My Ex Teacher

My ex teacher Dr. Vijaya Samaravickrama was featured in the Sunday Star. After 50 years of teaching Dr. Vijaya has decided to retire though the desire to teach still burns bright within him. Read the full article on this link below:

http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2007/10/21/education/18942639

To Dr. Vijaya, I say thank you for all the knowledge that I have gained from you. Enjoy your retirement and may god bless you with the best of health.

Read my earlier blog about him here.

Friday Oct, 26 2007

He had just switched on his handphone to call his wife in KL since he had switched it off during the flight from KL to Kota Bharu. I managed to call him after failing to reach him since 8.30 am when he was supposed to reach Kota Bharu. How surprised he was when I identified myself and he was wondering how on earth I managed to get his phone number. (He admitted that he forgot that he gave me the number via email 2 days ago. Age must have caught up with him I guess).
Mr. Vijaya immediately came out from the venue where he was scheduled to lecture on Buddhism at 10.00 am. He gave me a warm hug. After 45 years of seperation, the meeting was definitely nostalgic. It was then 9.15 am and I know at the most I have 30 minutes of his time.
After the usual how are you and all that preliminaries, I updated him on who is still around in Pasir Mas that he once knew. He was happy to know that En. Mahmood Yaacob, En. Zain Mahmood his former teacher colleagues at Sultan Ibrahim Primary School Pasir Mas and fellow Kirkby mates are still around and so is En Ahmad Rahman the former HM of Sultan Ibrahim Primary School. He was sad to know that Mahmood Mohd Zain who played The Witch in his MacBeth has passed away some years earlier.

Though he would be staying back in Kota Bharu for the night, his schedule of lectures was full till the night. He promised to allocate the evening to meet his friends and us his ex-students the next time he visits Kota Bharu which is done twice a year.

By his admission, he is not internet savvy and was arm twisted to use the email by his boss at Taylors' College that all future notices will be via email only and if he fails to attend meetings, he will have to face the consequences. A staff of Taylors' was assigned to assist him to learn how to email.

Sir, its only your refusal to learn that prohibit you from enjoying the good of the internet. If only you would open yourself to it, there is so much more that you can contribute to society and your religion via the net especially on the subject of World Religions which you specialize in.

Mr. Vijaya tried to dissuade me from addressing him as Sir, just call him Vijaya as we are now friends he said. I told him that he is the rare few that I will call Sir in this life, so please allow me to address him as that.

The staff at Taylors College addressed him as Dr. Vijaya when I was trying to first get in touch with him. So I have been presuming that he had done his Doctorate which doesn't seem to be the case as he admitted during the meeting. My apology to Mr. Vijaya and everyone else for the misrepresentation.

Taylors' College wont be retiring him just yet. They failed to find a suitable replacement to this teacher called Vijaya Samaravickrama to teach on Drama and World Religions. Thus he will contribute to society the way he knows best, by teaching.

Need I tell you who is the man in the white shirt?

Posted by Pak Zawi at Wednesday, October 24, 2007 17 comments

Hostel life - Part 3 The Final Year

The final year in school and also meant the final year in the hostel. It was 1968 and the school received its first intake of 6th formers. Since there was already form 6 classes in Sultan Ismail College in Kota Bharu for the English medium classes, our school Sultan Ibrahim Secondary School started its form six to cater for the Malay medium students from all over Kelantan. If I were to join the 6th form classes for my Higher School Certificate, I will have to go to Sultan Ismail College.

This was the year my class of fifth formers was facing the School Certificate of Examination as well as the Malaysian Certificate of Examination. Two certificates in one examination sitting. (I am still vague about the concept but what I know is that if you fail the English subject you wont get the School Certificate).

Due to peer pressure among the hostelites, we studied hard for the examination. Most of us studied late into the night. Towards the end of the year we could discern each others sunken eyes due to lack of sleep. Particularly noticeable was Gani Senik's skin which became so loose that it could be pulled against the flesh. That is really hardwork. I took a much less strenuous approach and didn't burn the midnight oil too much until very near the examination itself. I was too busy with my co curriculum activities.

The teachers had abandoned their boycott of the extracurricular activities and we seemed to be making up for lost times. The calendar was full of activities. All school societies were moving at full speed. Every weekends were slated for at least an activity, sometimes two. So much so that we were hard up for a place to hold our activities and even the hostel canteen was made a venue.

The hostel was located within the school fenced up compound and just next to the school field. Most of the hostelites were active in sports and were represented in every almost sport. An obvious sportsman was the late Abas Akbar. He was an icon of a sportsman and excelled in almost every sport, be it athletics or team games.

Once a week we had free nights where we were free to do our own things. We could opt not to study on that particular night. One particular free night we had nothing better to do and we were hungry. Some of us decided to collect unripe 'bachang' fruits (a poor cousin of the mango with thick skin and large seed. Half of the pulp is fibrous nevertheless quite nice to eat when ripe) on a tree at the fringe of the school field. The field is a common field shared together with the primary school. It so happened that the particular 'bachang' tree was more on the primary school side and almost immediately infront of the semi-detached quarters occupied by both the primary and secondary school headmasters.

Mr. Ahmad Rahman, the primary school headmaster was the first to notice our group of raiders and he informed our headmaster of what we were doing. The late Mr Yusoff Ghouse was our headmaster (He was the father of Puan Marina Yusoff the famous lawyer cum politician). He came towards us and told us to go back to the hostel. He told us there were ghosts on the 'bachang' tree which of course we didnt believe. Out of respect we backed off carrying with us the few fruits that were plucked down by the climbers. Everything would have gone off peacefully if not for the realization that one of the three climbers was still on the tree. He was Ibrahim Hussein.

Some of us decided to go and look him up. Instead of just a few, almost all of the 60 hostelites followed and the noise made was so loud that Mr Yusoff Ghouse thought we were defying his orders to leave the fruit tree alone. Ibrahim Hussein was indeed still on the tree shaking with fright and couldnt climb down. He was coaxed to climb down from the tree. By then Mr Yusoff Ghouse was already running after us. Pandemonium broke loose and we ran helter skelter in every directions. He angrily chased us. He tried to catch one of us but we were too fast for an old man of his age. The school compound was our home and even in the darkness of the night we could run away and hide from him behind the many school buildings. At one point he was banging on the door of one of the classrooms thinking that we were hiding in one, where as we were actually hiding behind the building. He finally went back to the hostel building and surprise of all surprises he managed to catch hold of one of us by the name of Nik Hasan Nik Mat. (Nik Hassan's last post was a DSP at Shah Alam Police Contingent). Nik Hassan could have easily eascaped from the HM's hold had he wanted to but out of respect he apologized to him and followed him.

With Nik Hasan in his hold he called the hostel master Mr. G. Thanda and asked us to gather in the school teacher's common room. Prior to the gathering, Mr. Thanda asked us to meet in the hostel's canteen as he wanted to know the reason for all the fracas. He called on me to speak up. I told him that 'it was sheer panic' that we ran away when the headmaster came after us after we went to rescue Ibrahim Hussein from the tree. He gave us his fatherly smile and we know that he wasn't angry with us. After all we were a bunch of hungry young boys on a free night and we didnt mean any harm. The noticeable absence in the meeting with the hostel master was Aziz Ahmad (Major retired) who chose to escape by climbing over the school fence to avoid being caught. Aziz Ahmad was one of the hostel's prefect. There and then Mr. Thanda stripped him of the hostel's prefect-ship.

We were gathered in the teacher's common room at the school. It was almost midnight. One by one we were made to bend over and had our butt caned by Mr. Thanda. The number of strokes depended on the age and size of the boy. The smallest and youngest from the primary school received one stroke depending on the command from the headmaster. The bigger ones received 5 strokes. When it came to Abbas Akbar's turn the HM said "that boy is a big bull, give him five". We know Mr. Thanda was pulling the punches because he was using the middle of the cane instead of the tip of it and the blow was not at full strength. The HM realized it and he wanted to take over the caning. "If you dont know how to cane, let me cane them myself". Of course Mr. Thanda wouldn't let him but instead made it appear that he was hitting us harder.

If the Malaysian Guinness Book of records was in existence then, this could have easily be entered as a record as the largest number of pupils (more than 50) being caned in one session for the same offense. I dare say that this record will never ever be bettered anywhere anytime.

At the school assembly the next Sunday, the HM announced what happened but he obviously omitted telling the real cause of the pandemonium. He told the assembly that he had never been made to run that much in his life. Other than the hostel students, the rest of the assembly was very vague on what really happened on that night.

That was the most memorable event in my hostel life. I would like to put this as a record for all who were involved to cherish and maybe relive the event with their children or even the grand children. Since Mr. Ahmad Rahman who hailed from Penang chose to reside in Pasir Mas after his retirement, I will meet him to tell the whole story before the coming Hari Raya.

The exam came at the end of the year. When the result was released at the early part of 1969, 13 of us from the hostel passed the exam with a grade one in at least one both the SC and MCE. Quite an achievement for students who were very active in sports and other extra curricular activities.

The old wooden hostel was later demolished after a double storey new building was built to replace it. To many of us and the former teachers, the old hostel building was home for some years of our life. Camaraderie and brotherhood was instilled among us as a family away from home. Memories of our life then will forever be cherished.

Posted by Pak Zawi at Thursday, September 13, 2007 20 comments

Hostel life - Part 2

Ashaari Amin (now Tuan Haji) was instrumental in getting me back to stay in the school hostel.

Prior to that I was staying with my foster mother on the fringe of Pasir Mas town. We were in form 4 then. Reading story books was my main priority then compared to studying for my exam. Since School Certificate of Examination ws only due in 1968, I thought studying for the exam can be done during the year itself.

During a discussion on Biology, Ashaari asked me to describe the alimentary system. He was horrified to know that I couldnt describe it. The alimentary system was elementary to students of a science class who was due to sit for the School Certificate of Examination in slightly more than a year's time.

He immediately asked me to move in to the hostel and promised to talk to the hostel master for a place for me. I definitely qualify to stay in the hostel with my home being located 10 miles away. Compare that to Ashaari's home which was just 1 mile away from the gate of the school.

A short letter addressed to the Hostel Master Mr. G. Thanda and handing the letter personally to him was all it took to enable me to join the hostel life for the second time.

I cant recall the exact date of my return to the hostel nor could I recall how I carried my beddings and few belongings to the hostel. Being a school prefect I was automatically appointed as the hostel prefect. Life changed for the better for me since now I will be going to class without an empty stomach. Meals will be regular. There will be at least 5 meals a day including mid morning tea break and afternoon tea. There will also be games in the evenings and prep class after dinner till 11 pm for the seniors. Those who were in form 5 will continue studying till the wee hours. The regular study among peers helped me with my grades.

Mr G Thanda demonstrated how to be an effective Hostel Master. As a hostel master we rarely see him around the hostel except during the occassional walk around the dorm. One day during prep class, one of us by the name of Abdul Rahman Hasan Koya (now deceased) fooled around by going out of the class and made silly dance movement. The next minute we saw Mr. Thanda walked over to him and in the sight of everyone he gave him several tight slaps on both cheeks. He felled down and Mr Thanda helped to bring him up on his feet then the slapping was continued . That was the one and only time that we saw Mr. Thanda punished any one of us and the impact was long lasting. Though we don't see him around, he could be somewhere in the darkness watching us.

One of the most memorable incident in my hostel life that year was when I got drenched with a small bucket of water while in deep slumber one night. I must have been boastful after prep class and somebody thought that I needed to be taught a lesson for that. The way they usually did it was to place a container full of water on your mosquito net while you were sound asleep. The weight of the container full of water will gradually lower the container until it finally reached a certain level whereby any body movement will make the container spill its content on you. It was more like a time bomb that will drench your body and not only your blanket but also the matress. I got mine on on a night when Pasir Mas was at the height of the monsoon season and flood water was nearing the level of overflowing the Kelantan river bank.

I was so frustrated that I took my revenge on the most innocent of persons who happened to sleep on the bunk above me. The victim cursed aloud and the dormitory light was switched on. With lots of guilt, I pretended to be asleep. The person who slept above me was none other than my best friend Ghani Senik (now Tuan Haji). So Tuan Haji, as I have confessed today in my email reply to you, I was the one who caused your cold discomfort that night. I believed many knew that I was the one who did it but they just didnt point me out.

There was not really much to recall for the year of 1967. More so when the teachers boycotted all extra curricular activities and we were left on our own to do any activites.

Part 3 will describe my final year of stay in the hostel of Sultan Ibrahim Secondary School Pasir Mas. It constituted the most memorable part of my hostel life.

Posted by Pak Zawi at Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7 comments

The Teachers Of Pld - Mr.Vijaya Samavickrama

My earlier years of schooling began in a rural school called Sekolah Kebangsaan Kangkong, Pasir Mas, Kelantan. I was there from year one to year four. The teachers there didnt leave much impression on me except for the very nice Cikgu Aziz and the very fierce Cikgu Ramli. Cikgu Ramli never taught my class. He was teaching in another class next to mine one day and it happened that our own class teacher didnt come in at that time. Being free and not supervised, some of us went out of the class and saw many pupils in the next room were being punished by standing on their chairs by Cikgu Ramli. They immediately rushed in when Cikgu Ramli saw them outside his class. His stern look alone could scare the shit out of us. I was not in the group but out of curiousity I went out to see what was hapening in the next class. Cikgu Ramli caught the sight of me and he came after me. He gave me two whacks of the rotan. The lashes were so severe that it took the whole day for the welt to disappear. My thin shirt didnt help me much. Sympathetic class mates looked at my back and saw the two distinct parallel grooves left by the cane. From that time onwards I hate Cikgu Ramli. I felt the punishment was too severe for the offence that I made and I was physically too small to endure that two of his best strokes.

The next phase of my life involve a certain teacher by the name of Mr Vijaya Samaravickrama. To him I would like to dedicate this section.

After the 4 years stint in the Malay School I was fortunate to be accepted into a Special Malay Class in Sultan Ibrahim Primary School Pasir Mas. That was in 1961. The Special Malay Class was a two year transition program for Malay school pupils to enter the English school at standard 6. This is the earliest entry for malay school pupils to an English school. We can also enter form one in an English secondary school after completing standard six in a Malay or a Chinese school. Entry to form one was after undergoing a one year remove class.

What is special about this Special Malay Class is, it is not just for Malays. We have the Chinese and Thai pupils too but they were from Malay rural schools as well. I can remember two classmates by the name of Khoo Cheng Ho (deceased) and Foo Kheng Hwa.

Our class had a very special teacher by the name of Vijaya Samaravickrama (now Dr). He is of Sri Lankan ancestry but to our limited knowledge he was an Indian. A graduate of Kirkby Teachers Training College in England, I would consider him to be my best teacher. He was extremely tolerant of our ignorance and stupidity. The first teacher that we have in the English School whereby the teacher couldnt speak a word of Malay and the pupils couldnt speak a word of English.

The first day in class started as such:

Mr. Vijaya: Good morning children.
Pupils: Good morning children.
Mr. Viajaya: No you must answer 'good morning sir'.
Mr Vijaya: Good morning children
Pupils. Some answered Good morning sir while the rest answered good morning children.
Mr. Vijaya: Good morning children.
Pupils: Good morning sir.

At the end of the day another communication problem cropped up. Some pupils have to take the evening train. Since we were in the afternoon session, the class only ended after the time for the train to leave. These pupils asked Mr Vijaya for permission to leave early in order to catch the train. Since Mr. Vijaya couldn't understand Malay, they used all sort of gesticulations to make him understand the request. All attempts failed. Help came in the form of a senior pupil who passed by the class. He informed Mr Vijaya of their predicament and before Mr Vijaya could say yes they bolted out because the train was already hooting their horns at the station which was situated almost a kilometer from the school. The next day we heard they did manage to catch the train as the train driver saw them running after the train and he took pity upon them and delayed the train's departure.

Mr. Vijaya was a very creative teacher. What we love most about him was when he told us stories. As a dramatist, all stories came alive with not only him doing the parts but us pupils too will have to act certain parts. So not only we got to enjoy the story but also enjoyed acting. During such story telling times he would vent his frustrations with the dunces in the class. Either the dunces will be asked to act the part on a table or he will shake his/her head as a form of punishment. I guess not many of us realised that.

Art and craft is another interesting time with Mr Vijaya. He had so much to teach us and he taught us as much as he could. Thats learning and from a teacher who is so passionate about his job, we learnt alot and very fast. By the end of year one, we could understand English though speaking it is still a problem what more with our Kelantanese tounge which make our English sound with a different twang.

Our class teacher in Special Malay Two was Cikgu Hashim Mohamad. A great artist who could paint with withwater colours and produce great artwork. At least to my eyes. Unfortunately he didnt teach us art and so none of his ability rub off on us.

In year three we joined standard six. The three classes of Special Malay Class were combined with the 3 classes from standard five. The new 6 classes of standard Six were named by the letters A to E and we were streamed based on our exam result.

Again I was fortunate to have Mr. Vijaya as our English teacher of Standard Six A. A teacher who laid the base for our English education and someone whom we know, like and trust. Mr. Vijaya was also the hostel Master for the combined Secondary and Primary School. During his tenure at the primary school, he was also involved in many activities such as drama productions and other literary activities such as debates and elocutions in The Secondary School. Shakespeares plays such as MacBeth and Julius Ceasar were staged in this East Coast school during his time and if I remember it right it was carried in The Straits Times then. Later he produced Androclus And the Lion whereby he played the leading role. Unfortunately it was staged in Kota bharu and it was too faraway for me to see. As I was alwayss interested in these activities I will always snooping around to such functions. It was such experiences that helped me to create activities for my English Literary and Debating Society of which I was Chairman. This was when I was in form 5.

Mr. Vijaya was transfered out of the school in 1963. Later he lectured in UITM and the last we were in contact in 2005 he was lecturing in Taylors College. A teacher who will teach as long as he is capable to teach. To you sir, I am indebted for life.

Hostel Life Part1

Hostel life was the most memorable part of my life. Till this day I vividly remember those days when we lived in a hostel within the school compound at Sultan Ibrahim School (SIS) in Pasir Mas, Kelantan. I had the opportunity to experience life in the the same hostel twice. The first time was when I was in standard six way back in 1963 and again when I was in form 4 in 1967 till I left the school after completing my form five that was after doing my School Certificate and Malaysian Certificate Examination in 1968.

The same hostel catered for both the primary and the secondary school. As such there was a mix from the smallest from standard one to form 5 later from the sixth form living in the hostel. Later the school opened up Sixth Form classes for the Malay medium students. English medium students had to go to Sultan Ismail College in Kota Bharu to do their sixth form and sit for the Higher School Certificate examination.

During my first stint at the hostel, the hostel master was Mr Vijaya Samaravickrama. Mr Vijaya was my class teacher when I was in Special Malay Class 1 and teaches us again when I was in Standard Six.

Each hostelite was given a a bed. Its either a lower berth or the upper ones depending on the availability. They were the Vono Steel double decker beds. The seniors will ofcourse had the first choice. You have to bring your own beddings including mattress, pillow, bedsheet, blanket and pillow covers. The kind of matress you bring depended on how wealthy you are. The son of an Army captain brought a dunlopillo mattress with a matching pillow. Others mostly own locally made kapok mattress and pillows. Making up bed is the most important ritual in the morning. An inspection by the hostel prefect on duty with everyone standing by their bed ensured that all beds are made before going to breakfast. Bedsheet must be unruffled and the sides firmly tucked under the matress. The blanket must also be neatly folded and placed on the end where we lay our feet when we sleep. Anybody who failed to make up bed will be punished by the prefect and made to clean up the toilet the next day much to the enjoyment of the persons who were on roster duty for the day to clean up the toilet. The toilet will be inspected too to ensure that those on roster did it properly. Failure means having to do it again before being allowed to go for breakfast.

Another personal allocation is the cupboard for the seniors and cubicles for the juniors or kids. The cubicles are also known as lockers. This is where our personal belongings were kept. The prefect may also announce a locker inspection and everyone will standby their lockers to for inspection. This ensured that lockers were neatly kept at all times.

Another regulation maintained during Mr Vijaya's time was for every hostelite to have their own set of fork and spoon for dinner. This is personally owned and used for dinner. Everyone are required to use for and spoon during dinner. Dinner was a quiet affair and no onle is allowed to speak during dinner. Even noise from the fork and spoon is not allowed. So evryone must observe the best way to use the fork and spoon so that no noise is produced. When things got noisy, a sharp rebuke from the hostel headboy or from one of the prefect at the main table never failed to bring complete silence.

This habit was inculcated in us so early in life that till this day I am still observing it and passing it on to my children. How annoyed I would be if I were to hear people eating with loud noise when using the fork and spoon in a restaurant. It shows a poor upbringing of the person involved.

For those who were on roster for the day must also water the flowers using either watering cans or water hoses. The older students usually get to use the hoses and the poor small kids had to carry the watering cans or pails.
Those who are not assigned to do watering the flowers were free to play games or practice for the sport events.

Preps or study is done after dinner. Everybody must be in prep class. A hostel prefect will take care of one group which did their prep in the school classrooms. They will only be released at 10.00 pm to go back to the hostel. Lights would be out at 11.00 pm.

Very few of us could afford to send our clothes to be washed by cleaners. Those who love to wash daily do it whenever they were free. Weekends were washing days for most

Once a week we had a free day. The free day bagan on Friday night. Freedom means we were free to go out of the school compound but not allowed to go home. The free day will continue until 6.00 pm on Saturday. Sunday was a school day in Kelantan.

Such were the regulations in a hostel. The hostel prefect were the enforcer and not many dared to break them. Some who dared to sneak out to town on non free nights found their beddings outside the hostel the next day and were told to move out of the hostel by the hostel master. thats how we were disciplined in those days.

I left the hostel after the Standard Six Examination.

Part 2 will be about my second stint in the hostel some years later when i was in form 4.

My School Days

It was 1967 and we were in form 4 at Sultan Ibrahim Secondary School in Pasir Mas. It was then the only English school in this small town. Our Biology teacher Mr. Toh Kin Woon (Now Datok Dr) sent us on a field study to study various topics for our ecology class. The class of 40 were divided into four groups each comprising 10 students. Each group was given different topics to cover such as padi farming, rubber small holding and some others .

My group was comprised of 5 Malays and 5 Chinese. This is an all boys group. We had to walk a few miles for our field assignment since not all members could  afford to even own bicycles what more motorbikes as often is the norm nowadays among school children. We enjoyed the 4 miles walk to the village as we passed by beautiful Chinese houses with peculiar curved roof. These wooden houses remain standing to this day. According to Liong Siok Hui of The Star, this curved roof seemed to be only pertinent to Kelantan.

Our subject was Pig Rearing. Upon discussion among the group, we decided to visit the nearest farm operated by a chinese farmer in Kampong Mekasar. There are also pig farms operated by Thai farmers in Tumpat which is quite a distance away.

Pigs are reared in unsheltered pens with wooden fences and earthen floor. This contributed to the muddied state of the sty which emanated a strong stench. Believe it or not not a single one of us seemed perturbed by all this unhealthy state of the subject and everyone of us took it as a matter of necessity for our study.

While having a look at the sty and its conditions, our presence attracted the attention of the owner who lived in a house nearby. After a short explanation by our Chinese member as to the reason of our visit, the owner who is about 40 years old, opened up and agreed to answer our questions on the subject of pig rearing. We had our information on how pig was reared in the traditional ways and the economics of it from the farmers experience and perspective. We realized that he was a very hardworking farmer as everyday he had to collect leftovers from restaurants in the town to feed his animals since they are voracious feeders.

Our next stop then was the veterinary office in Pasir Mas. The Vet then was a Mr Raja who was a very friendly officer. He assigned his Veterinary Assistant Che Husin Che Musa who answered more questions on pig rearing in the district. The questions were mostly on statistics, modern rearing techniques, diseases of pigs etc.

Armed with ample information about the local industry, we were able to put up a very creditable presentation to the class and deftly answered questions fielded by the class. Mr Toh Kin Woon was very impressed with our work and we gloated on the accolade.

Now of course you would want to find out what is so great about this exercise? I didn't see it as significant either until later in life when Major (R) Chong Chow Kar who was a member of the group sent emails to our classmates reminding us of this field trip we made as students during our schooldays. He reminded us of the camaraderie that we had among friends. It reminded us of our blindness as to the colour of our skin. It reminded us that nothing is taboo among us if we can see the tree from the forest. Do you think Mr Toh Kin Woon had the audacity to assign Malay students in Kelantan to study pig rearing as a subject for field study way back in 1967?. I guess no one would dare even suggest such a subject now for fear of being labelled as insensitive to ones culture and religion. If the assignment were to be done now I could envisage that students would go home and tell their parents about it and hell and fury would be unleashed in all the media and ptotests would be held by the so called guardian of morality. Remember PAS had a field day riling Pak Lah when he was put in charge of controlling the JE Virus when the industry was hit by it.

Upon reflections, I guess the education back then was far superior compared to what it is now. Schools seemed to be the best avenue to bind us together. We respected our teachers so much and regarded them as our mentor. When we did something wrong we were slapped in front of the class for everyone else to act as a lesson for everyone. We didn't whine a bit or rushed home to tell our parents because doing so would elicit further beatings from our own father who would feel ashamed of us for doing something wrong in school.

Since it was so good I often wonder why did we change the system. Above all I regard the conversion to Malay as the medium of instruction as the biggest mistake by the country's leaders. It put the Malays at a disadvantage more than the others. I will dwell more on this in my newer postings.