Kindness or Empathy

 

It is Saturday morning Aug 15 2020. It is the period before the breaking of dawn. Three  hours later I am back at the keyboard. There is nothing much to do, Saturday is always quiet and lack color. I have been reading up on old Kuala Lumpur right back to the fifties and sixties. My memory is also failing me and I have to struggle to remember places, events and names. In the old days, when life was not so hectic, the people in general were much more polite and not in a hurry to catch up on appointments. I remember distinctly the bountiful numbers of Chinese in Malaysia. Comparatively we had very little Chinese here.

Victoria Institution was really an eye opener on the life of the elite class. Practically all the students were of the elite caliber. The school was impressive, the teachers very dedicated and hardworking. Today I do not know if the school is still around. I guess so, as the grapevine has no news on its demise.

Teachers on the whole are a forgotten lot. On very rare occasions, we hear and see of old students coming together to celebrate a former teacher for his/her dedication in helping them acquire a good education. Coming to the subject of teachers again, I remember clearly my teachers in KL who taught me so many things and were very decent and patient with me. After crossing the Sea of Java and docking at Port Kelang I was sent to meet the headmaster Mr. V Murugesu without even waiting to catch my breath. I showed Mr. Murugesu the letter from the Ministry of Education, Indonesia confirming my enrolment in Victoria Institution. It was Christmas Eve, nonetheless Mr. Murugesu kindly waited for my arrival at his office just below the bell tower. Mr. Murugesu said I would be placed in Lower Six B1, or the pure math class and he added he would walk with me to the students hostel just adjacent the school. We walked a dirt track under very shady trees and from about 60 meters from the hostel, I could hear the tune of silent night being played and the raucous voices of young hostelites.

I was introduced to the hostel master, an Indian man and also the hostel captain, a muscular young man about 20. They were very friendly and went out of their way to show around the premises which was to be my home for the next two years. The hostel captain Joe (not his real name) was Chinese about 19 and a cheerful manner about him. English was the lingua franca spoken at the hostel and was to be my language for the next two years.

English was quite difficult and I found the going tough. But my classmates spoke English as if by second nature. I tried very hard during the two years in VI, trying to beef up my command of English. Malaysians in general spoke fluent English having been taught so by their English colonial masters. All races spoke the language without difficulty. The weather in Malaysia was similar to that in Indonesia except for the fact that it is not home to a single volcano. My form teacher was a Chinese lady but I have forgotten her name. I remember Mr.Ananda Krishna who taught us Pure Math. Mr. Ananda was super cool in Math and had once taught in India. He was a short tiny man, a bit deaf in the right ear. Hence he had a earphone place in his right ear. He also had a sense of humor, the Jack Benny kind. Mr.Gan taught us applied math, a tall and burly Chinese who had graduated in mathematics from the University of Malaya. Mrs. Ee taught us chemistry while Mr.Selavaraj taught us Physics. Since Form 6 had no physical classes, often we had to attend classes by occupying the laboratory. For General Paper, a eurasian man taught us the subject.

VI had a good mix of scholars and sportsmen and performed exceedingly well in both disciplines. I believe the school's motto was second to none.