1959 Mr Hicks and his car

The 1959 intake consisted of some students who stayed two years only.

One outstanding student who stayed two years was Zainab Mahmud. She was the loveliest girl of the batch. Charming and kind . All those who met her just could not but be impressed by her. She put her address as Kampong Marlan, Miri.

Abi Omar and Tang Yok Mee were the other two who stayed for two years.

Pahang Lah some how stayed only for a year. I will put him in another post later.

Several other memories come to my mind.

There were a number of Form Five boys when I arrived. A few befriended me, especially Noel Hudson, who supplied me with OMO and in return I washed his sarong. Noel by comparison was a very rich student and he could send his clothes to the dobi in town. His mother had made arrangements for his laundry to be done privately and I was his "house boy" with a task to wash his sarong once a week. I remember Noel for his kindness and his apparent wealth. Washing a sarong for a young gentleman of means was nothing to be ashamed of. In the following years of my school life I learned what it meant to be hardworking, and what it meant to look for some pocket money.

But the most impressive excitement was Alfred Jabu, a Form Five boy, driving Mr. Hick's car. That was quite something for the student population and especially for a poor boy from Limbang.

Alfred Jabu was a personable person and he had gained a lot of favour with Mr. Hicks, an English man who was a beloved principal at that time. Mr. Hicks ate his meals with the students and that really had an impact on me. In later years when I became a principal of Sedaya, I had meals with my students. It was one of the best ways to get to know one's students and the meal services of the school.

Alfred Jabu was allowed to drive Mr. Hick's car whenever Mr. Hicks needed his service. The car was a wood framed "caravan" or station wagon, probably a forerunner of the present Prado or Pajero. My classmates, little boys in Primary Five, would watch our big brother driving the car along the road. Some of us even ran after the car to spur him on! I remember doing that several times, and it was fun. That was the nearest I could get to Mr. Hick's car.

This kind of behaviour, running after a car, continues to be seen throughout the world. Sometimes in the Travel and Living Channel, I could still see occasionally little African or Indian children running after visitors' vehicles. That would jolt my memory and I would see Mr. Hick's car being driven by Alfred Jabu right in front of me.

Today, many children, would line the airport, to welcome the now Tan Sri Datuk Pattingi Alfred Jabu and the revered Chief Minister whenever they pay an official visit to Miri. He probably knew then what he aspired to be. Or has his life been charmed all along?

Mr. Hick was a loveable chap. Although he looked terribly old to us small children then, nevertheless we looked up to him . Some of us even thought that he was God.

He never tucked his white cotton shirt into his shorts. And I never saw him wearing long trousers. He wore knee length stockings and nice shoes. It was his mannerism that impressed all of us. His body language was good and we knew that he wanted to teach us well. So with that kind of respect for him, we tried our very best to study and be what he wanted. Unlike the present day students, we never gave him any challenges. We were more than just student population to him. We were the souls that he had to save and improve!

Because he liked to exercise in the bay area, we name the bay, Hick's Bay, for him.

Our activities in Hick's Bay will be related in another post.

To this day, my friends and I would still regale with laughter our days and life under Mr. Hicks. 1959 was a good year. And here I would say, Mr. Hicks! What a guy! What a car! In my son's language, yeah, Mr. Hicks was cool!