye” who is now over 65 and still alive. The above mechanic, a personal friend of mine, likes to dabble in a few rounds of “mahjong” even today.

Wah Chye, was infact trained by the then “Champion” Motors group companies. Champion motors, was once the franchise holders for Volkswagen and Audi cars in Malaysia in those days. What I like about this mechanic, Wah Chye, is, he is ever ready to help whenever he can.
Even if one has some mechanical problems, at night, Wah Chye is sure to come to your assistance. His “charges” or “services” are reasonable.

Unlike other mechanics around, he is not a “cut throat”, so they say unfortunately what I know about Wah Chye is that this mechanic today, is currently suffering from acute “arthritis”. He now walks with a limp and his movements are restricted.

Other than that, I would say, Wah Chye, my mechanic friend, whom I’ve known for well 30 years, is still OK, god bless him! Incidentally, Wah Chye has 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls in all. He is also a “datuk”, or grandfather.
The second mechanic, also a personal friend of mine, is none other than “Ah Lau”.

Infact, Ah Lau, was actually a friend of my father, Yap Thian Yew, or “Say Bah”, who was a lorry driver. Malay friends and fellow lorry drivers call my father “Abah” or in Bahasa Malaysia, “father”. Whenever his friends greet him “Abah”, my father would jokingly retort, “good son, you know how to accord your father the proper respect whenever you meet him. Good boy, keep up the good behaviour.” My father would usually say.

As Ah Lau is my father’s good friend, without a doubt whenever I was faced with some mechanical problems with my old “jalopy”, be it a Volkswagen 1200 or Fiat 600 second hand car, my father would, suggest that I seek Ah Lau’s expert services. To be fair to Ah Lau, he represents one of the best mechanics around. His knowledge about cars is very good. He is to me, the best there is.

Maticulate and careful, he takes his work seriously, washing the parts used carefully, his “forte”, I would say, is engine tuning and timing. In these days when computer tuning was yet to be heard of, Ah Lau’s ability to adjust your engine perfectly was reknowned. No one, can safely verify, can “time” an engine better than Ah Lau can.

As the saying goes, if you want the best mechanic around town, you must be ready to pay through your nose. Another popular saying reiterated, “gives peanuts and you’ll get monkeys”. Although Ah Lau is reputedly one of the mechanics available around the vicinity of Klang district, his charges, unfortunately will make your “knees” shiver or in layman language, “shock the lights out of you”. But as I said earlier, Ah Lau is the best around.

Ah Lau, I hear, is still working as a mechanic even today. Ah Lau should now be well over 70 years or more than today. According to Ah Lau’s younger brother, Lai Onn, 70, who happens to be a good friend of mine, Ah Lau, albeit his movements are restricted, still tinkles with minor repairs such as changing plugs, air filters and brakes from time to time.

One thing I should tell readers about mechanics is that most of them possess hobbies. The 1st mechanic, Wah Chye, whom I described earlier, was a “mahjong” kaki or “enthusiast”. Well, Ah Lau, was a “kaki pancing” or a “fishing” enthusiast?

Ah Lau likes nothing better than going fishing in places as far off as Perak, Johor and Negeri Sembilan on Sundays and public holidays. What type of fish does Ah Lau fancy angling? Well, the story goes that Ah Lau, does not go to the “seas”. He fishes in old tin mines. The fish that he is reputed to catch are “haruans” and “ikan keli” or “inspector’s” fish.

Well, so much about Ah Lau, my second mechanic friend whom I’ve decided to highlight today in my special articles on “mechanics” friends of mine.
One other mechanic friend of mine whom I feel I should make mention of would be a young mechanic, whom I made acquaintance with when he was then 16 years old. Our friendship has stretched well over 30 years now. To be exact, we know each other since 1970.

This young mechanic, Ah Keng is a Cantonese boy. His real name is Lum Wai Keng. Ah Keng today is well over 40 years. Ah Keng is a small, thin sized man, married and has a son about 12 years.

Ah Keng, married quite late. I know Ah Keng as a nice, young man with few bad qualities, such as heavy smoking and gambling. Ah Keng, is a responsible husband and a caring father. He likes no better than talking to me about his only son, who is now in standard two, I think.

Ah Keng, my mechanic friend is well known to his friends and colleagues as “The Snake”, or “Chuah” in Hokkien. “Snake” to the Chinese people, denotes “someone who is untrustworthy and therefore cannot be believed in.” but, Ah Keng, infact, is no such character or person.

Then why on earth do friends and business associates brand him as the “Snake”. You see, Ah Keng’s mobile phone happens to end with 9831. The number 9831 in Chinese gambling circles, is “snake”. What better way to remember a person, whatmore a mechanic, than to remember him via his mobile phone number 9831 or the “snake”. So, in short, Ah Keng my friend is called “The Snake” or “Chuah” in Hokkien dialect.

I was the one responsible for getting Ah Keng his driving license when he was 17 years old. I remember taking Ah Keng to Petaling Jaya for his practical test, way back in the 1960’s or 70’s. I was then not involved fully as yet as a driving instructor. I remember using a Volkswagen 1200 to teach this mechanic how to drive and do side parking.

As a mechanic, he was very adept in driving. I did not have to teach Ah Keng many lessons at all. He infact passed with “flying colours” in his the first attempt. I actually taught Ah Keng for free. I did not charge him anything at all.

Do you know why I have a very close relationship with Ah Keng, my mechanic friend? 24 hours a day or anytime at all, whenever I called or needed his mechanic assistance, Ah Keng, believe me, will without fail offer his services to me. That’s the kind of “bond” that exists between, this “instructor” and his mechanic, Ah Keng.

Ah Keng has been a mechanic for many years now. He is full of experience. He’s good at “modifying” parts which are sometimes not available. His “charges” maybe on the high side, but nevertheless, he is good at what he does. I for one, do not mind him charging higher fees on his services. I feel satisfied with the type of services he provides.

I have many more mechanic friends who have yet to be highlighted. It looks as if they will have to be talked about in another article some other time. Mechanics like part timers Abbas, who passed away just recently and Raman, from nearby Taman Sentosa, are but some of the many other mechanics who have provided me good services especially where repairs are concerned.

To all of them, I would like to extend to them my thanks and gratitude. As they say, without all of you (mechanics), I would be lost! You have all contributed a lot to the upkeeping of many of my second hand “jalopies” I used years ago. Once again, thank you all!

When my colleague, Mat Saat Bin Daruan, a Javanese by descent, invited me to his first daughter Ina’s wedding, a few years ago, unfortunately I failed to attend it. Infact, I did apologise profusely for it.

What happened at that time was, “Satay”, as my close friend is fondly known as, among driving school circles, had placed all his invitation cards with a counter clerk at the institute where I was attached to at Kg. Jawa, Klang. The above girl failed to distribute the cards to all of us.

Although my close buddy was rather disappointed that I failed to attend his first daughter’s wedding, I was infact not to be blamed.

According to Malaysian Customs, be it Chinese or Malay, it is very unbecoming for a close friend not attending a wedding invitation. If he or she does not reciprocate by attending someone’s wedding reception, he can be said to have broken the norms of social behaviour.

If one is unable to attend the reception, the correct way to behave is to tell the family or person inviting us about it. The least that a person who has been invited should ideally do is to convey “greetings” and send “congratulations” to the family. The best alternative is to send a “present” or a “red packet”, as the Chinese usually do to the family concerned.
This time around, my driving school and close buddy, Mat Saat or “Satay” personally handed me the invitation to his first son, Alang’s (as he is known) wedding which was to be held on the auspicious day of 1st January 2011 or 1.1.11.

Upon handing the invitation to me, Mat Saat reminded me, “It’s new year’s day. Make sure you are at my son’s wedding this time around!” he said.
In order to not to forget this special invitation, I took the “white” invitation wedding card back home, and specially placed it on top of the prayer altar at home.

1st January 2011, being a national public holiday, for many, including yours sincerely, I had intended to go up Genting Highlands on New Year’s Eve that is on Friday, 31st December 2010. Me and my wife, Mary, had wanted to see the 2010 “countdown” at the famous resort up 6,666 feet and the “fireworks” scheduled. Not to forget also dabbling our luck a little bit at the casino too.

Luck infact, had been siding us. Malaysia beat Indonesia and became the eventual champions in “football” after many years. Our country was proud of our team’s success and what coach Rajagopal had achieved! Prime Minister, Tun Najab Razak, surprisingly declared Friday, a public holiday.
Contacting Genting highlands resort on Friday night brought the bad news, that all hotel rooms, even the 6,660 rooms at the First World Hotel were fully booked.

For readers’ information, there are at least 20 – 30 hotels in Genting Highlands, the Highlands Hotel, Resort Hotel, Theme Park Hotel, to name but a few of the hotels available, but they were all surprisingly fully booked up.

So, not being able to got up the hill resort of Genting Highlands for our “final countdown” of 2010, my wife and I, although in our sixties, but still young at heart, especially my wife, then decided to go to nearly Centro Complex, next to Hokkien Association, Klang, to listen to some modern music and songs and also to welcome the new year of 2011.

The fireworks and celebrations finally ended around 1.00a.m. Feeling hungry, we finally decided to visit the “hokkien mee” centre behind the High School, Klang for a plate of famous “hokkien mee” and barley water.
Not being able to go up Genting Highlands on Friday evening, infact had its blessings.

Otherwise, me and my wife would have not been able to be around in Klang on Saturday, 1st January 2011. If that should happen, then I would not have been able to attend my best friend’s son, Alang’s wedding, which I had planned to attend weeks ago.

Call it what you may, “kun faya kun” in Arabic, or “qada and qadar” if you might, I was around town on 1.1.11 as fate had it, as they say, to attend the scheduled wedding reception.

After finishing my duties as a driving school instructor that Saturday morning, 1st January 2011, my wife and I decided to attend Alang’s wedding at 2.00 p.m that day. To attend a Malay wedding at 2.00p.m is infact rather late. But I have always been advised by my school teachers while I was young, that “it’s better late than never”.

Let me tell you one thing, To attend a Malay wedding late, especially in a kampung, can sometimes be a risk. What risk am I talking about, you may ask?

Well, let me explain a little bit further. When many people attend a Malay wedding and those who come late, like myself, will find all the food laid out for the occasion “gone”. Well, the nasi tomato was there alright and still hot, I would say. But the others, “ayam masak merah”, “ayam goreng”, “kerabu timun and nanas” or pineapples were unfortunately exhausted. What was left was the “daging lembu” or “beef masak gulai”. As a Buddhist by religion, I infact try to stay away from consuming “beef” if I can. But on that day, it looked as if I had little alternative.

Upon arrived at my friend’s son’s wedding, I shook hands with this friend, Mat Saat, his wife, Kak Noor, whom I have not seen for quite a few years now, his children, Ena, Along and a few others. Infact, I have forgotten many of their names.

I think it would only be fair to inform you a little bit more of my close buddy, Mat Saat bin Daruan. Mat, he operates the Sekolah Memandu Mat Saat, sice the 1950’s. His shop or office is at Jalan Tepi Sungai, Klang. Saat has a Chinese wife, who was adopted by a Malay family when young. Mat Saat has up to 14 or 15 children. All his children attend Chinese vernacular schools when young.

In fact, I was instrumental in getting “Alang”, whose wedding I attended on 1.1.11, being enrolled at one of Klang town’s biggest and well known Chinese secondary school, the Kwang Hua Secondary School, which is located at nearby Eng Ann Housing Estate in Klang. Today, I hear Alang works with a shipping agency in Perlabuhan Klang. He can speak and write Mandarin fluently.

Upon arrival at Mat Saat’s residence, my wife and I were invited into their house to take some photos at their “bersanding dais”, as a mark of remembrance of our visit there. I went to attend my friends’ son’s wedding, as a mark of respect for him, Mat Saat because he was the one who so graciously allowed this instructor the use of his driving school permit many, many years ago.

To be exact, more than 41 years ago. Without him, without a doubt, I wouldn’t have been have got my “S.M.2” certificate or “certificate” to instruct, way back in 1971.

Attending his son’s wedding, a few weeks ago on 1.1.11, was in a small way, my way of extending my gratitude and thanks to my close buddy and childhood, Mat Saat bin Daruan. I am indeed glad and happy to be able to make it to “Alang’s” wedding! To the young couple, let me wish them a “Happy union” in the years ahead. May they be blessed with lots and lots of children!

1st of January, 2011, has turned out to be a memorable day, after all.