Friday, August 23, 2019

A school orator.

Fri 23 August 2019.



Even my four children don't know this: I was the champion orator twice in my boyhood days. In 1958 when I was 13, I was the champion orator for All NS Religious Schools. 2 years later I was the National Champion Orator for the first "Minggu Bahasa Kebangsaan" held at the Dewan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Ampang, KL.

Through the years, through the rest of school and  university, and the 31 working years, including those as a NS State Assemblyman, I had never brought it up. Like the 2 large cups that came as part of the prizes won, the episode just got lost. I should have bragged a bit about them, but didn't. Not out of modesty. It just didn't occur to me that it should be brought out at all.

Now, 61 years later, I realize that this was something to be proud of. Especially for my children. Hence this piece. Better late than never, I guess.

"Champion Orator". There's a nice ring to it. And from 1987 until now I've dabbled in politics, too ! How could I have missed the boast indeed !

In those days, the government arranged for Islamic classes for those primary schoolers interested, conducted in the afternoon. It was convenient for me because  I attended morning school. Still, it was a good walk of about 2km across KP town from my grandparents' house we were still staying in at that time, to the KP Malay school where these classes were conducted.  I'm thankful that the government of the day had thought of this type of Islamic education for those not actually attending Arabic or religious school; that my parents encouraged me; and that I was personally interested. In fact I attended these afternoon classes for 3 years, until I was in Form 2 in TMS. We used text books from the Johor and Perak religious schools. I wonder why NS didn't have them, or maybe I'm unaware of it. 

We covered all the important subjects of "Tarikh", "Tauhid", "Tajwid", "Akhlak", and other topics that I forget now. After retirement many, many years later, I managed to obtain my certificate in "Syariah" from the University of Malaya through the off-campus classes conducted with MAINS. I owe whatever I now know of Islamic studies from these two sources, but the afternoon classes of 6 decades ago were the real basis of my awareness and appreciation for Islam.

Ustaz Yassin of the afternoon religious classes entered my name for the state-level oratory competition to be held in Rembau. There were also other categories, like Quran recitition. I remember Hj. Latiff's brother ( this knowledge came years later, but I distinctly remember it was one Ustaz Othman's son. And Ustaz Othman I found out later was Hj. Latiff's father ) who took part in the Quran recitition competition, and I remember Ustaz Othman being a bit upset about his son's performance. I don't remember if he won. The topic of my oration was picked by my dad, and he wrote the speech.

We had come by car, me, my parents and Ustaz Yassin , from KP to Rembau via Tampin. So it was alright for me, because I was prone to car-sickness, and the Tampin road doesn't have the windy Bukit Putus. But we came back via Seremban because Ustaz Yassin wanted to be sent home that way. His house being in Kayu Ara,  he wanted to show off my trophy along the route. This meant the dreaded Bukit Putus. Of course I was car-sick.

I wasn't thinking about the competition when I sat with the others in Rembau. I wasn't sure if I'd done well or what, so when they announced me as the NS Oratory Champion, Ustaz Yassin was the most excited of them all.

Of course we had to stop at Pak Lang Gani's house in Ulu Bendul. And because of that stop I had to part company with the Quran that was part of the winner's prizes. I had a good look at the Quran, which was a translation by the Indonesian scholar "Mahmoed Joenoes"(the same name as my father, different spelling), "Tafsir Quran Karim in Bahasa Indonesia" 7th. printing 1957 from Pustaka Mahmudiah Djakarta - published only 1 year earlier. But inside he signed off as "Mahmud Junus", another spelling. Pak Lang said he wanted to borrow it "sekejap". That was July 1958.

Pak Lang returned the Quran when I visited him for Hari Raya Puasa on 25th September 1976, the first day of Eid. "Sekejap" it wasn't. In fact it was 18 years.

I only met Ustaz Yassin one more time when he was still alive. It was at a wedding in Kayu Ara, near his house. I was working in KL, but forget the date.

The "Minggu Bahasa Kebangsaan" was a big thing, post-Merdeka, as part of the national awakening to the empowering of the Bahasa Kebangsaan for the young nation. The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka was the powerful symbol for this, and the then powerful personality leading it was the Johorean Syed Nasir. Oratory, of course, was one of the categories for competition. This time there were to be 4 levels of competition - District, State, the South Zone and the National finals. The State one was at the old town hall, Seremban. The South Zone was in Melaka. The finals were in KL.

Again it was dad who worked the hardest, writing the speech. I thought I gave a good performance at the school hall for the district level competition, as well as at the state level at the Seremban town hall, and at the zone level in Melaka.  By the time I reached the finals, however, held at the then premier Dewan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, in Jalan Amapang, KL (it's still there, but I don't know for what use now) I felt spent, and didn't give it my all. Just like Rembau 2 years earlier, I didn't particularly fancy my chances. But just like Rembau, I won. The first Permaisuri Agong gave away the prizes. The Agong was ill at that time. Unlike Rembau I have the Straits Times photo to show for it. That cup, I don't know where it went. I think the school kept it, since I was representing the school.

The performance in Seremban was watched by some "budak boys" from Federation Military College, Port Dickson. This I found out later, when I joined FMC in 1961. Khairuddin "Li-on" mentioned it. We were together in "B" coy. He said "budak ini masuk kolej kena ni". Later in late 1961 FMC moved to Sg. Besi, and was renamed Royal Military College. 

That's one spot in my life I share here.


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