... those days in malaysia...

sharing a post that i've found from the web that touched me so much...

those were the days when...

wong peng soon was our favourite badminton player...

but during my time it was foo kok keong...

ghani minhat was our favourite football hero...

but during my time it was fandi ahmad...

rose chan was our favourite performer...

films by p ramlee were malaysian's favourite...

classics such as 'do-re-mi' and 'bujang lapok'...

because we reared siamese fighting fishes, the seller was our idol...

driving license renewal was pasting an additional slip at the back of a small red booklet...

'susu lembu' was house delivered by the big, friendly and strong bahi on his bicycle...

'kacang putih' man came a-peddling, walking and balancing on his head or bicycle with different kinds of 'murukus'...

we barter our old exercise books for a paper cone of 'kacang putih'...

f&n orange or 'sarsi' was served on wooden crates and displayed on the table in the homes during the chinese new year...

m&m was called treets...

eating chicken was a treat that happened only once on the chinese new year and once on 'chap goh meh'...

we always carried in our pocket a packet of fire cracker during the chinese new year...

a portion of 'char koay teow' only cost 30 sen and we bring our own egg...
but during my time it was about 1.30 ringgit...

a piece of 'roti canai' only cost 15 sen...

but during my time it was about 40 sen...

i always requested for 'roti banjir' with extra 'sambal'... 

we bought 'bangkali' bread from the indian 'roti' man who paddled his bicycle around neighbourhood with the familiar bell from his bicycle...

sometimes we bought cold storage bread and spread the bread with lots of 'kaya' and butter...

crop crew haircut by the indian barber...

30 sen a haircut and all the way to the top...

during weekends, went swimming in the lake...

forget about swimming trunk, only birthday suits...

no one will laugh at you whether your 'kuku bird' is small...

on sunday morning, we listened to 'kee huat' radio's 'fantastic facts and fancies'...

and on saturday, 'top of the pops', both hosted by dj patrick teoh who always ended his show by saying 'here's wishing you blue skies'...

saturday morning, go for cheap matinee shows at the cathay cinema and usually showing cowboy shows or greek mythology...

father usually gave 70 sen for cheap matinee shoes which normally started at 10.30am on saturdays and sundays...

50 sen for the ticket and 20 sen for return bus fare...

nobody paid 1 ringgit for the 'reserved' seats...

10 sen for ice 'ang tau'...

we survived with mothers who had no maids...

they cooked and cleaned while taking care of us at the same time...

we took aspirin, candy floss, fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrups...

and diabetes were rare...

salt added with coke was remedy for fever...

tonic water was taken at the first hint of malaria...

we rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and just yelled for them...

the first time i used a modern toilet i squatted on it as i only know the traditional bucket toilet...

our children will not know the danger of visiting the outdoor toilet at night, nor jumping in fright when the man collect the bucket when you are doing your business...

we went to the jungle to catch fighting spiders without worries of aedes mosquitoes...

with mere 5 stones, we could turn it into an endless game...

we caught guppies in drains and canals and when it rains, we swam there...

we ate salty, very sweet and oily food, but we weren't over-weight because we ran and cycled all day...

we fell from the trees, got cut, broken bones and teeth...

but we still continued the stunts...

we never had birthday party until we were 21...

as children, we would ride with our parents on a motorcycle for 2 or 3...

richer ones in a car with no seat belts or air bag...

we don't know what is 'bumiputra' but we were 1 malaysia...

when parents found out we were caned in school, it's certain we would get another round at home...

parents always sided with the teachers...

we fly kites with string coated with pounded glass powder and horse glue and we cut our own hand on the string...

happiness is winning a kite with a local 'samseng'...

i forgot, we also have to make our own kites to suit our fighting style...

we are the last generation to know how to use the logarithm tables and slide rulers...

we had telephones which were really heavy...

you are not cool if you don't have a long side burn...

greasy hair with brylcreem with floppy bun in front...

we can enjoy monthly credit facilities from our friendly neighbourhoods sundry shop by using the little '555' note book...

we always carry a 1 ringgit note at night in case we are stopped by a 'mata' for not having tail lights on our bicycle...

we had double-decker buses owned by the 'toong fong' omnibus company...

thanks for all the sweet memories...

...

往事只能回味 - 尤雅...