Happy Teachers Day!

I was a teacher once. I do not know whether any of my students remember me. It does not matter. I have done what I was supposed to do and that’s that.

I remember most of my “cikgu”.

I was short of the school-going age when I was in Merang but my father put me in school anyway. Most probably to get me out of my mother’s hair. I do not remember any of my teachers name in Sekolah Melayu Merang. What I remember is one of mother’s cousins, Pok Kob, who was in the upper classes, feeding me with cuklat nissang every now and then. I remember too going with him through the field looking for a kind of grass to wipe the papan slate. I guess the teachers left me alone. That was the reason I could not remember their names. But I do remember the headmaster, Cikgu Weil. Cikgu Weil, a wiry dark-skinned man from Pahang was the local UMNO leader. Then (in 1949), nationalism was spread by, among other groups, teachers like Cikgu Weil. He went around shouting “Merdeka” at every opportunity. The kampung folks would respond with a hearty “Deka!” or “Deko!” depending on the dialect they were used to. I was not sure whether it was the nationalistic fervour or their dig at Cikgu Weil’s physical impediment. Cikgu Weil could not straighten his arm – an affliction known in Terengganu as “deko” (or “deka” if you are from Besut).

When we moved to Kuala Terengganu, I was enrolled in Sekolah Melayu Paya Bunga and we had a few unforgettable cikgus. One was Cikgu Lebo, a short rotund man who never seem to smile. Cikgu Lebo went around the school ground during recess to debok (thump) the back of pupils drawing on the sand.

When I moved to Sultan Sulaiman Primary school after getting through the Special Malay Class examination, our favourite teacher was Mr. Lau Kuan Jin who drilled us in English with a litany of “ A man in a pan” or was it the other way around? Actually it was “A man and a pan”. I am getting old.

When we moved to Kota Bharu, I remember Mr. Henry in SIC. He took us on expeditions to a waterfall in Pasir Putih. Later when I moved next door to the secondary school, we had Ustaz Abdullah Nakula who always tweaked our brain with trick questions. We also had a Mr. Menon who was overcome with passion on reading a passage from Shakespeare.

In Sultan Sulaiman Secondary School, Kuala Terengganu I remember many teachers who undoubtedly played a part in my life. There was Cikgu Rahman who encouraged my infatuation with art and Mr. Gurunathan, our Scout Master. And then there were the ustazs , Ustaz Mahmood Salim and Ustaz Manan. They never failed to liven up the class while giving us the basics of Islamic Studies. Ustaz Manan was unfazed by our silly questions. An example:

Student: Apa hukum hisap kopek bini kita ustaz? (Whats the rule on sucking on your wife’s tit?)

Ustaz: Hukumnya sedaplah. (Feels good.)

There are many more teachers that I remember from those days. To them and to all the teachers past and present, Happy Teachers Day, Cikgu!

Labels: Teachers

Happy Teachers Day!

I was a teacher once. I do not know whether any of my students remember me. It does not matter. I have done what I was supposed to do and that’s that.

I remember most of my “cikgu”.

I was short of the school-going age when I was in Merang but my father put me in school anyway. Most probably to get me out of my mother’s hair. I do not remember any of my teachers name in Sekolah Melayu Merang. What I remember is one of mother’s cousins, Pok Kob, who was in the upper classes, feeding me with cuklat nissang every now and then. I remember too going with him through the field looking for a kind of grass to wipe the papan slate. I guess the teachers left me alone. That was the reason I could not remember their names. But I do remember the headmaster, Cikgu Weil. Cikgu Weil, a wiry dark-skinned man from Pahang was the local UMNO leader. Then (in 1949), nationalism was spread by, among other groups, teachers like Cikgu Weil. He went around shouting “Merdeka” at every opportunity. The kampung folks would respond with a hearty “Deka!” or “Deko!” depending on the dialect they were used to. I was not sure whether it was the nationalistic fervour or their dig at Cikgu Weil’s physical impediment. Cikgu Weil could not straighten his arm – an affliction known in Terengganu as “deko” (or “deka” if you are from Besut).

When we moved to Kuala Terengganu, I was enrolled in Sekolah Melayu Paya Bunga and we had a few unforgettable cikgus. One was Cikgu Lebo, a short rotund man who never seem to smile. Cikgu Lebo went around the school ground during recess to debok (thump) the back of pupils drawing on the sand.

When I moved to Sultan Sulaiman Primary school after getting through the Special Malay Class examination, our favourite teacher was Mr. Lau Kuan Jin who drilled us in English with a litany of “ A man in a pan” or was it the other way around? Actually it was “A man and a pan”. I am getting old.

When we moved to Kota Bharu, I remember Mr. Henry in SIC. He took us on expeditions to a waterfall in Pasir Putih. Later when I moved next door to the secondary school, we had Ustaz Abdullah Nakula who always tweaked our brain with trick questions. We also had a Mr. Menon who was overcome with passion on reading a passage from Shakespeare.

In Sultan Sulaiman Secondary School, Kuala Terengganu I remember many teachers who undoubtedly played a part in my life. There was Cikgu Rahman who encouraged my infatuation with art and Mr. Gurunathan, our Scout Master. And then there were the ustazs , Ustaz Mahmood Salim and Ustaz Manan. They never failed to liven up the class while giving us the basics of Islamic Studies. Ustaz Manan was unfazed by our silly questions. An example:

Student: Apa hukum hisap kopek bini kita ustaz? (Whats the rule on sucking on your wife’s tit?)

Ustaz: Hukumnya sedaplah. (Feels good.)

There are many more teachers that I remember from those days. To them and to all the teachers past and present, Happy Teachers Day, Cikgu!

Labels: Teachers

THANK YOU SIR!

Today's STAR carried a full page advert from the Malaysian Cabinet ministers thanking teachers on this year's Hari Guru. Although laudable, teachers who are perfectionists would complain that the ad should not carry the signatures of people who are not in the cabinet, however hopeful they are. Otherwise, do not label the ad as "Ikhlas Dari Menteri Kabinet".

Nitpicker that I am, I am grateful to all those that taught me. Most of them would not have the tools that can be exhibited in the recently mooted Teachers Archive/Museum/whatever. Schools that I went to in my younger days did not have Audio/Visual aids like my children's and grandchildren's schools. I remember when I was in Sekolah Melayu Paya Bunga, Kuala Terengganu the most hated tool used was the fist of one Cikgu Lebo. His fist landed on the back of many aspiring artists and writers whose only transgression was drawing or writing in the sands in the school ground. You cannot put that fist or its owner in the museum. You can however trace a piece of 2 by 4 timber carried by an old teacher in the Grammar School decades ago. Knowing the mentality of the students in that particular school then, I am quite sure that the piece of wood was solely for self-defense. I remembered the teacher also carried a copy of the Surah Yasin in his shirt-pocket as an added protection. This was a school where a few pupils asked me ( a temporary teacher) for a light for their cigarette.

I remember Mr. Lau Kuan Jin who always zero in on me during English classes in SMC 1 years ago in the "kajang" school. Sultan Sulaiman Primary School caught fire and needed to be built in a hurry. Petroleum was yet to be discovered so the state used "kajang" (pandanus leaf) as walls.
When we moved to the secondary school by the South China Sea, we had teachers just a little older than us. Thus I had the opportunity to attend a course at the same institution in Sydney as Mr. Razalli Mutallib, my P.E. Teacher. I will be collaborating with another of our young teacher, Cikgu Ibrahim Sihi on a project soon, insyaAllah. Even though I could not write down all of my teachers name ( like the roof of our august Parliament house, my memory leaks too and I apologize sincerely) I do appreciate what they all did. To those who have passed on, May They Rest in Peace and Allah swt bless them. Thank you cikgu!

While waiting patiently for Blogspot to load, I received an SMS from Mat Baee, a good friend and pensioned teacher. He wrote for the occasion:
Berburu ke padang datar
Dapat rusa berbelang kaki
Berguru kepalang ajar
Ibarat bunga kembang tak jadi...

to which I replied

Bersyukurlah kerana tak ada murid kita yang kencing berlari....

Labels: Teachers, Teachers Day