My First Postings...

15th January 1979

It was a mandate to reach the school...Sekolah Menengah Tan Sri Sardon, Rengit, Batu Pahat.
Having been brought up in a town and spending most of my school days and growing up years in town conditions, it was quite a challenge to drive to this rural village to start my teaching career. Back then I thought teaching meant teaching in Sekolah Tinggi Muar, Sekolah Menengah Sultan Bakar ... but Rengit? Where was that cove?
To my consternation, I found out later that I had to drive 22 miles...about 40km from the town of Batu Pahat to reach the place. On my own for the first time, I still had to obey...saya yang menurut perintah... and drove and drove until I found it.
First to greet me were some friendly faces one of which was Richard Tok who is now a pastor in Grace Presbyterian, Batu Pahat. The rest were strangers to me but yet that was my first calling...to make friends and rise up to the duty of my vocation. Rengit was rural ...then.

Can you spot me?

Electricity was a rare commodity and hard to come by and it was rural, rural...one street kind of village. Most of my non-Malay colleagues travelled daily from the town of Batu Pahat to this village and very soon I followed suit. For 18 months I travelled daily - car pooling with my colleagues to Rengit to teach. I also remembered another colleague by the name of Mercy who was from old town, PJ being posted to the same place. Every morning we would share our longing to go back to where we came from and even lamented on our plight each day. We would drive from 6.40 am to reach school at 7.30am everyday. At that time...we were even thinking of quitting.
As for my weekends...I looked forward to Thursdays cos I would then drive all the way home to Muar some 110 km away to be with my parents and then to dread driving all the way to Batu Pahat on Saturday nights for the whole routine again. Sometimes, on Sundays my parents would take a drive to Batu Pahat and said hi to me. I would silently cry when they left me. It was lonely...after KL.
On days when we had t0 carry out co-curicular activities we would stay back in school and then to reach Batu Pahat at about 6pm...24 hours service for a mere RM850.00. Many would have quit if not for the calling.
Then 18 months later, I had a chance for a mutual swop ... to another village nearer home...Lenga...which is very close to Kepong. If you have read Bt Kepong, you will know how rural the place is. For me Lenga was good enough then cos it meant I could travel daily to Muar to be with my parents. By the way, it also meant travelling 56 miles each day. Every morning my father would send me to a meeting point at 5.45am and then together with my colleagues we would co -drive for 60km and reach our school at 7.30am. Tough. I did that routine until december 1983 - a good 5 years .
In Lenga, like in Rengit, I serve the rural community in a Felda scheme and taught English to a group of children who were not keen to learn. But I remember one young lad by the name of Fuad whom I grew to be fond of. He was jovial and was a keen learner. Later, he studied in a local university in KL and called me several times...cikgu chong... I do not know what has become of him...if my calculation is accurate he should be around his early 40s now.


Look I was so young then...all my energy and vitality poured unto the needs of the local villagers. An incident remained in my memory till this day. Some notorious boys back then could even punch the table tops with knives to threaten teachers who reprimanded them. It was a scary experience but somehow we managed to coax the difficult ones and their better sense finally emerged among them.
Back then, I would look around the schools in town and asked why I could not have the chance to teach in a town school. I would look at SMK Jalan Junid longingly and prayed I could teach there cos it was only a stone's throw away from home...but yet it was these rural postings that taught me to appreciate what I have today...to teach in SMK Seafield which is a stone's throw away from home. God answered my prayers in my later years to reward me for the hard days of my youth.
The lesson learnt is that we should not be afraid to suffer in our younger days for better days in twilight years. Nothing comes easy in life and we have to be strong to meet the challenges. It was real discipline to go through the routine each day and to do it well. Somehow better days will be given if we conscientiously carry out our duty and do it well. God has eyes and ears.

To my daughter Grace who is in Singapore, just to let you know...mama went through difficult times too and do not be afraid of the new challenges. May you also taste of God's goodness as you serve diligently and truthfully in your vocation.

GOD BLESS YOU.