Childhood 1958 – 1962 ( part 2 )

These were the years when I was most active. I was not a very good athlete at school and neither was I good at games. Unlike my younger brothers who were very active in sports. Academically I was very average. In a class of 30 I would rank 6th or 7th. I was never as good in class or in sports as my younger brothers. All in all, I was a pretty average boy in school.

Our school was a coed school. We had almost equal number of boys as we had girls in our class. School was always fun. I had no problem with school work and always found myself quite happy to attend classes. A school day would start at 7.0 am and end at 1.30 pm with an hour break. We would congregate each morning and cycled in groups to school and the same would happen on the way home. Break time each day would be taken up by a visit to the tuck shop and then the rest of the time would be devoted to football. Football in those early years would be just kicking a tennis ball around the field. As we got older we were then allowed a proper size football.

Some time during those years, I think it was when I was around 14 years of age, my parents enrolled me to attend the local Chinese school in the afternoon. So each day after my attendance at the English school, I had to proceed to the Chinese school. Fortunately the Chinese school was next door to our home and after a quick lunch after my morning classes I would cross the road to my Chinese lessons. I think I had about 3 years of Chinese education from which I mastered the very basic Chinese text and some spoken Mandarin. Over the years, because of non-usage I have much forgotten both the Chinese text and spoken Mandarin.

By the time I was in my early teens, my father’s business was doing relatively well. We were comfortable but we continued to reside in that very small space above the shop. There were a total of 12 people living in an area of approximately 45 ft x 25 ft. none of us had a space of our own. It was all communal space and we had all to sleep on the floor on straw mats.

My most vivid memories of those days were the constant quarrels between my mother and my elder mother, my father’s first wife from China. As children we did not fully understand the reason for the conflict, neither did we know the politic that went on in the house. Looking back I am still not too certain what went on then. I vaguely remember my mother’s anguish when things did not go the way she wanted. There were also quarrels between siblings. My parents were very strict with us on that. Whenever we quarreled they would cane both parties. I can still remember the many occasions when I was beaten.

I believe the main reason for the constant bickering between my two mothers and between siblings was the confine space we were in. I do not think we had a very happy home. However, that was all we had and we had to make do. I remember my greatest desire then was to leave home as soon as I was able to. You can say I was finding that I needed a space of my own. I grew up without ever owning a space I could call my own.
Finally the day came when I finished school in Segamat and my opportunity to leave home. That day started the next chapter in my life. I was finally able to leave that house I grew up in. I had a tinge of regret but at the same time I was glad I could get away. My greatest regret was that I had to part with my maternal grandmother. I knew I would miss her, even more than I would my parents.

I was 17 then and the world was waiting. I left home and started the next phase of my life.