EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND - Part 3

Primary School - Part 3

I remember that I was not really good in education from standard 1 up to standard 3. But in standard 4, I started to catch up and my pick up was good. By end of the year I was grouped in standard 5A, an elite class. In this year, we have Peperiksaan Penilaian Darjah 5 (Valuation Exam for Standard 5). The result from this exam will be graded. Five core subjects are included in the exam.

I think the basic rules and principles are similar with the today's UPSR. The only different thing was that we have had  the said exam in Standard 5 whilst UPSR today is held in Standard 6. The result from this exam will decide what secondary school we are in Form 1. If the result is good, 5A for example, one stands very good chance to be admitted into the Government's boarding elite schools, such as MRSM, Science Schools, Royal Military College, Malay College Kuala Kangsar and many more.

My result for Standard 5 exam is just moderate and I failed to qualify for the minimum requirements for  the admittance to the government's boarding school. But, I still capable to maintain my presence in the elite class for the Standard 6, the final class in Primary School. 

By this year I was good in English, Malay Literature and History but just moderate in Science and Geography. I finished 6th in my final exam for Standard 6. I think that was a great result for me. But, I was not selected for a Form 1 Removed Class in Sultan Sulaiman Secondary School (SSSS) because I was not active in sport.

At that time, SSSS was one of the best English based Secondary School in Terengganu. They have provided some removed classes for Malay language students selected throughout the state. The classes were just to convert the basic language from Malay to English. It meant that a student like me would have to spend 1 year just to learn English in SSSS.

My father did not agree with this Removed class and much more preferred for me to go to normal Malay basic Secondary School because I can save 1 year for my education. To his opinion, it was a waste of time for just learning all subjects in English. I did not bring you anywhere after the Lower Certificate of Examination. It was just for going into Form 4 in whatever school you have chosen or qualified for. 

My father was more concerned about Form 5, because it may decide where you can go after that, either to Lower Six for the Higher School Certificate or to Diploma or Matriculation Courses in Local Universities or perhaps to Universities abroad.

So, I was advised by my father to go to normal daily secondary school, other than to SSSS. There were few secondary schools available at my time. The nearest one to my house was Sekolah Menengah Batu Buruk (today known as Sekolah Menengah Seri Budiman). Other schools were Sekolah Menengah Agama Sultan Zainal Abidin, Sekolah Menengah Panji Alam and Sekolah Menengah Padang Midin.

I have had chosen Sekolah Menengah Batu Buruk as my secondary school.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND - Part 2

 Primary School - Part 2

 

Our pocket money per day at that time were between 20 to 30 cents (Malaysian currency) per school day. I have 20 cents per day for my expenses. With that 20 cents, I bought nasi lemak for 10 cents and 5 cents  for a syrup drink during class recession at 10 am. I still have balance 5 cents which I kept and collected every day as my saving. By end of the month, normally I had 1.00 dollar in my saving which I gave back to my mother. At that time Malaysian currencies are called in dollars and cents. I reckoned 1 dollar at that time was equivalent with more than 10 MYR today if compared with the purchasing power of the money.

banana leaf in place of umbrella for shelter

I went to school by foot. It was about less than 1km from my house. I woke up at 6.00am everyday. By 7.20 am I was already in school playing around with friends. If I have a duty roster I could have been in my class as early as 7.00am. I have been late few times to school during wet or monsoon season, but was pardoned due to the unavoidable situation. I used to cut banana leaves for my shelter from rain in place of umbrella. Those days umbrella was expensive and meant for ladies and girls only.

 

 

 

 

 

Every Sunday morning (in states like Terengganu, Kelantan, Perlis, Kedah and even Johor were having weekly holiday on Friday and Saturday at that time) after singing National Song Negaraku, the disciplinary teacher will check every fingers of pupils. If the nails are long and dirty you will be punished by caning. So, most of us have assured ourselves that our nails are clean and cut before going to school on every Sundays.

We also have to ensure our dress were clean and neat. Shoes, stockings, shorts and shirts must be in clean and acceptable condition by the disciplinary teacher. Hair must be short and neat. If your hair was considered long by the teacher, he will then cut your hair in a very unacceptable style of which your hair might be looked like a peeled coconut fruit. If you have undergone this type of humiliation, you will not dare to keep long hair again in school forever.

The best part was...none of us will tell or try to get some sympathy from our parents for punishments that we have in school so as to avoid further or extra blames or punishments from them. Those days our parents were on the school's side!!!

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EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND - Part 1

Primary School

My first school was Sekolah Kebangsaan Pusat Kuala Ibai, Kuala Terengganu. I was in standard 1 in the year of 1965.

Sekolah Pusat Kuala Ibai today.

I remember in the year of 1965, the school has only 3 single storey split buildings for classes and administration office and one isolated public toilet constructed outside those classrooms. They also have another isolated building for canteen and a large area for soccer field, hockey and netball arenas. Somehow, the road leading to the main entrance are made of red brown soil which during the wet season has caused so much problems to the teachers' cars. They have to climb the road leading to the school parking area and pupils' may have to push the cars many occasions then.

the kelat fruits

In the middle of the 3 buildings are the school's gardens with big pokok Kelat or wood Chelate trees, a kind of Malaysian heavy hardwood red beech species. The trees were big with the stems  bigger than a man's hug. The trees produced small round fruits about the size of our fingertips. When ripen, the fruits turned into black color and tasted sweet and good for consuming. The fruits were our favorite those days and we would climb the trees and risking ourselves to get them.

 

It was very difficult to climb up those trees. However there were few stooges whom have proven their skills and managed to climb the same...and I was one of them. As a reward for our creativeness and braveness, we were forced to be presence in front of the Headmaster's office to receive punishment by 3 canning on the right hand palm. It was painful so that we hated the trees so much later on.

When I visited the school recently, the trees were no more there to give way to the school's new 4 storey building classes erected thereon. The isolated toilet also gone to give way to new buildings. I noticed there were many new buildings constructed in the school compound in place of the old buildings. 

 

The are not even a single building in my era available in the school now...

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