STANDARD VII IN MALAY SCOOL

                                                                                             Being in Standard 7 was a different experience compared to my earlier school days.  My classmates were much older than me.  Generally they were about 15 years old when I was barely 12.  There were also some girls in the class.  I think it was about this time that I began to be interested in girls. As one of my teachers would later say I was precocious.  Perhaps I was. Although the girls too were older than me some of them took an interest in me. I remember a girl who was in charge of buying cooking materials for the girls’ domestic science class who would ask me to do the marketing for her. In return I was given whatever she cooked  in the domestic science class that day. I thought that was not a bad bargain. On the top of that I got to meet her from time to time. The friendship ended when I went secondary school and she became a teacher. I had lost contact with her. There was another beautiful girl I liked. I remember a group of us boys invited Rokiah and her friends to a picnic at Templer’s park on the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur. Rokiah not brought her friends but also her younger sister Zahrah even more beautiful than her. Zahrah and I became friends for a rather long time. She went to the Unversity of Malaya and became a teacher and I heard subsequently a school Principal. She married a lecturer who became a successful politician. I am very pleased that she has done well in life.

            The lessons were of much higher level.  This I only found out when I went to secondary school.   Some of the text books used in Standard 7 were translation of the text books I would use in secondary school.  We were introduced to algebra and geometry.  I began to like mathematics and the interest continued right to the time I took the Higher School Certificate examination.  We were also taught English in Standard 7.  This was another subject that I really liked.  I wanted very much to be able to speak  English to my friends who joined the Special Malay class in an English School to show them and to console myself that I did not lose much by not going to SMC. I did not know then that better things were to come.

            In 1955 I became aware of the political development taking place in the country.  There was news of the dominant political party the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) led by Tengku Abdul Rahman Putra seeking independence for our country from the British Government.  The majority of the Chinese were members of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and the majority of the Indians were members of  the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC).  Together they formed the Alliance Party.  The Tengku as he was popularly known led a delegation to London to ask for the independence of the country  from the British Government.  I remember there was a rally in Malacca to receive the Tengku arriving back from London. It was at this rally that he announced that the British Government had agreed to allow Malaya to have self rule but the British Government would be responsible for external affairs and defense. It was here that the cries of “Merdeka” were first heard.  The first election was held in 1955 where the Alliance Party came into power losing only one constituency (Gunung Semanggul in Perak) to the Pan Malayan  Islamic Party (PMIP, later known as PAS).  There were already some Opposition parties at this time notably the Party Negara led by Dato’ Onn Jaafar.  However the opposition parties failed miserably in the elections. It is interesting to note that Dato’ Onn whose party was known as Party Negara advocated for a multi-racial party made up of Malays, Indians and Chinese instead of having racial parties like UMNO, MCA and MIC.  I think Dato’ Onn was way ahead of his time.  Until today his idea is not quite accepted by the people.

            It was in 1955 that the Government introduced secondary education for pupils in the Malay primary schools.  This was pursuant to the recommendation of the Razak Report.  Pupils in Standard 6 and 7 were to take an entrance examination to qualify to go to secondary school.  It was sheer luck that I managed to take the examination.  During the end of year school holidays in 1955 my aunt and her husband and a few of their children from Perak came to visit us to reestablish our family relationship.  Since the death of my father after I was born in 1943 my mother and our family returned to live with my paternal grandparents in Ulu Yam.  There had been no contact as far as I know between us in Ulu Yam and our relatives in Perak.  This aunt invited me to stay with her family during the remaining school holidays in Batak Rabit, Teluk Intan (then known as Teluk Anson) where she lived..  I was only too happy to go as I had never been anywhere outside Selangor.  I had a very pleasant stay with them and met my cousins in Batk Rabit and in Sungai Itek Gopeng the place where I was born.  I met my paternal grandmother and another aunt for the first time.  I heard they spoke a different dialect.  Grandmother in the Rao dialect is called “Uci”.  However there were some words that are the same as Minangkabau words.  So I could understand them but until today I cannot speak the Rao dialect as well as I can speak the Minang dialect which is the dialect I speak at home.

            However for some reason or another one day I had the urge to return to Ulu Yam.  I could not explain why.  Anyway after bidding them farewell I returned to Ulu Yam.  Kak Long was so relieved.  She told me that there was an examination to be held in Kuala Lumpur the next day.  The examination was for entrance to secondary school. And I was selected to take the examination.  If I had not returned to Ulu Yam that day I would have missed the examination and would not have gone to STAR.  Anyway I took the examination.  Sometime after the examination Kak Long who was then teaching in Kuala Selangor came home hurriedly at night.  She was very excited and told me that she was at the district education office and found out that I had been selected to be a trainee teacher.  She further told me that I was also successful in the entrance examination for secondary school and she decided I must go to secondary school.  There was no arguing with her.  I was not to be a teacher like her but to pursue secondary education.  Secondary education had never been heard of in the kampong if you were in Malay school.  It is different if you were in English school.  So I was to go to a “remove class” in Kuala Lumpur and stay in a hostel in the city.  I asked my sister who was going to pay for all the expenses.   I remembered well how my mother did not allow me to go the Special Malay Class on account of our poverty. Kak Long said she would see to it that I have my secondary education at whatever cost. I think she knew how disappointed I was when I could not go to the Special Malay Class.  I would still shed tears whenever I remember the sacrifice that she had made for me. In my heart I would have loved to be a teacher and earn my living although at that time I was only thirteen years old. Obviously she was far wiser than me.

Life appeared to me to brighten up a little. I would be going to secondary school although I did not know where this would lead me. I was going to stay in a hostel in the city. I felt dizzy with the prospects.