Mustapha Besar Childhood Days Revisited 1985 Part Two

Our house was not very far from the river bank but to get to the river which was the source of our drinking water, was not any easy mater.You must be able to balance yourself on coconut trunks placed strategically along the way. Carrying water to fill our jars in the house was my daily chore. On most occasion, I had to make several trips before the four jars were full as by the time I got to the house half of the buckets was empty.

Our nights used to be long then, as we could not afford the pressure lamp but only brass kerosne lamps placed at the various corners of the rooms - normally in the kitchen and eating pace and the bedroom.By 5:30 p.m. I would fill all the lamps with kerosene and then light them at about 6:30 p.m. Dinner would be quite early and so was bedtime.

Our house was a wooden house with attap roof. Whoever designed the house really knows his architecture because it was always cool during the day time even at the height of the afternoon. Every so often my father would renew the attap roof and my borther and I would help to lift the attap from theground to the rafters where he would be. I admired himfor his ability to move around so easily around the rafters.

I was fortunate in those days that the school I had to go to was just across the road. My other school maters were not so lucky as they had to walk for miles to get to school. They also had to spend some money during their break time for some cakes and other snacks. I could, however, to to shool just before the bell rang an during break time I would quickly rush bak to the ouse for the snacks which mother would have left in the kitchen.

Dato' Moashili School was a wooden building with wooden floor raised slightly about one foot above the ground. In all there were six classrooms partitioned by means of half walls. All our tables and chairs were fixed to the floor and they could accommodate three students or more per table depending upontheir sizes. There wee five of us on my table. The school bell was actually a piece of iron pipe hung on its end and struck with a piece of metal.

School became the focus of our life during theweekdays from seven in the mornign to one o'clock in the afternoon. After that we were left to our own devices unles of course there were extra- curricular activities in the afternoon.

I noted that in those days our games seemed to be seasonal. when thekite flying season was one we would be busy getting bamboo for the kite frame and olleting enough money to buy the coloured papers for the kite. There were many "kite fights" inthe sky and very often once some one's kite is taken down we would be after them invariably on to the padi fields behind the school, much to the displeasure of our parents as we would return with mud all over our clothing, an cuts all over our bodies. Actually it was easy to tellwhen the kite season was on as many children would be affliced by eye infection.

when the "gasing" season came, we would split into various groups and intense rivalries would develop. It was not uncommon for quarrels to begin as a result of broken"gasing" or accusation of cheatings,etc.

The river was another source of joy for us. Most of us learn to swim very early and after shool we would be found playing in the water or merely by the bank. One "pedada" tree by the bank used to gibve us the thrill of our life time. Many of us were Tarzans as we hung on to the many creepers growing up the tree, and swinging from the bank to the water. The loud cries never failed to upset our parents.

There ewas a motor launch which we looked forward to seeing if we were by the river. This was MV Rani, a diesel cargo cum passenger boat. Its arrival normally was greted by us with wild shouts and waving. We liked it especially if it was loaded with carogo for then the waves it created would be bigger.

Our group never went beyond the Kampung - and we never thought of it. There were exceptions though but even then only if encouraged by our parents. Usually this would be because we were genuinely working.

We helped to carry bricks fromthe "tonkong" to the site of the new shophouses which were being built to replace the old ones. We were paid one cent per brick for a distance of about 200 to 300 yards. To us little ones it was really hard work and needless to say we never went beyond the $1.00 mark per day.

We also worked at a coconut nursery at the Agriculture Station about a mile away. The work involved the weeding of coconut seedlings for which we were paid one cent per seedling. This was slightly easier although at the end of the day our hands would show its toll. Nobody ever heard of work gloves then!

During school holidays I also sold icicles (Ais Cucuk we called it) from Kampong to Kampong. I visited a lot of Kampongs that way. I used to lug around a thermos flask (which seemed bigger than I was) and which could store about 30 sticks of icicles. At five cents a piece, the return at the end of the day, if the whole thing was sold, would be $1.50 and my cut would be 60 cents. The towkay would take 90 cents , and if I could not sell more than I would get nothing.

Sadly, I was to miss all this when in 1957 I had to go to Miri to further my schooling. But to this day the childhood days are fresh in my memory.

I walked on but I swear I could hear the ringing sound of those old songs we used to sing when were were "lanuns" under the shade of the old rubber trees. It was so different then.

(From Sarawak Gazettee, April 1985)

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