WHEN our first-year exam results were announced, I was quite surprised to find myself in the top ten for Humanities studies.
I recall Zulwali Kifli Merawi, my friend and fellow Federal Scholarship holder, a trained teacher at Batu Lintang Teachers College with several years of teaching experience, came in third.
My score consisted of 2 A’s, 7 B’s, and 1 C in Bahasa Malaysia. I achieved an A in both Introduction to Fine Arts and Introduction to Critical Thinking.
Pleased with these encouraging results, I joyfully progressed to the second year as a Fine Arts major.
There were only eight of us in the Fine Arts major, with one of them being a female Education student. Her name was Chong Sweet Ling from Selangor, and after completing four years, was posted to Sabah.
We bonded well as the rest were elderly teachers who had come to the university with their teaching credentials but were not as proficient in the English language.
As second-year undergraduates, we were required to choose our main subjects in the faculty. I selected Photography, Sculpture, Painting and Drawing, but did not opt for Print Art.
Photography was taught by Dr Robert Crock (also known as Roslan Abdullah); Painting and Drawing by Dr Lim Eng Hooi, and Sculpture by Prof Dr Redza Piyadasa.
Another compulsory subject was Art Appreciation, taught by Singaporean Dr TK Sabapathy. I later regretted not taking Print Art, as its lecturer, Prof Dr Chew Teng Beng, played a significant role in improving my well-being.
Out of these areas, I particularly enjoyed the freedom of using the Photography facilities, especially our darkroom, to complete projects such as designing a box camera and creating photograms.
One of my photograms was entered into a competition in Japan in 1976 and received a special merit prize, ‘Dance of The Iban Immortals’. In Sculpture, Painting and Drawing, we had full access to the facilities as well.
I relished using emulsion paints in Painting and Drawing, as it was the first time we experimented with the medium, leading to new ideas in Expressionism, Realism, Superrealism, Futurism, Conceptualism and others. We also enjoyed experimenting with emulsion paint and other department facilities.
We were introduced to legendary artists and sculptors such as Pablo Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, Claude Monet, Eduart Manet, Vincent Van Gogh, Gauguin, Salvador Dali, Regas and others.
We had the opportunity to learn from the Malaysian artist Latiff Mohideen, who was working on his Pago Pago series and was attached to USM Fine Arts for several months during our second year.
Outside the classroom, our second year was filled with relief and enjoyment, especially as we were then referred to as seniors. The Orientation Week for freshmen was the beginning of our 1976/77 Session. As second-year students, we were tasked with organising the Orientation activities.
Although neither Krishnamurthy nor I were part of the official committee, we took it upon ourselves to oversee the Orientation, informally adopting the playful titles of General and Colonel.
I assumed the role of Colonel, allowing the six-foot-one Krishna to be the General. With my long hair and Krishna’s beard, we made quite the intimidating pair.
Our responsibilities included identifying potential participants for orientation activities and possible ‘ragging’. My main focus was on orienting possible Sarawakians and ensuring their well-being.
Krishna, on the other hand, was tasked with finding potential Indian participants. I identified a few Sarawakians, including my cousins Jonathan Bedindang Ensu and Mulok Saban, both former students of SMK Saratok, as well as August Buma (now Datuk) from Bintangor, whose father originally from my Kedap longhouse in Saratok.
Although I did not orient Bedindang and Mulok, I provided some guidance to August, who later confessed to feeling initially apprehensive. The four of us became good friends.
On the other hand, I targeted some individuals from Penang, including a girl whom I captured and who eventually became my girlfriend. Her elder sister was also in my Education class, majoring in Geography.
After the Orientation, we formed a lasting bond until the end of the session, with me frequently visiting their home in Tanjung Bunga, Penang, for meals.
Upon completing the first year, we were instructed to find accommodation off-campus in Minden. Before this, I had already made preparations and requested my second brother, Jon Chandi, to send me a cash amount of RM600 to purchase a second-hand motorbike.
I was surprised when my kind brother sent the requested amount via registered mail. Subsequently, I scouted around Penang Road and acquired a used 1.25 CC Suzuki bike for RM460. With the bike, I had the freedom to move around.
At the end of our first year, I, a few Sarawakians and a student from Semenanjung, rented a house at Pantai Jerjak for RM350. My roommate was Selbi Seman, a fourth-year Education undergraduate.
Our leader was Abang Nordin (now Datuk). Also with us was Jalil (later Prof Datuk Seri Rashid Abdullah), who served as Vice-Chancellor of UNIMAS in Kota Samarahah).
There were eight of us sharing the rent and other expenses. Our new address was No. 25, Pantai Jerjak, near the infamous Pulau Jerjak Centre for offender rehabilitation.
The house was situated by the roadside en route to Bayan Lepas, within walking distance of the USM campus through the Sungai Ara route. With my motorbike, I could reach the campus in less than 10 minutes.
In December 1976, we discovered that the Pesta Pulau Pinang was first held just opposite our accommodation, turning our residence into a paid parking space for motorbikes during the event. Throughout December, we collected fees for parking motorbikes within our compound while the festival was running.
Sometimes, we invited poker players to join our sessions at the rented house. It gave me rare opportunities to earn extra cash.
Most of these players were teachers and government employees undergoing off-campus studies at the university. They typically visited the university for three weeks from late November to December.
At one point, I managed to win at least RM2,500 throughout December, surpassing my Federal Scholarship amount of RM1,850. This significant win led to a joyous celebration with a few friends, including Krishna.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Sarawak Tribune.
