.....School Days.....The Best Days (Part 1).....

     
   
          At a very young and tender age, I had already wanted so much to go to school. I kept on pestering my father to let me go to school and since there were no pre-school classes then, he sent me to a private school, known as Union School, which was situated at the present day Jalan Bukit Meldrum, Johor Bahru. That was in 1956. My class comprised students of all ages, even teenagers! I can only recall the name of my closest classmate, i.e. Laily. I had a wonderful time during that one year, and each day without fail, I was sent to school in a private vehicle, driven by an old Indian man. He fetched me home too, in the afternoons.
       
          Even before I went to school, I had learnt to read. My father was my teacher. He would purchase simple storybooks for me and we would read them together. Another daily activity which I can recall was when I would ask either my father or my uncle to read the newspaper headlines for me. I also loved to read the cartoon pages and the "Wak Tempeh and Dol Keropok" stories never failed to tickle my funny bones.I had cultivated a love for reading very early indeed, and this interest certainly paid dividends as the years went by.

          My schooling proper commenced in 1957 when I was admitted into the Sultan Ibrahim Primary Girls' School. My primary school teachers were as follows: Std 1 (Cik Fatimah Abdullah); Std 2 (Y.M. Tengku Esah Bte Tengku Abu Bakar); Std 3 (Mrs Selvarajah); Std 4 (Miss Murugesu); Std 5 (Mrs Chelliah) and Std 6 (Mrs Teoh).My progress in primary school was excellent except for a short spell in late Std 3 and early Std 4. I had become short-sighted then, and my studies were affected. However, I was too scared to reveal my condition to my parents. It was only when my teacher (Miss Murugesu) told my father about it, that I got my eyes examined and true enough, I had to wear glasses.

          It was a fact that I had grown up as an extremely quiet person. This was the comment that had appeared frequently in my Report Books. My teachers usually wrote this remark "A very hardworking pupil, but she is too quiet. She should mix and speak more in class." I did try to improve and socialize more, but the adjectives "quiet" and "reserved" still stuck with me as I moved on to secondary school.