My Story

MY STORY

I attended Std.1 to Std.4 in Siliau Tamil School. The school was a primary school. The school was a wooden building with one block. There were just six partitions made of board. There were six classes namely Std.1 to six. It was not far away from the estate quarters.

I was registered to Std.1 in 1947 when I was seven years old. From what I could remember there were only three or four teachers to teach from std.1 to Std.6. Their names were Rajoo, Pannirselvam, Velusamy and Arasu.

The pupils of Std.1 had to learn the Tamil alphabets on sand. Once they had mastered the Tamil alphabets they were given slates and slate pencils. Anything that had been written on the slates could be rubbed off and could be used as many times as possible. There were no exercise books at that level.

Only a few of us were bright pupils in the class. Many of the pupils took a long time to master the 3Rs namely Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. So the teachers had a bountiful time to punish the pupils. The teachers were not only masters of teaching but also they were masters of punishment. Every time they wanted to punish the pupils they would invent new methods. Among the punishments, the favorite punishments were Rotan, squeezing the ear, knocking the head with knuckles, slapping, putting another boy or girl on horseback, Standing on the chair, standing on the bench, sitting and standing holding the ears - those were a few punishments I could think of. Luckily enough none of those punishments were administered on me.

Another time the pupils and the teachers feared most was at the time of inspection by the fearful inspectors. The school goes topsy turvy before the inspection date. The children were put in a roasting time to learn by heart the poems and the maths tables. Some were very good at them and many others were in a difficult situation. Normally two inspectors would come to visit the school. One would be in-charge of Std.1 to Std.3 and another from Std.4 o Std.6. At the stroke of 8.00 in the morning the inspectors would arrive . The children were arranged in single files. Before the inspection date the children were put in a tremendous pressure to master and learn by-heart the necessary poems and the arithmetic tables. There were some bright students who didn’t face any problems but there were some average and weak students who failed to master them.

First the inspectors would check the cleanliness of the children. The hair should be cut short and the finger nails should be clean and short. Then comes the test. They would pick anybody at random and ask them some mental sums. If they answered correctly they would proceed with other items namely poems and tables. If the particular student replies affirmatively the inspector would praise the student and proceeds to another.

This process would go on for some time. But if any student who failed the mental sums followed by poems and tables, the inspector would become violent and would slap him and knock him on his head. He would also rebuke the teacher who was in-charge. Then comes the test in the classroom. The children would be tested on the subject of mathematics. Dictation is a must. Some students would score high marks and a majority of them would fail the test. Before the inspectors go away they would give warnings to the students and teachers to improve or otherwise drastic action would be taken against them. On subsequent visits by the inspectors the progress of students were monitored thus the standard of the students were always increased from time to time. Other activity in the school life was gardening. The estate management provided the plots of land for the school and the students were encouraged to grow vegetables and fruit trees for daily use. Thus the overall development of the students were given priority for their entire school life. I had studied only up to Std.4 in the school for I was to study in an English medium School in Seremban starting all over again from Std.1. I studied in the estate school from 1947 to 1950. I was to begin Std.1 in 1951 in Seremban. When I was in Std.1 to Std.4 in Siliau Estate School, one of the teachers there by the name of Mr Pannirselvam had given me tuition in English in his house. He was very fond of me and I developed an inclination to learn fast whatever he taught me. He must have felt I would be better off if I was registered to an English school in Seremban. That was why he took me to St.Paul’s institution to register me there. Initially, I was interviewed and all the questions that they asked me I was able to answer. So, I was registered in Std.1 in 1951. I studied in SPI until Form 3 in 1957. It was a challenging time for me throughout my days in the school. I had to get up early to do housework as well as I had to look after the small children. At 11.00 in the morning I had to get ready because the bus would leave at 11.30 a.m. to Seremban. If I missed this bus I had to wait for another one or two hours for the next bus. It took nearly 11/2 hours for the journey from Siliau to Seremban. I had a few friends in school. Many of them were well off and they stayed in Seremban. I was the only one from the estate and many were very symphatatic to me and some looked low upon me. One of the friends was a Portuguese fellow and he was very kind to me. He used to teach me some Portuguese words now and then. Now I couldn’t remember anything. As the years went on it was very difficult for me to cope with the studies as I had no one in my place to help me in the subjects that were very difficult to comprehend. With hard work and determination I worked slowly and steadily on the subjects that need special attention. Come 1957, I faced the L.C.E.(Lower Certificate of Education) in Form 3. That was the year the Government introduced the National language. Somehow I managed to pass L.C.E. In those days you had to sit for Qualifying Test in Form 4. So, in 1958 I passed my Q.T. I couldn’t continue my studies in Form Five as my parents could not afford to support my studies. So, I stopped schooling in 1959 and started my typewriting class. I attended for 3 months and I stopped at Preliminary Test. During my school days especially when I was in Form 2, the teachers encouraged us the students to be members of Library. I used to borrow books and continued to do so until I completed my Form Four. Thus I slowly improved my English. My favorite books were Hitler’s oratory books and Leo Tolstoy’s books. Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina was my favorite book. I was reading only a few pages when a girl from the neighborhood came to my house. She was also studying in a school in Port Dickson. She saw the book and wanted to borrow the book I told her that I didn’t complete reading the book. But she begged me to borrow the book. I had no choice and gave her the book. As promised she did not return the book until now.

PART TWO

When I was studying in Form 3, I had a friend by the name of Parameswaran who was living in Seremban Town at the Government Quarters in the Lake Garden. He was pestering me to come to his house. On many occasions I was just avoiding to go to his house but sinse I was from an estate and he was well-off and I feared his parents. My father was also not in favour of me going to his house. Somehow, he convinced me to visit his house and stay overnight there. Finally, my father approved and allowed me to visit his place. One Saturday morning I waited for my friend Param near the school where we were studying. He came at the appointed time and he took me in his bicycle to his house. It was a wooden banglow. As soon as I reached there, his parents were there. By their facial expressions it was crystal clear they did not like me. I had a cold reception and I felt I was an unwanted guest. The mother of my friend was staring at me whenever I was crossing alone. This I did not tell my friend to avoid unwanted confrontation. Only consolation was that my friend was very friendly to me and this consoled me. Somehow, I managed to stay there overnight and in the morning the next day I said good-bye and returned to my home. From then on, I avoided visiting friends in their houses. As LCE Exam was nearing, I studied hard in the house. Those days there were no electricity and I had to use oil lamp to study. At the same time I was giving tuition in English to some of the young people in the estate. I was also giving tuition to some four Chinese girls who were living near my house. My father was very suspicious of me and I had seen him standing in a corner watching what I was doing there. After my exam and typewriting class, I was pondering what to do next. I was nearing 20 years old then in 1960. My father with the recommendation from some clerks in the estate was expecting me to be a clerk in the Guthrie Latex which was close by. I did not like to work in the estate. There were two people in the estate by the name of Mr Pothuval and Mr Krishna Menon who were the friends of my father who were ever ready to recommend me for the post of clerk in Guthrie Latex. I was adamant and refused their recommendations. My father was very furious. I told my father that I would work in Seremban rather than in an estate. I made several visits to Seremban and at one of the visits, I saw my friend Letchumanan and from him I came to understand that candidates were invited to apply for teacher’s post. Both of us together took the forms in the Education Department and applied. This was in January or February in 1960. In March 1960, I received a letter to an interview for Teacher’s Training. The interview was conducted in K.L.Education Department. I enquired the whereabouts of the place from a friend by the name of Sathiaseelan who was familiar of K.L. because he often took the trip to K.L. to visit his sister there. The interview was in the morning. So, I took a taxi a day earlier to stay in a hotel. I chose a hotel nearby to the Education Office. The hotel was in Petaling Street. The next day I walked about 200 meters to the department. When my turn came I went in the Office and I was interviewed by four people. With confidence I returned home. In March 1960, I received a letter stating that I was selected for teacher’s Training. I was elated so was my friends and family in the estate because I was the third person in the estate to be employed by the Government. But a small drawback was that I had to go to K.L. for training. I had to report for training on the 1^st of June 1960. So I had 3 months to prepare myself. After deliberations with my family and my friend Sathiyaseelan, I had decided to stay in his sister’s house initially in K.L. My father also bought a second hand bicycle at a cost of 60 dollars(Ringgit). I left my place 2 days earlier to K.L. with a suitcase and bicycle. I hired a taxi and reached Peel Road where my friend’s sister was staying. From Peel Road house to the Day Training Centre it was about 2 to 3 kilometers. I had to use the Jalan Tun Razak Road. Nothing significant happened when I stayed there and after six months I shifted to High Street where I stayed in a shop house the rest of my stay in K.L. undergoing training. During my stay in Peel Road I had an acquaintance by the name of Kumaraguru who often visited the house and we became good friends. Practically everyday he used to come to the house and we talked and joked. After shifting to High Street I never wavered from visiting Peel Road and always helped the children (who were 7 of them) in their studies. They were well attached to me. Kumaraguru would also come there very often to chat and pass his time. During my three years in training I had my practical in Vivekananda Tamil School in Brickfields, San Peng Tamil School in San Peng road and finally in Vivekananda School in Petaling Jaya. The shop house I rented was in High Street. There were in all six small rooms and I rented in one of them. The proprietor of the shop was a nice man and the tenants of other rooms were all young people except for an old man who was a money lender. Initially, I used my bicycle to travel from the shop to the training Centre. The Day Training Centre was located in Jalan Dungun opposite the General Hospital. During the entire training period, I did a lot of research work in libraries of the U.S.Embassy Building and in the British Council Library. My practical for third year was in Vivekananda Tamil School in P.J. I used to travel by bus everyday. I successfully completed my Training and the last day I was presented two books for my work, progress and conduct throughout the year. The principal of the college was Mr P.M.Clements – an European. That was in 1962. We had a farewell party that night and parted with heavy hearts.7) My First Posting. After the completion of my training I returned to my house in Siliau Estate. Passing the time was painful. So, normally I would visit my friend Sathiaseelan who was already married. He was a great singer and I used to listen to his songs. I had also a friend by the name of Ramakrishnan with whom I used to go to Seremban to see movies. I had also a friend by the name of Nathan who was a Post Master. I used to go to his house where I played with his small children. Sometimes, I had lunch there. On Sundays we used to go to Port Dickson to have a bath in the sea. Then one day I received a letter. It was my first posting letter. I was shocked when I read the letter. I was posted to Kelantan. When I broke the news to my parents and friends they too were shocked for I did not expect that I would be posted to a far off state or to an unknown territory. I had to report in January 1963. Only when I went to the education Department there I could be confirmed to teach in a school there. From what I understood from my friend Sathiseelan, kumaraguru who was in K.L. could help me to go to Kelantan. I packed my bag and went to my friend Kumaragu’s place in San Peng in K.L. Together, we both of us went to the taxi stand in K.L. and arranged a taxi for me to go to Kota Bharu the next day. The taxi driver agreed to pick me up at 6.30a.m. The next morning the taxi came at the right time and there were 3 people in the taxi. We followed the Bentong Temerloh road. The places were very new to me and the taxi driver was driving very fast. We reached Kuantan then we headed to Kuala Terengganu. In a few places we had to use ferries to cross the rivers. Then from Kuala Terrrengganu we headed to Kota Bharu. All in all we crossed 8 ferries and reached Kota Bharu at 8.00p.m. As we were trave ling in the taxi I became friendly with a person who was in the taxi. Then I leaned that he was a teacher also. He recommended a friend of him who was living in Kota Bharu. We took a rickshaw and went to his house. He was a married man. I stayed a night there after bidding farewell to my friend who took me there. He also gave his address in Pasir Mas. The next day I went to an address given by my friend in K.L. This person was working in a Survey Department. I met this friend and showed him the introductory letter. He was delighted and received me with open arms. The next day I went to the Education Department in Kota Bharu. It was a wooden building with attap roof. I produced my posting letter to one of the officers there. After going through my letter, the officer told me that they had not received any official letter from the Ministry. They asked me to wait for a few days. I returned to my bachelor friend’s quarters. I stayed alone since all of them had gone to work. There were four of them. In the evening they took me to Biaritz Park where they were having drinks. They were requesting and forcing me to drink beer. I refused and just had Coca Cola. After two days I went back to the Department and the education Officer by the name of Mr Murad had requested me to go and see him. From him I understood that I would be posted to a Tamil School. Since there was no Tamil school in Kota Bharu, he told me I would be posted to either Pasir Gajah or Kerilla Estate Tamil School. He told me the choice was mine. Since I was ignorant of those schools and their whereabouts, I requested the Officer to give me some time to decide. The Officer agreed and I was loitering around the office hoping somebody may give me an idea. At this juncture a man from the office approached me and asked me what was the problem. I told him my predicament. He was an Indonesian and his name was Mr Matupang. When I mentioned one of the school was in Kerilla Estate he became excited. He told me his son was an Assistant Manager there. He also told me that he would arrange a taxi to fetch me to that estate. I was delighted. I went back to the education Office and told the Officer of my decision to go to Kerilla Estate. Immediately, they prepared my posting letter and gave me a copy. In the meantime, the Indonesian man approached me and asked me to come and meet him again at 1.00p.m. in the office. So, I went back to the quarters and packed my bag and said goodbye to my friends and reached the office at 1.00p.m. The Indonesian friend was waiting there and took me to his house. I had lunch there. His wife was very friendly with me. The Indonesian man took me to the taxi stand and arranged with the taxi driver. The taxi would take me until to a small village-Kushial. There were another three people in the taxi. They were trying to talk to me but I couldn’t understand a word of their loghat. As I was traveling in the taxi I suddenly realized why there was little development taking place in Kelantan. Kelantan was ruled by PAS – the opposition party whereas the other parts of East coast as well as the West coast was ruled by Alliance. Then around 6.00p.m. I reached a place called Kushial. The taxi driver asked me to wait there until a private car came there to take me to Kerilla Estate. I looked around the small village and I saw a mamak shop. From him I understood that the mode of transport from there to Kerilla Estate was of the private cars which ply once in a way. As I was waiting the car came. There were many people waiting to get in. Somehow I squeezed into the car and the car started moving over the gravel road which was full of pot holes. Then about 7.00p.m. I reached Kerilla Estate. The whole journey was like a nightmare for I had not experienced that kind of travel in my entire life. When I got down I looked around to see anyone who could direct me to the Head Master. At that juncture, a young man approached and enquired about me. When he knew that I was a teacher he was flabbergasted for I was the first person to come there from K.L. I asked him the way to H.M.’s house. He showed me the way and it was very near to the office where I alighted. The H.M. was an old man and when I produced my appointment letter to him he saw the letter and looked at me surprised. Then he said he couldn’t accept me since he did not receive any official word. However I persuaded him, he refused to accept me. I was sad and my new friend told me to see the Manager the next day. In the meantime word had spread throughout the estate and many came to meet me to congratulate me. The first person who met me was Raj and he took me to the bachelor quarters and arranged with other friends to receive me to stay a night there. He also took me to one of the staff’s house and we discussed about the current affairs of the country. We had dinner in that house and then we returned to the bachelor’s quarters. That night we had a party interspersed with singing and dancing. I was requested to sing as well as to play my mouth organ (Harmonica). That night we slept very late. The next morning I went to the office to meet the Manager. When I produced my appointment letter he was delighted. After coming to know that the H.M. had refused to entertain me, he summoned the H.M. Mr Asirvatham and reprimanded him and ordered him to accept me as a teacher. That was how I started my teaching career in that school from 13.01.1963.

PART THREE

MY LIFE IN KELANTAN FROM 1963 TO 1967

When I reached Kota Bharu and the ensuing 5 days I was there, I noticed some peculiar things there was that the town was full of Malays especially women and they were running the businesses there. The shops and the market were full of Malay women and ladies. From my friend I learned that everybody – Malay men or for that matter non-Malay men – must behave very well not to disturb the girls, ladies or Malay women failing which they would be chopped by small chisels which the Malay men carry with them. I was also told there were many casualties for misbehaving. The men may tolerate for talking and joking with women but once one crosses the limit of teasing and touching the women they would not refrain from using the chise1 When friends told me all these I was not the least worried or bothered for I always behaved in such a way not to offend any woman. Even from young I had a lot of opportunity to mingle with girls and women, but I had not crossed the limit. In teacher’s training college too I was paired of with 3 women teachers and I had no problem with them even though we were together for a year. The school in which I was posted in Kerilla Estate was situated amidst the labour lines and it was a wooden building raised on stilts. When I entered the building there were 3 teachers. There were a few children banded together for there were no separate classes or barricades dividing the classes. Somehow I managed to familiarize myself on the first day of my school life. After a few days I was used to the environment. Thus my teaching life began. In the meantime, I was given a house to stay adjacent to the H.M. From the beginning we were on loggerheads and it continued until he retired in 1965. After a few days I fully understood the geography of the estate. It was a self-contained place where there were clinic, workshops, engine rooms and so on. The lines were segregated for Indians and Malays. The Indian families were about 200 and the Indian population was about more than 1000 people. The Malays constituted nearly 500 to 600 people. They were rubber tappers and rubber factory workers. The staff quarters were fringed near the famous Kelantan .river. My house was only about 10 meters from the Kelantan River. Flooding was an annual affair. The Indians in the estate were different from those of the West coast of Malaya. They had no contact with outside world. Marriages happen among themselves but they were very humble people. The estate was in a remote place and it was only connected by the gravel road and by the Kelantan River. The nearest village by road was about ten to fifteen kilometers and the road was a very bumpy road. It was broken here and there and the bare and exposed stones on the road make driving very difficult. The road was often used by heavy vehicles and Jeeps only. The private cars only ply the road when it was absolutely necessary. The Kelantan River was often used as a mode of transport. The diesel engine powered boats were used to carry passengers to and fro from Kerilla estate and to a jetty in Temangan. The boats could be used only during daytime that too from 8,00a.m. to 6.00p.m. So the estate was isolated and there were no entertainment outlets. The people would chatter around especially Indians. Some Malays could be seen practicing Dikir Barat and so on. Come 10.30p.m the lights would go off and the people would call it a day and go to sleep.

We bachelors had our own entertainment. There were about six of us namely Raj, Rajan, Sasi, Arumugam, Balan and myself. Initially they would be drinking beer and would be playing cards. For six months I avoided drinking beer whatever cajoling was done on me. Finally, I succumbed to their pressure and started drinking beer. That went on for one or two years. There was also a Chinese store keeper who was adjacent to my house who often invited me to his house to have one or two glasses of beer. Sometimes Whisky or Brandy was served. Raj and Rajan were heavy drinkers and I had to avoid them on many occasions. There were also parties held in the estate for the whole staff where even the Manager and assistant Managers attended and even I was not spared of the invitation. As usual I attended one of the parties. I had one glass too many of Brandy and whisky and I was completely intoxicated. I had to crawl to my house alone in that night and vomited many times. The next day I had a severe headache because of the hangover and that instant I resolved myself not to drink any types of alcohol.

As 1963 was approaching to an end, I went to the Department in Kota Bharu to ask for a transfer back to the West coast preferably Negri or Selangor. The department refused my request and asked me to wait for 5 years. I was disappointed but was not sad.

In 1964, there were some incidents need mentioning. Television programmes were introduced that year. Not many households could afford to own television sets then. Only a few staffs had television sets and one of the first programmes was Boxer Mohamad Ali’s bout in the Olympics. I was also popular there because of my ability to sing Tamil songs and playing Harmonica. Sasi was my ardent listener and practically every Friday I was in his house singing and playing Harmonica because Friday was the public holiday in Kelantan and his father would leave on Thursday evening to visit his other family members in Kota Bharu. My friend Rajan was a motorbike racer when he was in Kuala Lumpur. Raj bought a bike but he asked Rajan to drive it from Kota Bharu. I too went with him. I was sitting pillion and the road from Kota Bharu to Machang was a straight stretch. He drove the bike at 160 kilometers per hour and when he stopped the bike in Machang I was overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. My shirt at the back was black with exhaust fumes and I had to discard the shirt and buy a new one. I told him to slow down the rest of the journey and that was the last time I rode pillion with him. My friend became worse and worse regarding drinking beer. He became so addicted that he was neglecting his work even though the Management had warned him a few times. Sometimes his family – his wife and a child – would visit him and he never bothered to entertain them. He would be drinking in a coffee shop three to four hours in a stretch. On many occasions he was late to submit the check roll and this angered the management. The assistant Manager Mr Beddingfield advised him on a number of occasions. One day they had a heated argument and Rajan was sacked immediately. This angered him, and he also came to blows with the assistant Manager. Luckily the on lookers came to the rescue to stop them from trading blows. He left the place immediately. In the evening we used to jog from our estate to a branch estate nearby about three kilometers. There was a Malayalee Assistant Manager there who was very good in speaking English and he was a very knowledgeable person. My friend Raj and I usually would be having a long discussion regarding the world affairs and I had gained a lot of information from him. I also subscribed the straits times. This paper would be sent to me from Kota Bharu but we would get the paper only the next day. The estate management had built a badminton court for the estate staff. Every day we used to play and practice the game. Sometimes we also played volleyball there. As the days went by I became a very good player and there were no players to beat me except Raj. Raj and I also became very good doubles players. Once in a while a Chinese friend of Raj who was working in a new education Department in Kota Bharu would visit Kerilla Estate. As a badminton player himself he was very impressed with our play. We were also singles and doubles champions in the Tanah Merah district. So, he arranged for us to play in the State Tournament in Kota Bharu. We were very excited and full of enthusiasm. We were entered in the singles and doubles games. When we entered the court we were full of confidence. But when we started warming up we immediately found out that the difference between open court and a closed court. We could hardly send the shuttlecock to the base line. As predicted we were completely and soundly defeated by our opposite players in the singles as well as in the doubles. That was the last time we took part in any tournament thereafter. But we continued practicing in our place to keep ourselves fit.

It was in 1964 as one of the visits to Kota Bharu, I decided to meet my friend with whom I traveled from Kuala Lumpur to take up my job in Kelantan. He was in Pasir Mas and I went to his house which was a Government Quarters for teachers. There I met a friend by the name of Krishnan who persuaded me to join MCIS. So, I decided to join and he told me that the deductions would be made in my pay every month. It was in 1964 that I went home for my holidays that I realized my father was quietly making arrangements to visit India. So, I took him by taxi to Port Klang where he would be traveling by Rajullah Ship. One day a new staff who was appointed as a field clerk in a nearby estate came to the court to practice there. As soon as he saw me he was shocked. Only then I realized he was Sasitharan who was working as a clerk in Siliau Estate. I knew him alright and he had a shady background.

When he was in Siliau he had fallen in love with a girl and the whole estate knew that the girl had become pregnant because of him. Subsequently, he was not seen and nobody knew his whereabouts. That was why he was shocked to see me there. After sometime he approached me and told he would like to meet me alone in his place. He told me not to reveal his secret until we met again. At the end of weekend I met him in his place and he told me that he had to leave Siliau because his parents disapproved his marriage with the girl there. I knew he was lying and I promised him not to reveal his secret to anybody. When I reached Siliau in one of the holidays I came to understand that the girl’s brothers were hunting for him but to no avail.

When I first came to Kerilla estate there was no problem getting food because there were a few coffee shops which catered lunch and dinner. My bachelor friends were also having food there. As days went by, I found it difficult to cope with the expenses as I was paid only around 200 dollars(RM). I had to send 100 dollars to my parents every month and I was left only with 100 dollars to meet my personal expenses. On many occasions I had to tighten my belt. Luckily, the management was very generous and they paid advances to me as other staff. To cut the cost a few of my friends and I tried cooking. Since all of us were novices and were not good at that we abandoned the idea. After a few months, a staff by the name of Balan came to the estate to work as a field conductor. He had a family of mother, grandmother and sister. We had our food there until they left the estate towards the end of 1966.

To cater entertainment to the workers especially Indian workers the management made arrangements with theatres in Kota Bharu to screen Tamil cinemas in the estate crutch which doubled as a theatre. The first cinema screened there was “Puthiya Paravai”. The management also screened cinemas such as “Dr.No” and “From Russia With Love” which were screened near the bungalow. We also made a trip to one of the estates nearby which was only connected by river. The new film ‘Nenjil Or Alayam” was to be screened there. A few of us hired a boat. The boat was laden with full of people. That night it was raining incessantly. Moreover, it was an upstream journey and the boat driver had to maneuver carefully to avoid onrushing logs and what not in the river. We reached the estate and everybody scrambled to get down on the jetty. The logs were tied together for the people to get down. When I got down one of the logs gave way and I rolled down and fell into the river. Since it was near the river bank the river was shallow and I immediately got up and escaped. I was fully soaked and had to endure the cold throughout that night in the theatre. When

Rajan was in the estate, he sometimes used to borrow a gun to go for hunting. Sometimes I went with him in the night to hunt birds. There were also wild boars which destroyed the rubber seedlings. So, one day three of us went to hunt the wild boar. He was a sharp shooter and he shot the wild boar with the help of us for we were the ones who directed the torch light on onrushing wild boars. One of the wild boars was hit and died. We picked the dead wild boar and reached at one of the staff quarters. It was cut, cleaned and cooked that night itself.

I bought a motorbike in 1964 in K.L. The bike was M.V.Agusta an Italian bike. After buying the bike I came home by bike from Kerilla Estate to Siliau. It took three days to reach Siliau. I always stopped a night in Kuantan. Then when I reached K.L. I always spend a night in K.L. Only the next day that I would proceed to my birth place. After buying the motorbike it was easy for me to travel here and there. I was relied mostly by my H.M. to go to the Education Office very often as most of the correspondence was in a transition period from Engllish to Bahasa Malaysia. I also wanted to visit Batu Gajah Tamil School which was my second choice then. It was situated between Ketereh and Machang. I went there after a lot of queries from people and the H.M. there was a Brahmin and it was a very small school. The H.M. there pestered me to have lunch with him in his house. After some time I returned to my place.

Raj and I also made a jungle track to a nearby kampong to have durians and mangosteen. The tract was a pathway and we managed to reach the kampong. We had durians and mangosteen at a cheap rate and we returned through a small town called Kushial.

It was in 1965 that one of the Hindu Cultural Society Members from Kota Bharu who came to see me. He requested me to prepare the children for a small drama lasting about 15 to 30 minutes. The cultural show would be held within one month. I had to prepare a script and prepare the drama. As there was no one to help me I prepared them as needed and went to the show in the Jeep provided by the estate. The children performed quiet well. Then suddenly the organizers requested me to render a vocal performance. I sang a song in Tamil titled ‘Karpanai Endralum’ and I received a big applause.

THE POLITICAL SITUATION

Malaya was ruled at that time before 1957 by the British and our leaders wanted independence for the country. Tengku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun Sambanthan represented the political parties of UMNO, MCA and MIC respectively and they went to London to have a dialogue with the British authorities there. They successfully returned to Malaya and independence was declared on 31.08.1957. At the same time Merdeka stadium was built to declare independence there. Merdeka tournament of football was also inaugurated in that year inviting the best teams from Asia.

By now Malaya faced some teething problems but was slowly and steadily overcame by our first Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman who often said he was the happiest Prime Minister in the world. Then in 1965, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined with Malaya to form Malaysia. After few months Singapore left Malaysia. Then Malaysia was embroiled with confrontation with Indonesia. This too was resolved after some scary encounters. Malaysia too won Thomas Cup in the Badminton tournament held in Jakarta. When everything was going well May 13, 1969 disturbances of ethnic groups shook Malaysia especially in the surrounding regions of Kuala Lumpur because of the arrogance showed by overzealousness of the DAP(Democratic Action Party). Many lives were lost. Goodwill among the races prevailed when all parties agreed to cooperate for the betterment of the country.

As 1965 approached, the administration was completely administered to the school to run the daily routine in the school. The estate management was disallowed to interfere in the school affairs. That was the big burden to the H.M. who was not well versed in Bahasa Malaysia. So, he resigned and went away. The State education department then appointed me as an Acting H.M. At the same time I decided to further my Education. I enrolled as a correspondence student in a Raffles Institution in K.L It was a tedious year for me as I had to work hard as an Acting H.M. as well as to prepare for my MCE examination. The examination centre was in Ketereh which was near Kota Bharu. Luckily, I had motorbike. In the meantime I had also to give tuition to Mr Matupang the assistant manager who was bidding for promotion by learning Tamil.

After the exam, I took part in one of the parties hosted by my friend Raj. There were a few people who attended the party. His house was near the clinic. We had to go a kilometer to his house through the lines which were full of dogs and many dared not walk because the dogs would chase in a menacing manner. So, I took another friend as pillion and went to the party. As I had mentioned earlier I had stopped drinking alcohol and I was determined not to have any alcoholic drinks. The other friends were having their rounds happily and after a few hours many were fully boozed. After that we decided to stay in our host’s house that night. It was already 3.00a.m. We decided the rooms ourselves and three of us stayed in one room. We were very sleepy then. The friend whom I took by my motorbike, wanted to go to the bathroom. I directed the torch light for him and I fell asleep. After some time I heard a commotion and I woke up. Raj told me that the other friend was missing. Then we woke up other friends who were sleeping in adjacent rooms and started frantically to search him. The news of his disappearance spreaded like wild fire and more people came to the house to search him. It was pitch dark as there was no electricity by then. People with torch lights and hurricane lamps were searching here and there. A staff by the name of Munusamy was accusing me for his disappearance. I had to convince him and many others that I had not done any fowl play. The gate of the house was locked and we were very puzzled how he managed to get out of the house. He was not even wearing trousers but only dhoti. Then one of the searchers suggested he might have gone to his house which was about a kilometer away. So, many of us went to his house and to our amazement we found that his house was locked. So we decided to inform the manager. At that time the manager was a Malayalee and after listening to the incident he directed people to search such places as drains and what not. Now the time was already 5.30 in the morning. Some said he might have committed suicide. The manager asked Raj – the missing friend’s relative – to break open his house so we might find something like notes of suicide. When Raj broke the lock and entered the house, suddenly a figure appeared and asked us “What is it all about”. The figure - for a moment we thought it was a ghost - was none other than the missing person. Everyone of us was relieved to find him alive and kicking. The fellows who accused me apologized to me even though I was very angry with them. When things calmed down, the friend who was missing related how he had to come to his house. Once he entered the bathroom, Raj unwittingly locked the room. He said he called many times and nobody opened the door. He then went through another door, climbed the locked gate and then proceeded to his house with a stick in hand to chase off the dogs which were after him. When he reached his house he realized he had the house keys left behind and opened one of the windows which had no hinges to enter his house and that was how he entered in the house. From that day onwards, I avoided spending the night with other friend’s houses.

From 1966, I was also requested to give tuition to three Malay girls who were the daughters of Mr Aziz who was an office clerk in the estate. One girl was in Form 3, the second girl in Form 2 and the other in standard six. The family was very good to me and I always had my dinner in their house after tuition. Subsequently, they passed their examination with flying colours.

Once I was a lone passenger in the boat returning from Temangan to my place in kerilla Estate. It was pitch dark and the boat driver left me alone in the boat to visit his family nearby. I was overwhelmed with fright until he returned and from then on I never made any trips in the night.

Mr Ah Chai was a storekeeper in the estate and he always welcomed me to his house to have tea in his house. Once when his daughter came for vacation, they all planned to go to Kota Bharu to spend the night there. I was also invited. So, together with their family and Mr Ah chai’s daughter’s boy friend Mr Mathupang we went to Kota Bharu to spend the night there.

Throughout my stay in Kelantan I had witnessed floods every year especially during the months of December and January. Our place was not much affected even though we were near the Kelantan river. But the floods of 1966 and early January of 1967 was very different. Actually, I was in Negeri Sembilan when the floods in Kelantan were making havoc. When I heard this news from radio and television, I decided to go there because my things and motorbike were there. As a precaution I had already put my important things above the ceiling before I left for holidays.

The journey from Kuala Lumpur to near Temerloh was smooth. From the taxi driver we passengers came to know that the whole area of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan were severely flooded and he could not proceed further and dropped us near Temerloh. Temerloh town too was flooded. We had to hire sampan to wade through the flood water until we reached a point where the road was clear. It was like a shuttle service all the way to Kerilla Estate. When I reached the place, I was shocked to see the whole place was submerged with flood water. My house and the school were also submerged. We had to spend about three nights in a higher ground where the helicopters dropped food tins and other necessities for us. It was raining incessantly and we had to endure the cold throughout our stay there. After three days, the rain stopped and flood water started to recede. When I returned to my house, there was nothing to retrieve because anything and everything were destroyed. My books and clothing all were stained by mud and I could not use them anymore. I had to use a lot of money to make new clothing. My motorbike was completely destroyed and I had to sell it for scrap iron.

CLEARING SCHOOL

In the 1967 floods the school which was a new building was completely submerged by the flood water. After 3 days when the water resided we found that it was badly damaged as well as plastered with mud. The management sent tens and tens of lorry tanks of water to clean up the school. The education department took the initiative to repair the school. In this background, I decided to ask for a transfer back to Negeri Sembilan towards the end of 1967. My transfer was approved and I was posted to Siliau Estate and I had to report for duty in early January 1968. My friends were very sad hearing that I was going on transfer. With heavy heart we departed and I took a train in Kuala Krai to return to Kuala Lumpur.

PART 4

BACK TO SILIAU 1968 - 1975

I safely arrived in Siliau towards the end of 1967 and I had to report towards the end of 1967 and I had to report for duty on 1.1.1968. The school was the same school where I studied before. Now there was an additional separate building. I was instructed to teach Bahasa Malaysia and Physical Education.

I didn’t want to stay in Siliau so I rented a house in Rantau which was about 10 kilometers away. That house was at a hill and the rental was 25 dollars. My brother’s children Letchumy and Manoharan were staying with me. Manoharan was in Secondary School and Letchumy was helping me cooking.

As I was in no love with any woman, my father and brother started to find a suitable person for me to get married. Somebody arranged for us to go to Tampin to look for a bride. The girl was short and thin and we were not impressed. Then after some time in the month of July, 1968, we went to Paya Lang Estate in Johor. There everybody was very much impressed about the person by the name of Kamalam and the marriage arrangements were done swiftly and I too rented a new house in Takau. As arranged the marriage took place in 18.08.1968 in Balathendayuthapani Temple in Gemas. After marriage Letchumy and Manoharan were also living with us.

2. May 13 1969

1969 was a General Election year. The Prime Minister Tuanku Abdul Rahman was very confident that the ruling party – Alliance – would win the election. No doubt as predicted Alliance won the election but on a reduced scale. The DAP – the opposition party – won most of the seats in Selangor and they were celebrating in an overzealous manner ridiculing the ruling party supporters. This prompted tension throughout the country and the racial violence flared. The confrontation between Malays and Chinese left many thousands dead. Thus May 13 was regarded as a black mark in the history of Malaysia (Luckily enough. The level headedness of the leaders quelled the differences and goodwill prevailed henceforth). During the May 13 period, curfew was imposed in the whole country from dusk to dawn. That was the time when we were arranging to hold the District Sports in Rantau. So, two of my friends and myself went in a Chinese man’s taxi to Seremban. When we reached Rasah, there was a road block. When asked to stop, the Chinese taxi driver did not stop completely. The taxi was moving slowly. Agitated by this, a soldier darted towards us. The soldier shouted that any little movement he would open fire. We were horrified and scared to death. The Chinese taxi driver was shivering will fright. They searched the taxi in and out and let go with a stern warning.

3. MAGIC STONE

One day I was in Seremban on personal matter. I went alone and I had my breakfast in Prakash Bhawan. As I was coming out of the restaurant, I encountered a Chinese man near the roadside and he said he would show me a magic stone which would bring me good luck. At that period I was very hard up for money to run the family and I believed him. He took me to a lonely place nearby and demonstrated how the stone moved upwards when placed on a car. At the same time another Indian man approached me and they both convinced me that it was really a magic stone. They were asking me some money and I was reluctant. Then they asked me to follow them to a coffee shop where they said they would give me the magic stone. I followed them. As soon as we reached the shop, the Chinese fellow took out a bundle and told me it contained a magic stone which would bring good luck to me if I prayed and lighted an incense every day for a week provided that I would not reveal this secret to anybody including my wife. I was very convinced about what they had told me. They asked me to pay 150 dollars. I had only a few dollars in my pocket and I told them so. Finally they asked me my watch and the few dollars in my pocket. When I reached home, I religiously prayed and lighted the incense as instructed.. My wife wanted to know but I refused to reveal the secret. On the eighth day when I opened the bundle, there was a stone and I was keeping it for a long time. I improved my financial standing after a few years and the magic stone could have been one of the factors or simply I was conned by those people who had given me the magic stone!

4. ANOTHER HOUSE FOR RENT IN RANTAU ESTATE

There was a chief clerk in Rantau estate and he had two school going children. A friend of mine named Mr Vellappan, was giving tuition. Then he requested me to continue giving tuition to the children. The parents also agreed. So, I used to bicycle from my house in Takau to their house in Rantau Estate to give tuition. Then I came to know there was a house for rent. We moved to the house in `1971. That was the time my father became very sick. I took him to Dr.Holohan an English specialist who diagnosed that my father had heart trouble. He was under medication for a long time. At the same time my mother too became sick and I had to admit her in the hospital in Seremban where we thought she would recuperate. But she was sent to Tampoi. As we were renting in Rantau Estate, the management gave notice to us to vacate the house as they were fragmenting the estate and selling the houses. We were given three months to vacate. So, I bought a land in Takau for 2000 dollars and started building a house there. After much difficulty, the house was completed and we moved in 1972. On 28^th April 1972 my mother passed away and we buried her in Siliau Estate.

At this time my father-in-law gave me 700 dollars to buy a Honda 65c.c.motorbike. It was easy for me to go to school. From 1972 onwards it was very difficult for me in the school because I had a tiff with the H.M. He was very good to me until 1972 because I was helping him in the administrative work. But in 1972, our salary was revised and I was drawing more than his salary and he was very jealous of me. At the same time another teacher was appointed in the school and he was helping out the H.M’s administrative work. He started to find fault on anything and everything I was doing. This angered me on many occasions but I carried on.

It was 1975 and my father became very sick and he passed away on 28^th .04.1975. So, I took two days off for my father’s funeral. To my dismay, the H.M. was inconsiderate and ungrateful and without any sympathy he cut the two day’s salary from my pay. This vexed me further and we were on loggerheads again. I complained to the DTC Union officials and they said this type of matter was under the jurisdiction of the school head. I was contemplating to ask for transfer but of god’s grace I was given a promotion as H.M. to Ladang Juasseh. It was on 07.07.1975 that I was made Head Master in Ladang Juasseh in Bahau.

PART 4 HM IN LADANG JUASSEH FROM 1975-1980

1) In 1974, I had booked a house in Taman Rantau and the house was ready in 1975. I was able to buy the house because of the introduction of government housing loan. The price of the house was RM26,800. I was able to pay the down payment due to a loan from the cooperative. A RM20,000 loan was approved by the Housing Board. We were about to move into the house that I was given a promotional transfer to Bahau. So, I had to give the house for rent.

2) Initially I was traveling from Takau to Juasseh by motorbike. I had to get up at 4.30a.m. By 5.30a.m. I had to leave my place. It took nearly one and a half hours to cover the distance of 60 kilometers. The road passed through ‘Bukit Putus’ which was a winding road for a distance of 5km. To make matters worse, it was very cold in the morning. I was managing for nearly a month then I thought that I could not continue like that so I bought a second hand Morris Minor from a Chinese teacher. It was smooth sailing at first. One day it was slightly drizzling and I had already covered ‘Bukit Putus’ winding road. As I was approaching the strait road, the car suddenly started to spin for a number of times. The steering wheel was spinning in such a way that I couldn’t hold it. Then it stopped and slowly moved to the ravine. I used the hand brake and it stopped completely. I was shivering with fright. Luckily, some Malay onlookers came to my rescue and pushed the car to the road and I continued my journey as usual. The four tyres were bald and I had to change them. I also encountered another accident in the same car after some time. This time it was in the hilly region of the winding road of ‘Bukit Putus’. I was returning from school when all of a sudden the car brakes would not work. With the help of the hand brake I steered the car to the side of the road to stop it. Later I found out through the mechanic that there was no brake oil.

3) Year 1975 was my third attempt to sit for STPM. I was studying on my own taking the correspondence course from Stamford College in K.L. Since I had many commitments I could not concentrate too much on my studies but somehow I was not doing very badly. The last day of the examination was the economics Paper 1. As soon as the invigilator gave the exam paper, I had an attack of stomach pain even though I could answer the paper very well. I had to hurry up on answering the paper and leave the hall to answer the call of nature. As predicted when the results came I had to contend with one principal and four subsidiaries.

4) It was tedious, time absorbing and tiring for me to travel from Takau to Juasseh so I decided to move to a place near to the school. With the help of new friends in Bahau I finally got a house in Mallika Estate which was about 2 km. from Bahau Town. That estate was owned by Mr Ponnudurai and he agreed to rent his house. The rent was RM 65.00. So on an auspicious day we moved from Takau to Bahau. At the same time we decided to sell the house in Takau. A person named .Vathamuthali bought the house for RM8000/- even though we wanted to sell it for RM10,000/-.

5) Mr Ganesan. I became friendly with a person named Ganesan who was a friend of my brother-in-law. He often came to our house in Mallika Estate though he was living in Segamat. He also acquainted with my father-in-law who was living in Labis Bharu estate. At that time my father-in-law was in a tight financial situation. One day in a coffee shop in Bahau this fellow was telling me that my father-in-law had asked him for financial help. Ganesan told me to help him by giving RM2000/- which he said would give to my father-in-law. He also told me to keep this as a secret and also told me not to reveal to anyone even to my wife. I was thinking may be my father-in-law was reluctant to ask me directly. So I told him I had no such amount in cash. He suggested I take a loan from MCIS since he was an insurance agent and he knew the procedures to get the loan immediately. So we went to K.L. MCIS Head Office and within a few hours we got a loan of RM1,200/- He promised to hand over the money to my father-in-law.

After a few weeks when I went to Labis Bharu only then I realized that I was conned by this fellow Ganesan and my father-in-law told me he hadn’t asked any money from Ganesan. Until he passed away, I had written many letters to him asking for my money but he had always had the same excuses not to give me the money. In the meantime MCIS sent me statements to pay interest every six months and I had to pay for a very long time. This episode taught me a good lesson on friendship!

6) Ponnudurai’s son. Mr Ponnudurai was the owner of Mallika Estate and we were renting in one of his houses there. He had a few daughters and one son. The boy fell ill and he was admitted in Seremban General Hospital. He was suffering from jaundice. As usual he went to visit him one day and in the evening we were puzzled when a van came to our place. To our astonishment Mr Ponnudurai got down from the van. He said his son about 18 years old had passed away. He told us this in a trembling voice with tears flowing over his cheeks. Everybody was shocked and felt pity for the family.

7) Snake - As usual we were watching TV programmes at night. We saw something moving towards a room. It was none other than a cobra. It went between a TV Box in a corner. We could not do anything. Then we informed Mr Ponnudurai who came with a gun and shot the snake.

8) Need To Buy A Car. When I was in Juasseh Estate I had to travel a lot to attend Head Master’s meetings throughout the districts of Kuala Pilah. I was also a committee member of the district Head Master’s Council so, I applied for a car loan of RM8000/-. That was approved. That was in March 1978 and I changed my Morris Minor to Toyota Corolla which was priced at RM12,000/- I was using only a few months then I met with an accident at Bukit Putus as my friends Suppiah, Peter and myself were going to Kuala Lumpur. I had no car for a month so, I borrowed Suppiah’s scooter to use to go to school.

9) Omana. Omana was born in 05.09.1978.

10) Going To Penang - 1979. I was selected as one of the H.M.’s for a seminar in Penang to be held at University Science there. So, two Malay Head masters and I decided to go there in my car. I was to drive to Penang. I drove all the way from Bahau to Penang in my new car Toyota Corolla. We were in Penang for seven days and after the seminar at 5.00 p.m. we used to go for sightseeing all the important places in Penang everyday. This was the time when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto – the Pakistan President- was hanged.

PART FIVE

TRANSFER FROM LADANG JUASSEH TO BUKIT PELANDOK 1980 - 1981

1) It had already been 5 years that I was teaching in Bahau. I asked for a transfer to my home town. My application was approved by the Education Department. I would be transferred to Bukit Pelandok which was about 42 k.m. from my house which was in Taman Rantau. My transfer date was on 01.02.1980. So, I gave notice to a tenant who was occupying my house for rent in Taman Rantau. After he had vacated the house I had to do some renovations. We moved on 30.01.1980 to our own house.

2) Bukit Pelandok is a place where the Indians concentrated in a 4 k.m. radius and most of them were rearing pigs for living. The school had almost 200 children. During the rainy season, the smell was horrible. As the days went by I was used to the smell and the surroundings. After about six months in that place, the teachers and I decided to organize a sports in the school. The PIBG had only a few funds so we decided to collect funds from house to house. We also collected funds from the Chinese community living there. One of the items in the sports programmes was tug-of-war for the public. Our plan was to run the sports for two hours starting from 2.00 p.m. The Tamil School Organizer of Negeri Sembilan Mr Kanniah came to officiate the occasion. Even though we had registered the number of participants for tug-of-war many unregistered teams came to the event in droves especially Chinese people. We had to accommodate them because they had contributed for the sports. There were so many teams for the event that it dragged on until 6.00p.m and the sports proper ended at 7,00p.m. Mr Kanniah was agitated but satisfied for the support from the public.

3) My Brother. My brother Paramasivam passed away on 1981. Before his death he had the intension of his son Narayanan to be married. But this did not happen.

4) Cooperative. Mr Sundram, the MIC Chairman of Rantau Branch and few others namely Sundararaju decided to form a cooperative to buy a property in Rantau. I too joined the cooperative in which each member was to contribute RM4,000/- for this cause. I too contributed that amount.

PART FIVE

Transfer to Ladang Tampin Linggi From 13.11.1981 To 19.09.1995

After nearly two years in Bukit Pelandok, I was transferred to Ladang Tampin Linggi towards the end of 1981. I was delighted because it was only about 12k.m. from my house. It was the same year that my brother Paramasivam passed away.

2) Cooperative. As I had mentioned earlier we had been saving to form a cooperative and we had collected nearly RM200,000/-. So we bought a shop lot in Taman Rantau and we opened a provision shop there. I was given the responsibility to overlook the accounts of the shop. Initially the shop was running on profit but after some time due to the interference of some of the directors, the shop was running on losses and we had no option but to close down the shop.

3) Proton Saga. I was using the car Toyota Corolla for 10 years, so I decided to change my car. The new Proton Saga was about RM26,000/-. I got a loan of RM18,000/- from the government. I sold my Toyota Corolla for RM8,000/-. I took the new car with a down payment of RM5,000/-. I am using the car until now.

4) I retired from teaching in 1995 after being in service for 33 years. I retired in 19.09.1995. Immediately after that I became a contract teacher in Ladang Linsum on 02.10.1995. The contract was for 2 years. That was the time when my father-in-law became sick and he was admitted in General Hospital in Kuala Lumpur where he passed away on 18.10.1996. In the meantime we were arranging to go to India for a visit and we went there on 12.12.1996.We visited New Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal), Simla and Bombay. In Mumbai(Bombay) we i.e. Narayanan, Vasanthi, my wife, my daughter and myself visited our relatives there briefly and we proceeded to South India for a south India tour where we covered Bangalore, Mysore,Ooty, Kanjipuran and Chennai. In Chennai we stayed at a friend’s family and they were very helpful to us.

5) Langkawi and Indonesia. Before I went to India for a tour I also had the opportunity to go to Langkawi on official visit. About 20 H.Ms went to Langkawi. As I was the President of the Tamil Schools in the zone of Port Dickson, I arranged for a tour of Indonesia in 1994. 20 families took part in the tour which lasted for 5 days. We went to Medan, Lake Toba and the surrounding areas.

6) House Renovation :We had our house renovated in 1996/1997. In 1998 I used to travel from Seremban to Kuala Lumpur by Commuter train. The fare was only RM5 and I could travel anywhere for that amount. I had traveled many times as far as Port Klang and Rawang. It was in 1998 when I went to see the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur for a stretch of five days. I stayed in Narayanan’s house. That was the year when I was introduced to Mr Tan Boon Yew who asked for my assistance to teach English to some Chinese people. The classes were held for two days in a week. It lasted a whole year.

7) I was also involved in a temple in Rantau. I was just a committee member. I was in the temple committee for two years then I resigned. That was the time I came to know about Thangaveloo who was a businessman. We became very friendly and he always fetched me to go around to do his business. It was in 1998 that I was Introduced to Mr Tan Boon Yew the millionaire business man who requested me to teach English to some Chinese elders and children of Chinese origin. I conducted the classes in a Chinese hall twice a week for a year.

8) Omana’s marriage. After her SPM examination Omana was attending computer class. Then she was working in a clinic in Rantau. That was the time we parents decided to arrange for her marriage. After match making attempts here and there Mr Morhan, her uncle, informed us of a person who was his acquaintance by the name of Narayanan who was residing in Taman Rinting in Johor and who had a son by the name of Madhu to whom they were searching for a bride. After consultations it was arranged for us to meet them in Kluang at Mr Morhan’s house. They saw each other and they liked each other. So, it was arranged for them (the family) to visit our place in Rantau. They came on the 24^th January 2001 to our place. There we both parties decided to have the engagement on 1.5.2001. The engagement was held at a stipulated date. We invited a hundred people for the occasion. At the end of the engagement ceremony the marriage date was not decided as planned. Later I came to know that Madhu’s father was reluctant to announce the date of marriage because Madhu’s aunt was sick and they were thinking that she would not live long. The sick lady requsted to see Omana so we went to Rinting in early June to visit her. After a week or so she passed away on 12^th June 2001. Before her death, she requested her brother Mr Narayanan to conduct the marriage between Madhu and Omana in the shortest time. She had also requested not to delay the marriage even if she had passed away.

Omana’s marriage registration was held in Kluang on 29^th September 2001. Her marriage was fixed on 09.02.2002 and the marriage took place in Rantau at the Dewan Orang Ramai at 7.00 in the evening.

9) After my retirement many people thought that I would be idling and be bored. Luckily enough I had two friends to keep me on my heels for most of my time. One was Mr Thangaveloo and another Mr Tan Boon Yew. Both are businessmen and they were always in touch with me and wherever they went they did not forget to fetch me with them.

I joined the M.I.C. in 1990. Mr Sundram is the chairman. I was one of the committee members at the beginning. In 1994 I was bestowed a title of PJK from the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan. At this time Mr Gopalan was the Secretary. After Gopalan passed away I was made the secretary of MIC, Rantau Branch. It was only a brief period and then Mr Rajendran was made the secretary and I was appointed as treasurer. In 2006 I was bestowed another title. This time the title was PMC.

10) In 1998, I became a committee member of the Rantau Hindu temple. During this period we made a lot of changes in the administrative network. Mr P.Mathivanan was the chairman and Mr Rajamohan was the secretary. I resigned as a committee member in year 2000 to give way to young blood to be elected in the committee. I am still doing the job of internal auditor for the temple accounts.

PART 6

POLITICS AND OTHER EVENTS IN MALAYSIA:

1) l969 -1970 After May 13 1969, there was a political instability in Malaysia for a while. Then in 1970 the Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman resigned and gave way to Tun Abdul Razak who took over as Prime Minister. He introduced the New economic Policy which gave the Malays a leeway to progress along with other races. The farming industry was given priority. The Felda was introduced and each family was given ten acres of land to clear and grow oil palm throughout Malaysia. It was at this time that conformation of citizenship was imposed. Many without citizenship especially Indians were deported to India. As a result the population of Indians were reduced further. This exercise was the brainchild of the Deputy Prime Minister then Dato Dr Tun Ismail. He also introduced the controversial coining of the word “Bumiputra”. He labeled the Malays and indigenous people as Bumiputra and the others as non-bumiputras. This further divided the people with suspicion. It was in 1975 that Alliance was replaced by Barisan National. In alliance there were only 3 political parties namely UMNO, MCA, and MIC but in the Barisan National there were 14 political parties. ………….. To be continued