ReflectionsTracing our time from Bandar Hilir English School to Malacca High School and beyond, the many faces who crossed our path, the friends who came into our lives, the classroom, the building, the teachers, the gardeners... as we look into the mirror of time to see the reflection of our days gone by. thh

I am starting this column on reflections of our childhood days. Please contribute. Who knows, Ann Mean may decide to put them into a book and we can all earn royalties. Here goes ......... (Seet Quee Leong)

1 Reflections - Chua Peng Imm, GordonI remember Peng Imm's dive. He ran up to the waterside, planted both feet at the edge, jumped and took a dive. I found it to be beautiful, elegant and of course stylo lah. This was because I didn't have the opportunity to go to any swimming pool. I learnt my swimming (mostly underwater before I learn to swim on the surface) at Tanjong Bidara, Tanjong Kling, Pantai Kundor, Bachang old pottery "lake". So since then, I have tried to copy his stylo dive, especially when there are onlookers. Any interested onlookers?...QL

2 Reflections - Ng Joo JinNot able to afford the scouts' uniform, I did not join and so missed all the scouting fun. Joo Jin gave me my first camping experience by inviting me to go camping with him. As it turned out, all others could not get parental permission and there were only the two of us and Chew Eng Huan. We cycled to Tanjong Kling. I was so green, inexperienced and a virgin at camping. I went with only my shorts (in those days, don't have long pants except pajama longs) and short sleeve top. Then came the night. It was soooooo COLD, I had not experienced anything that cold before. Joo Jin, the "experienced camper" was similarly underclothed. We hugged each other and shivered to sleep. The next morning, we forgot the cold and had great fun until the night came again. We had another huggy night.So Joo Jin, when you feel cold at night, remember me. (To Mrs Joo Jin: I hugged your husband to sleep before you did, but don't worry, nothing happened.).......................QL

3 Reflections - Ong Cheng KiatCheng Kiat didn't want to contribute to our camping trip and declined to join us. When we were there, he conveniently turned up. Since he didn't contribute he didn't share our food. The first evening, he and Chew Eng Huan went for a walk. They came back, it was dark and Cheng Kiat offered us his corn beef sandwiches. Corn beef, man, have never tasted something that expensive. But one bite into the sandwich and we had to pui it out. Cheng Kiat acted so innocently after that. Chew later confessed that Cheng Kiat had dropped them into the sand, could not eat them and offered them to us.Cheng Kiat, you have to redeem yourself by offering us good proper mad-cow free corn beef sandwiches.............QL...

4 Reflections - Haron

We went on a school outing to Tanjong Bidara. Haron produced a giant lorry tyre tube. About five or six of us joined him and we had great fun holding on to the tube and kicking around in the sea. Before long, we discovered we were quite far out into the sea. Some of us could not swim. I

certainly would not be able to make it back to shore if the tube was to spring a leak.

We made it back and didn't even realise the danger then. I do now and shudder to think of my actions were they to be that by my son. Were our parents non-caring or are we over protective? ...................QL                                                            

(Haron Ismail passed away in 2005. editor)

5 Reflections - Ho Choy Hing, JapaneseChoy Hing, aka Japanese, has always been a tough boy in school. Good to have him in our Albuquequer House. He would not take any nonsense from anybody or be bullied. He had some disagreement with some boys in school and they ganged up to wallop him one day. The next day, his father was with him after school. His father called on the gang to fight with Choy Hing in his presence, this time on a one-to-one basis. Needless to say, Choy Hing beat every single one of them. I can't remember who these boys were, can you?Choy Hing, your father was like somebody out of the movie................................................QL.....

6  My earliest recollection of a school   fr iend I made was before we  started schooling. We were probably 5 or 6 years old then. 

In those early years in the centre of Old Malacca, there was a small round-a-bout and an equally tiny triangular Island. Like the tentacles of an octopus the circle shot out Wolferstan Road, Mill Road, Bunga Raya. Riverside Street, Bandar Kaba and across the bridge to Pantai Street. There was a small field beside the bridge by the Malacca River. It was here riding the swings and see-saw and merry-go-round that I first came to know Siew Chow Fatt. We played there many a night, staying on from 7pm till 8 or 9. It was also during those early days that we had my first roti canai from the Indian shop called Madras Cafe.   5 cents a piece with sugar.

At the foot of the bridge, adjacent to the first shop on Bunga Raya, every night a Chinese man would sit behind a small wooden box telling Chinese folk lore. Listeners, mostly men, would squad around mystified by his eloquent sing song voice. The people, not all, would drop a copper coin or two into his tin can. I think he told his stories in Hokkian dialect. I recalled a huge Overtine billboard over the heads of the audience.

When we began attending primary school,  Chow Fatt stayed home to do his homework. I continued playing. Chow Fatt is now in London. I drive around still looking for the swings and the round-a-bout and the story teller that are no more.   .... ...................................THH..... 7.  HH, Those were the care-free and stress-free days and I remember the playground well. In fact Aziz Jaafar and I used to spend many wonderful afternoons there during our primary school days. I remember one afternoon when Aziz chased me round the playground I ran too close to the swing area and got hit on the back of my head. Aziz got very cross and confronted the poor little girl on the swing. But it was my fault for being careless.When we were in form 3/4, Raja Gopalan and I used to go jogging very early in the morning when most of you were still in bed. I got out of bed at 5.00am and started cycling to Raja's house in Semabok. We then jogged from Raja's house down to the Semabok roundabout where Song Teck Chua used to live and then round Bukit China hill. We might have encountered a few ghosts on the way, but who cares. After the morning jog I had to cycle back home in town centre, an early morning shower, breakfast and then got ready to go to school.On reflection, I think I had a raw deal from Raja. In our future lives I have to make sure that Raja wakes up at 5.00am and come over to my house instead.

And on the subject of camping, I remember on one of the camping trips in Pantai Kundor Lee Wee Yong got badly stung by a jelly fish. There was a bit of panic in the camp as we didn't know what to do and our usual First Aider (Soh Sim Boon) wasn't there. Fortunately the sting wasn't as bad as we feared it might be, or perhaps Wee Yong's pain threshold was higher than we thought.    .................................ChowFatt....

8.Reflections - St Paul's HillEvery so often, we had early release from school (BHES). On many such occassion, instead of going home, some of us would go to the top of St Paul's Hill to play - hide-and-seek, catching, etc. We really had great fun. On one such occassion, we saw some inviting mangoes on the trees by the slope of the hill, the back of Bastion House perhaps. Silly us, we threw stones at the mangoes to make them drop and were enjoying ourselves. Of course the fruits didn't drop but instead the stones landed on the rooftops of the houses down below the slope. The house owners must have been very angry. Without any warning, they let loose their dogs on us, about three of them. We ran for our lives. Low Boon Long, Koh Kok Thye and another got bitten. The others including me escaped. After the dogs left, we were not angry, we were more scared and worried of being scolded by our parents. But even then we were good, we went to the hospital together with the injured to get the necessary injection and treatment.The house owners were irresponsible. We were only kids and didn't even realise the nuisance we were causing. Did we go back to St Paul's Hill. You bet we did.................................QL

9.Reflections - Mr Low Cheng Kim, TeacherThose of us in Form 1A will always remember this incident. We were new in High School. Our classroom was near the tuckshop by the school field. In one of the changes of period, our teacher in charge was late in turning up. We were noisy and creating a ruckus. Along came Mr Low Cheng Kim on his was to another class. He popped his head into our class, "So you boys want to make noise, I want all of you to stay back and wait for me after school." He did come around after school. He made us carry our chairs on our heads, run round the school field in the hot 1pm sun, all the time shouting "hoo, hoo, haa, haa" at the top of our voices. "You want to make noise, now you can do it," he told us. We did more than two rounds before Tong Chiew came to our rescue. He fell or fainted. Mr Low must have been worried and stopped the punishment then.Did we bear a grudge against Mr Low? Definitely no, he went on to be one of the more liked teachers. He took us for a poetry lesson outside the classroom, under the trees. He introduced us to rugby which was great fun in the wet soggy school field, especially when it rained...........................QL

10.Reflections - Miss Lucy Tan, TeacherMiss Tan was a cute pretty little lady, albeit on the short side. As a teacher she was patient and nice. Ong Tiow Wah was one of her favourites in class. When she used to ask questions, all would just keep quiet, the "no-idea" look on our faces. Once, she zeroed in on Tiow Wah and call his name - TIOW Wah. The class burst out into spontaneous laughter and she was quite mystified. Tiow Wah would just smile embarassingly. Everytime she called his name, we would get all tickled. She was obviously not Hokkien and Yoon Kong had connected us to her pronounciation of poor Tiow Wah name to mean - "f--- me". I am not sure whether she did wise up eventually but she gave up calling for Tiow Wah.

Another episode involved Ong Cheng Kiat. In the midst of her lesson, Cheng Kiat interruped her to say that he thinks that she is a sporty person. She smiled, waited and Cheng Kiat said that he knows her sport. She smiled, waited and Cheng Kiat said that it must be football. We all laughed as Cheng Kiat had already told us what he was up to. She smiled and walked away. If

you remember, she always wore long skirts but you can't help but notice her well developed calves.Miss Tan was such a nice person and Cheng Kiat, you were not very nice to her. ....... QL......

11. Low Cheng Kim (aka Low Kow - name given by Yoon Kong- again) Continuing SagaAs he could not make us run round the field anymore with the chairs over our heads, he made us arrange the chairs lying down in a row, tie our legs at the ankle with hankerchief and jump over the chairs. S. Palaniappan couldn't jump high enough and fell. Along came Low Cheng Kim to check his legs. There was no blood, only a bruised ego. What happened? He told Low Cheng Kim "I will tell my father and he will sue you." .......................AnnMean.... 12. Form 2 boys scouts on Mount Ophir.By the time we reached the midway camp (waterfall) all of us had finished whatever water we had in our water bottles. (Plastic mineral bottle has yet to be invented.) Koh Chee Wee grabbed a Long Chan Sarsi bottle from someone's haversack and took a swipe at it. He gulped a mouthful, dropped the bottle on the rock and vomited. We had a hard time making fire that cold rainy night. We lost our only bottle of kerosine. ...................................thh 13. Reflections - Our Heeren Street Gang (Primary School Days) We used to be inseparable during our primary school days - Tan Soon Kim, Tay Chin Chong, Chew Eng Huan and myself.  We used to play catching, hide and seek, chang kuah tau (two sticks, one shorter than the other), cigarettes boxes, rubber bands, home made hockey (planks nailed together for our hockey sticks) and many more ........   all in my spaceous ancestral house (No. 63 Heeren Street, now in terrible delapidated condition).Where is Tan Soon Kim? Nowhere in Heeren Street. I met Tay Chin Chong (he is Albert now) at Chin Watt's son's wedding, sadly he does not recall much of our times together. I know Chew is in Melbourne.Later on we learnt to play table tennis.  Seet Kim Seng and Tan Kim Siak, both staying at Second Cross Street, joined in the game with the rest of my family members - father, uncle and brother. We had a big wooden seating furniture. We chiselled off part of the middle side portion to fit in the net holder (hey stupid, you actually damaged what would now have been considered as an antique furniture), used Milo tins to raise the height. It wasn't the correct table tennis size (maybe 80%), but we certainly did hone in our skills of the game. Robert Seow also did play with

us. (The Late Robert Seow in BHES)Anybody know where Tan Kim Siak is?..............................QL

Memories keep flooding back...............

12) From my recollection of the conversation, the burly gangster refers to Tay Tiau Kim of Bkt. China.(staying opposite Bkt. China market) According the Yak Young, he refuse to pay him & the gangster dare not fight him nor mention it again. ......chua eng him

13)  Yes EngHim, that's the name of that fella, Tay Tiau Kim. His family ran that corner samsu shop on Egarton Road. One heluva figher if there ever was one.Behind the market was where JinTong stayed, on the same row as Datuk Tan Cheng Swee's. Further up the road still stands ChinWoo Club. Directly opposite was the anchestral home of Richard and Eddie Loh. Richard was a year our senior in High School while Eddie, a year our junior, went to St David

after BHES. Richard now resides in London while the younger Loh has taken up Swedish citizenship .......thh

13.1) HH,You did not mention me staying where Jin Tong is staying, maybe you don't know me then or I am not that famous. And I can't remember any Richard or Eddie Loh although I am staying on the same road. What is his M'sian name?Do you remember another schoolmate staying directly opposite Chin Woo Club? the late Ou Yong Choong. And another schoolmate staying behind Chin Woo Club - Tham Cheng Kiat....eng him

13.2) Sorry-lah Uncle Chua. But when you were staying there you weren't a  role model to your nephew! JinTong was good on the football field but not exactly an angel when not kicking a ball! But that's another story altogether. Richard Loh Lye Choon and Eddie Loh Lye Guan actually stayed with their widow mother in a little house along a little lane besides St Peter Church. Madam Rosie Khoo is a really elegent Hokkian Nyona Lady. She now lives with Eddie in Gothenburg.Richard was also in the Sea Scout Troop and we attended the First Malaysian Scout Jamboree in Penang in 1966, representing the Malacca contingent.Around the bend from your place we can still find Bee Loon tailor shop. Tan Seng Kee, now the boss, was our mate in BHES...thhCorrection: name should be Tay Sek Kee. Retired, no longer running Bee Loon. ....thh 13.3) I remember Tan Seng Kee - skinny and very soft spoken.  How come he has taken over Bee Loon?Staying with Ou Yong Choon was also a guy, Tan ..... ...... He was Peter Lim's (PE Teacher) nephew. Used to teach us the guitar.  I only lasted a week.......QL

14) While in Std 1 BHES, every other recess time 1D led by No. 1 King, Tay Tiau Kim will have a ruler sword fighting session with 1D led by No. 2 King, Divakaran Nair! Small wonder the lines we draw in our exercise books were always crooked....AnnMean

14.1) Ops, its 1C vs 1D. 1C was the end class of the block parallel to Chan Koon Cheng Road while 1D is at the beginning of the next block parallel to the lane that leads to the school gate. We had to charge across the grassy patch to the other block where the "enemies" are and run back when we were defeated. Much later during Std. 6, Hamzah Bacik and I were frequently put in charge of that school gate as prefects. He always ensured his black leather shoes sparkle (an early indication of a distinguished army career?) ...AnnMean

15)Reflections - Chua Jin TongWhen I think about our school football performance, I only have one picture in mind - that of Jin Tong doing a diving header and scoring a most memorable goal. Do you guys remember it?.....QL

16)Reflections - LIm Yeow SengIt was during our Form 4 or 5 days, playing rugby for the school. It was getting quite rough, so it was likely against Gajah Berang. They had ousiders (gang members?) to support their team. During half time, Yeow Seng (two years our senior?), told us not to be afraid, he and his gang will back us up should the other gang give us any trouble. Was there any trouble after that? I don't know, I only played the game.....QL

17) Reflections - Loo Poh Lam

Poh Lam was the ever gentle guy, so soft and unhurried in his speaking manner - so Peranakan. Hamzah still misses him as he keeps mentioning Poh Lam.....QL

18) Reflections - Ahmad FaizAhmad was gentle, soft spoken and really a nice guy, Aziz's neighbour in Kampong Morten. But did you know that we actually got into a physical fight in Std 5, during recess time. It got into a stage when we held each others' arms and were pushing each other, when I suddenly fell back and use his weight and momentum to push him high up in the air with my leg and backwards (I had just seen this silat manouvre done in a movie starring Ahmad Mahmud). Fortunately he was not hurt, only badly shaken. I was equally shocked at what I had done. The fight stopped immediately after that.Kids copy what they see in the movies without realising the inherent potential danger. I was guilty of that. Ahmad and I did not talk for a few weeks after that. Thereafter everything was forgotten and things went back to normal. Ahmad, I did not say sorry then but if you are reading this, please accept my most sincere, belated and overdue apology.....QL

19) Reflections - Aziz JaafarWe used to visit Aziz at his Kampong Morten house. I remember his red jambu ayer fruit tree. It was sweet. Sometimes when we were there, we had to wait for him to finish his ugama class. One day, when we went there, he was in a sarong and holding it up in front. He had just been circumcised - sunat . He did not show us how it looked like, raw and fresh........QL

20) Reflections - Loh Chiow Fun

Chiow Fun was the one with the stylo mylo fancy red/pink bicycle, always neatly dressed with his long sleeve shirt sleeve folded half sized and three quarter way down the arm. On days that he does not want to cycle all the way home to Pokok Manga, he would use my house as his half way house. From Form 4 onwards, Chiow Fun, Chew, myself and occassionally Mun Kei and Hiong Yien (after they finish their study) wasted much time outside the five foot way of my home, watching the scenery go by. It was a wonder how we ever got through Form 5 and on to Form 6.

Chiow Fun was in our biology class in Form 6.  We had a book (Plant and Animal Biology Vol 1, Vines and Rees) about 3 to 4 inches thick. Chiow Fun used to carry that book, fully exposed, in the front carrier of his bicycle to school, even on days when we don't have biology. It must have impressed some girls.

Sadly, I did not meet up much with him after school as I was away and I heard of his demise.

21) Reflections - Yoon Mun ChongBefore the days of our mhs66, I used to organise our get together annually when I get back to Malacca during the Chinese new year holidays. I usually use the telephone directory and call as many names as I can and ask the venue (usually HSOBA) and time to be spread around.   On one such occassion, I went later due to an earlier commitment. There was this chap with white crew cut hair amongst our friends. They all asked if I could recognise him.  I couldn't and therefore asked him to speak.  The moment he opened his mouth, I knew immediately who he was. All the #*+* words came out. It could only be Mun Chong.I drove him home that night.  He is apparently not too well and is resident in Ipoh.  Any news of Mun Chong lately? ....QL 22)  PE Teacher Mr Peter Lim: "400 metres round the field. First 3 qualify for the standard test".

       Johnny Yoong Yew Pin: "I'll be lucky if I can even finish last".Yew Pin, Richard Dutton and I were real buddies during our lower secondary days in and outside schools. Richard would get us into trouble but Johnny would look at the funny side and made us laugh. One time we ponteng class and hang around City Park. In the afternoon, still in uniforms and school bags, we sneaked in to Rex. Pitch dark, we found 3 empty seats. Before I could settle down one of them grabbed my arm and we scootted out of the cinema. "School prefects in other seats" said Johnny. Johnny passed away in 2006......thh  23) Reflections - Kuan Peng Onn Peng Onn, of the Vipers music band, was a good friend of Chew Eng Huan, who lived opposite me.  He has the use of a car and used to come around to Heeren St and take us for car rides round the town. On one such evening occassion, we stopped near Savoy.  They wanted to give the greenhorn me a tour of "Coconut Island". It was an eye opener for me. Then there was a shout, "Prefect, prefect" and a few young boys, about Form 3 size, quickly ran away.  I wonder what their conversation in school must be the very next day .....QL 24) Reflections - Chen Siew Ik, Pussycat

Many have asked the question. Indeed when I met Siew Ik's mother in Malacca some time last year, she asked, "Why do you call my son, Pussycat?" She was not smiling, so I wondered whether it was a reprimand.

I remember we were in Std 2E. Ong Tiow Wah and I were class monitors. Shanti was still the mischievous boy. Lim Kok Keng was my best friend. And Siew Ik had a running nose with mucus all over his cheeks one day. With dirty hands to wipe the mucus away from his nose and mouth, the mucus soon dried to show black dirty marks on his cheeks, like the cat's whiskers - thus Pussycat. The nickname has endured and stuck all these years. And Siew Ik's brother, Siew Chuen, became known as Pussydog.....QL

25) Reflections - Koon Cheng Road "Gang"

In Std 2, I had some arguement with, perhaps, Koh Chee Hui and a few others threatened me. I told my big brother, in Std 6 and he came to my rescue and scolded them. Just as we were leaving school one day, at the back gate of BHES, opposite Chee Hui's house, my brother and I were surrounded by the Koon Cheng Road "Gang" - Chee Hui, Goh Hock Beng, LIm Yeow Seng, Koh Gah Hui .......... They didn't do anything, only eyeballed us to intimidate and we walked sheepishly away......QL

26) Reflections - Wong Kim Siong, Teacher

Mr Wong was our Form 3A class teacher. After our tests, he organised our std 3 classes to visit various places, including the F&N factory at Bukit China. He had to do a lot of hard work, cycling his high bicycle all over town and came back to school totally drenched to organise such programmes for us.....QL

After BHES Mr. Wong Kim Siong went to University Malaya to get a degree and then became a teacher at Gajah Berang. He became an expert in school librarianship helping to start school libraries, writing books on cataloguing,etc, training librarians and so on. He retired as Deputy Director of the Wilayah Persekutuan Education Department (equivalent to Deputy CEO during our time). Was also a Director of the IASL (International Association of School Librarians). He is teaching part-time including at HELP University College in KL. I met him last month (Dec

'06) during the wedding of one of his Gajah Berang's former student's daughter in Universiti Industri Selangor in Batang Berjuntai. Mr. Wong is still tall and lanky and healthy and wearing thick spectacles. He does not cycle anymore, I think, as he was driving a Proton Wira with a Wilayah number plate.....AnnMean

27)Reflections - Introduction to Table Tennis

Mr Wong Kim Siong was also in charge of table tennis and we were introduced to the game then. Ong Tiow Wah was one of the first to have a fast ball serve which many could not survive. Tan Kee Chye had the advantage of height as most of us were only a head over the then "high" table in the BHES tuck shop.....QL 

28.1) Reflections - Mr Khong Kah Yeong, Teacher  Mr Khong was our class teacher in Std 6A, BHES.  I remember him as very strict, serious and a no-nonsense person. He was guardian to another boy in our school. At one term end, the boy was called into our class and caned right before us. We were quietly shocked. The boy had apparently done badly in his test. Mr Khong was also our school badminton master. He was very particular that we dressed properly and that our shoes were clean and white when playing for the school. Before a particular game, I had to wash and blanco my shoes.  My shoes did not dry in time and I was playing with wet shoes without his knowledge. I think we lost.  Sorry Kim Seng (my doubles partner), it must have been my wet shoes. He had quite a big car (or we were little then) and used to ferry us to the Tranquerah badminton hall. Once he stopped on the right side of the road to pick or drop Panja who was staying above the Church St dispensary. Being the swateng kid with no car riding experience, I spontaneously opened his left car door without looking at the cars coming from the back. He must have got a shock from a near accident and I got a blasting earful from him.  But at that time, I didn't quite realise what the fuss was all about......QL 28.2) He is the terrible teacher who caned all of us (yes, all, incl. softie Tong Chiew) in Std. 6A. I think for a month, he gave dictation test everyday & every spelling mistake you get punished by one rotan stroke.  This is the way to improve, he said.  How can A class students be so poor in English spelling? Nobody can get all right everyday. We all improved our spelling & level of tolerance on our backside. Chin Lai Ping got the most rotan - 6-10 per day. One day he came with a towel under his short khaki pants & he got caned but he went to his desk & laugh  about it which Khong saw & became suspicious.  The rest, I think you all know. Where is Lai Ping now? He went to Gajah Berang after BHES.......EngHim 28.3) Hi Him Chua,Chin Lai Ping bought a one way ticket to Heaven a few years ago....ChinWatt 

  ......and so it was, the good the bad and the funny 28.3) Don't remember Mr. Khong Kah Yeong caning us but I do remember Mr.Charles Chase Currier and his 1 cut, 2 cuts, half cut and quarter cut - depending on the degree of error - he has a sense of humour. Quite a sight riding on his ancient motorbike. (In the 60's an Enfield or a Norton was a gaya bike to seen around town..and esp. so when wearing a large hat with a pretty chinese lady riding pillon...Ed)According to Yoon Kong (this man does not get online anymore after suffering cervical spondolysis due to staring too long at the computer screen checking out share prices) Chin Lai Ping passed away a few years ago...........AM

29) Reflections - Mr Subramaniam, Assistant Headmaster BHESHe did not teach us in any subject and I know very little about him. I remember him for what he wrote in my autograph book, "A tree is known by the fruit it bears."........QL 

30) My brush with our former teachers during my stint with the MOE in the 80s and 90s..............AM

30.1) Mr. Teja Singh Dhaliwal - Was a Resource Person for training History teachers in Malacca on the new KBSR curriculum between 1977-80. I was a curriculum officer with the Curriculum Development Centre and we were responsible for training all resource persons nationwide. Always serious and red-eyed.

30.2) Mr. Jabbar Ali - Attended a course on educational planning and innovation in Quezon City in 1982. I was a training specialist then with SEAMEO-INNOTECH Centre responsible for training educational personnel in South East Asia. He didn't bring along a cane.

30.3) Ms. Alice Wee Siew Eng - Attended a course for school principals at Genting Highlands in1989. I was then a senior lecturer at Aminuddin Baki Institute. She gave me a bear hug!

30.4) Mr. Oh Kong Lum - also attended the course for school principals at IAB, Genting Highlands in 1990. He played tennis everyday while there. Looks young as ever.

It was an honour teaching your own teachers. I was a bit apprehensive but they kindly said they are proud of me and that they must have done a good job teaching me in MHS!

Other teachers I met were Mr. Goh Keat Seng, Mr. Cheong Koon Hoe, Mr. Khong Kah Yeong, all of whom were with the MOE and Mr. R. Subramaniam and Mr. Stephen Chee in UM.................Annmean

31) Anyone remember Mr Cheong Koon Hoe ?Very fat when he was in BHES but now cuts a slim figure...................ChanHoodPoh   31.1) Know why Mr. Cheong Koon Hoe cuts such a trim figure nowadays? He takes part in the annual International 24 Hour Walk and makes it into the top 100! He used to teach us Health Something in BHES. Looks like our teachers are all into something in their senior years. Mr. Wong Kim Siong is very active in church work. .........................AnnMean 

32.2) The Health Something must be something Mr Cheong very earnestly believe in. He Walk the Talk. Can we say the same for all his students?..........................thh 32.3) Mr. Cheong Koon Hoe taught us Hygiene in Std 5. He was the one who slapped Ho Choy Hing when our poor classmate newly transferred from Tunku Besar in Tampin answered "Tunku Besar" when the teacher asked us what does TB stand for..................................AnnMean 33)  Of all the Chan, Chan and Chan, Rose had the most revealing personality. ChinWatt can attest to it. It was during our final year in school when Rose was in top form. Some of my classmates attended her opening at the Sun. There in the front row they saw our class history teacher. The following night the same boys again were blowned away by Rosie. This time they had front row seats, paid for by the hush money they were given. From then on our British and Commonwealth History lesson always began and ended with The Black Hole of Calcutta. .............................thh

 Chan Clan Can

 Chan Hian Teck commented the other day that there are so many Chans in mhs66: Chan Hood Poh, Chan Peng Wah, Chan Thye Hock, Chan Hiong Yien, Chan Kuen Wah, Chan Ying Lock, Chan Leong Ong, Chan g Wai Loong, Chan Ma Lee Chan, Ada Lagi Chan?.................................AnnMean

Ann Mean,I think you left out another "Chan". He is Chan Hean Toh,do you all remember him?.................................Hian Teck.

Ops, you are right Hian Teck. Of course I remember him. In fact you told me he lives in KL now. If my memory is right the backyard of his house in Bandar Hilir has steps right down to the sea! Now its all Melaka Raya..............AM

34) Tan Kim SiakI did know one Tan Kim Siak. If he was the same Kim Siak, he and his family were staying in the apartment directly opposite and we were neighbours when I was staying above the Merican Dispensary, opposite Kg. Morten during my secondary school-days.I was quite besotted with his sister (and so was Lim Pang Heng) and experienced the first rejection of infatuation rather badly (Pang Heng didn't do any better).As for Kim Siak all I could remember about him was that he was quite vain (combing his hair constantly) and wasn't interested in studying. I saw him many times playing snooker behind the Federal Cinema.......................CheeWeng

35) Ou Yong ChoongWe were great pals together during our secondary school days. He influenced me to become a Jehovah's Witness and we used to preach from house-to-house on Sundays and attended bi-weekly Bible lessons. Sadly, he disassociated from me when I decided to leave the JWs. and the last I heard was that he passed away from prostate cancer. ,,,............................CheeWeng

36) Tay Tiau Kim (or was it Tay Tiow Kim?)He was the one we called Tarzan and bullied me when I was in Std. 1C. Physically I was late in development and could not take his tauntings well. He called me "Little little Ham Chin Pan". I cried often but did not dare to tell my parents. One day, I had enough and I fought back, and the bullying stopped.

However, this bad experience left a scar. I never liked school, especially primary school days, it was so boring and I used to day-dream during classes...................................CheeWeng

37) Yoon Mun ChongMun Chong and I did not quite get along even though we stayed on the same street, Bunga Raya Road. There were a few occasions when we nearly came to blows. By the time I reached lower secondary school, I was more physically developed and, worse of all, had a quick and nasty temper.The last I heard about him was several years ago. The poor chap had kidney failure and was on haemolysis. ................................CheeWeng

Teachers38) Mr. Subramaniam was our form teacher when I was in Std. 3C. He taught us English and I remembered him reading stories of Sherlock Holmes to us in class. I enjoyed his class because I liked literature.................CheeWeng

39) Mrs. Owen LiuOur form teacher who made me draw maps on the board during the geography lessons. As a reward she would loan me her geography books so that I could copy the maps and notes at home.The rascals (you know who there were) in our class seemed to be dropping things on the floor and had to bend down to pick them up ever so often. Mrs. Liu wore tight skirts, and what little they could see was amplified by their fertile imagination.....................................CheeWeng

40) Miss Lucy TanShe taught me English Literature and Geography in the Sixth Form. One of the dedicated teachers who took her teaching seriously. I had a few discussions with her on Christianity after school and found her to be a devout Christian. .....................................CheeWeng

41) Mr. Michael ChinMy Art Teacher in Form 3, and one of my favourite teachers because he was gentle and kind..................CheeWeng

There were only a few teachers who made an impression on me. I did not enjoy my school days because I was quite a loner. I preferred to jog on Bkt. Cina during the evenings alone and to take long hikes at Batu Berendam or cycled to Tg. Kling & Tg. Bidara during the weekends all by myself. I did not participate in most games because of my poor eyesight although I was active in Chess, English & Photography clubs.

Those days seemed so far away and lost in memory.Yeoh Chee Weng

42) Zakaria AhmadActive in scout and literary movement in MHS. No recollection of him in primary school (maybe he is not from BHES, from Alor Gajah?) Joined PTD (was in MOE for a while and gave me some good advice). Became famous as QCC head honcho in INTAN. Met him on and off and last heard is a consultant after retirement............................AM

43) Rosnan SulaimanWas a cute chubby faced boy in BHES. Used to cycle to school with him. Lived in Bukit Palah. Another old boy who joined the PTD. Was Secretary to the Cabinet and by now retired as a consultant somewhere?.......................AM

44) Ong Tiow WahUsed to cycle from Lorong Bukit China area to my house in Pengkalan Rama (now Jalan Taming Sari) and tinkled with battery run motors salvaged from toys. We fixed propellers to the motors. Another early indication of interest in his flying career................................AM

45) B K VijayanAnother cycling partner. Passes my house, a bakery actually (as he lives in Jalan Durian Daun with his aunt, a much feared Miss Madhavan who taught at MGHS) and we cycled to school together. Once as we cycled two abreast in Jalan Bunga Raya, I was stopped by a cop. Vijayan was cycling "inside". He cabutted and left me alone to face the "black feet" (a term of endearment). He is much braver now I am sure having to face all those women in UK....................AM

45.1) Reflections - BK Vijayan It was in Form 5 and after PE. We were remarking on smelly shoes and Vijayan shoved his shoe into my face.  I snatched it and threw it out into the corridor just as our lady Geography teacher started her class. The shoe remained in the corridor, which is just next to the teachers' common room, for quite sometime. A few teachers noticed but ignored it, but not Mr Thomas, aka James Bond. He asked Miss ..... for permission to see and speak to us in the common room.  First was Foo Hee Fong who was seated nearest the door.  He slowly traced the shoe to Vijayan and eventually I was called to the common room.  If you remember, James Bond had been known to slap students and again I was so worried going into the common room. The other teachers were having fun observing James Bond interrogating us one by one.  Fortunately for me, he was the school basketball master and knows me as one of his players. I got away scot free. Phew!...............................QL(Mr Thomas Mathew aka James Bond the Health Science Teacher. Ed.)

46) Mr. Lee Kin LinIt was Std 5 in BHES. He was the class teacher. One day he sat on my desk with one leg up. I was day dreaming. I pulled the hair on his shin for reasons unknown. He was taken aback and put his leg down. It's no figment of my imagination. Quee Leong will attest to this incident. I think his wife was also a teacher in our school, a Miss Chan and he drove a Volkswagen. Used to drop into our bakery to buy pound loaves. I will cabut if I see him coming....AMOps, its not Quee Leong who remembered this incident. Its Yoke Meng. Apologies, sometimes the memory is a little shaky, like the rest of the body...............................AM

47) Reflections - SP Palaniapan

Palani had the knack of reading with proper intonations, alien to most of us at that time.  The teachers loved him to read out loud to us. We were just happy to let him read as long as we were not the ones picked out. Once I was at Ou Yong Choon's house and there was this ang moh guy giving English comprehension lessons. Palani happened along and joined us.  Needless to say, he also impressed this ang moh with his reading skills.  Unknown to us, this ang moh was actually a Jehovah Witness, "teaching" us bible stories. If we had coninued with his lessons, we might have been converted like Yong Choon.Palani, how and where did you learn to read like you did?........................QL  48) Reflections - Soh Sin Boon 

Sin Boon was already a King Scout at Form 2, a mean feat as I was told by the scouts. In Form 2A, Sin Boon was seated at the back of the class.  Our form teacher, Mr Lim Han Hian loved to punish Sin Boon by making him knock his own head - hard - against the wall. This invariably livened up the class and we used to laugh each time Sin Boon had to do that .  Now being grown up and being parents ourselves, we realise the cruelty and injustice levied upon poor Sin Boon. On the other hand, that might explain why Sin Boon is so strong minded now.......................QL  49) Reflections - SPS Pillay I was warned about him before we even got into Form 1 - the most feared math teacher. He finally caught up with our class at Form 4. He once asked a math question.  He loved to start with Shantinath. Shanti could not answer and was slapped. Two others were similarly slapped.  Ann Mean, sitting in front of me, was next and I was shivering in my pants as I also did not know the  answer.  Ann Mean saved me!  He did not know the answer, Mr Pillay gave him a big slap, his spectacles went flying.  It must have shocked Pillay himself as he stopped then. Thanks Ann Mean for saving me.......................QL  

.....we sit and watch as years go by

50) Reflections - Slapped in School

I was slapped twice in school, each time when I join a new school. The first time was in Std 1A (afternoon, BHES). I was still running about after the bell had gone. This fat matrony Indian teacher caught me by the arm and gave me a real tight slap. It burned for quite a while. Can anybody remember this lady teacher?  (Not Miss Manga who was my skinny class teacher.) The second time was in Form 1(HSM). We were kicking footballs about during PE.  When we were supposed to have stopped, I accidentally kicked a ball which hit Palani. He shouted a whimpy complaint and Mr Peter Lim gave me a slap. (I got to know Peter Lim much better after that through athletics.)...............................QL

 

 

 

 

50.1)  I have been slapped only once in my school career. It was delivered by our infamous SPS Pillay and in Form 4 mind you! He was kind actually, asked me to take off my spectacles first before giving me such a tight slap that I flew back on top of Quee Leong's desk behind. Such a mean character would have been given the boot if it were to happen in today's humanistic school. I hated Add. Maths after that, the only subject I almost failed in the MCE/SC exam. The consolation is that he loved to claim that he slapped so-and-so and today he is an engineer, a doctor, etc... no litigation lawyers! ............................AM     

50.2) There were several incidents when Pillay slapped us. Shanti was slapped many times and I was slapped a few times too when I could not solve the problem written on the board. It was not because I didn't know the solution but it was hard to think when you're terrified!Shanti saved himself from all the slappings by attending Pillay's tuition class but been too poor to afford tuition I had to suffer a few more slappings.Pillay may be good in mathematics but he was an insensitive bully and I would love to meet him in person now to give him a tongue lashing. I waited many years to confront another teacher during the HSM 100th Anniversary celebration to tell him off and he took me aside to try to explain his callous behaviour. These were the 2 teachers which I harboured anger against for many years, but not Low Cheng Kim because he did not single out anyone for punishment.Its time to move on and reflect that there was something positive I learned from these unpleasant incidents - to be a more sensitive and kinder person and not to behave like bullying brutes......................................CheeWeng

53) Reflections - Chew Eng HuanChew was my closest buddy, staying opposite me and growing up together in Heeren St, playing mates in primary and secondary schools, whiling many idle hours away together watching the scenery go by, cycling aimlessly, going to cinemas, swimming in all the dangerous places like the disused pottery dugouts in Bachang, etc. Chan Hiong Yien and Cheong Mun Kei also shared in some of our escapades. We also spend many years together in London.What happens after idling many hours? You get hungry.  We used to enjoy our 20 cents fish ball noodle soup from the push cart at the corner of Heeren St and Second Cross St.Somehow Chew was a lovable person, well liked by many.  He is most well known for his table tennis skills, even able to take on the very best of those from the Chinese schools.In about 1965, Chew's family moved to Taman Sinn, off Bachang, Kampond Lapan.  There he had a neighbour, Tan Tat Chew, a year our junior.  Tat Chew had the most complete collection of comics, particularly Marvel comics.  Chew borrowed them all and I shared in the reading.  They were much more interesting than the school text books. Thanks Tat Chew for introducing me to the world of super heroes.Chew is now resident in Melbourne...................QL  54) Reflections - Cheong Mun KeiHow many of you guys know this fact?  Mun Kei was the school chess champion since Form 2 till he left school! Really unequal achievement, but not adequately appreciated and recognised by many including the shool hierarchy. He was also our school basketball captain (despite his present physical shape).Mun Kei, Chew and I spent many hours together and also at basketball. Unlike Chew, Mun Kei would only go out to play AFTER he had finished all his school work. Chew and I used to be infuriated having to wait for him while he did his work right in front of us, absolutely refusing to budge. He was that disciplined even at that age.There was the SEAP Games 1966? in KL. Mun Kei and I bought season tickets and I stayed with his family in KL, at the posh embassy district of Jalan Ampang, for the duration - free board and lodging. What was Mun Kei doing in the house when we were not at Merdeka Stadium - he was playing chess all by himself.  Many years later in 1980?, I spent a night in his house and guess how he spent his time - still playing chess by himself and this time reading mutiple novels at the same time. Well, now in 2007, he is married and with kids, does he still do the same?..................................QL 55) Reflections - Ho Peng HeeWe were both very active in Albuquerque House and the school basketball team, Yet we did not speak to each other for many years. This was the result of a childish tiff we had over the thumb tack under the chair prank in Form 2A. One early morning in 1967?,  some four years later, we found ourselves both early for our basketball breakfast meeting at the roti canai stall in front of

BHES. There was nobody else and we finally talked to each other. Really childish, don't you agree Peng Hee? Hopefully we have grown up since.Peng Hee was one of the most versatile athlete. At lower secondary, he was a very fast runner. High jump - he could copy any style, straddle, western or eastern roll and take off with either leg. Pole vault - he could clear. Javelin, discuss, shot putt - he could throw further than most heavier boys. Basketball - he can shoot with either hand. Table tennis - he can beat many with his left hand. If only he had not had some much fun being Jack............................QL 56) Reflections - Chan Hiong YienAlways the well behaved, do all the homework (for us to copy) and only went out with us at sensible hours. But he went swimming with us at the dangerous disused pottery dugouts in Bachang. Once we were already in the water when he arrived. We were holding on to the bank while Ong Cheng Kiat was treadding water. Cheng Kiat told Hiong Yien the water was not deep, only up to the neck.  Hiong Yien believed him and jumped in. We all laughed. Hiong Yien could not swim! Panick, panick and somehow he got back to the bank. Phew! We could have been one friend short and been in great trouble. The next time we went, Hiong Yien still went with us. Never say die, this chap.........................QL  57) Reflections - Chan Peng WahPeng Wah, nicknamed Silas Marner by Kumara Das, was very quiet and can be a loner.  He was very ticklish and don't you try to tickle him unless you are faster than him - and his reflex action was very fast being an adept kungfu exponent. Wai Loong learnt it the hard way.  He tickled Peng Wah from the back and got an immediate reflex action slap for his trouble. He didn't know what hit him, poor Wai Loong. We knew better, we prepare to run then tickle him. Peng Wah was also a night bird. He used to visit me late, way past midnight. He would throw stones into my room, wake me up and we would cycle to the Coronation park, sit by the seaside and chat for hours during weekends.He once took me up to Mt Ophir. He planned everything. We went with Chan Tai Peng and his sister, Chan Swee Lian and two other Koon Cheng Rd sisters - Choo Peng??? He gave me a back pack with rice, can food, ground sheets, etc and asked if I could manage.  I tried it on and of course was able to carry it with no problem.  Being inexperienced, I didn't know there is a tremendous difference between carrying it for one minute and a few hours climbing uphill! My, it was tough, I struggled but was able to manage.  When we reached our camp site, I realised why I was struggling. Peng Wah and I were the only two carrying all the load - camping things and two overnight stays' ration.  The others were merely carrying their own personal things. Peng Wah was tackling Swee Lian and was out to impress she and her brother and friends. I was merely the convenient one to help out.  I was so naive but enjoyed the trip.  Thanks Peng Wah for giving me my only experience at Mt Ophir. I was strong, tough and very fit then. Peng Wah married Swee Lian, have a boy and a girl and are happily resident in Perth..............................QL 58) Talking about Gunung (Puteri) Ledang aka Mt. Ophir, QL should have joined us land scouts (not sure sea scouts could climb) as we make a pilgrimage to visit the princess's abode almost every school holidays led by our troop leader Mak Chee Hoon (who incidentally retired as Deputy CPO of Kedah and is now a Datuk for his security services to the nation). I remember those days we used to escort Singapore scouts up the mountain from both the Tangkak side and the Asahan side. At that time they were boasting of becoming a rugged society. Most of the Singapore scouts become pucat and faint along the way as the highest mountain they have ever climbed was probably Mt. Faber................AM  58.1) Not Mt. Faber. The highest mountain on the Island is Mt Elizabeth. Although the sea scouts troop spent their weekends rowing and sailing to Pulau Upeh, we have cycled to Asahan and scaled Mt Ophir a number of times. My lower secondary days when I was still with school troop under Scout Master Rajasegaren, we courted the Puteri a couple of times

too. Who can forget Datuk Mak! A born outdoor leader. But the real great guy was Rajasegaren. We had a lot of adverntures with this volunteer scout master. I wonder where he is today......................................HH 59)  MHS in Wellington in the Early 70's

There were 4 of us from MHS at Victoria University of WellingtonJames Lee Wee Yong - Popular guy. Acquired genetic expertise at cooking Hainanese Chicken Rice. Always invited to cook that particular dish at Malaysian student parties. What else is there to do besides studying?Phillip Low Kong Wah - Quiet but always there. Suffered leg pain during his first few days in windy hilly Wellington. The university is at the top of the hill and he wasn't used to so much climbing and being blown by the wind as well.Arthur Chan Heng Chye - Was from GBSS but came to MHS for 6th Form. "Cicak kering" was his nick-name. Married a Maori girl, an untypically cute chubby short one. Wonder where he is now.........................................AM

60) Wow, its like down memory lane to speak to Ann Mean, Quee Leong and Chin Watt.  'Those Were The Days' when we were in BHES from 1956 to 1961 and now we are going to celebrate our 'sweet' 60th birthdays !  If I could turn back the clock, I would go to BHES again.

Perhaps we can share our 'sweet and sour' memories with our grandkids (provided if are a datuk now) about our saintly and unsaintly action, outside the BHES school gates, at the Coronation Park or at the top of St Paul's Hill.  Let me reveal my true indentity when I was in BHES, I was a 'paid informer' to Tay Tiow Kim's parents each time he had a fight with someone.  For each information given I will be paid a handsome reward of 10 cents which was ample for me to buy 'ice ball'  which was only 5 cents those days.  Each week I would earn more than 30 cents from Tiow Kim's parents, it was a princely sum those days.

Quee Leong, I am still as Malaccan as you, not being Aussiefied !  Perhaps 'aussie' (hakka dialect) under the dug hole toilet in Malacca........................William Koh

61) Reflections - Lee Kim Siong aka Taugeh

Quite often when we were on our way to school, we would come across Kim Siong, in singlet, cycling furiously home. Did he manage tocome to school in time?  Obviously not and he was often late. Apparently his day started much earlier than ours, he was helping out his family at the market, selling amongst other foodstuff, taugeh, thus his given nickname.

Whilst we merely had to study and enjoy school, Kim Siong has had to work and study at such a young age.  It would not have been easy for him and must have helped develop his sense of hardwork, toughness, responsibility and independence. Whatever happened to Kim Siong after school, anybody in touch with him? ....QL

 61.1) Lim Kim Siong aka Mongolian was given special permission by the Principal Tan Teik Hock to come to school late. The prefects were not allowed to book him. Anyway , he will always bicycle in furiously (as described by QL) between the half closed school gates say 5 to 10 minutes late. The last I met him was in University Malaya campus around 1972 when he was studying at the Faculty of Economics and Administration with Yoon Kong, Pola Singh, etc. (etc. because I have forgotten). According to Yoon Kong he left soon after graduation and worked in Singapore! Maybe he will do a "chuachylelim"! ..................................AM  continue Reflection V

........and as I wonder

62) I WonderNow that I am able to read past messages about our long lost friends, I just wonder where are all the Melayu from BHES gone to? I am only able to recollect Haron, Rosnan, Repin, Aziz, Kalefullah, Syed Nongchik, another Syed whose father used to sell second hand military garments at Kg Jawa, Karim from Bachang. The rest of the Melayu joined MHS from remove class and those staying at the Hostel. Maybe Repin can help locate and get them to join us. I maybe wrong on my memory, can anyone help.    .....................Hamzah 62.1) I can remember Haron from kg. Banda Kaba [behind MHS] and Syed Mohd from kg. Banda Hilir.These two gentlemen passed away few years ago.God bless their soul.   ...............ChinWatt 62.2) I vaguely remember 2 Malay friends from BHES who did not join us in MHS -Ratam & Yacob. Unfortunately I can't remember their full names but Ratam wasa good footballer and hockey player who used to live in the Police Barracksin Garden City. Yacob was a sprinter who represented BHES in the relay team.    ...................... Chow Fatt  62.3) The name Yacob rings a bell. It was during std 6 when I was called up to join a 4x100yard team to run in ACS sport day. Never knew why I was picked. We were each given an oversized white singlet. I took a bus to ACS and met my other 3 team members. Low Chuan Hock ( son of Malacca Fire Brigade Chief), Yacob and the fourth boy whose name I cannot recall. We came in third. No third place trophy as only four schools ran in that event. That was my only time I represented BHES. I understand Chuan Hock passed away years ago. I would not know Yakob if I see him today. As for the fourth guy......... I am not losing sleep over one name   ..........................................HHYaacob bin Hassan was a good footballer too.  During those days in BHES he was staying in Merlimau.................. William Koh62.4)  Two Corrections: i.  It is Low Hock Chuan, not Chuan Hock.ii.  Yacob did join us in High School.  He did not grow very tall but was very stocky. Besides the 100 and 200 metres, he also did the 110m hurdles.   .....................................................QL 62.5)  My mistake. Low Hock Chuan it should be. At our age I suppose we can be excuse for memory lapses now and then. The Low family were living at the govt. quaters along Pengkalan Rama. Now demolished. Hock Chuan took me to his place to make "bomb". We emptied all the powder from the little firecrackers and compacted it into a bigger canister. At the back of the house we lit the monster, put a tin can over it and ran for cover. And we made quite a few of those "bombs". Goodness knew how I still have eyes and limbs still intact.   .....................HH 62.6) Low Hock Chuan shared some similarities with me though. His father was the Chief Fire Brigade whilst my father was his father's assisstant. I remember Hock Chuan's father used to gave us tuition in his office. Did Low joined us at MHS? ..................................Hamzah 62.7) In the early 50's the Malacca Fire Brigade was stationed in Wolferstan Road. Before the 9 storey flats came up in the 60's this was a large plot of land that was also the Depot for the PWD garbage brigade; a fleet of one man two wheeler noisy wooden push-cart 'dumpsters'. Outside the perimeter of this fenced-up yard lined in a neat row, were the Mercedes 180Ds and the Peugeot 404s. This was also the Malacca Taxi Station.Staying in a shop opposite this mayhem in the centre of Sleepy Hollow was anything but peaceful or quiet.

Every morning long before dawn six days a week the clings and clunks of the garbage brigade rolled out one by one to begin the day cleaning our municipality of the night's rubbish. Promptly at 7am a bugle sounded. The firemen trooped out of their barrack to start the daily drill. It was a joy to watch.As if not to be outdone, shouts and  yelling of "Seremban FooYong ! Tampin satu lagi ! Muarpoh sekarang jalan ! Jasin mali sini !" began at breakfast time. That was the monotonous song of the taximan all through the rest of the day. That was the wonder of Wolferstan Road.  .....................................HH

62.8) I am not sure of your facts about the Fire Station being in Wolferstan Rd. It is located at Banda Kaba opposite the Police Barracks than. Yes you are right about the PWD stores and offices being what is today Public Bank. The firemen though were quartered behind "Sun" infront of your shop. Melaka only had 4 fire engines to service the whole of Melaka. The best part was the firemen were put on duty during film shows and of course yours truly really enjoyed that little benefit even it means sitting on milk boxes to watch a movie.Can someone continue on this "cheap mattinee" shows.......40sen bah............and 65sen for circle seats......... ..........................Hamzah

If I remember correctly (what a familiar opening qualifier nowadays!) it's the Savoy. Sun is the cheap cinema near Rex in Bunga Raya Road.   ...................AnnMean

From: Col Hamzah Bachek Sent: 4/12/2007 8:10 AM

Ann Mean,You are right brother Savoy

From: haiheng Sent: 4/12/2007 9:10 AM

The present Fire Station in Bandar Kaba was shifted from Wolferstan Road and it was at where the 9 storey flats is now. Public Bank took over Southern Bank. The original building was a Mansion belonging to one Chinese rubber tycoon.  City Park had four cinemas; Rex and Federal facing Bunga Raya Road with Central and Sun Cinema within the Park. Whenever Shaw Bros. ran out of second rated rerun movies to show, Runne and RunRun Shaw would invited Miss Rose and her python to remove her clothes. (Not that the snake had much on but it did wore a single legged pantyhose!!! ) The couple (not the brothers please) danced to their favourite music. Everyone of us to this day can still hummed that tune but  can anyone tell me the title to that piece of music? Is it Apples and Peaches or something?

 From: Zing San Sent: 4/12/2007 9:20

AM

I thought that the F Station was at Kubu at some stage?

By 'F'' I hope you meant 'Fire'. The Kubu Fire Station came up much later, early 70s. ....ed.

 hai heng, dunno that you are a great fan of RC ? I saw the act in KL at jalan Ampang lah. Forgot the name of the building but still the building is still there, about 600 metres from klcc. By the way about the snake , anybody knows where it is ?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,repin  Sure I was a fan. So were 90% our classmates. So were some of our teachers although there were some who would rather be caught with their pants down than be seen wacthing her perform. Rosie is now part of Malaysian History but not our culture. A pity. Her theme music lives on but never been played on the local airwaves. Must have been banned by the religious council. Wisma Central was where Repin last saw her act. The old Selangor Tulf Club was where the KLCC and the Twin Towers now stand.Her faithful sidekick has retired in UK........................................HH HH, I have been humming that tune and came out with the words, Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom Wine.  Checking with the internet, there is such a title but with white instead of wine - Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, recorded by Alan Dale 1955 and Pat Boone 1960. However,  I was not able to hear the music itself and therefore cannot confirm. ....................................QL Hai Heng, the famous Rose Chan striptease song was titled CHERRY PINK AND APPLE BLOSSOM WHITE which is best played on a trumpet. By the way, the mansion you mentioned if I'm not mistaken was owned by a rich Chan family whose granddaughter was my pupil in form sixth, High Sch Melaka. It was bought over by Southern Bank and was never taken over by Public Bank or vice versa. Correct me if Im wrong. ..................................Choe Hin.Wah, you got such good memory...I could not even remember what I had for dinner just now. By the way, I wonder what happen to P Mangudi, the Indian stall selling zines, papers, tidbits and lottery tickets near the Rex theater ! I used to buy those tickets but never strike anything!.............................Repin  Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White It's cherry pink and apple blossom white     When your true lover comes your way         It's cherry pink and apple blossom white           The poets say

           The story goes that once a cherry tree          Beside an apple tree did grow       And there a boy once met his bride to be   Long long ago

                             The boy looked into her eyes, it was a sight to enthrall                       The breezes joined in their sighs, the blossoms started to fall                 And as they gently carressed, the lovers looked up to find           The branches of the two trees were intertwined,

                       And that is why the poets always write                            If there's a new moon bright above                           It's cherry pink and apple blossom white                           When you're in love...............................................HH

Okay, after all the talk about how pink the cherry was, and apple white and apple pie...please see attachment. That could answer some of the wonders !

                                                                 Repin Cherry Pink.doc  

The name cheap mattinee may not exist now. Don't worry all senior citizens. You can still get cheap prices ranging from RM4/- if you chose to watch movies any day except Sat, Sun and public holidays, so long it is before 2.00 pm with terms and conditions ie if there is NO 'free listing suspended' notice hanging on the ticket counter. This is particularly true for theatres in Mahkota Parade. But i'm sure it is applicable to all cinemas througout Malaysia. Anyway, I have been given this senior citizens' right on several occasions anyway. ...........................................................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Choe Hin.

CH, you are right. The Southern Bank building in Wolferston Rd. is not taken over by Public Bank. But I see now the signboard says CIMB Bank.So many details on the song, Cherry Pink & ABW, but does anyone have the MP3 or the site listing the song. The tune really brings back memories - not of the singer but the infamous RC & the trumpeter.Lastly anybody know what happen to the python? Or does anybody care what happen to the python?............eng him

 In a short 7 days we had 31 messages on one subject. 31 in 7.  A dubious record of some sort. And how it started so simply with Hamzah wondering the whereabout of  his Melayu friends.  From Yacob we went back 50 years to fire brigade, to Sun Cinema. Along the way we picked up tit bits here and there and somehow we got ourselves tangled with Rose and her pretty pink cherry. What a week it was........... and we still have no idea what happened to Rosie's lovable pet?

"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" is now our unofficial Class Reunion Anthem.................................HH  Not only that, I believe we have a record number of participants, 11 in all so far: Hamzah, Hai Heng, Ann Mean, Choe Hin, Eng Him, Zing San, Repin, Peter, Chin Watt, Chow Fatt and Quee Leong. Did I miss anybody out? It would  be wonderful we can always get such a level of participation.............................QLWilliam makes 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You think you knew your classmate

Have you ever been guilty of looking at others your own age and thinking, "surely I can't look that old?"

I was sitting in the waiting room for my first appointment with a new dentist. I noticed his DDS diploma, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 40-odd years ago.

Could he be the same guy from way back then??  Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been my classmate.

Hmmm,...or could he???

After he examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended Malacca High School.

"Yes, I did. I'm a Minto," he gleamed with pride.

"When did you graduate?" I asked.

He answered, "in 1966. Why do you ask?"

"You were in my class!" I exclaimed.

He looked at me closely. Then, that ugly, old, wrinkled bastard asked, "what subject were you teaching?"