My Primary School II

Directly looking at the Sepak Takraw court would be my Standard Two class. And if I remember correctly, Standards One to Three are in the morning session while Four, Five and Six are in the afternoon. Because of our age differences, I always miss my brother in either session.

Just next to the Sepak Takraw court were the Standard Two Classes. The classes for Standards One and Two are usually on the ground floor while Standard three are on the upper floors of the main building and all these three are in the morning session. Standards

This is my class, Standard Two Biru (2 Blue) and this went on right up
to Standard Six but I always confuse my memory with the Kuning (Yellow)
class. There used to be some concrete flower bed on the left but its all
gone now. Here, I remember being scolded for cheating my marks by
Cikgu Faridah (who was a very tall lady) but I stuck to my guns and
my class Teacher, Datin Chen (who was also very strict and loud) did
something to me which I forgot. All I can remember was standing about
while she went here and there. Another memory was our homework
where I was supposed to make a dacing (scale) for our commerce class
and I only told my Dad who had to stay up late (midnight) to make one
for me. Throughout the whole day, I was trying to find parts to make it
by myself but I failed. In the end, it was a big scale and when I brought
it to school, I was feelinglike a fool because one smart aleck just made
his with a chopstick. And everyone followed the idea. Oh, we also
traced some coin patterns with pencils and cut them out to make
some pretend coins.

Ok, so the sign says Darjah 2 Biru (Standard 2 Blue) If I remember correctly,
there was Merah (Red), Hijau (Green), Kuning (Yellow) but I cannot tell
in which order. The funny thing was, while I was in the morning session,
there were other Standard 1 to 3 in the afternoon. Then when we went for
the afternoon, they switched to morning instead. Weird. But by the time
I joined the secondary classes, both morning and afternoon sessions were
combined into one (Secondary 1-3 is afternoon while Secondary 4-6 were
in the morning)

If memory serves me well, I think nothing much has changed, except
for the wall painings, whiteboard and switches.

Right next to the class would be the stairs leading to the lower floors and
also to the canteen. Let's go to the lower floors first (top middle)

OK, this has changed a lot. If we go towards the right side of the corridor,
it used to house a teacher's room, I think and somekind of a meeting room.
Here, we all went nuts when it came to lining up to receive our dreaded BCG
injections. We were waiting like what seemed to be hours, and the line is
moving by inches until we reached the nurse. It did not help either when some
idiot spreaded rumours like he saw the needle went through a boy's arms. But
ultimately, when the line reached into the room, we saw how the nurse sterilised
the needle over a fire, we were very very scared and we were ready to run out
of the room. Luckily, since my mom was a nurse, i got my BCG shots earlier and
I was let out for the room. Or I think I had the shots........ oh well. It was scary
for me, not so much becaues of the waiting until to the point where the nurse
puts the needle in to the arm but the feeling of the hot sterilised needle poking
into the arm. By now, more than 30 years later, I realised it was not true.

Going deeper into the corridor, we turn left to what was once my first
class, which was Standard 1 Biru. All I could ever remember was my
class teach, Cikgu Letchumi who always wear a saree and when she
punish you, you could see her tongue sticking out and upwards before
the slap comes. Now, its all sealed up and converted into something
else which I am not familiar with. So, I did not enter further.

Coming out of the corridor, we no head for the stairs towards the basement
where the canteen is. When I was small, this was the longest set of stairs.
And I was a bit afraid of falling down or even up when I was walking. That's
why I started to hold the smelly handrails even though I hated it
(the smelly sweat from so many hands sticks to yours).

Ok, something new here. As soon as you come done, the empty space that
was once there has now been converted into the teacher's dining room. And
further on (right), it is now the Bengkel Kemahiran Hidup (Skills workshop).
Lets go through to the black grilles, which leads to more open space. When I
was there, it was just a big area where it serves as an assmebly area for us
during recess and sometimes morning assembly. We even used it as a football
area when it was raining during our PE lessons, I think.

Whoa! The beams are still there (of course!) But look at the green painting
on the far left. From the first beam to the painting, it used to be a eight feet
extension for a ten or so feet long toilet. Its gone now. And there is so much
junk all over the place. If you go out of the (now locked) gate, you can go
into the school field and if you turn left, its to the old Bengkel Workshop.
But I think its now converted into something like a centre for the deaf.

Still, lets go to the grill and look out from there. This is still the original grille.
Ok, the houses (for the maintenance staff, I think) are still there. So the path
on the grass where other students walk to the workshop is now clean, this is
reinforcing the fact that the workshop does not exist anymore. At least they
have put up a fence at the edge.

Turning back, you can see the stairs again. If I am not mistaken the school's
bookshop (on the right) is still the original but repainted. But I cannot for
the life of me, remember what the brown door is for. Anyway, if we go on
towards, we will reach the canteen. Funny why they need to install grilles
there as well. I mean, how much damage can hungry primary schoolkids do?

The tables and benches have changed slightly but otherwise, its still the same
old design. Of the three columns, I remember the spot in the middle where I
first encountered bullying. The fucker Mustaffa lend me his Luke Skywalker
action figure for me to take home and play an then, the next day, he called all
his brothers and confronted me to make me pay for the toy. Later on, he was
a prefect and there was an incident too. I was the innocent scapegoat but was
not detained. Still, if I do see him again, I would like to shake his hand for all
the wondeful learning experiences. And then punch him in the face for being
who he is.

The school's main tuckshop has not changed much except that the yellow
grills were originally black, the green tiles were, I think, slabs of stone but
not marble like. Still, this was the only shop that sells drinks and it still does.
I am not sure of the original people were still there being the last day of school
and all but I was just curious to see if the efiminate Ah Kua is still alive or not.

Oh hey! The sweets counter is gone! I've spent a lot of time (looking & drooling)
at the sweets as most of them cannot be found outside. If i had collected most of
the toy guns, swords there and then, they would look good for some of my figs.
But yeah, next to where the trays were, used to be an old lady who sells rojak
and the most delicious and oiliest (round thingy but is not yam cake) which I
loved. With high ceiling and all, I've spend most of the time there not because its
cooling or the nice cooking smell but because of the soothing domestic background
sounds just like as if we're living within a big open community. I like that a lot