Chapter one
Having done the final examination of A level, Mary found herself in the biggest ball room in town.
The coming of age activity was a more than interesting event. She and her best friend, Suzan Liu found themselves in the dancing room of Aurora, the most famous hotel in town. It was at the dance that she met Don, the infantry man from Ballarat , a historical gold town 131 kilometres from the city of Melbourne
The early sixties were the years of Sarawak Insurgency as well as Indonesia Confrontation. At the juncture Sarawak was not at peace at her border with Indonesia. Communism influence was at its height when Sukarno embraced it and became its staunch supporter.
It was the year 1965. Under the FESR ( Far East Strategic Reserve) the 28th British Commonwealth Brigade was formed to include military services from the Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand
Don McPhillips was serving the third Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) which was deployed in Borneo. He was the staff sergeant in his squad. He was an infantry man.
The Battle of Sg. Koemba was a close encounter with the Indonesian enemies. Wild lalang were entangled in the midst of the water of River Koemba. It was an undulating terrain, unlike the flat and calm surface of Lake Wendouree
Don fought triumphantly at the Battle. The winning brought him back to the town of Kuching. He enjoyed glasses of Tiger Beer which was very much the in thing of the day. He enjoyed the walze. A-Go –Go was indeed something of adrenaline delight to his youthful spirit. He enjoyed the Bees Gees and Elvis Presley's. He was in a Western ambience though he was in an oriental country.
Chapter two
Here they met. A white man and a young Chinese maiden met Mary Pui put on her best dress and she put on a pair of high heel. She set her hair in a bun. Her Elizabeth Arden lipstick was attractively enticing indeed.
Having been educated at St Teresa 's Mary could speak perfect English. She came first in the story telling contest. She was on the debate team of her school.
She and her best friend Suzan were seated at the table. It was a dinner table, Western food , the best steak and chips in town. At the table were other infantry men - all having their nice day off after the Koemba Battle. At the other tables , Mary also saw other beautiful girls of her age enjoying their night out.
Then came the young man of 22 , Don Mcphillips of Australian born and bred.
"may I have the honour to dance with you …." Came the manly voice
Slowly and steadily Don ushered Mary onto the dance floor.
" I am Don Mcphillips . I am from Ballarat, near Melbourne. "
" I see. I m mary Pui from Satok ( by this time mr Pui had bought a house in Satok) , which is just a stone throw away from Aurora."
" so do you enjoy the dinner?
"certainly. The food that I have here is very similar to those at home. I have been away from home for a well over three months, but I don't find any dissimilarity as far as food is concerned. . My comrades are all from Australia. Most of them are from Melbourne. Most locals here speak English and there is not much of a language barrier."
"you are working here? Don continued his chit-a-chat with Mary.
"no, I have just finished my A level. I am waiting for the A level Cambridge result to be released soon"
" I guess you mus t have done it well ?"
" I am quite certain I did it quite well. After my A level, I m going to continue my studies in Australia hopefully in Brisbane. Am going to do law.'
"oh, its great. A lawyer in the making." He remarked.
The evening went on quite peacefully with the dances and the music and the chats. It was an eventful night with Don and Mary each thinking of dating the other.
Chapter three
Back home in the grocery shop of her father, Mary helped Mr Pui to pack goods in little plastic bags and displayed them nicely on the shelves. One of them caught her attention. This particular display of "Overtine" had won first price in the "display of goods section" competition.
Only a month ago there was an open competition on goods display and good mannered services organized by the whole sellers . " Overtine' was the most popular beverage in the sixties, seventies and eighties in Kuching.
Mary tried to follow the way of commercial display. The first price display was in fact done by her aunt, Elizabeth Ten who was a very fashionable young maiden of twenty six and who has had lots and lots of admirers, be them secret or open.
Presently a man called himself Lim was her date. He courted her by driving her around in his brand new Mercedes. Mary at one point followed her aunt to Dahan Estate, the biggest estate in Serian . She saw rows and rows of rubber trees and pepper. The named successor to Dahan was Lim
It captivated Mary to see such a huge estate and her future aunt's husband was definitely a rich man, a land owner of the aristocratic family, a beneficiary of the British Empire.
Chapter four
Since the LIms were well-to-do people, the wedding had to be up to date and strictly follow protocol.
Mr Lim 's parents were, needless to say, very traditional people. They came from Swatow, southern China as newly weds. Their culture was in every aspect, Chinese.
On the morning of the wedding day, the bridegroom came to the bride's house in his dark blue Mercedes. The bride's father ushered her to the sitting room where the typical Hakka tiny glutinous dumplings were ready to be eaten. Glutinous rice is something sticky. It signifies the husband and wife must stick together in sickness and in health.
The bride wore her best wedding gown available in town. She was brimming from ear to ear , so was the groom. After saying good bye to her family, she was seated together with her groom in the most expensive Mercedes .
Their arrival to the front porch of the Lim mansion was accompanied by huge"bombings" of the fire-crackers The fire crackers cracked the loudest noise possible. The cracking noise showed the world that the newly weds were beginning their lives together and wishfully needed their parents ' blessings .
Chapter five
Mary and Don dated. Mary swept Don under her feet. They had spent their sweetest time almost at every nook and cranny of Kuching.
Whenever Don was off duty, he would be seeing Mary. Mary's eyes were gleaming and flowing with fire. She could feel Don flying to the dark abyss of her heart, like a gleaming hawk..
Both were good dancers. They enjoyed the steak and fish and chips at Aurora. They were fantastic in each other's company. They, too enjoyed drinking beer. The Tiger was the drink of the day. They also frequented the famous coffee shop called Rasa Sayang where they sold Tiger at a discounted price.
Many week ends found them soaking at the Semantan Beach when the golden evening sun was shining with its amber tinges and its glorious red. God blessed the love birds.
They had great walk together. Not only they enjoyed brisk walk, they loved jogging too. The brisk walk leading to the "summer villa" of Vyner Brooke and his Ranee, Sylver Brett was pleasurable indeed. Alongside the path one could see tropical greenery, amongst them were the pitcher plants and the orchid. The White Borneo was such a wonderful sight to behold. The majestic villa has since been deserted and abandoned. Vyner had died in London. So had Sylver. The awesome villa looked as British as it could be.
They had swum on the South China Sea fringing the white sandy beach The beach was as white as snow. It reminded Don of the seven mile beach of Tasmania. . They walked. They talked. They laughed. They smiled. They were mesmerized.
They had very pleasant and delightful tour of Santubong beach with the mighty Gunung Santubong as the backdrop. Mary wished that Don could protect her like the Santubong . San means mountain. Tu means inside. Bong means king. With the king living in it, it connotes power and honour. So Don was the king to protect her indefinitely According to ancient Chinese culture the Bong or the king was equivalent to God . God is Almighty. Mary had a strong feeling that she was protected and shrouded by Don The feeling of happiness was indescribable
A white man met an oriental girl. Their love could be as dramatic as it could be. The days went by. They saw each other more often. Don had a passion for drawing . He painted pictures of Gunung Santubong and Serapi He presented the drawings to Mary. He also painted a portrait of Mary and it is still one of the arts pieces decorating the living room of the Puis today.
One evening they walked out through the farms at nightfall. Mary's parents mr. and mrs. Pui had a big rubber estate at the outskirt of Kucing
The evening stroll was unforgettable. A large gold moon was hanging brightly in the horizon. The brightly red and blue geranium were shining under the moon light Don held her gently in his arms.
The song of Elvis Presley rang in their ears:
Can't help falling in love
Lyrics
Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you?
Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
Suddenly, he said
"We will get married, Mary".
She was silent. But she was happy and overjoyed.
Chapter 6
Now their love affairs came to the knowledge of Mary's father and mother. The first one to oppose was certainly Mrs Pui, maryl's mum. She was a staunch traditionalist . To have her daughter married to an ang moh was something unthinkable . Her strong statements like " English are lazy. Chinese are hard working" are utterly untrue. She was entitled to her opinions.
The present Mrs Pui was the former Mrs Lam. She too, had an extra ordinary love story.
Pui, called herself Fah . Fah was staying at the outskirt of Kuching tending flocks of animals and tilling the land . Her parents were farmers. Lam was her neighbor. They met each other during the harvesting of pepper. In the olden days harvesting was a big affair. Normally neigbour farmers would come to help. Reciprocally, one would go to help the same neighbours who have helped you before.
After harvesting was done, Lam paid more visits to Fah. Those visits blossomed into love.
One evening he put on his best linen white shirt. On the way he met his friend, Liu. Liu asked him what he was up to . He answered " kind of courting."
He had arrived at Fah's house. He stood in the evening light. Fah ushered him into the parlour
" I have some beautiful words for you." Lam braved himself to speak
There was a long silence, while his dark piercing eyes strangely impersonal, looked into her eyes to seek an answer for the truth.
"You want me?" she asked
"Yes." He said
He looked at her with his wide, candid, opened eyes with utter truth. She reached slowly her bright face to him and he had her in his arms. In love and romance they reveled.
"I m much older than you" she said
"how old" he asked
" im thirty two, " she said.
" im twenty eight." He said
"do you want to marry me?" she asked
"I do." He said.
So they got married.
Chapter seven
The marriage produced two sons, Ban Hui and Ban Beng.
Then, suddenly, Lam died.
It happened on a monsoonal day. It had been raining cats and dogs. The equatorial storm was harsh on the village Lam was restless. And he fidgeted at home, hearing the trickling water outside. At length , he drove his Ford, he drove it 30 miles away to the city. He was too bored by the monsoon
" I will be damned if I locked myself in the house under this dreary weather." He murmured to himself
He drove to the city. At the Kopitiam he had a cup of coffee with ah Ning his best friend. They always saw each other over the week end They chatted happily about their family and their agricultural enterprise.
There was a big stream flowing to the Sadong River. It was still raining heavily. Lam drove carefully on the kampong road. He wanted to get home as quickly as he could . Very soon the water level rose.
It was getting dark. " Fah must be waiting for me at the door. . I must get home as quickly as I could. She must be worried about me" he talked to himself
He switched on the high light of his Ford. He hoped to see more clearly the water filled road ahead. But it was too late. The current was stronger. The Ford was weaker. His Ford was engulfed in the Sadong water; the monsoonal water of immense strength and destruction
Lam was stuck in his Ford He could not get out of his car. Soon the whole village of Sadong was flooded. The flood water went up the level of 6 feet. The villagers were stranded . The Rescue Department sent a few boats to the village.
The water subsided. Lam's dead body was stuck in his car. His head was resting on the steering wheel. His right foot was still on the clutch. His hands were on his laps. He died of drowning He was drenched and soaked. It was an unprecedented case of Sadong.
The rescue boats sent the residents to higher ground where the Community Hall was located. It was two days of incessant sadness and trauma.
When the rain finally ceased came the funeral. Fah was rather calm to see her late husband's body. However her face turned pale. He was laid there, inviolate and motionless.
" I shared my life with you. Now you are gone. Rest in peace my dear." She said in between sobs.Ban Beng and Ban Hui tried to control their emotion. They bade farewell to their father.
The funeral ritual was held at Sacred Heart Chapel. There were a big number of wreaths. The chapel bell tanged at intervals. The mourners were mainly from the kampong.
After the death of Lam, Fah became very unsettled. Unlike before, she could not sit peacefully during the day. She always rose from her chair, as if she was wanting to go somewhere, but she was oblivious of where to go
She went to visit Lam every Old Souls Day. Tears rolled down her cheeks, dropping onto the yellowish blue lit candles, and finally putting out their lights. She looked at the headstone--- " Lam Lee Foh, William , Born 22nd June 1904. Died 8th August 1965
She left the cemetery. She had forgotten the nosegays, two of them. She scurried back. She put the two nosegays on the headstone. The nosegays were pinkish carnation. Lam loved carnation, especially the bluish ones. She hurriedly went off, with Kleenex wiping off the tears on her eyes.
Chapter eight
Further in the kampong lived the Pui family. Pui senior had left behind a huge piece of land where they planted rubber as well as pepper. They were considered large land owner and more or less the aristocratic family.
Pui Siaw Tee at this time was a Hakka man in his mid forties- tall, handsome and Chinese educated. He was also recently widowed. Mr Pui had a son by the name of Pui Ang Chin. A certain good woman tried to match make Pui and Fah
In fact they had met before. It was during a wedding dinner of mr. Liaw 's son, one of the kampong folks. Incidentally they were seated at the same table.
In the sitting room of Fah, Fah poured Pui a cup of Wu Loong Cha ( Wu Loong tea, expensive tea from China)
Now they got acquainted. Pui dated her by inviting her to join him for bicycle ride. They rode around the country, enjoying the up and down of the undulating terrain. Once in while they went to the city to watch movies. Those were the days of Lin ching Hsia 's They enjoyed every movie of Lin.
The wedding became a piece of sensational news around the kampong, mainly due to the fact that both were widowed
Pui made a beautiful wedding speech:
Marriage is what we are made of. For a man to be a man, it takes a woman. And for a woman to be a woman, it takes a man. Therefore we have marriage. In heaven there is no marriage. But on earth there is marriage, else heaven drops out, and there is no bottom to it. A married couple makes one Angel. An angel is the soul of man and woman in one.
They exchanged wedding rings in front of an audience of kampong folks and the family of Pui and Fah and Lams including the children of Lam, Ban Hui and Ban Beng.
Chapter nine
Mary changed her plan. She did not want to proceed her university studies any more. She wanted to get married.. Love is a wonderful thing. The prospect of marriage filled her heart and head. She chose between marriage and a degree, and he choice was marriage.
" are you going to marry the ang moh?" her mum asked
" of course. Absolutely" Mary said right into her mum's face
" I forbid it" her mum said
" you are not God. Only God forbid" she argued
Days on and weeks on her mum scolded her.
To make matter worse, her mum "instigated" the idea of Rapunzel . It became a modern fairy tale She would never ever allow her daughter to marry the ang mo. Unfortunately, Mary 's hair was not as long or as strong as those of Rapunzel's.
Mary was" captivated" and put in the double decker smoke house. She was locked up in the smoke house. Though made of wood but rather fortress-like. To her mum it was a way to reprimand her and to deter her and to forbid her to fall in love with an ang moh. What a silly thing to do!
Her parents were rubber estate owners. They had some workers who tapped their rubber trees . The latex was collected and hardened into pieces of rubber sheets which were then smoked in at the smoke house. One of the two smoke houses was not functioning well. And it was in this smoke house that Mary s parents locked her so that she could not escape to see her lover.
This less maintained smoke house was just next to the good one. She was imprisoned there for quite a couple of weeks Every morning and evening Mrs Pui would send her maid to fetch some food for her through a little window The window was less than the size of a head. This was to prevent Mary from escaping .
Every night Mary cried herself to sleep. On moonlit night she stared at the stars through the slits of the wooden wall, hoping and wishing that Don would come to rescue him.
Don at the moment was one of the artillery men. He was fighting the communists on the western border of Sarawak-Kalimantan. The 3RAR were fighting the war under the code name "Claret" In fact the idea of Claret was initiated by Major general Walter Walker.
Chapter ten
Mary was a prisoner of love where as Don was a warrior at the border. Under the present Human Right Act, Mary's mother would have been sued on inflicting pain on another human being . But she would argue on the fact of punishment due to not performing filial piety.
On one monsoon night when the wind was howling, the next door smoke house was burning with its very strong flame. Mr Pui had tons of rubber sheets to be smoked and to be shipped to Singapore for export and to make plenty of money.
At this juncture , rubber and pepper fetched good price in the market. Mr Pui had a good sense of the commodity market. He had to run with the market. It was inevitable that he was lining his pocket to the rim.
The fire spread very fast to her cell. She screamed asking for help. " help. Help" Her piercing scream shrilled through the night air. She shrieked and she blared. Finally some one came to her rescue. It was Ah Seng the worker who broke open the wooden door of the smoke house. The fire was put off. But Mary was hurt immensely, not only physically but emotionally.
Her skin was burnt to 50%. She suffered from third degree burn.. And she also suffered from asphyxiation due to choking from the severe smoke. She was unconscious . her father sent her to the emergency department of the General Hospital.
Lucky for her she was not pronounced death. She regained consciousness She stayed in hospital for six months to treat her burnt skin.
Chapter eleven
She was so emotionally disturbed that she looked for Don every day. But Don was in the battlefield.
She cried her eyes out. She almost died of emotional upheavals
Her reticular dermis and papillary dermis were so damaged that she needed grafting . she was considered fortunate as her buttocks and thigh were not injured. So the doctor took the skin of these two for grafting.
The doctor put her on general anesthesia . The grafting took three hours. To help in the healing she was put on corticosteroids to treat the inflammation. By the time she was discharged it was six months later.
The aftermath of the burn was grievously appalling. She could not eat well. She could not sleep well. She always had nightmares. She would wake up in the middle of the night with sweat stagnated
She could not get over the grief. She had no one to talk to. Her parents were so busy with their lives that they seldom talked to her.
Slowly and finally Mary became schizophrenic. The months of imprisonment in the smoke house and the lengthy treatment of the burn had utterly depressed her. She became mad, the maddest she could get. She confronted her parents by wielding the sharp knife from the kitchen. She nearly killed her father. She wielded the knife on the head of the family dog, Blackie. Blackie died of excessive bleeding. The news of Blackie being beheaded became the headline of the Sarawak Tribune. It became a talk of the town for many months .
Finally the police car came and fetched her to the asylum which was built during the Brooke era.
Chapter twelve
The love of Romeo and Juliet caused death, but the love of Mary and Don caused Mary paranoid Schizophrenia and suffering. She utterly suffered from Ophelia syndrome .
It was a huge Victorian style building with its Palladian architecture it depicted a beautiful façade with some Jacobean plasterwork. The main hall had an arrival lounge where one could see many chairs arranged in rows.
On the left side of the building was the nursing room with a rectangular Electroconvulsive Therapy Machine which was to treat schizophrenic patients. Seizures are electrically induced to provide relief from mental disorders. It was also used with informed consent as a safe and effective intervention of mania and catatonia.
Turning to the right was an elongated building running to the north end of the premises It had a long and wide corridor on both sides of which were prison-lie rooms with iron-barred doors which were hinged from the outside. These rooms confined patients with the highest level of schizophrenia.
Towards the end of the "prison" ward was a gigantic grassland. The grass was green and well trimmed and they shone brightly in the golden light of the tropical sun. At the edges of the grassland were some jogging tracks. This was solely for the inmates to run and to jog. By jogging , hopefully the sweat might release their worries and depressive mood. At the furthest end of the grassland stood a majestic tropical rainforest with tall and huge trees and thick canopies
Chapter thirteen
And it was in this Sentosa Asylum that Mary was confined . she has been diagnosed with depression and chronic psychosis. Mary was very ill and very mad, the maddest that she could get.
Her doctor was an Indian from Bombay by the name of Dr. Kureshei who was well trained in his practice of psychiatry. The doctor explained the diagnosis, the prognosis and medications to Mrs. Pui. He always showed his comedic smile with his sparkling white teeth. He wore a pair of fashionable spectacles on his high nose.
The patient was prescribed with drugs like Celexa and Lexapro . These medicines were norepinephrine inhibitors. She was given ECT treatment once a week. The aftermath of ECT – vomiting and giddiness.
Despite the most modern medical treatment Mary did not improve.
She grew thinner and thinner. By this time Don was out of the battlefields He visited her at the mental hospital at Kota Sentosa. However she did not talk much. She always felt drowsy due to the medications.
Here the nurses employed some occupational therapy . she was taught how to do cross stitch and crocheting . she was taught how to do embroidery on handkerchiefs All these were done when she was not in moments of madness.
Don came to see her almost every day. He could not take her out for meals . This was strict rule of the Hospital. With all his heart, Don wanted Mar y to get over her madness so that she could resume normal life. There was a pond next to the hospital. However its surface was covered with planks of wood to avoid patients from committing suicide by jumping into the water.
Little did Don know that Mary was a good artist. In fact she painted a portrait of herself as well as a portrait of Don.
Her mum also came to see her quite often, bringing her the chicken porridge that she loved so much.
In the evening Don cajoled her to jog at the track. She could only do it for a little while and then she gave it up. She was more into painting and cross stitch. She crocheted a blue sweater for herself and a green one for Don
Chapter fourteen
Apparently one way to alleviate mental patients from depression is to recall the good times. Don was determined to help Mary to recover. Unlike Hamlet he did not procrastinate . He was very certain about "what was to be and what was not to be."
Don helped his girl friend to recall their good time spent together on the Santubong beach. They recreated the beautiful memories by Don showing her the pictures when they walked the white sandy beach for a whole morning from the East end to the West. Under the morning golden sun they built sand castles and sand dunes.
They even swam at the shallow end of the South China Sea. How they enjoyed the time together. Unforgettable indeed. All these were depicted "via" photographs" of the bygone days
These beautiful memories brought her back to the good time, the gratifying and congenial sweet time. When she recalled the great time, she became happier. Thus she became less ill. She did n ot grow to the highest degree of madness. Slowly she became quite normal.
Love could heal madness. Don believed so. Don had confidence that Mary would become well soon. . He totally believed that love should be and could be a panacea .
It took her another six months before she could totally recover. Dr. Kureshi discharged her. It was Don who brought her back to her mother.
Don did not ask Mary to "go thee to the nunnery" instead he proposed marriage and Ballarat as their future home. A surge of contentment filled her heart.
Mrs. Pui by now had changed her perspective about western culture . she even learned how to cook western food. She invited Don to come to her home to see Mary . She served him Australian breakfast of toast with poached eggs, bacon and hash browns and tea. Sometimes she had baked beans and sausages.
Sometimes Don had fish and chips. Mary and him barbequed the steak and mutton and mushroom and invited the whole family to savour the western gourmet.
Chapter fifteen
Ballarat lies at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range in Central western Victoria, Australia. It is nicknamed the "Athens of Australia" The famous living museum to show case gold mining is at Soverign Hill
It was at Wendouree West that Don and Mary settled down . Don learned to be a mechanic . he was running a mechanic shop at the old street. They had two children. The daughter is called Chelsea whereas the son is John.
Mary and Don went for tour of the towns near to Ballarat. One of the them was Geelong. Geelong ,like Ballarat had been a centre of attraction due to the Gold Rush.
Geelong is the second largest Victorian town after Melbourne. It is also named "gateway city" due to its critical location to surrounding Western Victorian regional centres like Ballarat, Torquey, Great Ocean Road,Warmambool , Hamilton, Colac and Winchelsea. .
The traditional name of Geelong is Wadawurung. Its aboriginal meaning is "tongue of the land"
Nowadays, Geelong has a big Ford Motor Company. It also has some woolen industry. The beautiful Baywalk Bollards are scattered along the waterfront . The waterfront is facing theBass Strait, the biggest strait in the Southern Ocean. The famous Deakin university is found here.
Chapter sixteen.
When Mary's children were young they came back to Malaysia for a visit. The grandchildren were inquisitive . They talked to their grand mum . when Chelsea saw that her grand mother was wearing two gold rings, she began to ask
"why do you have two wedding rings, grand ma?"
" I have had two husbands." She answered.
Chelsea hesitated for a while she added
" which ring is my grandfather's ring?"
Fah was taken aback for a few seconds.
" the one below is grandfather Lam. The one above is grand father Pui. He is your grandfather. "
"where did he buy the ring?"
"well, he bought it at Poh Kong, the most famous jewellery shop in town. "
Chelsea was quick to identify herself with the Pui grandfather
" do you like the first grand father or the second?"
" I love them both" answered grandmother very quickly
" did you cry when the first grand father die?"
" well grandfather Lam was as good as grand father Pui. Both are very diligent . I cried for almost a week when grand father Lam died."
She continued. " I won't seek grand father Lam in the dust. You know it is common that all things live must die. Passing through nature to eternity."
The grand daughter and grand mother continued their chit-a chat joyfully. On the walls of the parlour Chelsea saw portraits of grand father Pui and his other ancestors. Grand father Lam 's portrait could only be found in grand mother's album.
" will some body love me and marry me when I grow up?" she asked her grand mother
" surely some body will . He must love you for what you are, not what you have . Remember, my grand daughter, love is a many wonderful thing. It enriches your life. It makes you wholesome."
Chapter seventeen
Now mrs. Pui was in deep thought . she was reflecting on her past. She was born in 1928 in southern china in the province of Fukien in the town of Kiet Jong. China was not only in the midst of a severe famine but she saw unprecedented events of war lords scrambled for political power. When Yuan shi Kai ( the most famous war lord of China)died in 1926 the Kuomintang under the leadership of Chiang Kai shek established the Republic of China with Nanking ( now Nanjing) as its capital.
By 1928 chiang kai shek pushed the CCP into the interior and overthrew the Beiyang government and so began the Nanking Decade for the ensuing 10 years.
Chiang could not rest on his laurels. The communists were gaining influence through out the country. At the same time, the Japanese were extending her empire in Asia and she exerted her military force in East Asia.
The year mrs. Pui ( also know as Fah , )was born China was in the depth of a famine. She was under nourished. She had malnutrition. She was rather thin and pale
As an eight year old residing in the outskirt of Ho Poh district in manland China, she toiled herself day in and day out. Together with her mum they managed to survive on eight cents per day They sold bundle of woods at the roadside.
Their house was just a tiny one. Just like those that belong to dwarfs. It had four walls, two little windows and a main door and a back door. The walls were made of mud and sand stuck together quite solidly. They tended some ducks and chicks at the back yard
As it was poorly built, it was slightly tilted. The little shrubs and trees thrived well outside the walls. Sometime squirrels would just jump into the her bedroom. She was wide awake even before the early cock crowed.
Her father was already in Nanyang, the land of plenty. Kuching, Sarawak was supposed to be full of gold. He landed in Kuching earlier. Once in a while he wrote to his family back home at Ho Poh. He promised Fah and her mum that one day they would come to Kuching provided he had made enough money to buy them the ship fares to Nanyang
To sell wood and sticks she had to go to the nearest jungle near her house. The tools that she had were an axe, a hatch and some big knives. She had to brave herself with uncompromising determination as the Chinese saying goes "no work no eat"
She understood the statement " survivals for the fittest" No matter how she was bullied she had to struggle to survive. She was more or less like Jane Eyre most of the time. But she was not bullied by her relatives, she was bullied by outsiders. Sometime she did wish that there was a mr. Rochester somewhere...
Then came one bright morning. She displayed her goods nicely at the road side. Then came one middle aged man.
"huh, you are from Qin Jia Zuang?" asked him . he did not appear to be a rascal at first, but turned to be one later.
" yes, I am" she said in matter-of-fact tone.
" hey, my twigs are the best in the world. This one you can use as fire wood. The other one on your right is good for building walls." I began my sale tactics.
" so your dad is in Nangyang?" he asked
I was shocked he knew my dad and I said " yes, at the moment he is in Nanyang, but mum and I would join him very soon"
" oh, very well. That s good. Your dad should sponsor you and your mum to go Nanyang. I heard that Nanyang is a land of plenty. That way you don t have to struggle that much. Just look at the scorching sun. how it spoils your youthful skin.." he said in a mocking and pitiful tone
In a wink of an eye , however, he snatched her goods and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. A bit of a distance away, she saw another man trying to catch the goods. They were premeditated . they did a good run of relay race. How scheming they were.
she screamed on top of my voice. She shouted " you have not paid my goods, mr.
Before long he had disappeared at the far end of the country road.
This was a broad day light robbery. She cried her heart out. It would mean she and her mother had to starve for the following week. It was her duty to give the day's earning to her mum so that she could buy cooking oil, salt, sugar and other daily provisions. It was an awful and heart wrecking experience for a ten year old.
Soon dusk was setting in. to walk home from the main road to her house would be a distance of two miles. Fah was over exhausted. The helplessness and hopelessness of the situation was beyond any word description
The moon and the stars started to dotting the sky. Soon she fell asleep at the road side. she was however awoken by a torch light shining on her face. Mum was calling her name She was aware that it must be past midnight. Mum hugged her tightly and held her in her warm bosom.
"my dear child. I am so sorry that you have to shoulder such a big responsibility at such a tender age."
There were lots and lots of tender words . they walked home in the mid autumn moonlit night with lots of sorrow and lots of unhappiness.
Chapter eighteen
They were dirt poor, but life had to move on. Mum suggested that they changed the spot of displaying their goods. This time around they increased their items of sales. Not only they sold woods, they also sold a variety of vegetables, for example, cabbages, bitter gourd, brinjal and lady fingers. Among them parsley could fetch a high price because it was considered a rare commodity.
Fah never ever had the luxury of going to school in China. It would be a wonderful dream. She imagined herself sitting in a very comfortable classroom listening to her teacher teaching her Chinese history especially the Tang Dynasty.
Another contributing factor was she was a girl. In the olden days females were not encouraged to go to school. A girl 's duty was to get married and look after the kids and family. Having a degree was quite useless, so they believed.
Chinese culture stereotypes. There was always a discrepancy between a son and a daughter . Even nowadays some old fashioned parents think that there is no use for a girl to go to school. A Chinese daughter would marry into a family and she will forget her sir name and she to take her husband's sir name. All she has to do is to bear him some children and look after the husband's parents and siblings.
Chapter nineteen
In Fah's circumstances it was slightly different. She went to school due to the fact that the family eventually landed in the land of Sarawak. Fah's parents had changed their mentality .At that juncture Sarawak was under the British rule. English and Chinese education were available , but her father chose to send her to Chinese school and indoctrinated her with the idea of Confucianism and filial piety.
So it was time to leave China for good. Her mum got hold of her dad's address in Kuching. ( He had landed in kucing much earlier) Mum wrote a lengthy letter to dad telling him that it was very unfair to leave behind his wife and daughter in China. Further , China was running into a civil war which was fought between CCP and KMT .
By the time the Japanese attacked China ( Manchuria, 1931, Shanghai 1932) Fah and her family were already in Kuching. They felt very blessed that they were in the land of safety when China was in chaos .
Chapter twenty
To go to Kuching they boarded a big ship called "sui kak" They embarked the ship at the town called Swatow. To get to Swatow would be a five hour journey by a cargo ship from Kiet Jong. The cargo was quite big, about 30,000 DWT
From Swatow, they embarked on their Nanyang journey. In Chinese saying it is " soon fung soon sui" which literally means follow the wind and follow the flow of water"and eventually they landed in the land called Sarawak. The journey took them 14 days.
The sea journey was in fact rather intolerable . Fah was sea sick. She felt nauseated in the congested cabin. The ladies would be given a corner of the big cabin. And the men's cabin was much larger. This was because there were more men migrating to Nanyang
One could smell the stench of fermented goods which were kept in the old gunny sacks. No wonder the young Fah vomited many times. She thought she could have died and her body would be thrown into the South china sea and be eaten by the sharks!
Chapter twenty one
In the cargo ship, Fah befriended another young girl of her age. They became good friends for the rest of their life in Nangyang
" hi, my name is Fah, I m from Ho poh"
" nice to meet you. My name is Chin . I am from Keit Xi. " she said
Both young girls were on their way to the Land of Plenty, to seek their fortune and get away from poverty.
On the deck, Chin introduced her mum to Fah.
After a curtsey, they talked.
"aunty, ni hao" Fah said in mandarin
"ni hao" answered the middle aged lady
She continued " are you from Kiet Xi, too?"
"no, I m from Kiet Jong " answered Fah
Chin's mother was wearing a very quintessential Hanfu. It was a two-piece top-bottom fashion. The blouse was exquisitely embroidered with a square fabric panel of phoenix sewn onto the chest. The long pants were rather loose on her slender body. The blouse has a quarter-length sleeves The colour of the blouse matches the colour of the pant. They are bright purple
She explained " I tailored the hanfu myself. Tailoring is my hobby . I make clothes for my family
"
She also loved to embroider handkerchiefs. She showed Fah all her embroidered handkerchiefs. One of them was rather impressive – a flying white crane against the bright blue sky.
Chapter twenty two
After 14 days of sea journey, Fah and her friends finally arrived at a "transit" station which was a small island called Sakijang Bendera, a tiny island very close to Singapore. There they were vaccinated. They were asked to take bath in order to get used to the equatorial heat. After three days in Sakijang they continued their journey to Kuching. The arrival in the city of the cats was met with a warm welcome from Fah's father who appeared to be a stranger to Fah
She had never met her father from the day she was born. It had been ten years since her father arrived in Kuching. There was the absence of father figure in her growing up years. She could hardly get connected to her father.
The first impression of the Cat City. She saw plenty of rickshaws being pulled around the Main Bazaar . At the side of River Sarawak Fah saw many little huts of the Malay people. She also saw a very beautiful castle-like building which was called the Astana. The Astana was the palace where the white Rajah lived. The evening sun threw its glorious golden light onto the river. It was indeed a beautiful sight to behold.
Chapter twenty three
The twenties saw an unprecedented influx of Chinese immigrants from the Sothern China ( the province of Guangdong and Fookien) Once they set foot on the Land of Hornbill , they would become rubber tappers and pepper growers.
The Hakka people settled in Batu Kawah, Serian, and Bau and Kota Sentosa and Kota Padawan.Most of them owned acres of land without which they could not plant adequate number of trees in order to produce the berries from the economical sense.one could see rows and rows of rubber and pepper along Kuching Serian Road.
The reign of Vyner Brooke saw a big boom in the Sarawak pepper and rubber The oil industries in Mri also gave rise to the big boom in Sarawak economy. Vyner also introduced the Public Service as well as the penal code which was very much akin to those of the British system
Sarawak had her first qualified judge in 1928 in the person of Mr Justice Sterling Boyd. It was after 1939 that a proper legal system based on legal principals was established. When Sarawak became a crown colony in 1946, Sabah and Sarawak had a combined judiciary. Sir Ivor Brace was then the chief justice of both the High court and the court of Appeal
The famous Square Tower was a dancing hall where Vyner used to entertain his dignitaries for dinner parties and dances. His consort, Sylvia Brett was of a very eccentric character and was described as "female lago"
She was considered an enchantress she could manipulate her husband very well. She enjoyed dressing up in sarongs and exotic jewelry. She said she wanted to "electrify her life" she became the queen of the headhunters. She, in fact, appreciated head hunting. The village with the most skulls would be considered the village with the braves man or men
However, with the coming of Christian missions and Christianity, head hunting was gradually abolished. The white Rajah was ruling a kingdom of 500, 000 population in a land of 40,000 square miles. The kingdom of Sarawak became a colony of the British Empire.
Further up Rock Road stood the majestic Sarawak Museum on a little hill with beautiful lawn surrounding it. There was a little zoo beside the museum Thee was also an aquarium show casing varied tropical fish and two isolated crocodiles glaring their monstrous eyes at the onlookers. There were some pink monkeys enjoying their time swinging on the trees in the zoo. What a beautiful Kuciing , thought Fah
Chapter twenty four
It was at kota Sentosa that Fah found his father. He had bought a rather big piece of land planting pepper and rubber. Sometime his nephew came to help him. In fact the rubber trees and pepper trees thrived well.
It was here that Fah and her mother and father settled down for good
Fah was already ten years old. The idea of attending school struck her. Though she was a bit old to go to primary one , she pleaded her dad to let her go to school. To her big surprise he agreed.
It was quite unusual for parents to send their daughters to school. Boys were definitely exception.
" a girl always ends up becoming some one's wife. She will be the housewife and she spends all her time at home at the kitchen as well as looking after her hubby and her kids. There is no point for her to go to school" This was what normally the early generations practiced. For girls to go to school was definitely a luxury of the day.
So to school she went. She attended the school called Sam Hap Hin. "sam" means "three" . "hap" means "together" "hin" means "prosperity"
The school was so called because the vicinity has three kampungs namely Stakan, Semaba and Tai san Liung . The board of the school hoped that children who studied here would prosper and succeed one day after having received enough education from the school.
Our forefathers were held in awe for their foresight, mission and vision. Students who graduated from the school were indeed grateful for having received education from Sam Hap Hin and this includes the writer of the story.
Fah did very well in school. She topped the class. She became an eloquent debater. It was a sad thing she did not continue with her secondary's since her parents said ' there is no point for girls to study too much"
Chapter twenty five.
Accordingly getting married she should and she would. Mr. Lam senior was a good friend of Fah's father. And they were neighbours. Fah's father was Mr. Chong. So the Chongs and the Lams had known each other for quite sometime.
Lam Junior was a hard working man. He helped in his father's estate. When the harvesting season came, he became an extremely busy man. He had to employ workers, whether known or unknown to pick the berries. The black berries had to be soaked and extracted , thereafter they became white berries. They were dried under the tropical sun. They were packed and exported.
In fact Fah and Lam were school friends at Sam Hap Hin..Lam was her senior by two years. They played in the same ping pong club.
After a brief courtship, Fah was betrothed to Lam. There was no match-maker involved. So theirs was considered a modern case of marriage.
The most unforgettable episode in the ceremony was the big "makan". Two days before the wedding the Lams would employ a qualified chef to the Lam's kitchen. The chef would write down all the menu and the necessary ingredients for the honourable feast. Mr Lam senior would buy all which were stated on the lists
Among the gourmet would be abalone. In the olden days abalone fetched 10 ringgit per kilo. Nowadays abalone fetches 100 ringgit per kilo. The BBQ cha siu was tender and juicy. The sweet and sour fish was heavenly. The mixed veges were a huge delight.
Cheer to their life of happiness . As mentioned earlier , the wedded bliss of theirs produced two kids.
Chapter twenty six
The elder of the two was a successful architect. However the younger Lam Ban Beng was the initial black sheep and street urchin but turned into a business mogul later on.
He was about ten. His father died. His mother had not remarried yet.
His mother walked him to school. Half way he said
"mummy, mummy I don't want to go to school any more."
Fah was astonished to listen to such statement.
"why? The mother asked. " isn't schooling good and enjoyable" you get to see many friends, among them your best friend, ah La." You mean you don't like them anymore?"
" no , it is so boring to sit in the class. Further the teacher beat me because I got my Arithmetic wrong.." he lamented
" my Arithmetic teacher remarked that I am a stupid boy"
"huh, really?" I asked
'Yes, mummy" he answered
The next morning I cajoled him to school, but he refused.
His dad beat him until he was vividly scared of the rattan. His dad beat him to frighten him and told him if he did not go to school, the police would come and get him. This made him all the more scared and worried.
He got confused. His dad did not explain properly. To the young child, he thought if he went to school, he would invite the police to come to his class.
Chapter twenty seven
Since Ban Beng refused to go to school, his parents finally gave in . they let him stay at home. At this point Kota Sentosa developed and expanded. There were shops and little factories here and there.
Fah sent him to one of the grocery shops to learn business and to spend his time in a "more useful manner"
But it did not turn out to be what his parent wanted. Number one reason - he was too young to different between wrong and right. Number two there was a lack of paternal care. Number three he was a young boy of very weak character and he could not stand temptation
He reported himself at the grocery store every morning but someone nearby always came to talk to him. "He " was the "Da Ge" Da ge was the head of the "gang" Da ge started the activity of gangsterism at Kota Sentosa
Slowly Ban Beng became a gangster.
By order of the Da Ge, he had activities like extortion, gambling and narcotic trafficking. He also became a snatch thief.
On a Sunday afternoon, at about two o clock. Ban Beng, by order of his Da Ge, went around a jewellery shop when gold necklaces and gold earrings and ear bangles were sold.
He stood aloof at the entrance of the jewellery shop. A middle aged lady after buying her gold necklace walked out of the shop.
Ban Beng was a good snatcher He just flipped the jewellery box from her hand. ( the lady buyer had not put it into her bag yet) . He immediately took hold of it. He ran as fast as his leg could carry him. He ran to the corner of the shop.
The lady buyer screamed aloud. She did attract attention. But no one came to her rescue. Ban Beng returned his catch to his Da Ge. The Da Ge had a rented room somewhere on the first floor of a shop. He kept all his goods of theft in it.
Chapter twenty eight
One day, he stood on guard at the door of a watch shop. This particular watch shop sold expensive watches for eg. Rolex.
One buyer of Rolex came out of the shop after buying an expensive Rolex. Ban Beng snatched it from the man's hand. The Rolex was sealed nicely in a Rolex box. Ban Beng took the box and ran to the "headquarters" of his Da Ge. He surrendered the Rolex to him. Ban Beng was praised for his "brave deed"
More thefts occurred . So did gambling and extortions.
However, on a fine morning he was arrested at the "headquarters" He was locked up. Da Ge could not bail him. In fact prior to his arrest, some of his gang members were already arrested by the CID, Kuching.
After some interrogation, he was sent to the Boys Home because he was legally a juvenile. And he could not be prosecuted.
Chapter twenty nine
The Boys Home was a government institution where all the legally under aged juvenile were confined and they were taught certain skills while staying at the Home. Parents could come to visit them once a month. They were not really prisoners in the true sense of the word.
For Ban Beng, he was picked to learn carpentry, a skill he enjoyed learning. He learned how to handle tools such as the tape measure, the claw hammer, the utility knife, the moisture metre, the sliding bevel, the layout square and a number of other tools.
He sincerely wanted to turn over a new leaf and he did. After two and half years of rehabilitation, Ban Beng became a new person with new perspective in life. The Home had taught him diligence and perseverance . He was certain he was heading towards a bright future.
He was apprenticed to a big carpentry factory in town. There he furthered his skill, adapting the most modern technology. He learned his skill the hard way.
He was good at it. He saved his earnings. He opened his own factory.
The little factory expanded in due course. He named his factory Ban Hing . Ban means thousands and thousands of them. Hing means very prosperous and very lucky.
Chinese persons always name their business establishment with names that denote money and prosperity. He witnessed first hand the vigorous and gratifying demand for furniture entrepreneurship.
Every one in town knows Ban Hing nowadays. Its furniture is renowned all over Sarawak. It is venturing into exporting its furniture presently .
" I may not be as famous as IKEA , but I m making an honest business." He declared.
Chapter twenty nine
As for Ban Hui, he became an architect. He was good enough to obtain a Commonwealth scholarship to go to Adelaide University.
His was another case of "forbidden" love. After he graduated from Adelaide. He married Marianne Walter , an Australian of English and German descent . She was beautiful and full of grace.
Marianne graduated as a chartered accountant. She and Bang Hui had two children.
When she arrived in Kuching, she was not welcomed by her mother in law, Fah. It was a case of the duck talking to the chick.
There were feelings of discontentment and disagreement. Marianne was not happy. She always got into loggerhead with her mother in law.
Ban Hui was attached to the Council under the architectural design department. In fact he had designed many up to date buildings around the city. One of them was Bangunan Sesco at Jalan Bako.
Ban Hui had ever got the Best Architect Design from the Chief Minister Department in the late nineties..
On a certain summer holiday, Marianne went to visit her parents at Adelaide. The holiday was over , but Marianne never returned to Kuching. She and two kids stayed on at Adelaide. There was a divorce between a white woman and a coloured oriental man.
Marriane could not mingle with the Chinese persons. She was very Australian. She loved steak and potatoes which Fah only picked up when the latter's daughter met Don Macphillips.
Ban Hui did not love her enough to stay on in Adelaide. He thought he had a job in Kuching . Love was not that important.
After the divorce was settled, Ban Hui came to the city He remarried. So did Marriane .
Ban Hui married a girl 10 years his junior. From this marriage, they have had a twin , a boy and a girl. How blessed he felt.
Ban Hui went on to design many more significant buildings around the Kuching .
His working life was almost coming to an end. He was about to retire. He wanted to enjoy his retirement. He had planned for a world tour. He had planned to see the aurora borealis in Northern Norway when the sky was filled with dancing lights.
Sad to say, his retirement tour did not come to fruition. He was diagnosed with skin cancer. He had to go for radiology and chemotherapy.
At the moment he is on remission. Symptoms of cancer have disappeared. He is weakened by the killer disease.
For twice a week he goes to the gym. For once a week he goes swimming. He eats healthy food. He listens to music to make him sleep well. He has no regret for his life so far.
His Australian kids do come to visit him once in two years. Last year right before he got sick, he had a tour of Ocean Road as well as a tour of Perth
He enjoyed the Perth Tour tremendously. They went to Cottesloe Beach where they enjoyed the long walk along the sandy beach. The water was super clean.
They also had a good tour of te Fremantle Prison or Fremantle Gaol. It is a world heritage site. The six hectare site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, and tunnels. It was initially used for convict transported from Britain.
The Pinnacles Desert tour was unforgettable . it is located along the Indian Ocean's Coral Coast in Nambung National Park. It is a vast sandy expanse filled with towering limestone pillars it is only a few hours drive from Perth
Kings Park is a 900 acre park overlooking Perth water and the Central Business district of Perth. The park is a mixture of grassland , botanical gardens and natural bushland on Mt Eliza. It offers a panoramic view of the Swan River and Darling Range. It is home to over 300 native plants and 80 bird species.
It contains the State War Memorial, the Royal Kings Park Tennis club and a reservoir. It has individual plagues dedicated to service men and women who died in world war one and world war 2. The King Park festival is held once a year to exhibit wild flowers of various kinds.
They went for the 8km guided hike of western Rottnest Island There were many spectacular views along the shore. They too, went for kayaking and scuba diving . What an adrenaline delight . The island is also home to the quokka. For the adventurous , some went for the tandem skydive 15,000 ft over the island.
Hopefully after full remission, Ban Hui could gp for the aurora borealis in the near future.
The saying " Life is not a bed of roses" all the time.