Staff of Tanjong Lobang School Welcoming Mr. Kum Boo

Mr. Kum Boo was the Director of Education Department of Sarawak.

It was a big occasion for the school.

This photo is truly a collector's item.

The Tailor Who Won the Hearts of Native Boys

Tan Chi Kim and David Chin (Photo from David Chin)

It seemed there was only one tailor in town (Miri) and we the native boys who were in dire straits but in desperate need of attire would flock to his shop for some tailoring whether it was to cut a pair of badly needed trousers or to make a drain pipe pair out of a cheap shop bought trousers.

He owned the Nam Kong Tailor Shop on River Road situated opposite the Ban Hup Coffee shop where politicians and government officers sat down for happy hours after they knocked off from work.

Mr.Tam was very friendly and he won our young and innocent hearts. Each trousers he made for us then was just @7.50(material included). And we would be asking him all sorts of questions about tailoring. Aloysius Lisu was a student by our standard a towkay who would always suggest that we went to see him. This was a chance for us to admire the materials and the already tailored trousers. We would also fantasize about our future attire in the shop.

Besides Towkay as we called him was always ready to call us to do a bit of grass cutting and other odd jobs. One day I did a full day's job for him and earned a handsome figure of $5.00. I was rich like a king and felt like one too.


And then there was one incident I would never forget. The kindly Towday offered to send us back to Tanjong in his car instead of us having to walk all the 6 kilometres. When we were at the steep Tanjong hill the car engine suddenly choked and stopped. It was a blue Hillman Hunter by the way. He asked me to step on a pedal and not release it until he said so. I was seated next to him.

He asked" Can you reach the pedal?" I was small and short but my foot just managed to touch the pedal.

I did not know anything about driving at that tender age. But I did as I was told. He then struggled with the other pedals and managed to start the engine. He then told me to let go of the pedal which I did. I felt so proud of myself!! The car then went up the hill like a very ill and arthritic buffalo which had to finish its ploughing.

I can still remember him clearly as if it was only yesterday.

I feel sad that a good and caring man who was an icon to all the native boys of Tanjong has left us. He had touched our hearts and we will remember him fondly. In many ways he was an adult who had played a very important role in our lives when we as boarding students needed that fatherly touch and mentoring very much.

May his soul rest in peace.

The Girls' Relay Team 1961-1963

1961-63 : The Girls' Relay Team

When we were in junior secondary school in TLS, the boys, especially the native boys formed a very strong and unbeatable athletic team which "conquered" almost all the trophies of local school and open amateur athletic events. We were the golden boys.

But Mr. Sia, our sports master, found it a little challenging to get a girls' team together. He had to scrounge amongst the pitiful small number of girls who might just be able to run and last, more importantly, a few fifty meters or more.

So with a great effort and in the end, he was able to assemble Ngik Koon, Kamariah,Chellenga and Alice Darieng. They were the most unusual looking bunch of girls to be on the sports field. Both Ngik Koon and Kamariah were still having their puppy fat and looked at the most plump and not at all lithe to beat the flying girls looks of the Chung Hua school team.
Only Chellenga and Alice looked a little more promising.

Come sports day, we boys got all excited, knowing that we could be the champions of the day. But we were a little more than apprehensive about the girls. When it was the girls' relay event, we boys were all ready to do all the cheering and shouting by the side. Hoping that at least by our shouts they could just run a little faster.

"Come on, Ngik Koon!!" we all shouted, over and over again.

She ran like a boxer, with her hands pounding the air from her face. Her steps were firm and small. But she was able to finish her part to our delight.

Kamariah , in her sporting best, trotted on but nevertheless finished her part of 100x4 to the glee of all the TLS support team. Her smile was good enough at the end.

Alice ran with all her heart and brought the team forward a little.

Chellenga was light and she managed slightly better.

But in the end our girls' team came in a delightful last.

Our team, especially the girls' team ,happily took part in the athletic meets for three years. We raised and shook our TLS flag high and with the highest of morale. Later the dynamics of the runners and events changed and the four girls delightfully took their places away from the tracks.

The Olympics Games said, "Participation is more important than winning."

But the girls' sportsmanship will always be remembered by us.

Ngik Koon , now in Miri, continues to be charming, helpful and friendly. She has never changed in her attitude towards her fellow school mates. Her warm nature and permanent smile have made her a winner in life.

Kamariah is now a success as an educationist in Brunei. Still the same Karmariah - kind and cheerful. But extremely trim and healthy.

Chellenga is still the same - helpful and caring. She has good words for her friends and relatives and teaches Aborigines students in a school in Katherine, near Darwin, Australia.

Alice is retired from her teaching in St. James, Brunei and now owns a native craft shop in Miri. Always charming, cheerful and a good conversationalist, you will never feel rejected by a charmer like her.

But the years of the Girls' Relay Team would always fill my heart with warmth and laughter.

Those were indeed happy days.

The School Matron - Miss McConkey

Matron (Miss McConkey) and school boys' pranks


The Matron I remember

The Peace Corps was purportedly conceptualised by John F. Kennedy when he was the President of the United States. His brother-in-law Shriver was the man behind the whole organisation. JFK made this often quoted statement which was imprinted in hearts of almost all literate youths in the world, " Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country." It was this, many people said, that sent hundreds of thousands of starry eyed, hopeful, energetic, American youths to the developing world to help make a difference, to bring the needy out of the shadows of illiteracy , poverty and ill health.

And because of the world wide popularity of the Peace Corps at that time, Tanjong Lobang in particular was also a beneficiary. We as students also benefited. In this article, I will write about Miss McConkey, who as a Peace Corps Volunteer came to Tanjong Lobang School in January 1964 and stayed until December 1965. She was so good at her work and it was also partly because she loved Tanjong Lobang very much. It was a commitment typical of Peace Corps throughout the world.

There were 10 things I associate with Matron McConkey.

Firstly, I realised, and for the rest of my life, the full meaning of the the word "Matron" .I firmly believe that every Matron in the schools of Sarawak should perform like her. She should be the role model for all Malaysian school or college matrons in fact.

Secondly, she lived in the Peace Corps quarters next to the Girls' Hostel "Penelope". This quarters had long been pulled down in the development of the school in the last fifty years or so. The quarters was purposely assigned to her so that she could be near the girls, which numbered less than a hundred, mainly from the Orang Ulu community and some Chinese from Limbang, Bintulu,the Baram, Kanowit, including Kho Poh Tin whom I remember fondly as she came from Limbang like me.

Thirdly, as we called her Matron only, out of respect, I never knew real name until after I left school. In fact, at that time, it was impolite to call our teachers by their full name. We called our teachers, Sir, Miss, or just Teacher. Perhaps it was because of this, many students did not get to know the names of their teachers.

Fourthly, I can still remember her typical day as I observed her "unbreakable, sure routine of her role as matron" and it was very military like in routine. She would come very early, walking to the school, without fail (I think she never had sick leave) and checked the kitchen, and the refrectory and then when the school started, she would be in her office. throughtout the day, she would administer to those who fell sick. And in fact, her office, which was next to the Principal's office, was the dispensary for the school. In her room, would be the cabinet for medicines, ointment, bandages, alcohol, scissors, anything you could imagine for a small clinic.

Then she would take time to check the cleanliness of the boarding houses and to find out who were sick and unable to attend classes. Those who were sick like Robert Madang, with mumps ,had to be isolated in put in the sick bay. those who came under her care would never forget the Florence Nightingale touch as she was a very genuine and personal carer.

Fifthly, she shared our food and that was a very endearing aspect to many of us native students. Together with Mr Nicholl and Mr. Bob Lynn they would eat with us. This was partly to ensure that quality of school food was really up to the mark. We were very conscious of their presence and so we behaved very well. Perhaps this was how we developed our "fine" table manners. We never made unnecessary noise, or ate voraciously or behaved like "monkeys" like many of the modern kids today. We were became very careful and polite diners. Years later, when I guided my students and my own children, table manners were my top priority. I have Matron and the leading teachers to thank for. there was definitely a big difference between "dining" and "eating fast food".

Sixthly, Miss McKonkey was tall,slim, and in her fifties.To me,she looked very fit and very healthy, and most importanlty, kind and benevolent. She wore nice spectacles and she would also ride her bicycle every day too. Her attire would also be a white blouse and a blue denim skirt which would flutter in the wind as she cycled along the road. She would wear different skirts, but they would be always having blue as a main colour. In that way, I would always remember her being very American in her colour choice. Her blue and white became like a uniform of a matron in retrospect. I can still see her light coloured bicycle as if they were right in front of me.

Seventhly, an amusing incident would always come to my mind, when thinking about Matron. It only showed how much the boys liked her. It was my first time, following Edward Gella and Emapni Lang in raiding the pantry. The two boys and two others, Tan and Liaw, were having some serious fun trying to get the lovely biscuits which were meant for the teachers for their morning tea break. We ate all the biscuit ration which she had already carefully laid out for the next day. So the boys all agreed that we must leave one biscuit for Matron. It was Empani who said, "This biscuit is for Matron."

The next day, we peeped at the staff room and sure enough, there was no biscuit for their morning tea. I remember that no fuss was made out of it. But Matron had her one biscuit in a very reflective way. It was very painful to see that. And we never "raided" the biscuits again. I am not sure if the teachers suspected any one. But then many boys had made attempts to get extra food because food was never enough for growing boys, who did not have any money to buy extra food.

Eighthly, from 3 to 4 every day, Miss McKonkey would be there with us at our work party. I have very fond memories of work party because that was how we "pay back" our beloved school for what it did for us. We kept the school clean and repaired all the broken furniture. We had a lot of fun working and learning at the same time. We were like "keeping our house clean" and our family was the entire school community , including our beloved Matron. I believe that many of us were indeed very grateful that the school even had a "resident nurse" to look after our health and well being.

Ninthly, during all the Sports Days that she was with us, she was there for us with all the equipment ready. It was very reassuring to have her presence there. And Sports Day would just be another memorable day with nothing untoward. Some of the students would definitely remember how they were given good rub downs by the Matron and the girls who were given the roles to attend to the "injured".

Finally, I remember her as a person who never raised her voice at any one of us. Even though she was not what we call the fierce type, we held her in great respect because she was just so firm and fair. and I presume that she was very at home with the girls and the girls with her.

I can still see her very clearly now, if I were an artist I could paint a very fine portrait of her. A school would definitely be an excellent school with a Matron like Miss McConkey.

Fish Heads and Fish Eggs

Remembering our dinning hall or refrectory in Tanjong Lobang School,is both fun and nostalgic, and sometimes bittersweet,especially with friends in the later years of our life.

Our school was a special training ground for many of us who eventually became principals of secondary school. Mr. Richard Tze was the man responsible for starting a student kitchen committee to look after food ration and checking of the meals. The committee was super efficient in supervising even the cooks! I used such a student committee to check all the food ration coming in when I was the Principal of Sedaya in 1975. The students also supervised the cooking and the whole dining system of more than 2000 students. That year, the boarding students of the school had too much good food. Having a reliable student committee with a teacher in charge is a good system.

I remember that the early years of TLS saw volunteer teachers as the Matron. Amongst them I remember Miss McCormick.

Students were as naughty as can be. In this special episode I recall the Fish heads and fish eggs incident .

We had noticed that our fish dish in the refrectory had no fish head or fish eggs. We were actually eating very good and highly priced fish like tenggiri or duai (pomfret)

Fish heads were highly regarded by the native students as we liked the bite and the taste of heads. Rice would be well consumed if accompanied by a serving of fish head. We would eat the fish eyes, and we would enjoy biting the soft bones of the head. Fish roe was indeed a delicacy to many of us, including the Chinese and Malay boys. So we had to find out what happened to the fish heads and fish eggs of our fish!!

It took us some time to investigate. Heading our secret team was Gilla Baul. Two Limbang Chinese boys who were indignant about the missing fish heads and fish eggs also took part in this underground movement. I was the little small boy who followed them.

We checked the kitchen carefully and noticed every movement of the cooks and other kitchen staff. Then one evening at an appointed time, Gilla prised open the kitchen lock. At that moment, I sort of thought that the leaders were not at all thieves. They were the superheroes who were out to find the cause of missing fish heads and eggs! So we went in, bravely, as if we were Hercule Periot or Perry Mason, or Sherlock Holmes,and we did indeed find what we were looking for! We found a big bag of fish heads and fish eggs all wrapped up properly in the kitchenh freezer. Apparently, the cooks had been keeping them in order to sell to some friends.

We were elated as if we had solved a puzzle. Immediately as if vengeance was in our hands, we cooked the fish heads and eggs. It was a feast or celebration for all of us in the hostel.

However, to our horror, the next morning, Tan, one of the Chinese boys, appeared with his eyes all swollen, looking like a red gold fish. It was both horrifying and hilarious at the same time. He had had too many fish eggs!! But being very good natured and having a great sense of humour, he did not complain.

But the upside of the incident made the cooks realise that the students loved fish heads and fish eggs too. Putting it very mildly.

From then on, we had the whole fish, including the eggs for our meals. Our secret voice was strong and a grievance was redressed for the good of the whole student population. I would never know how the teachers or the non academic staff feel about this as it was never discussed in our presence. Definitely we were not viewed as guerrillas all out to despose the then ruling power of the school!

Letter from Sam

Sam came for a visit (2008) Photo with Dr. Abeng Lim (KB Brunei) at his lovely home.


In May this year, quite unexpectedly, I was "discovered" by a long lost friend Sam Teo from my school days.

Since then we have exchanged news, stories and revisited each other through an ex-student google forum. I was delighted to find out that he now resides in Missouri, USA, even though he did try his best to come back to work in Shell Sarawak. Qualified as any one for Shell, he was rejected probably by a small man sitting behind a Shell desk with heaps of application letters which he could not bother to reply and within months Sam had to return to the USA, unable to serve his beloved country. He speaks and writes Arabic besides Chinese, English and Bahasa Malaysia, is extremely good in photography (since 1962) and is a genius in computer science.

I have asked my friend if I could borrow his letter to Mr. Ruthe, one of our Headmasters for inclusion in my blog. I just hope that even more people would read articles which are written from our hearts. Thanks Sam for sharing.

May our passion for our old school Tanjong Lobang School, Miri, live on!!


========== Letter to Mr. A. D. Ruthe ===========


Dear Mr. Ruthe,

I should have written this letter 45 years ago, but I always thought procrastination was (is?) a virtue. Anyway, late though it is, here goes my note.

During my relatively short time at TLS, I had had a few Headmasters before you, and one after. None of those Headmasters impressed me as you had. Permit me to express my personal views and feelings toward you, Mr. A.D . Ruthe, my Headmaster, Teacher and Mentor.

A.D Ruthe - my Headmaster

I never knew what "A.D." stood for, and never had the urge to find out. It was quite enough to know you as Mr. A.D. Ruthe. We weren't supposed to know your first name anyway, for after all, it would have been impolite to address you by your first name. I did finally learn what the "A" was - from Linda, your lovely daughter and my former classmate. Now I know " A.D. Ruthe" was "Alan D. Ruthe". But what was the "D"? Oh well, it doesn't matter.

The most memorable encounter I had with you, as Headmaster, was when you and I had a very lively shouting match. You may have forgotten that episode, but I have not. It was that verbal battle I had with you, and the outcome thereafter that brought admiration from me for you - my Headmaster.

You knew I played basketball for TLS, and was a very good player.

There were several school team players from the then Fourth Division (Bintulu, Sebauh area) who could not stand the sight of me. Most of them were upset with me for having won the heart of a young lady from their "neighborhood". Consequently, during basketball team practice, they had deliberately excluded me from any play. I decided that if I wasn't wanted, then I should leave the team. I subsequently asked the coach and was given permission to leave TLS team and play for Miri Machinda Club.

TLS team played Machinda Club, and lost. I contributed over 30 points in that match. The coach was furious, and his fire was fed more fuel by the TLS players. I was summoned to your office, supposedly for a good beating - by you.

You, and certainly the coach, were probably expecting me to just apologize and walk out with my "tail between my legs". I started to defend my action. The coach, with his selective memory, declared that he never gave me permission to leave the TLS team, let alone play for an outside team. I lost my cool, and raised my voice. The coach responded in kind. You showed irritation, and, being a good executive, proceeded to side with the coach. At that point, all three of us were having an intense verbal battle. What happened afterward did (not?) surprise me.

You permitted me to continue to play for Machinda.

Mr. Ruthe, you never told me this, but I suspect your decision was probably based on your belief that although I was a rebel, I was not a stupid person - at least not stupid enough to blatantly break TLS school rule: leaving TLS team to play for an outside team without permission.

Whatever your reason, I thank you and I admire you for your fair mindedness.

A.D. Ruthe - my Teacher and Mentor

You knew I could write, with some degree of clarity in delivery. You graded my papers with decent but not the best marks. Your one and constant comment was: "Write on something familiar to you, for only when you do that can you express yourself with the needed passion."
I wanted to go into medicine, and surgery no less. Consequently, I often wrote about medicine - good writing but lacking in substance. After your comment and guidance, I began to write about something that I knew. You were somewhat surprised, yet pleased, when I wrote about romance in secondary school. You gave me a very good mark in that paper.

Thank you for your help, I got a very good grade in English in my School Certificate.

Mr. Ruthe, I don't know if you were a great man in New Zealand or not, or how you compared with your compatriots - socially and professionally. All I know about you is from our relationship at TLS. In my mind, you, Mr. A.D Ruthe, are greater than all the TLS headmasters combined. You had reinforced my belief that it is OK to stand one's ground, as long as one is in the right. I did that during our "battle", and you did not shut me up, kick my butt and send me packing the next morning. I doubt if many other Headmasters would have tolerated my behavior under that same circumstance.

I hope you are successful in reading this e-mail. I am certain some of your internet-savvy friends at "heaven.com " will help you - in case you have any trouble with GMAIL.

Sincerely, Sam TeoFormer student at TLS (1961-64)

Miss Rose Chin - Extraordinary English Teacher

Miss Rose Chin with her brother David Chin and other family members in New Zealand. Photo courtesy of David.
1968 was the last year of my school at Tanjong Lobang School. I had been in the school for NINE years. It has been a loving home, a training ground and Mr. McCormick was right. It was like heaven.

Now that I am 61 I have the privileges of sharing my memories with friends while my mind is still good. It is not fair just to remember Mr. Robert Nicholl only. Like the Beatles song, "In My Life", I remember them all.

And today, one of the teachers I would like to remember is Miss Chin.When the newly graduated

Miss Rose Chin walked into our English class that particular moment, we being only just a few years younger than her, knew that she was nervous. She kicked the rattan waste paper basket and we waited patiently,respectfully and knowingly for her to start her lesson.

Only Reggie Tersan laughed softly and said,"She's nervous!" She did not flinch at all but continued with her business of teaching.

Reggie went on to become her favourite and best English student.

But for me,in just that moment I knew that she was all business and that she would get on with her teaching to the best of her ability and we would benefit a lot from her refreshing approach.

Physically, she was a strong woman, one that was used to changkul-ing soils and hard farm work. She had the sun burnt skin of a farmer's daughter. So we as the native students of the class, immediately felt that we could relate to this new teacher who had just come back from Australia.

Mentally, she was really intelligent and she had an admirable command of the English languange. I am proud to say that I was in her class long enough to learn all the important tenets of the English language that year. All my fellow classmates benefitted from her teaching as well. None of us dare to upset her, while most understood her intent and purpose completely. She was clever and she could impart knowledge to us. So for that we were willing and respectful students. Her mental strength challenged us to be disciplined language learners.

One thing which really impressed me as the weeks became months and the months became a year. She was able to talk non stop on a topic she was teaching. Sometimes I thought that she was not breathing at all, even at the commas and the fullstops. Was she really able to speak like a train? In later years when I met her, she was still the same. I really believe that it was listening to her fast talking that I developed a very good listening skill and long concentration span.

In terms of opinions , I had the feeling then that Miss Chin always had her mind strongly made up. Even though I did not make a really good impression on her (as I was always saying "but ....." and disagreeing with her) and I was not that goody goody kind of student, I felt that she was able to be objective towards me. She gave me a good evaluation without showing she was biased, like so many other teachers would do. She kept a very good poker face when it came to students who were not paying attention or pulling their weight.

I would say that during her time in our school she was one of the most dedicated teachers. She worked hard and we could all see that very very clearly. She meant business and would not tolerate any nonsense in class. And she came across to us then in every thing she did, she was just so proper and such a perfect Chinese woman with all the classical ethics and moral values. In later years when I became a Principal, I had wished that all English teachers should be like her and as many students as possible would have excellent results in English.

We should have more English teachers like Miss Rose Chin.

Remembering Mr. Martin Wilson of New Zealand

Although I did not come to know Mr. Wilson as well as Mr. Nicholl I had the privilege of being associated with him on several occasions when I was in Lower Sixth 1966. But I will always be grateful to him because he helped me realised what I could do to help myself become an adult. Besides,he made a remarkable impression on me on what it was like to be a knowledgeable person. And in 1966 because of him I felt I became a taller Iban.

Mr. Wilson was a very intelligent and knowledgeable man who was interested in many things. He was interested in archaeology, history,natural studies,photography and the sciences. So I thought, here we had a Renaissance man from New Zealand.

Besides he had a lot of sympathies for the Maoris. This had impressed me greatly as I am of Iban descent.

Mr. Wilson taught us General Paper in Lower Sixth. We had one interesting class with him which inspired me to be even more interested in writing. This lesson also taught all of us that learning was a happy event.

One day Mr. Wilson asked us to write an essay on "The Eating Habits of People of Sarawak ", Deep in thought, I really wanted to be different in my approach of writing. So off I went and wrote .

the next day, Mr. Wilson abruptly told us that he would read aloud one piece of writing. He read aloud the following lines with some drama :"The manner in which the respective community in Sarawak eat reflects their culture and to a certain extent their values...." I still remember that I specifically wrote this ".when it comes to eating, the Chinese eat very fast and that it is in a matter of minutes they could consume a bowl of rice with chopsticks.." And to my surprise after he read that he laughed melodiously . He had really enjoyed this particular piece of writing he said. Much to my embarrassment it was my essay and that particular part was a little exaggerated by him. In hindsight I cannot now say whether my approach was mature or not. But perhaps he also knew that I would not be annoyed by him for reading aloud my work.

Alec Kaboy turned to me and said, "Uchak, that sounds like you!" I kept a very straight face at that remark. To this day, no one knew that it was me who wrote that essay.

I never let any one know who was the writer. Neither did Mr. Wilson. For keeping that confidence I started to learn to trust a teacher like Mr.Wilson and I knew that he was a man who would never betray a friend. That was an important lesson in life for me: a good person would and should not betray his friend.

Later, during the school mid year break, he wanted to give us poor ulu boys a chance to earn extra money. Probably he liked Robert Madang and I more than the others. He took us to do archeological diggings for the Sarawak Museum in Bakong. We got to know him better as we experienced digging into tombs and deep caves.Besides Robert Madang, and I he took Ali Junaidi , and Borhan Tahir..

It was perhaps another twist of fate that I had again a chance to prove myself to him. Our boat driver Pak Cik Daud was suddenly taken sick, I volunteered to be the driver in his place for the last week of our stay at Bakong. Dispersing all the doubts of the others in the team I managed to negotiate the narrow Bakong River. When a huge motor launch was ahead of us, making difficult waves, our long boat almost sank and every one was fearful that death was eminent. But even though I thought I was not going to handle the outboard well, I managed to triumph against the odds and saved the boat from sinking. It was a very proud moment for me and Mr. Wilson gave me a pat on the back.

Later in the year, Mr. Wilson chose Robert Madang and I for the Kinabalu climb. I was a complete pauper and could not even afford a towel. But being a very perceptive man, he saw to it that I had the finances to go on the adventure of my life. My heart was in my mouth from the moment we set off for the trip from Miri to Kota Kinabalu by plane.When we reached KK or Jesselton we were joined by Mr. Voon and Mr. Yong.

Both these Chinese teachers gave us, which to me, was my first great Chinese dinner in one of the restaurants called Nam Chong.

You could not find a happier native boy on the plane at that time. Wind on my face, a few cents in my pocket and a whole adventure ahead of me. And this was because a white teacher was able to find a way to finance my trip.

Every one could see that I gave my all for the trip: I carried half a tin of kerosene on my bare back up the mountains, I did everything with an eager heart. And with great determination I made myself truly useful and a member of the team. I would not let any one of them down.

Even though I felt the terrible cold at 8000 feet I kept my enthusiasm high.. Robert and I had tried to keep our feet together. On the second night at 11 ,000 feet level, I had great difficulties in attending to the call of nature. Mr.Wilson came later into the next cubicle remarked rather loudly," I have the same problem." And a while later, I heard him say, "Oh Mother I did it." Before he left the cubicle, he humourously wished me luck. Many years later Jeliang Mersat would tease me,"Oh Mother I did it."

We left the last camp at 4:30 in the morning.

When the sun came up and lit up the whole sky as we reached the top of the mountains, I knew I could climb more moutains in my life in the future. And nothing was impossible.We had reached the top without one of Mr.Wilson's son, Mark. It was the third day of our climb.

We did have a good time taking photographs, and I still have a copy of the photo after all these years. The journey back, descending the mountains was more painful on my knees. And when we reached the base camp, which was just a little hut,we were given a certificate to certify our ascent, which I consequently lost. We stayed the night there, sharing the hut with two Japanese men. One of the Japanese men shared with me a bottle of sake, along with it he tried to teach me a Japanese song.

The cold on the mountain was inspiring and awesome.I realized that I really like the cold. It was that which spurred me to be determined to make it overseas one day.I really have to thank Mr. Wilson for helping me to realise my potentials and that I could be some body some day.

Thomas Sia,Wilson Sakan and Bicycles in Tanjong Lobang

A batch of ulu boys, bicycles and a wonderful hill. These are good materials for a great Travel and Living Documentary.

But video recording was not even invented in 1960! All that one could see at that time was recorded in the mind.

My great memory of Thomas Sia was that he was a big boy with a big heart. He kept his hair well groomed like Elvis,he rolled his sleeves up to the shoulders to show his great muslces, as was the style of the day.

And then, he had the luxury of a beautiful bike - high saddled, low handlebars. He was akin the Michael Schaumaker, the Grand Prix driver of today. You know the feeling when Thomas passed by with his bike. He had speed, he had style, he had everything an ulu boy would wish for.

The Tanjong Lobang hill slope, going down to Teman Selera was indeed a steep slope and most students would run all the way down the slope but dread going back up hill. It would be a real drudge.

One day Thomas being the good hearted boy he was he offered Wilson Sakan a joy ride on his bicyle. Thomas put Wilson to seat on the bar and the two giggle as they rode around, Wilson in front and Thomas on his saddle. It was good to see two boys (Form Three, about 16 years old) on a bicyle having a fun time out.

Then without really realising what Thomas was about to do, Wilson found himself floating down the slope. It was a truly free wheeling experience.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, Thomas casually said," That's it. Good ride wasn't it?"

By then Wilson had crumpled into a nervous ball of human tensed up muscles and was weeping away.

"Thomas why did you do that? I almost died of fright!" was all Sakan could say. He had almost stopped breathing by then. He had held his breath when Thomas skillfully steered the bike down the slope at top speed.

Sakan had never been on a bicycle before in his life.

That ride helped him see life and death flashing in front of his eyes. We believed that he must have closed his eyes during the ride too.

One memory that would always flash through my mind was the way the late Taba bin Besar cycled down the hill at tremendous speed and almost killed himself. He flipped over the bike and fell into the drain. His face was very very damaged and that was a traumatic occasion for me because any physical harm was very painful to me.

Bicycles continued to be an important part of our lives. Most of us Ulu boys did not own one as we made do with walking all the way to town, which was about 5 kilometers, hitching rides from our teachers and taking the slow bus.