Movie Fan in the 60's in Miri

Movie fans in the 60's in Miri would probably used the service of one popular guy called Dol.

He was our hero as he could help us buy tickets. We rural boys did not have the ways to manouvre into the front to get the best of the cheapest tickets. But Dol could.

For several years whether it was a day show or late night show my school mates and I would look out for Dol. Dol would always be so willing to help . But at times the cinema was really full. Perhaps some of us did manage to sneak in and avoided all those searching flash lights of the ticket checkers.

I have fond memories of Pak Cik Dol because I was such a small kid I was often squeezed out of the line for the tickets. Or if I finally managed to come to the box office somehow there would have been too many hands jamming into the opening. I hurt myself several times that way. So Dol's presence at the Miri Theatre was always such a welcoming moment for me.

I never knew if Pak Cik Dol enjoyed the movies as much as we did.

In later years I would meet him in Bekenu where he lives with his son. He has been a broker of some sorts. Enterprising as he always has been he knows how to make a living even at his age. It is good that we can meet up and I can continue to call him pak cik Dol. Although when we were younger as small kids we're just too happy to call "Dol" who was not very much older than us actually. Pak Cik Dol frequents the coffee shops in Miri but he likes Fortuna Coffee Shop best. That's where I have managed to say hello to him and buy him a drink several times.

He looks awfully swanky with his cap on . I met him this morning at the Fortuna Coffee Shop and we shared a cuppa and talked about old times.

Stained Glass Window TLS

As far as I can remember when I came to the school in 1959 this stained glass window was already there.

To an ulu boy the fact I did not know anything about European art history of stained glass window remains a significant part of my life. I just looked at it as if it was a part of urban structure - very pretty and took it for granted.

As I slowly acquired more knowledge in school the significance of stained glass dawned on me.

Nevertheless it is still a remarkable piece of art in a small part of Borneo. I suppose it is even more remarkable that it is one of the few pieces left in Borneo.
And perhaps Mr.Nicholl had a hand in its design and specifications. I was too young being just 9 years old then and too "ulu"

Upper Sixth Arts Class of 1967

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)