Saturday, August 8, 2009

Where Do I Begin

I was born on the 15th of June 1956 in a little town situated at the northern most coast of Malacca Street called Kuala Perlis. To those of you who had been to Langkawi by means of ferry must had been to this town if you decided no to board the ferry at Kuala Kedah.
As a boy, there's nothing great to tell. Just like any other kids I was raised for most part of my life by my mother due to the unexpected demise of my father when I was only one year old. I was lucky enough because my great mother had already got a work in the government when my father left us.
I went to school at quite a young age. I started schooling at the age of six (others at seven mostly). So most of my classmates were a year older. When I was in year six I was selected to sit for special entrance exam for boarding school. I couldn't recall why I was not allowed to sit for the exam when I was already prepared for it. God willing, I was asked to stay back for another year in year six and managed to sit for the exam again the next year. I believed I was the only one who went to primary six twice as I was in form six for two years.
My life started to change when I entered a fully residential school in Ipoh. At that time there were only 7 such schools in Malaysia. So, the pride of being one of the selected few was so great.
I learned to manage myself, of course with the help of the teachers and the support of my new friends. The expectation was so high, the challenges were numerous. Being a kampong boy, life in a big town away from family was really tough. Its not easy to cope with new routine, to deal with new environment and to tolerate new acquantances from different backgrounds.
English language was foreign then. Just imagine the first time you met your teacher who started to ask your paticulars in English. Understanding was not a problem but responding was terrible.
Alhamdulilah, I managed to survive there for eight long years.

I'll stop here for the time being, until then, best of luck and happy new year.