As
I Remember You [MCOBA 100 Years' Celebration Committee]
by Syed Rosley
(This
article was written by Old Boy Syed Rosley before he passed away)
We
are all in the twilight years of our lives and living on borrowed
time, so to speak.1 have crossed sixty and that makes all the eleven
others so much more 'aged', I being the youngest. CORRECTION: nine
as two have already left us for the HEREAFTER. After a severe illness
some months ago, I thought I was going to be next.
It
is a time to repent for one's past indiscretions and to say good-bye
to all vices, however small. A time to endear oneself to HIM and to
strive one's very best to win His favours for an appropriate reward
in the next world. A time to reflect on the past, to ask for forgiveness
from one's friends, to settle old scores and debts, if any. A time
to 'muhasabah' (self-examination if one is really going, by the divine
laws, and to get back on track if otherwise.
With
so much time on my hands, having lived a life of complete retirement
for the past several years, I have often indulged in recollecting
the past. Giving it a free rein, the memory bank would inevitably
play back scenes depicting MCKK days, so dominant are the events etched
in my mind. Incidentally, as I write this down, it’s almost 52 years
to the day (28th January, 1947) that the twelve of us made our way
to the College, along 100 miles of bumpy, laterite road in a former
army truck, crammed like sardines as humans competed with bags of
clothing & bundles made up of mattresses and pillows and, even
'botol kicap', for limited space; followed next by a 20 or so hour-ride
on a locomotive train - the ‘kereta lipan' - that spewed fine particles
of charcoal into our eyes, and left us half-dead on arrival at the
Kuala Kangsar Railway Station in the small hours of the morning.
To
be so far away from far-flung home that was Terengganu and left to
lend for oneself for the first time in one's life at such a tender
age (nine years and eight months) was an agonising experience. I am
sure I was not alone to indulge in the nightly weeping sessions for
the first few days or even weeks. Next you experienced a kind of cultural
shock: living in a strange surrounding, in a big, rather pompous building
with all the modern amenities you came across for the first time:
to fit in among a few hundred ocher boys from the other states speaking
a variety of dialects some of which sounded like Greek, while your
own lingo became the butt of their ridicule, and behaving in different
ways. You had to put up with the pranks and silly ways of some of
the bullies, especially if they were sons of Royalty, or you might
end up in a fist-fight, and since you came from a humble back-ground
and was on Government scholarship, you refrained from fighting back.
I watched in disgust how Manaf Rahim became the victim of the bullying
ways of Raja Ahmad 'Kenok', but Manaf maintained his composure throughout,
never requiting. Dear Pop must have reminded him a dozen times or
more to never get into a fight and to always be respectful towards
others.
30
or so years later at the Kelab Golf Negara Subang, Manaf virtually
challenged Kenok to a fight after an argument over golf. I was then
Kenok's golfing partner while Garib Onn partnered Manaf. It seemed
Kenok was counting the number of strokes Manaf had taken, so when
Manaf claimed he had taken a lesser number, Kenok disputed it, and
this made Manaf angry.
The
food served at the College in the early years was unpalatable and
I had to go hungry for quite a long while. I remember trading my portion
of rice for two slices of bread belonging to Yusof Muda for several
days and marvelled at the good appetite Yusof always displayed. To
this day Yusof and I remain firm friends, and it was only weeks ago
that he visited me in the house. Eventually I forced myself to like
the cuisine. Lucky for me I could run to a few relative's houses in
KK on week-ends to 'tenggek' ' lunch. I remember throughout the 7
years theme we were never allowed a second helping which did not do
justice to our growing-up process.
I
do not blame Wan Nik for writing in the Utusan Melayu in 1949 criticising
the MCKK management for serving tasteless and poor quality during
the Ramadhan. It was an act of courage by him but he had to pay a
heavy price for it. He was heavily censured in public by the Headmaster
and, if I am not mistaken he was stripped of his prefectship. But
thanks to him that was the first and last time we ever had schooling
sessions during the Ramadhan.
I
remember Wan Nik as a very determined person to do well in his studies
and in his adult life, conscious as he was of his less fortunate financial
circumstances as a boy. He was the first among us to be made a prefect
to look after the small boys at the Prep School. He was regarded as
a very fierce prefect by the boys and was fond of flinging the word
‘bedukang' to any boy who displeased him. The name 'Wan Nik' was mystifying
to many a boy from the West Coast states. It was puzzling to them
why the 'Nik' did not take first position as an honorific much like
the other Kelantan 'Nik's did. Some preferred to refer him as 'Mr
Double Honorific'.
Of
course later on in life Wan Nik had a successful career path in the
TCS and in the corporate sector, becoming the first General Manager
of the National Car industry. From car manufacturing he moved into
the business of making shoes and other leather goods in which industry
I believe he is still in. To-day he is very well-off financially,
but it is quite well known that he abhors to 'belanja' his friends.
After
two years in the Prep School, I was transferred to the Big School
and lived in the ‘C' Dormitory. Salleh and 1 were the smallest boys
in the whole of Big School. Some evenings just before 'lights out'
we would be forced into showing off our boxing prowess, with gloves
being supplied us, in order to amuse the bigger boys. Salleh, due
to his 'miniature' size was 'Liliput' (of Gulliver's Travels a text
book in Form Remove), but later as he got slightly bigger, he was
Joe Louis, after the Famous Heavy World-weight Champion at the time.
Of course, what the bigger boys had in mind was not to equate him
with the Champion's size but rather the semblance in complexion. Despite
his small size he could be venomous if provoked. There was this bigger
boy nicknamed "Chiangaru" who used to bully Salleh. Infuriated by
the frequent taunting, Salleh decided enough was enough, so one day
landed blows on the boy's face in spite of him being so much shorter.
I was witness to Salleh's jumping dexterity to enable his fist to
reach the boy's face. I think bullying stopped after that.
Salleh
is an illustrious son of Kuala Berang which should be very proud of
him for his significant contributions to the State, first for being
a District Officer, and later, a Yang Berhormat and Speaker, Dewan
Negeri.
Yusof
Awang Omar (or was it Awang Pok) was then in ‘B’ Dormitory. He would
visit me practically every evening in the first week just before 'lights
out' for a vicious reason. Armed with a bolster, he would bash me
all over for several minutes. At first I did not quite mind his pranks
but when it was happening once too often, at the wrong time and place
- when one was sleepy and tired - I told myself his badgering must
stop. So, one evening I told him off, and seeing he paid no heed to
my warning, I went into a tantrum or punched him or something. After
that he stopped coming and for quite a long while we were not on talking
terms.
Yusof
did the same thing to Wan Mohamad later at the Six Formers Residence
during one of those vacations when we were asked to stay back as the
Terengganu Government could not afford to pay our air-fares, due to
financial constraints. Only this time the method employed was more
violent. Catching hold of one of Wan Mohamad's hands, he swung the
poor chap round and round making him shriek with pain at the arm.
There were moments when Wan Mohamad's whole body was suspended in
mid-air. Wan Mohamad cried the whole night and swore he would have
his revenge. The next day, catching Yusof off-guard, he rained blows
on the former's face so that for quite a long time a blue mark lingered
on Yusof's face, just beneath the eye. The incident left both of them
in non-speaking terms for some time.
Years
later, back in Terengganu, when Yusof lived in a Government quarter
along Jalan Wireless (now Jalan Pusara) and had a room to spare, Wan
Mohd. and I found it advantageous to be friendly to Yusof. As a matter
of fact we found it convenient to visit him whenever 'fortunes' came
our way.
'Kong
fu’ (the nickname he earned at the College) had a certain obsession
for things mechanical, especially the mechanisms of the radio and
the wireless system and therefore chose to work in the Telecoms Department
which gave him job satisfaction. In the early years after finishing
Senior Cambridge he contracted TB and was hospitalised for quite a
long time. When I was warded in the same hospital for typhoid at about
the same time, I could see Yusof from a distance from my ward, but
we could not meet for obvious reasons.
Yusof
was in Terengganu all his life, kept himself very much to himself,
so that many of us seldom heard about him, or knew when he got married.
The saddest part of it was we never knew until too late that he had
passed away.
We
were split into 'Houses'. Four of us, namely, Raja Zainal, Engku Ibrahim,
Mohd. Nor Abdullah and I were in Sulaiman House. Raja Zainal was the
oldest among us, at 15. Of course, there were others older still from
the other states, and a few had even been Carried. They had entered
the College before the war but the war had interrupted their studies.
As the most senior boy he was in the most senior class which also
meant he had the shortest stint in the College - 4 years at the most.
Incidentally, he also left Terengganu very early on to live with his
parents who had moved to Batu Gajah but his love for Terengganu was
and still is unequivocal. He wrote an article in the school magazine
for the 1947 or 1948 publication entitled "SEEKOR KUDA TUA" and that
earned him the nickname "Raja Tua". The late Yassin was fond of telling
others that the nickname was aptly given as Raja did look old even
as a young lad and possessed the deportment of an old man.
Raja
shone in his studies and came out with First Grade in the Senior Cambridge,
a rare feat at the time. Thereafter he went to Singapore to study
medicine but gave it up half-way through and switched to Arts, graduating
later on at the same time as his younger brother, R. Iskandar. Perhaps
it was just as well he never became a Doctor because knowing him as
a very forgetful, absent-minded person, he could be capable of committing
the most unimaginable errors. When he joined the TCS in 1959, if my
memory serves me right, I was then an ADO in Kemaman. We met from
time to time and became good friends. At the College we seldom talked,
he being so much more my senior (an age difference of 6 years) and
was in a much higher class. We've gone round the world together several
years ago and performed the Haj also together. We see each other from
time to time.
Engku
Ibrahim Ngah was the tallest boy which also made him the biggest.
in age lie ranked second after Raja. At one stage he was 'Ungku’.
He had always been a very well-behaved lad, very respectful to his
seniors especially the teachers and was never quarrelsome. He was
very friendly towards the younger boys and was very fond of having
his picture taken in the studio with those younger than he. I still
keep a studio photograph of him with Salleh, Raja Tahir and I, and
another showing the two of us.
In
the TCS Engku was my senior by a few years. In 1962, he was an ADO
in Besut while I was an Assistant State Secretary in Kuala Terengganu.
We were called for an interview by the Public Services Commission
in KL along with ten or so others over our application to join the
MCS. Afterwards Engku was very anxious to know the outcome of the
interview and how he had fared, and used to call me over the phone
to find out. I solaced him by assuring him that he had nothing to
worry and was pretty sure he would be successful. I had my contact
man in the PSC in the person of Raja who had _joined the MCS much
earlier, so the next time Engku rang up I demanded, rather jokingly,
that lie would have to pay me a fee when he .was officially notified.
Engku was true to his words and gave my ‘demand' a straight meaning
and parted with 50 ringgit which I did not refuse.
In
the MCS (PTD, later) we took turns to become Federal Secretary, Sarawak,
a very important and prestigious appointment, representing Federal
Government's interests there. Besides us, 3 other former Federal Secretaries
in Sarawak were MCKK products. Engku's immaculate manners and over-polite
is well-known in Sarawak. The joke went that if the three personalities
in Sarawak, namely, Tan Sri Alfred Jabu the Deputy CM, Datuk Fauzi
the then Head of Sarawak Religious Department, and Engku were in the
same lift, the life would go crazy and would go up and down without
stopping because the trio would be quarelling among themselves, each
he should be the last to get out of the lift.
Sometimes
his over-discreetness went too far. He was so resolute not to displease
the State Secretary who was a thorn in the side of Federal Administration
in KL that he even went to the extent of committing lapses in the
local Federal Administration of which he was in-charge. I had to wash
his dirty laundry later on, on the orders of my superiors. It was
an unfortunate predicament I found myself in, considering that Engku
was my good friend, but something I could not avoid in the line of
duty, a fact which Engku himself acknowledged.
In
Dungun in deference to the DO, he would first peek beneath the semi-swing
door every time before entering to make sure the DO was in the right
mood to receive him. This habit of his irked Yassin Malek so much
that one day Yassin decided he would show Engku the proper way to
do it. Thus it was that the next time Engku ,was in his usual. act,
Yassin just barged through which had Engku almost tumbling over. According
to Yassin., Engku was a TV Star for two times a year as he appeared
before the screen to announce the impending Remadhan and Hari Raya.
I
have no doubt that none can ever compete with Engku as the most suitable
person to be the Keeper of the Ruler's Seal. None can match the impeccable
behaviour and the right temperament that he possesses to deal with
Royalty. Someone swore' he saw Engku behaving like he was addressing
the Ruler in person even while on the phone - Engku employing proper
body language and all.
It
was only quite recently that we were both invited by the Jabatan Arkib
Negara to relate our respective experiences before a group of people
in the Arkib Negara Auditorium as former Federal Secretaries in conjunction
with the Department's "Pengkisahan Seiarah" programme series. We have
also been recorded in History. An INTAN publication entitled "JABATAN
SETIAUSAHA PERSEKUTUAN SARAWAK DAN HUBUNGAN ANTARA KERAJAAN PERSEKUTUAN
DENGAN KERAJAA NEGERI SARAWAK 1963-1995 devotes a chapter each to
all the former Federal Secretaries.
I
have always remembered Mohd. Nor Abdullah as a cheerful, friendly
kind of person with a pleasant face who always dressed smartly. He
was one of the more affluent among us who never had to worry about
being broke, unlike some of us, he was always loaded. He kept company
with boys of other states who were just as affluent. He was 'Labu’
to differentiate him from 'Mohd. Nor Pisang' and 'Mohd Nor Terong'.
He did well in his studies and after leaving school joined RIDA along
with Wan Nik and Osman.
After
some years we, in Terengganu, very little about him. He hardly went
back to Terengganu and if he did, we never knew about it. He did not,
believe in keeping in touch with the rest of us, except probably Yassin.
He is currently in Terengganu, leading a life of retirement and devotes
his time driving his children to school and fetching them back. The
last time I met him was in Yassin's house in Kuala Terengganu where
we had nasi dagang together with Salleh, Manaf, and Sidek Embong some
years ago.
While
holding the post of Federal Secretary, Sarawak I had to report toAlwi
Jantan besides the KSN. Alwi was then Deputy Secretary General in
the PM's Department, KSN's Deputy. When I submitted a Report to the
KSN recommending the closure of the Federal Secretary's Office, back
in i982, the KSN passed the Report to Alwi to examine the merits and
demerits of my recommendation. When he made an official visit to Sarawak
while I was there, I made sure he was taken very good care of, and
even personally attended to some of his 'unofficial needs'. He came
a second time later to officially announce the impending closure of
the Office at a Press Conference after meeting the Chief Minister,
just on the eve of my departure.
As
is well known, Alwi rose to become the No.2 senior-most Civil Servant,
as Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam, Malavsia before he retired. As
my big boss and friend at the same time, it felt good to be in that
position. He had a hand in the promotions that I earned afterwards,
and in 1989 arranged for me to attend an Advanced Management Programme
at the University of Pi.ttsburgh, USA. Alwi has done the nation, and
Terengganu in particular proud for his outstanding achievements in
the Civil Service and for being one of the first from Terengganu to
be conferred with the Tan Sri-ship. Many years earlier when he was
in his late twenties he was already made a Dato'.
As
a boy he had always been the studious, steady type of person, well-groomed
and exuding a sense of self-confidence. The three of them, Yassin,
Manan and Alwi were like leeches - sticking together. While Yassin
was 'Gone Nelson' after the Hollywood actor at the time, Alwi was
'Joe’, after 'Joe E. Brown', the clown actor of Hollywood at the time.
Manaf was 'Jack Carson', also another Hollywood actor, but Yassin
preferred to equate Manaf with A.R. Tompel, the local comedian. Manan
however could not be nicknamed after any Hollywood actor, so had to
be contented with 'Korea’.
Alwi
might not have known about it which I now own up and ask for his forgiveness.
Back in 1961 when I was Senior ADO, Dungun, and 'Pok Cik' Jantan was
one of my Settlement Officers, I had to carry out the unpleasant task
of reprimanding 'Pok Cik' for making 'coffee-shop reports on land
applications. This referred to the act of writing the report without
inspecting the land in question, an official taboo which was a dangerous
thing to do as the land under application could already have been
occupied or be the subject of conflicting applications. It was his
peers who reported the matter to me.
Manan
Othman was a happy-go-lucky boy, pre-disposed to laughing at the slightest
joke and was always cheerful. Sadness never seemed to visit him. The
late Yassin was fond of relating the following story about Manan.
in their class it became the fashion to compete who could explode
the loudest from FORT ARSE. Not wanting to be left out, Manan gave
his best shot, but it turned out to be the quietest sound of all,
yet it was the most impactful. For the next hour or so a stinking
smell had pervaded the room. After the class teacher had gone, Yassin
made a search to find out where the smell had come from. Yassin did
not have to look far, because lo and behold.! right next to Manan's
desk stood ADMIRAL SHEET in all its glory! I believe after the incident
Manan was known as'Manan Tahi'.
In
1956 I succeeded Manan as ADO Ulu Terengganu when he left to do law
in the UK. During his last few days before departure, Alwi and I kept
himcompany on a daily basis. Alwi was then during University vacation.
Of
course, as is generally well known, Manan ca.rved a name for himself
in the world of politics, rising to become a Cabinet Minister. Here
is yet another illustrious son of Terengganu whom we are proud of.
When he was Minister of Agriculture he called me personally over the
phone when I was in the PSC once or twice asking me to look at certain
things in the matter of his constituent's request, which I was happy
to oblige.
His
political stance and vaccilations are also well-known. Now, of course
he is back in UMNO, and who knows he might be picked to become a Minister
again, under the present-day political ‘turmoil’. Of course it would
make no difference to him as he is very well-off financially, as is
Alwi. Nor does it matter to us very much, as Manan like Wan Nik also
abhor to 'belanja' others.
Yassin
will alwavs remain as the most unforgettable in my life as I believe
in many others’ too, a person fun to be with. He was everything and
all things. Boisterous, happy-go-lucky, jovial, a prankster, lovable,
insolent at times. At the other end of the scale: kind-hearted, helpful
and a good provider (for his family). An emcee par excellence, he
was
irreplaceable and, as an entertainer he could be depended upon to
enliven parties. Basically he enjoyed the company of friends and would
seek them out every now and then. He made sure our luncheon group,
comprising Alwi, Wan Adnan, occasionally Manan, himself and yours
truly met once a month without fail and he was the one invariably
who would be doing the rounding-up. Yes, he had that special trait,
the drive, missing in many of us. Now without him the group has faded
into oblivion.
I
remember him as a small boy who preferred the company of bigger boys
who were affluent so that he could 'tenggek’ them. He was a first-class
strategist, one might say. He was also a boy in a hurry to outgrow
himself, and in later adult: life, in a hurry to climb to the top.
He was a person you some times dreaded to have around because suddenly
without warning he would drop you a bombshell - pulling your legs,
calling you names or telling others the ugly side of you. Just as
you were 'about to boil with rage he would negate the story he made
about you, would then pick his next victim, so that you felt pacified
that you were not alone for the picking. As a matter of fact lie spared
no one, and after a time you kind of enjoyed his banter and how he
got away with it, so that if you harboured a dislike for someone and
wanted him to 'kena’, the next time Yassin was around you egged him
into telling stories about that ,someone.
Yassin
was a very talented person whether in sports or in other fields. He
rose much faster than many of us in the beginning as a working person.
Of course he changed jobs many times to better himself and he was
an asset whenever he was employed. He never retired and kept on working
till his last days. The stories about him are quite endless. I have
written an article "REMEMBERING YASSIN MALEK" two years ago which
I passed on to some friends to read.
Earlier
on, in my introduction, I had alluded to some 'botol kicap’ which
found a place in the already packed truck that was going to take us
to Kota Bharu. These 'botol kicap' actually belonged to Osman Abdullah.
Dear Mom ('Mok Mek’) had insisted that her loving son bring along
a year's supply of 'kicap', his favourite sauce. If I am not mistaken,
along the way some bottles got broken and caused quite a commotion.
Osman
was everybody's friend. We all remember him as the boy with the most
number of 'tahi lalat' on his very fair face. He had a certain style
of walking which Manaf was very fond of imitating. Osman joined RIDA
soon after finishing Senior Cambridge together with Wan Nik and Mohd.
Nor. He stayed in RIDA throughout his career. There was a time when
we were both in Kemaman, back in 1958/1959. We are both products of
Batas Bahru and our houses were literally at arm's length of one another.
He
currently lives in Petaling Jaya. He used to suffer from asthma but
I believe the ailment has left him. Some time ago I met him at the
famous Restoran Raju at Jalan Cantek and before that, or perhap’s
earlier, at Wan Mohd's wedding function.
Looking
back over the years at past activities, incidences, personalities,
little anecdotes and the like at or associated with the ‘KOLET', never
fail to evoke a certain nostalgia, a certain affection and a certain
fondness . Pak Din's 'spring’ (cucur udang) was and still is ever
the best. By the way, I just learnt after all these years that the
‘cucur udang' actually came from Pak Hashim's (the College Clerk)
house. The information came from the horsels mouth - Baayah, Pak Hashim’s
daughter (now Puan Sri). Incidentally, I recently discovered an exact
replica of the 'spring' at the 'Celebrity Corner' at Desa Pandan.
Thayu,
the butler was a figure of efficiency despite some feminine traits
in him. I remember attending his wedding function held in the Squash
Court and relishing the ‘nasi daun pisang’ that was served more than
Thayu’s wedding. We all remember Pak Chad, the Barber who later on
was assisted by Din KK (who later on became a TV actor). I remember
this Pak Din chap who once cut my hair and grumbling at my rather
coarse hair which not only made his task difficult but caused quite
an irritation as the minute fragments kept flying into his mouth each
time he administered the trimmer. Pak Chad the Barber must not be
mixed-up with Chad,the mentally deranged vagabond who liked to ‘usik'
the small boys.
Once
in a while we had to ‘sunbathe’ our mattresses to bid good-bye to
MR. BEDBUG and his company.. As it was done collectively and openly,
it was certainly not a pretty sight to behold all the various ‘maps’,
‘outlines’ and ‘countours’ found thereon.
Remember
those times when there was an outbreak of mumps and chickenpox infecting
half the population and putting pressure on the local hospital as
the boys were downloaded into the second class wards and third class
as well. Not to be forgotten is the worm treatment exercise at the
hospital requiring an overnight stay and the dreaded 'chinapodium'
(pardon the spelling).
We
watched each other grow up right before our own very eyes, visibly
noticing the pimples appearing on each other's face and the hair on
the legs. From short pants we switched on to long pants, thereby signifying
we were now seniors. Then our voice started to crack and our libido
increased. Sex talk became a favourite pastime and we became ‘pandai
mengurat’.
There
are endless anecdotes to pen down but that is not the purpose of this
article. Which brings me to the last character - Manaf Rahim. To this
day, Manaf remains to me as something of an enigma. I have never been
able to understand him. We entered the same class in the College,
left at the same time, got accepted into the TCS at the same time,
joined MCS at the same time, and went to do management courses in
the UK (although in different universities) also at the same time.
Nonetheless, our relationship had been a series of ups and downs,
a case of "now we talk, now we don't". He was a peculiar sort of person
who behaved strangely in his young days. He would be cheerful and
fun-loving one day and morose and contemptuous the next. Sometimes
in his pensive mood, he would be muttering profanities to himself,
and then, suddenly out of the blues, he would resort to yelling on
top of his voice, thereby disturbing the peace. A little later he
would be laughing.
He
was essentially a clown and laughed to clown around. He enjoyed laughing
and had an infectious laughter. He had - funny, rather amusing way
of telling jokes. Immediately afterwards he would be laughing at his
own jokes, much earlier than his audience, but they could not help
laughing too, not so much at his jokes but because they were greatly
amused by the funny side of him.
His
obsession was tennis, and later, golf but you would not wantto be
around when he played badly. He would be cursing himself, then his
own father and God-knows-who else! As if that was not enough, he would
then hurt himself with the tennis racket or the golf club, as the
case may be. The late Yassin had lots of jokes about Manaf and would
not hesitate to tell anyone even in front of Manaf, but as usual Yassin
would get away with it. Although the two of us are not compatible
I have never harboured him any ill-feeling, but if he chooses to keep
his distance that is really up to him.
It
now remains for me to seek everyone's forgiveness if any characterisation,
as above, offends anyone. It is certainly not my intention to belittle
or humiliate anyone. I might, however, have mixed up some facts or
incidences or allusions to the wrong people for which I must apologise
most humbly. It happened so long ago and my memories may have got
the better of me, quite understandably, as I am no longer young. Whatever
the objections, I still prefer to remember every one of you for the
way you were. I wish you well.
KUALA
LUMPUR
JANUARY,1999.