20 Railway Quarters, Alor Star

One's earliest memories of one's life during childhood usually occurs at what age? To be sure, I cannot remember anything about posing with my parents and older siblings in this studio family portrait.

Our family portrait, 1951.

My earliest memories are during the preschool years, when I was 5 or 6. We lived in a Railway Quarters terrace house (no. 20) where I was born, in Alor Star, the capital of Kedah. There was a kedai todi (toddy shop) nearby and so nearly every late afternoon we would close the doors and windows for fear of the orang mabuk or drunkards. But that did not stop tomboy me from shouting 'oi, orang mabuk!' through the window slats.

With my siblings SP, CY & our Chinese neighbours & friends
(1958)

For next door neighbours we had a Chinese family and a Jew family and we got on well with all. I also recall that my mother had a helper who told me she was married to a Kedah prince! I think she concocted the story after watching the Malay movie of that time - Bawang Puteh Bawang Merah. I may be very young then but I wasn't fooled. There was also another helper, a elderly relative, who would melatah and do silat or dance moves when my older brother MN teased her.There was a lot of laughter in the house, except for one very, very sad day when my younger sister BJ left us, having succumbed to influenza complications.

CY and I (with tomboy pose!) at 20 Rly Qtrs, AS (1957)

A Hari Raya with my siblings CY, R & AJ,
and the neighbourhood children (1959)

Other memories (in no chronological order, of course) include posing for my father's new camera at the Sultan's Garden at Anak Bukit; visiting my premature brother in hospital where the attending physician was a young Dr Siti Hasmah; falling into a very dirty longkang (drain) at the back of our house; being knocked down by a bicycle while crossing the road; a guru ngaji Quran (religious teacher) with very,very long tresses; breakfasts at the railway canteen with Uncle Kam Kee and children; gawking at a Chinese friend's dead grandmother in her beautiful funeral clothes; fear of the Thaipusam 'tiger man'; my palpitating heart (read fear again) during Chinese New Year dragon dances; my first 'date' to see the movie "Sing, boy, sing" (1958, starring Tommy Sands); my awe at Rose Chan with a snake around her body as she passed by on a lorry advertising her shows!

At the Anak Bukit Sultan's Garden, with siblings MN, R & AJ (1959)

With MN at the same garden - me 'grimacing' at Ba, the photographer (1958) 

As for early 'formal' education, I remember going to kindergarten in a bungalow, near enough to walk to, with an Indian friend Baby. I cannot remember her real name but I recall she had nice hair in curly locks. Often when we walked back home, we would stop to buy snacks from a pushcart stall (Yikes! I can even remember how delicious the bihun (rice noodles) tasted! Yum!). Once we were partners in crime because we found 20 cents in class but did not hand it to the teacher. Instead we belanja (treat) ourselves with bihun and sweets!

My very good friend in primary school, Swee Lan (1958)
We met again years later while both were working in Pulau Pinang!

Primary school was the Sultanah Asma. I remember a garang (fierce) teacher, and a class teacher who once pulled on my ear because I was not 'all ears' during her lesson (ouch! It hurt my ego, even way back then!). Funny, despite this I do not recall any facts learnt in the primary school years except for having to write and draw daily 'weather reports'. But I remember my good friends Swee Lan and Bee Hoon (BH). Once my father went to a police station to report a missing daughter (i.e. yours truly), but actually I had gone to BH's house after school without informing my family! I also have vivid memories of going to the dentist often during school time and having fillings done on my teeth. My bad teeth must have been due to gorging on a lot of sagon (rice snack) and sweets then. My enterprising mother made sagon and sweet packets for me and my sister CY to sell to our friends in school. I think even back then it was my sister who showed some business savvy while I could not have sold water during a drought. Okay, I exaggerate!

In early 1960 we left Alor Star because my father was transferred to Gemas. That will be another story.

1951-59