Let's see. I entered Std. 1 in the Sekolah Latihan SITC Tg. Malim in 1951. I was 6. So these recollections from pre-Tg. Malim years have to be from 1950 and earlier. I must have been 5 or younger.
I remember living in the "rumah sekolah" - the school quarters, Sekolah Melayu Kuala Pilah, but remember also that we often went to wan's (granny) house in Bukit Temensu. We would go by "becha" - the tricycle type, with the operator pedalling the bicycle attached to the one-wheeled cab. There were a few of them, then. We would also go by "becha" - the two-wheeled cab pulled by a Chinese "tukang becha". There was only one, pulled by an old Chinese wearing black sandals made from old tyres. When he retired, the service also ended. We would traavel go by car, though I can't remember the type. I do remember, though, going to Senaling in a taxi without side windows, like the old T-type Ford you see in old photographs.
The rumah sekolah had walls that did not go right to the floor. I suspect this was for ventilation, though I doubt it was good for the insect-prevention aspect of it. We had no mosquito problems, though, because we slept mosquito nets. I remember many afternoons, lying on the cool cement floor, peering out through the gap at the bottom of the wall, looking at the plants and feeding chicken outside of the house.
Relatives often came to the rumah sekolah. Bukit Temensu was only about 2 miles away. Tg. Jati and Pekan Lama were about that distance also, but in the opposite direction. Only Terachi was 18 miles away, and we needed to take the bus or taxi. I mention these places because those were where our close relatives were.
Notwithstanding that, dad's relative from Simpang Durian, which is close to the Pahang border on Jelebu side, also used to visit. She was dad's second cousin or something, Mak cik Niat. On one such visit, after spending the night, which was usual, she left the next day while dad was at school and mom was doing some house chores. She took along Padir (this is what we call him), my younger brother by 1 year. But she didn't tell anyone about it. I didn't realize it, too. Imagine the consternation when dad came back and mom realized Padir was missing. They both rightly concluded Mak cik Niat was the culprit. Dad was furious, but I don't remeber mom crying or anything. I remember dad saying "tell us first !" ("bagi lah tahu !")
Both of my parents went to fetch Padir from Simpang Durian. I don't remember if it was the same day. But I remember mom saying when they reached Mak cik Niat's house, she was lying on the verendah and had her long hair hanging over the verendah, singing.
There was a time when British soldiers were encamped on the town padang, just opposite the school. They were there for some time. They even had a tent chapel, complete with the preacher's rostrum and pews with yellow cushions stuffed with coconut husk. I know this, because when they eventually broke camp, they gave us some of the yellow cushions.
The soldiers also held archery practice in the shallow valley behind our rumah sekolah. I remember one time my brother and I peered over the edge of the practice area, and one of the archers turned his aim at us. We ran back to the house, scared stiff. Today, this would have been a very serious issue.
We kept some chicken. Of course, the "musang" also visited. One night the musang got hold of a hen which made so much noise we all woke up, and the musang fled without the kill. Dad called someone who came with a shotgun. It was a moonlit night. They put the bloodied carcass on the trunk of a coconut tree in the house compound, and waited in the house varendah for the musang to return and claim its kill. The musang outfoxed everybody.
The school has been renovated and enlarged over the years, but the basic facade with the cobbled wall remains. I was surprised to see its sister school in Port Dickson, the GES. It must have been the same government architect. The rumah sekolah also remained for a time, even after I had started working. But it's gone now.
But the memories remain.
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