FIRST DAY IN RI

Long journey to school

From my house, it was 20 minutes walk to the bus stop. Then I had to take this creaky and hot red colour bus operated by Tay Koh Yat Bus Company. The bus journey was almost 1 hour, jerking and bumping along Sembawang, Upper Thomson and Thomson Road and into the city. The bus terminated at Beach Road. At the bus terminus, they were many satay hawkers. They were later relocated to form the Satay Club. From the terminus, it's another 10 minutes walk to RI which was bounded by Bras Basah, Beach, Stamford and North Bridge Roads. The schools had 3 entrances. I used the entrance along Bras Basah Road. RI was surrounded by the War Memorial on one side. On the other sides, there was Stamford Canal and beyond that, there is St Andrew Cathedral and Capitol Cinema, CHIJ and Raffles Hotel on the other 2 sides.

First Day

On the first day, we were ushered into the assembly hall. We sat on the parquet floor. On the walls, there were photographs of ex school principals. They were all white men. My principal, Philip Liau welcomed us. He was tall, stern and spoke very eloquently with an air of authority. I can vaguely remember his speech. His speech mainly centred on traditions. And the school will instill in us values of honour, integrity and social responsibility and some of us will be ‘future leaders’. The “Rafflesian Spirit’ was mentioned. He also emphasised that the school have many traditions to uphold. And the school motto is “Auspicium Melioris Aevi”.

Yes, I am now a Rafflesian. I bought the school badge, tie and school bag. The Raffles colours are Green, Black and White. I was to discover later that these colours bring admiration, pride, envy and sadly outright despise.

Secondary 1

There were 8 classes in my cohort. We were arranged according to the primary school alphabet. I was in 1F. My form teacher was Amarjit Singh. It was a 2 session’s school. In the morning the class was occupied by secondary 4. I was in the afternoon session. The classroom desks and chairs were all wooden and old. The ceiling was extremely high and room was airy and really large. One side of the classroom was a large grass patch that was to become our class playground before school. Beyond this was the War Memorial. And on the other side was the a broad corridor. Beyond the corridor was the gynasium.




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SECONDARY SCHOOL, A NEW WORLD

From Kampong to City. To a new world

In January 1968, dressed in all white shirt, trousers, socks and shoes and accompanied by my father, we arrived at Raffles Institution. And of course we were very early, that’s my family trademark, ‘always early’.

Raffles Institution 'Founded 1923'

The school consisted of 3 blocks of 2 storeys colonial style building. The white paint was peeling and worn and some walls had cracked. On the main building, the words “Founded 1923” was distinctly crafted out below the school name “Raffles Institution”. There were two tuck shops that were rather run down. The toilets were huge. Somehow I felt rather disappointed as all these did not impressed me at all. I had expected something grander to match the school reputation. But in term of space, the school field was large, enough to fit in two football matches. In fact, the entire school compound was massive.

Though I was very excited and anxious, I had lots of apprehension and uneasiness. I knew life would never be the same again as in primary school. The words 'worry' and 'fear' weren’t even in my dictionary then. My father had made this choice for me and I would be starting a new chapter of my life into uncharted territory.

Eternally grateful to my father

I am deeply grateful for my father’s wisdom and foresight. He had opened the door to this new world for me. The school, the envy of so many and I am truly privileged to be the few that was accepted. RI has a very long glorious history of academic excellence with deeply entrenched traditions of honour and integrity and has produced many of Singapore’s brightest leaders. Undoubtedly it is the students' ideal place for learning, character building and preparation for the future.

'Values' added to my dictionary

The values of responsibility, and integrity and pursuit of excellence were not taught by teachers in class, but was influenced by the school environment, activities, events, sports and ambiance. Together we shared the joy of winning as well as sadness at time we lost. We laboured hard preparing for any competitions or the Founder’s Day. My journey through RI was an unforgettable lesson of compassion and humility. For those who have sailed through this passage would understand and agree with me that those 6 years of fulfilling and memorable experience in RI would not be traded for anything else.

Quotation from the 150th Rafflesian

"Those who have passed through Raffles Institution are conscious of a body of tradition, of a spiritual force which is inescapable, and on which they can fall back in times of stress."


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END OF PRIMARY SCHOOL

All kind of students

The classes were truly multiracial. In Sembawang, there were large Indian and Malay communities. I had plenty of opportunities to interact and mingle with different races. I learned to speak some rudimentary Tamil and some basic Malay. I often played in school with other races. We were ignorant and truly coloured blind on racial issues in those days. Special Muslim food corner did not exist.

There were also bullies and gangsters in my class. I played with them but I showed a lot of respect for them. They too respected me for my academics. I was never bullied or taken advantage off. There were a few students who sat through the class not knowing what was happening. Pri 6 was as far as they would go. Thereafter, they work full time helping the family business.

Year End Concert

At the end of each year, the school organised a simple school concert with prize presentation ceremony. I participated from P3 to P6. I loved short comedy play or skitch. It was good fun to be on stage. On the same day I would received by prizes as top student.

Getting into RI

Primary six ended in 1967 for me. My father had plan for me to go to Raffles Institution. I followed his instruction to apply for RI. Undoubtedly, it was the top choice school in Singapore. My dad clearly understood the significance and benefit of getting into top ranked school. When the PSLE result announced, only Tamilselvam and myself made the grade for RI. With 4 English schools in the entire Sembawang area, only 5 made it to RI. These 4 were became my travelling companions for the next 4 to 6 years.

Soon the entire community of Hainanese in Chong Pang village and my relatives knew of my enrolment in RI. I remembered I was the 2nd in this village and the first among my relatives. My intuition tells me that deep in my father’s heart, he must have been very proud of me.

It's was a wonderful childhood

My years in primary school were really uneventful but very enjoyable. Looking back, study was a breeze for me. I came from very humble background, but many of my classmates were worst and less fortunate than me. But there was no stress or worries. Perhaps then the social environment was not so competitive and less demanding. Even though we had no 'gameboys' or 'playstations', we were able to innovate and adapt plays to the fullest enjoyment.

1967 will mark the end of a chapter of carefree days, plays with no stress and worries. I am also very glad I was given the space both at home and school to grow up. Outside the classroom, education was equally important. It was here I nurtured my survival skill and learn to be street smart.



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PRIMARY SCH, GOOD, BAD & UGLY

School Messenger

There were a couple of things that I always remembered. I was the teacher’s pet student most of my classes. While in primary 5, my classroom was next to the principal office. I was frequently called upon to be the messenger. Even in the midst of a lesson, I had to go to each class, let the teacher read and sign the message. The entire school population knew me.

Playful

One day, when my teacher was absent, I was fooling around, playing kungfu with the broom stick with another boy. Accidentally, the broom stick hit the long ceiling light and shattered it. I was terribly scared that the school will inform my parents. The next day, on my own accord, I purchased the light tube and engaged the school gardener to help me replaced the broken light. My class teacher pretended not to know.

Blue back eye

Another incident happened in primary 6. That was after PSLE. I had some quarrel with and Indian student named Vikneswaran. He was tall and lanky. He challenged me to fight. I couldn’t walk away as my pride was more important. We decided to fight at a far away bus-stop. A few classmates had gathered around to support me as well as to witness the fight. It must have been a disappointment for those spectators. Before I could even swing my arm, the long arm of Vikneswaran had landed on my left eye. This fight end abruptly. The next few days, I had to lie to my parents and teachers that we had play ‘huntam bola’ and the ball hit my eyes. None of them suspected I had fought. Years later, we met up and had a good laugh over my stupidity and became friends again. Today he has migrated to Canada.

Regrettable incident

I was in primary 4A. There was a cute and smart girl in my class. Her name was Lai Young. There was one boy who always teased me that she was my girl friend. Perhaps he wanted her attention but I really had no clue. I really had no impression of her. One day, while waiting at the bus-stop, I was teased persistently in front of her. And to prove my disinterest, I went to punch her in the stomach. She cried. I regretted and realised how foolish and abrasive I was. They teasing stopped and I never see her again after we left school. I didn’t have the courage to apologise. Sadly, that was my only punch I threw on a human being and unfortunately it had to be an innocent girl. I deeply regret my stupidity.

In my entire school life, I was only physically punished once. That was in P4. I must have been naughty. I was throwing paper at a girl. I received 1 stroke of the ruler on my palm. I was the teacher favourite and she reluctantly punished me.




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PRIMARY SCH, CAREFREE LIFE

Primary 4 1964 (middle row 3rd from right)

Friends and hobbies

Occasionally I got permission to go out and played with my friends. We normally ended up fishing in stream. Behind my school, there was a hot spring. We played around a stream, feeling the heat of the water. There was another classmate that lived close to a cemetery. I find it rather scary when walking past this cemetery. There was also an Indian classmate whose house can only be accessed by a small walking path through tall ‘lallang’ bush. On some occasions I also invited my friends to my house to eat rambutans and play. I also collected cards and stamps as a hobby. Normally, we exchanged stamps. Many times my classmates just gave me.

Helicopters

As the British air base was just right behind this school, it was inevitable to avoid watching those iron birds circled over the sky. As a kid, I was amazed and often wondered how that machine flies and dreamt of being inside that helicopter. I believe my passion for flying must have been aroused thence. I am very glad I fulfilled my dream and passion. Beside the helicopters flying, the airbase was use by parachutists for practice jumps. I always wished I was one of the parachutists, gliding down so gracefully.

Flood and Rain.

The bus route between the school and Chong Pang village passed through a low lying area where a small river call Simpang River cut through. During heavy downpour, this area flooded and rendered the bus impassable. The only way home was to walk the 2 km. It was really fun wading through 2 feet of flood water and in the rain. We were oblivious to the dangers. If we were to step off the road and fell into the gushing river, we would definitely drown. Surprisingly, most of us had developed this survival instinct. And of course, parents had a higher threshold for dangers.

If it was raining during school dismissal time, my mother or my brother will wait for me with umbrella at the bus stop without fail. Yes, they had to walk 20 minutes to the bus stop.

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GOING TO ENGLISH SCHOOL

Father's most important decision

I spent 2 years in Poi Chai Pri School. I topped the class and with the good results, my father went to Sembawang Primary School to appeal for acceptance into this English school. Looking at my report card, I remembered this fat, stern and arrogant principal offered me to repeat primary 2 again. My father was so delighted that he readily accepted it without hesitation. My father couldn't communicate in English, so he asked a friend’s daughter to translate. This girl also took care of me in my first few weeks in school. I did not see her again after she left this school.

Sembawang Primary School

The school was about 2 km away from my house. It was a 20 minute walk to the bus stop followed by 5 cents bus rides which normally takes up to 10 minutes. There school had two blocks of single storey classrooms. The school functioned with 2 sessions. Pri 1, 3 & 5 in the afternoon, and the rest in the morning. It had a tuck shop and a big football field. Beyond the football field was Sembawang Air Base operated by RAF. Primarily it was a helicopters base. School uniform was white shirt and blue trousers. Strangely no school badge was required.

Pri 2 (1962) 4th from Left, Middle Row

Performed well in school

Transiting from Chinese to English school wasn’t too much of a problem for me. As I had to repeat pri 2, it was rather easy going. In the first semester, I was 3rd in class. By the end of year, I came up 1st in class. Thereafter, year after year, I was top in class, top in standard and at the end of the year I remembered going up the rostrum during school assembly to receive my book prizes. However, during my primary six final examinations, I was eventually toppled by my persistent and determined challenger. His name is Tamilselvam Muthu. Definitely hard work and determination paid off for him. This reminded me of the fable, "Tortoise and the Hare".

Primary school was really a breeze. There were hardly any homework and revision. I was able to absorb everything in the classroom. I spent most of my time playing, be it in school or at home. I was also appointed a prefect in P6 with much reluctance because I didn’t want to be a ‘policeman’ as I didn’t want to be unpopular. It was not cool as many will avoid you. I hardly exercised my prefect’s power.



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CHINESE PRIMARY SCHOOL

No Kindergarten

There was no early childhood education during my time. I went to Poi Chai Primary School. This was a Chinese medium school. In the early 60s before independence, majority of schools were Chinese which were started by Chinese charities and self help groups normally ran by dialect clans. My father was very eager to enrol me into English school. Due to lack of vacancies, the places were normally available to the better connected.

The eerie trail

The primary school was about 15 minutes walking from my attap house. The first 10 minutes walk was through walking trails use by only a couple of households. It took about 5 minutes to reach the first house. The trail was winding, both sides lined with thick scrubs and trees. The trail was wide enough for a car to drive through. Movement of vehicle created a grass divider on this trail. The trail was strewn with drive leaves. When you walk, the footsteps echoed into eerie noise as if someone was following you. On top of the noise, the trail was so secluded you just imagined ghost, robbery and anything that was scary. In my first 2 years in primary school, my mum would accompany me to and from school.

Chased by dogs

I had to walk past two houses with no fence. It was common for villagers to keep a few dogs which were never leashed. My mother walked me to school. As we walked past each house, we had to fend for ourselves. The dogs were duty bound to bark and run toward us. It can be very intimidating for those who were not use to be threatened by these dogs. It was all about human- animal co-existence. We walked confidently, maintained composure and do not allow our fear to betray us by running away. The dogs seem to understand our body languages. There were also dogs that were timid. Sometimes I carried some stones and gave that a surprise. That was cheeky and bullying the weak. Those that were hit will always remember to keep a safe distance. Another way to frighten the dog is to walk straight into him to instill fear in them. It’s a calculated risk, but it worked. Soon the dog and us learnt mutual respect and co-exist.

School Days

We received no pocket money. But always on raining day, my mum brought me hot Milo during recess and umbrella at the end of the day when there was rain. I remembered the class was very cramp with many students. The chairs and tables were made of wood. My uniform was which shirt and beige trousers. Some teachers carry cane with them to class. Being caned and standing in the corner were common. But of course, I need not worry about those.

In primary two, my sister joined me in the same school. That year, I exhibited some strange behaviour. At about 300 metres from school, I insisted my mother and sister go ahead. I did not want to be seen to be chaperon to school by parent anymore. If not, then my mother had to let me go 100 metres ahead. If she refused, I will cry. I got my way. At 7, I had decided to be independent and have been this way since.

Academically, I did very well, top in primary 2. I was well behaved, never been reprimanded for misbehaviour. I did no mischief and never bully or get bullied.

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EARLY YEARS, MY CHILDHOOD PART 2

Creating my own play

Because of the age gap among my siblings, playing at home meant I had to play alone. I had to be ingenious to create my own play. I will take my father’s tools like the hammer, wire cutter and saw to construct my crafts. Since he stopped commercial chicken farming, there were plenty of discarded chicken cages. I cannibalized the wood and cut off chicken wire to build my own bird traps and cages. This was the time I learn to use the hammer and nails. My carpentry skill actually was developed during this young age.

Trapping Birds

Birds’ trapping was one of my favourite hobbies that was very thrilling and can be carried out independently. I also remembered many Malays used to come to our neighbourhood to trap ‘burong kuku’ or ‘burong keropok’. They used one bird kept in a cage shielded by cloth. Nearby, they will place a branched laced with glue. The bird’s singing in the cage would attract other birds. When the unsuspecting birds landed on the glue branch, their feet will be stuck. This rubber glue is made from burning hardened rubber into liquid form. Then it is mixed with white rubber latex. I learned this technique from my brother and have produced my own bird glue. This glue was also used to trap other species of birds.

My neighbour also came to our farm to catch quails. They used a series of nooses made from fishing lines and laid in the sweet potatoes creepers. When the quails move through the sweet potatoes leaves, the nooses tightened around the necks and thus were trapped. I observed and also picked up this method. But it I found this not exciting. I also learned to set trap that use simple mechanism to set off automatically when the bird came for the bait. Using this method has its downside, often the preys died of strangulation. So I discontinued this method. I will blog on bird trapping, my specialty and something I wanted to boast but never, in another post.

Catching anythings that move

Other activities included catching spiders and all sort of dragonflies. I picked the techniques from my elder brother. I also secretly went to stream to catch fishes myself or with my brothers. We risked our feet being cut by debris while wading in the black and smelly stream water. Here we also harvested earthworms from certain part of the river bed to feed the fish.

I find it very difficult to describe this feeling of sheer exhilaration, thrill and joy of a good catch, be it a big male spider, big rare dragonfly, burong (bird) with unique singing voice or a colourful fish. It was the ecstasy of winning something big, outwitting the survival instincts of nature.

Admiring a newly born puppy. We don't wear shoes. Me in the centre topless. Left is my sis and squatting is brother Bobby.

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EARLY YEARS, MY CHILDHOOD, Part 1

Play, play and more play. If you do not harbour this thought or experience it, you probably missed your childhood. Although I did very well in studies, I never miss a moment of play.



Following my Brother


With Mum and Bobby

My elder brother is 5 years older, younger brother is 5 year younger. My sister was one year younger. The age gap was incompatible for meaningful child play among brothers. Most of the time, I have to find space and thing to play alone. My elder brother, sometimes took me along, I was delighted just to follow him along and watched him play with his friends. When my older brother included me in his activities, it makes me proud and truly privileged. My younger brother was just too young to play with me. And my sister wouldn’t play my games and that was understandable

Play in School

In primary school, mostly during the period from Pri 4 to 6, I was most playful. We played catching, ‘hantum bola’ marbles and miniature plastics toys call ‘kutis’. I was especially good at tops or ‘gasing’, a Malay game. Most of the games primarily predicated on the principle of knocking out the opponent position, such as marble and ‘gasing’. Sometimes with a good marble, a good hit can even shattered opponent marble into pieces.

Flying Kites

Kite flying with my neighbours was another memorable play. I have the ability make my own kites. It not as simple as one thinks. With poor aerodynamics the kite will never get airborne and even if it did, it will probably go into spiral back to earth. You need to tied the kite accurately and balance the kite with tail for stability. I have succeeded in flying my own home made kite. I was never involved with kite fighting. That will involve lacing the string with pounded glass and glue.

During the school holiday, my mum will allow me to stay with one of my richer uncles living in a landed property. There I will play snakes and ladder, draught and other board games. I normally stay over a week. It must be my parent way of giving us something they could not afford. How innovative. My mum too reciprocated with big kampong chicken. Our rambutans were ‘eat and take all you can’.


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FATHER'S VISION

Father's Vision

From the time my dad started the family in sembawang, he had known that it was not going to be easy. The odds were clearly stacked against him. His salary was meager. His age wasn’t young. He was already in his 50s. He does not have the technical skill or English language to get a better paying job. In spite of all the handicaps, he did raise a very happy family.

English Education

Clearly he had broad and clear vision. The only way for a better future was english education. He pushed hard and ensure me and my younger brother had English education. My elder brother was denied this due to lack of opportunity. For my elder brother lack of english education, he mitigated it by ennrolling my brother with technical education after his secondary school. With long term saving, he was even able to support my younger brother for overseas university.


I do it "My Way"


As for me, the circumstance was special. Very deep in my heart, I understood the predicament my father confronted. I am confident that I will excel if I stay focus and build my own life independently. After finishing pre-university in Raffles Institution and completing my national service in the navy, I pursue my passion for flying. I made the grade and never since regretted. My education after school was self learning, something I pursue relentlessly to enhance my knowledge in every fields. I have never allow my lack of material wealth to stand in the way of gaining intellectual wealth. I just soaked up knowledge regardless of relevance and without preconditions.

Simple and frugal life

Living condition in my childhood days was simple and rudimentary. We were poor by today standard and definition of poverty. But we had more than enough to eat, opportunity for education and plenty time to play as children. In school, fellow classmates never complain for lack of toys or time to play or too much schoolwork. Even without pocket money, many still content with tap water and snacks brought from home. Our parents were mostly very strict but parental love was abundant. We used hand me down clothes and shoes, but we don’t complain. We had simple rickety bicycles to move around. There was no television. But we still managed to watch some popular black and white programs from Huang Long Community Centre or my neighbour’s house. Electricity came when I was in primary 2 or 3. Drinking water was always from the well. Food was mainly from family farm except for fish and pork. Photographs of my father with younger brother Heng Yow (left) and elder brother Bobby (right).

All family members must contribute

Time was divided amongst school, play and helping in the house works.
Participating in house works or helping out in family business were norms for those living in the countryside. My elder brother helped my mum to deliver eggs to buyers. During the fruit season, he hawked rambutans outside a cinema call ‘Sultan’. He also sells rambutans to school teachers.

Mum tapped rubber for $5 per day

My mum took a half day job tapping rubber trees for latex and was paid $5 per day. She started before sunrise and by 9a.m the latex was ready for collection. My sister or I will go to the plantation to help here collect the latex so as to complete her job earlier. In that way she can be back early to cook lunch for us. None of my friends knew I worked in the rubber plantation as I was rather embarrassed to share my experience. It was really dirty and always stung by swarm of mosquitoes.

Sharing the family loads

At home, my sister and I also helped to tend to the chicken and to collect eggs. During the weekend, I also help collect chicken grass to supplement the chicken feeds. All my brothers and sister also help to collect and cut fire woods for cooking. Those duties were normally reserved during school holidays. During rambutan season, we also plucked them and then bundled them to be sold off. House works like washing crockery, washing and collecting laundry was done by my mum or sister. My brothers help in fetching water from the well.

So that’s how we grew up working together as a family. We shared the loads whereas unlike today, children share the goodies. We don’t questions about fairness of house duties. We just did it. It’s about responsibility, obligation and being useful. When completed, it’s play time. In spite of the doing what we did, I don’t recall we ever complain. Sometimes it’s even enjoyable. There was no problem of child obesity. All of us were skinny. My childhood was truly very meaningful, memorable and happy.

To be continued next post.

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FATHER'S CHICKEN AND PIG FARM

Pig Farming

I can remember very vaguely my father’s pig farm. I remembered there was a pigsty about 100 feet south of my house. Behind the sty was a pond dug to collect the pig waste, which in turn was use as fertilizer for vegetable farming. I also remembered a man, one-eye jack who use to walk his boar over the village to provide mating service for pig farmers. He was a short dark man who wore no shirt. I was too young to understand what was going on.

Apparently was father was not too lucky with pig farming. A swine fever wiped off his stock and he owed the shop keeper some money for the fodders which was taken on credit. Those days, creditability was based on trust. When you sell the pigs, you make the payment. The shop keeper gave him time to repay his debts. Of course, father repaid all his debts eventually. The same shop keeper also provided groceries services. His delivery man will bring all our ordered supplies on the back of his bicycles. I always remembered him surrounded by my dogs when he arrived.

Chicken Farming

My father and mother were very involved in chicken and pig farming. The chicken coup and pigsties dotted around my house. My father was especially interested in farming chicken on a commercial scale. In the village, I think he was the first to consider automated drinking water system for chicken farming. He also invested in the best breed of chicken for egg production. I remember he had to go to Paya Lebar airport to collect the young imported chicks.

Main Chicken Coup

Selling Chicken Eggs

As the chicken population grew, so do the egg quantity. My mum had to carry the eggs to the market very early in the morning. It’s about 20 minutes walk. She hawked her eggs along the main road outside the Chong Pang wet market. Eventually she gained regular clients. One was an Indian shop keeper who would order regularly from her. Eventually, my elder brother Bobby became her delivery man. He would deliver the eggs in a basket made of wire mesh by bicycle to Teo Lee Road, about 10 min cycling time from home. Being playful, he always detoured for adventures. Even on his way back from school, he would also indulge in his adventures. Many times, he was severely punished by father. It got to do with his passion for fish and birds. He was also to deliver eggs to his primary school teachers. One of these teachers becomes his ‘adopted sister’. Relationship grew but has since mellowed due to lack of contact.

Helping out

The role for me and my younger sister was to collect eggs, feed the chicken everyday around 4pm. In addition we were to collect and wash the water containers and replenish them with clean water for the chicken.

My Uncle's boneshaker van

My uncle, my mother second brother too got involved in this trade. He collected eggs from us and through father’s connection, collected from other Hainanese eggs farmers and became an egg supplier. He had an old van and that was the first time I experienced sitting and enjoying the car ride while following him to egg farms during my school holidays. I remembered the ride was really bumpy and really hot in the car. Nevertheless, it was thrilling then. That was probably just before primary school.

Chicken business didn't succeed

My father chicken business never really took off. With depressing egg price, and high cost of chicken feeds, he decided to wind down this business. The cages in the chicken coup slowly empty and that was the end of egg farming.

My mother continued to breed chicken till our house was acquired by the government in 1987. The chicken were breed specially for Chinese New Year. The colourful cockerels weighed up to 5 kg each, the hen weighed up to 3 kg. The meat was fleshy and tasty. Normally relatives and friends had to order in advance.

My father tried very hard in all these business ventures, but he simply cannot escape failures. Perhaps he never viewed it that way. Maybe it’s just another unsuccessful attempt. Life goes on for him.


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MY ATTAP HOUSE

My father's first house

I was born in 162C, Sembawang Road, 13m.s. as recorded on my birth certificate. The house had 3 rooms with cement floor. The kitchen was an annexed on the left of the main house with bare earth floor. Just outside the house on rear left was a well that provide the water for subsistence. Cooking was done with wood gathered from nearby and surrounding forests. Once a year, an old rubber tree was felled. It was then cut into 18 inches log. Mother had to split to manageable size for cooking. She alone will use the axe for this strenuous task. My brothers and sister help her with a six foot saw to cut the tree to logs. This was mainly done during the school holiday .

Family photo, youngest brother in mum's tummy.

Vegetable Plots

At the back of this house, there was a large vegetable plot. My kind hearted father offered this plot to a bachelor man to help him make a living. This man, Koh Seng built a small hut and eventually lived there for over 20 years. Father never collected rent from him. But in return, he gave us some vegetables and at time when we had laborious task, he would volunteered. As our house was rather isolated, he also provided some kind of security. My mum had her own plot nearer the house. That she grew our household needs. The harvest was plentiful, more than enough for our family needs. The extra was given away to city relatives and some were use as animal feeds. The fertilizers for the farm came from the chicken and pig dung. Yes, that’s ‘sustainability’ the world is hyping today.

chicken coup on the left of house

Mini orchard plantation

My father was a planter. He loved to grow fruits trees. We had many breed of rambutans, durians and coconuts. On top of these fruits trees, we had jambu, sour sops, and avocado, jackfruit and chempedak trees. There were also lemons, lime and Buddha fingers fruits. I am tremendously proud of our fruits orchard. We enjoyed picking ripe durians from the ground. I ate rambutans from the branches of my favorite tree. My relatives loved to visit us during the rambutan season. I always volunteered to pick for them. My aunties love me for my spontaneous help. Fruit on the trees are meaningless unless someone willing to pluck them. It was tiring and dirty task and often I was stung by ants.

Chicken coup on the right of the house

Drinking off the trees

We drank coconuts juice when we were thirsty. I was always very proud and happy to offer my version of fresh juice to my friends and relatives when they visit us. My greatest thrill was to fall the coconuts that were just ideal for drinking and the flesh still soft and translucent. This was where I honed my life philosophy of getting it right the first time, otherwise, I need to use the 30 feet bamboo pole with a metal hook attached to the top for one more pick. That will give the mosquitoes a second chance to feed on me. Anticipating the falling path of the coconut and just move away sufficiently to safety was a skill perfected by experience. My friends think that was pretty cool with the coconut dropping just feet away.

Storage for firewood. With grandmother

Pets and pests

We shared our house with many dogs and cats. The dogs provided us security and warned strangers to stay away. They were also my pets and friends. The cats kept the rats population under control. Occasionally we did have uninvited guests like snakes inside and outside the house. We have seen varieties of snakes like black cobras, python, green grass snakes and some house snakes. On raining days, we did get surprise visitors like the iguanas. There were scorpions, centipedes and spiders. ‘Kampong Boy’ like me knows pretty well to find them. They had their favourite nesting areas. Lizards, atlas moths, butterflies, dragonflies and all kind of caterpillars were plentiful. Many species of birds provided the music to the otherwise very peaceful and serene village setting. As night fall, the pitch dark surrounding can be eerie at times. The crickets never fail to squeak and occasionally the frog croak and some night birds chirping away. Of course, the dogs never fail to bark at slightest unexpected noise or motion. Looking back, life during my childhood resembles an expensive eco-tour today.

My 2 brothers and my sister on motorbike own by my uncle



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MY FATHER, THE EARLY YEARS

End of 2nd World War and getting married

The ending of 2nd world war does not bring any economic reprieve to my father. As a widower, managing his family in a war torn city was unbearably difficult. He decided to return to Hainan Island where we had our ancestral home with farmland. Through match making he remarried my mother sometime in 1947 or 48. My mother came from a very remote farming village and the only daughter of a farmer and part-time carpenter. In 1949 my elder brother Bobby was born. My mum said he was the first to be delivered in a village hospital. That was mum and dad wedding photo on the right. Sadly, the looks on both faces betrayed the supposedly 'joyous' occassion. Life then was all about fate and destiny.

Coming to Singapore

In the 50’s there was hardly any economic opportunities in china, least to say in a village on Hainan Island. So my father came to Singapore to work as a clerk in a small hotel called Shang Onn, owned by our hainanese relatives. A few years later, my mum and brother emigrated from China. With some saving my dad bought an old attap house in Sembawang, about 13 miles from the city, 20 minutes walk from Chong Pang. The final stretch of about 5 minutes walk through dirt trails.

Bought Attap House

The address is 162C Sembawang Road. My life history commences from this attap house. Here in 1954, I was born. Father was 50 years old then. In those days, baby was delivered by midwife at home. I was born at night under kerosene light. My sister was born a year later and follows by my youngest brother in 1959.

I had very scant memory of my grandmother. She passed away when I was in Primary 1 or 2. I never saw my grandfather except in photograph. My grandmother did not left any meaningful impact on me. I could not remember one single moment I was with her.

New job as 'Kapala'

When one of my rich uncles bought a piece of land, my father took on a new job as the estate headman. The villager called him Kapala. His responsibility was to collect from over the 70 households and squatters monthly rental. He was also to develop the rubber plantation. He grew and nurtured rubber saplings for this rubber plantation. When the rubber trees matured, he was to supervise the tapping and collection of rubber latex. The latex need to be processed smoked and then sold. Father was a responsible and honest worker. Many squatters had attempted to bribe him to illegally occupy more land and build bigger structure to expand their chicken and pig farming. For a poor man who refused easy money was truly respectable and honorable. This to me is integrity. That’s what makes a poor man proud.

My father was a very tough supervisor. All the plantation workers were scared of him. If he was not happy, he will just blast off and no want dare to argue or disagree with him. As for the villagers, they respected him. We received lots of food during the Chinese festivities as some respected him as a village head.

In the village, it is a norm to breed chicken and pigs, grew your own vegetables to supplement one’s income. Although his income was miniscule, it was enough to support his family. Father was a thrifty man. He never spend money on himself, never wasted his money in coffee shops. For him, every cent counted. We had more than enough to eat. He provided us with education. We lived a normal life and we all had meaningful and happy childhood. Father was very strict and stern in the family. His gaze alone will send shiver down your spine if you are guilty conscious. We were taught good manners and respect for the elders and the authority. Father never seems to be fearful of darkness, ghosts, dogs and anything under the sun or moon.

My Mother

My mum was strong and very hardworking. She did all the domestic chores, washing, cooking, and looking after 4 children. I admired her tireless effort, working from dawn to dusk, in the farm, tending to chicken and pigs. Now in my comfort zone, I often asked why people from my mother's generation work so hard and complain so little. Could it be economic imperative or social environment or just plain instinct to survive, or just working hard to secure a better future for the next generation. How do I explain the meaning of ‘hard work’ to today generations?

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