AFTER two years of renting at No. 25, Pantai Jerjak, I finally moved back to the USM campus in Minden, Pulau Pinang, and was assigned to stay at Block 316, Desa A.
It was a fine abode, as I had stayed in a similar longhouse block during my first year. My roommate was a freshman from Alor Setar, Kedah, who was very young and understanding.
Also residing in the same building was Mortadza Nasarene (now Datuk Seri and former CP in Sarawak), my schoolmate from Methodist, Sibu. He was a direct second-year Science student who had previously taken an MBBS course at Universiti Malaya.
I started my fourth year with a bang by performing for the new freshmen on their welcome night. Joining me on stage were my Revival of Elvis Presley bandmates, namely Joeng Mideh, our bassist, Makibin Bodok on drums, Carter Ballang Kapung on rhythm, and Penangite Edwin Khoo on lead guitar.
I also played lead for our instrumentals but let Edwin continue playing Elvis for me to focus on vocals. We were given half an hour to perform, during which I did the lead for one instrumental and sang three EP songs, namely ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, and my favourite, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, with Edwin on lead guitar. We received thunderous applause from the audience for our performance.
During our first lecture week, we received the results of our previous year’s exams. I scored well and was surprised to receive a wonderful B for Third Year Bahasa Malaysia, placing me above many experienced teachers among the undergraduates.
My previous scores (for Year One and Year Two) had always been Cs. Based on how things were progressing, I saw myself as a contender for Second Class Upper.
I scored an A in Sculpture, an A in Anthropology, a B in Painting and Drawing, a B in Photography, a B in Education, a B in BM, a B in History, and Cs in two other subjects. The authorities in Kuching were very pleased with my achievements.
Later, I was appointed as the secretary of the USM Music Society, which granted me easy access to the music room and its instruments. We practise our music on weekends and some afternoons during our free hours.
We were preparing for regular weekend gatherings on campus where we were to perform. I took the opportunity to learn to play the keyboard or organ in the music room.
I also invited two Sarawakian freshmen to join us: Aldram (later Haji Mohd Adaham, now deceased), a seasoned Bidayuh guitarist, and Idris Jala (now Datuk Seri) from the Kelabit community.
Aldram excelled at playing lead guitar and performed ‘Highway Star’ and ‘Smoke on the Water’ by Deep Purple flawlessly, among others. With him in our band, we expanded our repertoire to include songs by Deep Purple, Bad Company, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Hollies, and more. We also enlisted August Buma (now Datuk), a Third Year undergraduate, as our vocalist for his ‘rock’ voice and appearance.
When durian season arrived, our Sarawak and Sabah boys were in their element. As USM had a durian valley with two tall trees, the Eastern boys dominated, leaving our Western friends in awe.
However, due to friendship, we did share some of our collections with them. Makibin was the master of the valley; at the slightest sound of a durian falling, he would be there, ready to collect it. He was unmatched in his skill.
I spent a lot of time on my sculpture after receiving an A for our Third Year exam in the subject. Prof Dr Piyadasa also provided me with great encouragement that made some of our fellow students envious. With his advice and guidance, I embarked on a new project to create a wooden sculpture from plywood.
Dr Piyadasa gave me a special electric saw that allowed me to craft my wooden sculpture into a design pattern that I later named ‘Dance of the Iban Immortal’, depicting an intricate ‘Ulat Entadu’ (Killer Worm) design attached to a wooden pillar standing approximately nine feet tall.
This sculpture later became my pride and joy, earning a perfect score. (When I visited USM in 1985, I discovered sculpture was placed at the front of the university’s library.)
In August 1978, I decided to embark on a solo journey from the USM campus to Alor Setar on my Suzuki 1.25 cc motorbike, armed with a map.
My goal was to visit a friend, Sylvester or Lister Rangga, who worked at a local bank in Alor Setar. Lister was informed of my arrival. By 9 am, I had crossed to the other side of Penang Island, Butterworth, prepared for a long ride.
I reached Sungai Petani around 10.15 and took a break at a restaurant where I saw the Malaysian comedian AK Jailani walking alone, but I refrained from greeting him as he wouldn’t recognise me.
Upon going on, I missed the junction to Alor Setar and headed towards Perlis until I stopped to ask a pedestrian, who informed me that I had overshot the Alor Setar junction.
I turned back, reached Alor Setar, and called Lister from a phone booth. He answered, and we met. It dawned on me that the distance from Alor Setar to Butterworth was around 78 miles, and that day, I covered even more due to my detour.
I stayed with Lister for two nights; we had shared a hostel, Batang Lupar, in 1970 during our time at SMK Saratok, where he was my senior by a year.
On my return journey, I only stopped to refuel without pausing at Sungai Patani or other places. It was an exhausting yet exhilarating trip, and I thanked Lister for his hospitality and the cash gift.
As we neared the completion of our Fourth Year, all Education students were once again required to participate in Teaching Practice (TP). I was assigned to SMK Abdullah Munshi in Penang for our final TP before graduation.
It was a six-week assignment during which I taught Form Four History and Form Four Arts. Teaching both my minor and major subjects simultaneously brought me great joy.
The school was co-ed, with students primarily being the children of policemen and soldiers. They were well-behaved and disciplined, and I enjoyed imparting knowledge to them.
I was observed approximately three times and received positive feedback from our lecturers, including Dr Kho Soo Koon (later Penang CM and federal minister with the title Tan Sri).
As I concluded my four years at USM, I cherished numerous memories, both within the campus and beyond, particularly my memorable trip to Alor Setar.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune.
