Labokin

Vios at Desa Pandan

Makan satay

It was December 1958. We have sat for our Cambridge SC Exams and were waiting for the results. It was the most important Exams in our entire school life as most people leave school after that and found jobs but it would be February next year before we knew anything about the Exam results as the papers were actually marked in Cambridge. Along with the SC exams we had also sat for the 6^th form Entrance for which the results would be out about mid December.

 

We did not have even one telephone those days in the whole village so communication was strictly through letters sent via the Post Office. I have received a letter from the Headmaster of our school summoning me to go and see him. I was excited of course. I am no more a pupil in his school and was ready to embark the next phase of my life. He had prepared the school leaving certificate for me and the others and he had one bit of important information for me. That was: I have been offered a place in the 6^th form by two of the then best schools: the MCKK and VI. He asked me which school I would choose. Wow! I thought and could not conceal my excitement. These two top schools in Malaya both have a place for me.

 

In two seconds flat I told him I would choose VI. Very Good said he and proceeded to note something down on the pad that was on his desk. He then gave me my leaving certificate and the letter of offer. He advised me to get in touch with one of our school students who had gone to the VI this year before.

 

I thanked him for all he and the school had done for me and left. I went to a classmate’s house to enquire about how to get in touch with that said person. My friend said he too had been offered a place in VI and he had already made the arrangement of when and where to meet for this journey of a lifetime to Kuala Lumpur. It was to be the first Saturday in January 1959 at the Krai Railway Station at 6.00 a.m.

 

I had to make preparations for this journey for I have never ever before left the backwaters Kelantan. I had to say good bye to the whole village and they held tea parties for me and collected some money for me. Some who could afford more contributed 50 cents and I had a quite tidy sum of 150 ringgit.  On the appointed day I had to be up at 4 a.m. and a man in our village, the only man there with a car had volunteered to drive me to the Station 22 miles away. I got there a full hour before the train was due and the driver of the car instead of me paying him slipped me a 5 ringgit bill.

 

The train journey south to Kuala Lipis took 6 hours and we had missed the connecting bus to Kuala Lumpur so we had to put up one night there. That night it happened that there was a funeral in the town and we could hardly sleep for all that noise. At 8 in the morning we boarded the bus to Kuala Lumpur. The journey took 4 hours across the central mountain range via Raub and the Gap and the fare was 5 ringgit. On arrival at Jalan Melaka we proceeded to the VI sixth form hostel where they had rooms for us.

 

That was really a journey of a lifetime for me. Within 2 years I was to embark on an even more memorable trip on a plane to England.

Good morning world

The Schuler Family from left Tania, Adam and Steve in Kuala Lumpur

Chris & Barin

In the new digital age, it appears Brown has found his own outlet for getting straight to real people: the internet.

Perhaps mindful of a need to regain the lead in cyberspace from David Cameron - who revealed in his conference speech last year that there was a Facebook group called "David Cameron is a hottie" - the Brown digital offensive started with the arrival last month at No 10 of Mark Flanagan, former head of LBC radio, as head of digital communications. A user called DowningStreet joined Twitter, a surprisingly addictive social networking site that allows you to tell people exactly what you are doing, as you are doing it. For example, "trying to stop a Cabinet Office punch-up" or "wishing I had never taken this damned job anyway".

Alas, DowningStreet's updates have been rather less illuminating - the first was a yawny thing gazetting the Sarkozy visit: "Entente Cordiale to enter 'new era'". Thankfully, it got better: at 3:32pm on April 8, they (various members of the digital communications unit at No 10, it has been confirmed) reported: "George Clooney came to No 10 for talks with the PM this morning ... The visit caused quite a stir with the staff, as you can imagine."

Interesting, too, was what other Twitterers were twittering in about: "Does Gordon Brown know what Twitter is? Just wondering)" asked one sceptic. "Yes he does. He knows exactly what's going on ...!" came the rapid response from DowningStreet. And it has all got very chatty on the current trip to the US. Someone Twittered in to recommend a particular meatball sandwich in New York, to the jealousy of Brown's minion, who replied there was only time for coffee and muffins. And yesterday we learned that "Gordon" (they're getting very casual) had met Barack Obama in "beautiful gardens". We also learned that Gordon Brown's people can't spell: "the minor whirlwhind continues", apparently.

Yesterday afternoon 1,383 people were following DowningStreet's Twitter feed online or on their mobile phones. This is not that impressive when you consider that GMTV has about 13 million viewers every week - and even if Fiona Phillips interrupts all the time, you still get time to communicate more than one sentence.

Brownites who want to keep up with his movements in real time can follow updates on the No 10 website, with a Google map to follow him around the east coast.

(This was taken from Guardian of UK)

A talk on la chanson francofonie at the alliance. It was unfortunate that the sound system at the alliance francaise was rather poor due to poor acoustics.

The talk could have been more intersting. As it was I was happy to have heard George Moustaki singing one of his most famous songs Le Meteque.
As I was waiting for the lectrure to start a group of young ladies in identical dress trooped in and as they took their seats around me I heard one of them saying "Gi dok lek blake la". I immediately asked them if they were also French speaking Kelantanese? What a small world. Their world however is just starting as they would be going to study in France next year for 3 to four years. So I told them about FUGAM and said they should join the society on their return. Thay asked if Fugam had a web page. I could not answer except to say peut-etre mais je ne sais pas.

Amsterdam

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