Teacher's Day ....this day did not exist at all back in 1968 ....that was the year I began to learn how to read , write and do arithmetic ...a term used then . Maybe there was such a day .....I just can't recall .
My old primary school is still there...at Jalan Merpati , Miri . Sayed Othman Primary School is the name ...one of the few primary schools in Miri Town .The headmaster then was Cikgu Wan Morshidi ...the grandson of the late Sayed Othman .Impressive ain't it ...to be able to head the school set up by your grandfather ,
What do I remember about Cikgu Wan Morshidi ? Well he had this habit of carrying a one and half foot long rattan in his hand though at times he would tucked it away under his armpit . I think most headmasters carried a rattan during those years . We scurried away like little mouse should we happened to meet him on his rounds . The rattan and him made a scary combination when you are just a little girl .
Generally a headmaster would always looked smart daily , 5 days a week . So it was with Cikgu Wan Morshidi .A short hair ...kind of like the way Barack Obama is sporting now , a short sleeve shirt and trousers and a pair of black or dark brown shoes . I think he used a tie too .He drove a car though I can't remember what the type was.......looked like a Batman's kind of car . ( Note : We were exposed to Batman and Robin's comics by our elder brothers in the early 1970s. )
School assemblies was once a week . All the pupils would stand in the school field , in rows according to the class they were in ...facing the school with the sun shining on our faces . It must be a straight line ...the teachers would ensure us that ...so we would put our hands on our friend's shoulder ...straighten our arms to make that arms length distance from your friend in front ....and nobody were to move .... stand at attention mode for all .
Cikgu Wan Morshidi would be in front observing us with keen eyes while the other teachers would be about 2 or 3 meters away from his side . The assembly began with all of us singing the country's anthem ' Negara Ku '. Then he would checked all the pupil's nails ...a short smack one would get on your knuckles if you were to show him your dirty or long nails . Now and then I would get a taste of that rattan medicine ....a pain in my memory of what that rattan can do to me .
That is why if I were to remember my teacher cum headmaster ..the picture that is etched in my memories would be Cikgu Wan Morshidi and his constant partner ' The Rattan '.
Whatever ....life at the primary school was full of memories . I didn't skipped school as I enjoyed going there . The rattan could be quite scary but I was brave enough to trudge along daily and happily because school was fun .
Oh ya ...Happy Teacher's Day to all . Cheers !
1 comment:
How very interesting! Your description brought back memories of those years!
Would like to point out that the school was not set up by his grandfather but by the Miri local council. Somehow the Council
opted to name the school after his gradnfather.
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