Primary Schools

Graduate Schools

University days

Nanyang University was not my first choice of schools. Everyone in my class went on to the University of Malaya. By August, when I still have not received my admittance letter, I panicked, and thought, it is time to do something, so I boarded a train, bid mother goodbye, and went to Singapore.

Nanyang University was the only Chinese u

niversity in Southeast Asia. It was very famous for its Mathematics department, one that churned out more Ph.D.s than anyone else. Of course, I have never been to Singapore before that

day, let alone college visit.

School has started for a few weeks by the time I arrived. From the train station, I took a taxi to the university. I ended up in front of a bungalow, not knowing where to go. I went in, knocked on the door, and a kindly man came out, and advised I go to the guard's desk at the dorms to ask for direction. It turned out he was the chancellor of the University, a man with three Ph.D.s.

The guards informed me they will work with Administration to get me started, and get me a dorm room, but it may take a few days. They advised me there are a few students from Penang, and I recognized a Cheah Chow Hun from my high school. We were not friends, and we hardly knew each other, but none the less, I forced myself to introduce myself to him. He took me in warmly, and said I could stay with him in the dorm room.

The dorm rooms were double occupancy - two beds, two desks with book shelves on top, and a chair each. Other than that, it was very sparse, very stark. The walls were whitewashed. Almost no one put up posters in those days. At most, there would be a calendar hanging on the wall. I went to the commissary (store, book store, grocery store all in one) and bought a reed mat so I c

ould sleep on the floor, and that was my bed for the first two weeks in the University.

By and by, I met more Penang students - Lim Kee Seng (who left after a couple of months for New Zealand), Khoo Kee Kian (who became my best friend while in Singapore), and a few others, including Chan Soo Ching, who had childhood polio, and walked around with crutches. There were about a dozen of us from Penang, more from other parts of Malaysia. The Penang students form a small friendship circle, and traveled together. Especially during the long school breaks, we will all travel back to Penang together, and back to Singapore, My father knew Soo Ching's father. Their shops were close by so he always told me to take care of her during the trips.

I soon settled with the routines of the s

chool. Weekends, Khoo and Chow, and at the beginning, Lim and I would go downtown to Singapore by bus. From Jurong, where the University sits, to downtown, near North Bridge Road (no longer there) took about an hour and a half. The buses were the old diesel buses, with no air conditioning, so we would try to take a window seat. By the time we got downtown, we will be so dusty and sooty, you can actually wipe black soot

out of your nose. So, the first stop is the Supermarket. It is not a grocery store, but actually a departmental store. We head first to the rest room, and washed our faces and hands. Khoo has this paper that you tear off, a small square about an inch square, and it was coated with soap, so it worked like a s

mall piece of soap. Very convenient. He also let me have this paper that you press on your skin, your face, for example, and it will soak up the oil on your skin. I recently saw someone use that in an Asian trip, so I guess it is still in circulation.

My favourite place downtown are the bookstores. There was MPH, the Malaysian Publishing House, and North Bridge Road had a few Chinese bookstores. We spent most of our

times there, standing and reading books.

This is the pillar gate at the entrance of the University. Through this gate, you drive down a road that passed by the College of Art, and finally come to a clearing that was the bus stop and taxi stop. Across the street was the store and the canteen. Immediately outside of this entrance, there was a small grocery store, that also has a small eatery. Not quite a restaurant, and bigger than a food stall. It h

as eight to ten tables.

The first semester I was at the University (we called it NU), I had meal plans, so lunch was provided. No breakfast, no dinner. Lunch was set at 12:30. Come

or lose it. We ate family style, so you pick 7 friends, and sit at a table for 8. You will try to pick 7 friends whom you know eat slow or eat little, because otherwise, you may be out of luck. As soon as the food

is presented to the table, everybody lean over and grab what they can, like hungry animals. The girls at the table usually suffered. The food was good, though. I remember soup every meal, vegetables, and pork, or chicken. Always tasty and fresh. The kitchen is at the back of the dining hall, and you can actually see the cooks making the food everyday.

After a semester of that, I decided to go solo, and eat at the canteen. You can get prepacked rice and chicken, or rice and roast pork, or rice and fish. It was very convenient. You walk over, pick up a bag of rice of your choice, and grab a drink, and that is your meal. A dollar for the rice, and twenty cents for the drink. Fortunately I can eat the s

ame food over and over for months, so I was happy with the canteen.

At times we go outside of the gate to the restaurant, and order something. We do this on the weekends when the canteen was not serving food. Most of the Singaporean

students go home during the weekends, so the school

was empty, and the canteen was closed. It was through these weekend trips and meals that we formed our friendships.

This next picture shows the administration building. It is very traditional Chinese in style. The bursar of the university was a Chung Ling alumnus, so he was very kind to us Penang students. No, it does not mean we don't have to pay tuition, which was 360 Malaysian dollars a semester, but he would personally take care of us whenever he saw us.

There were maybe twenty stone steps leading to the front door. At the end of the steps is a broad landing. It would make a grand parade stand on the landing. History was made there in my second year at NU. That was the year 1971, and the women liberation movement arrived at Singapore. A big group of women got together to show their support of the movement, but there was no protest. It was funny, because they

just gathered there, no speaker, no shouting, no slogan. Then suddenly, everyone (maybe not everyone, just a few of them) threw their bra into a waste basket in front of the building, and beat a hasty, shy retreat back to their rooms. Thus ended the women's liberation movement at NU.

This modern building was the Department of Mathematics at NU. It was the newest building on campus at the time I was there, between 1970 and 1972. It was also the only air-conditioned building on campus. It was my home for the three years there. I would spend the day in the building, and the nights at the library. Both the Math building and the Library were built on top of a small hill, so there was a lot of walking uphill and downhill during those three years. For the years there, I was immersed in the study of Mathematics. I think it was probably the 'funnest' time of my life, studying, running around with my friends, not a care in the World.

High School Years

S

More about me

I am the third child in the family. Born in 1948, at the (midwife) nurse's house on King Street, across from our side of the street, about two houses down. I think it may be upstairs, in the second floor. Downstairs is a furniture maker.

This picture shows the old house, 96-B King Street, already modernized. The glass windows upstairs a re new. We just had shutters. Downstairs, the name plate across the entry is gone. It used to say "Song Loong" (Double Dragons). I am not sure about the original of the name, but interestingly, my grandmother's name is "Song Fong" (Double Phoenix.) Not sure about the relationship here.

I don't have too many memories of playing with Siew Loon and Siew Kai, growing up as a young kid. My memories begin when Siew Loon went to school at Shih Chung Primary School in Love Lane. He transferred to St. Xavier's Institution the next year. The next year, Siew Kai went to join him at St. Xavier's, and I began to be interested in school.

Even before I started school, I would sit with the brothers and uncles as they study after dinner at the big living room marble table. We sat all around the table, each reading and writing his own work, and occasionally cracking a joke and starting some conversation. I just sat there and pretend to work along with the big guys.

The year 1955, when my mother took me to school, it was at Shih Chung Primary School. Apparently she wanted me to go to a Chinese school, now that the two older ones have gone to English school, to balance out. The first day before class, mom fed me lunch, and after I showered, she combed my hair, and brought me to school. B

eing the first day of school, there were a lot of people, a lot of parents, and a lot of noises. Mom found the first grade classroom, and brought me inside. It was upstairs, towards the back of the school building. She marched me into the classroom, and handed me to the teacher, and gave her a cane. "Whip him if he is not behaving." she told the teacher. I guess that is the tradition. The teacher must have received a cane from each parent. I am happy to report that she never ever whipped me with it.

We each received a new book from the teacher, Miss Chung. Oh, she was my first love. I loved Miss Chung. I am not sure what she looked like, but she must have been a very pretty woman. Anyway, the first page of the book was "I love PaPa", and page two , "I love Mama." Thus began my education.

One day after school, I volunteered to stay back to clean the chalk dusters in the classroom. There were two or three dusters in each room, and you would beat the duster on the walk until all the chalk dust falls out, so it is ready for use the next day, clean and ready to erase the chalk board. It must have taken a while to clean the dusters. When I finished, Miss Chung said wait a few minutes for he to finish her paperwork, and she would give me a ride home. She had a big black car, not a Morris Minor, which was the popular car of the day, but a bigger model, probably an Austin. She allowed me to sit up front in the passenger seat, and allowed me to play with he crank in the windshield, which opened up the windshield to allow fresh air to come in from the fron

t. The car had automatic turn signal, which consists of lighted sticks on both the left and right side, in the B-pillar. When you turn on the signal, the lighted stick would pop up, indicating which direction you wanted to turn. I was fascinated by all these machinery. It became a life-long passion that I still enjoy today, looking at cars.

What about me?

Here is a very rare appearance from me. For some reasons, I don't get into pictures much. Either I shy away from the cameras, or I am usually the person taking the pictures. Here in an old family picture is me, sitting next to Papa - what an honour that must have been. I don't recognize the place, and I don't know why we were all dressed up. It must have been an occasion.

There are not too many pictures of me as a young child. I believe I used to have some pictures of me, and I put it in a photo album. The last time I remember, I left it in a friend's house. I cannot go back and ask for it now, 30 years later, but I am pretty sure that is where I left it.

Sitting in front of me is Siew Cheong, then Siew Seng and Sui Laun, and S

ui Fun.

Following Papa, we are the Nam Hoi (South Seas) clan from China. We belong to the Nam Hoi Association, which gives out a scholarship to top students every year. Every year, all our siblings would be eligible to receive a scholarship award. It is not a lot of money, but $50 to $100 was a lot of money for us in those days.

I remember we always lined up to take pictures after the award ceremony. There must have been more than a hundred students in the clan getting scholarship money, we lined up six or seven levels high on rickety scaffoldings against the wall. One slight mistake, and it would have been a disaster that could wipe out the entire future of the clan. Fortunately, nothing happened, and we survived. The picture came out and each of us is so small you will need a magnifying glass to see our faces. I wonder if we have one of those pictures around.

I remember getting awards every year for quite a few years, until I left for University. After father passed away, I wrote to the Association to see if they will help me study in America, and they very politely declined.

Loon's travels

Being a seaman in the Merchant Marine, Loon gets to travel around the world. He has been to places unknown, but in particular, he has been to the U.S. "Many times," as he told me. Most of the visits to the States were to the South. Mississippe? Missouri? One of those hot climated states.

As soon as the ship is berthed, he and his friends would dress up and go to town, to hit the bars.

Whenever he visits the States, he would make sure he gos to J.C.Penney, and get himself one or two pairs of black leather shoes. He likes the quality of the Penney sh

oes. They are comfortable and they last a long time.

This first picture was titled "nj.jpg". I guess it is taken in New Jersey, probably in Siew Kai's apartment. He may have visited New J

ersey in the early years

when Siew Kai was a student at Rutgers University.

The second picture that shows him standing in front of a fountain is titled "Tokyo.jpg", so it is probably taken in Tokyo.

The black and white picture, file named "Shimonosheki.jpg", is probably ta

ken whe

n he visited the Southern Japanese port city of Shimonosheki. I don't know what the story is with the waiters and waitress, but it was nice that they came out and took the picture with him. It must have been a slow day for business.

Looking at the vending machine behind them, I think it looks like a beer vending machine. In Japan, you can buy cold beer in street vending machines like the one shown here. Loon must have been in heaven when he visited Japan.

Here is Siew Loon, in a more recent picture.

Pictured here is myself, in green T-shirt. Siew Loon sitting in the middle, and

Siew Cheong, in the house in Sungai Nibong, circa 2000.

Siew Kai, the Civil Engineer

Siew Kai is the second of my parent's children. He went to St. Xavier's School, as did Siew Loon. I think Siew Kai's classmate, Peter, turned out to be married to Sui Fun years later.

Siew Kai was born on January 1, 1947, a New Year baby.

After high school, Siew Kai went to Reutgers University in New Jersey to study Civil Engineering. He is very good in Mathematics and Science, so Engineering was a good choice for him. (It is 1 AM. I better get some sleep.)

Loon's laughters

This is my eldest brother Moay Siew Loon. His last name is Moay, due to a mistake at the town hall. The clerk translated the name by sound, and used a different dialect (my mother's Nam Hoi dialect, rather than my father's Cantonese dialect), so the mistake stuck.

Siew Loon went to Plymouth, UK, to finish his Marine Engineering degree. He worked as a Radio Officer on merchant ships, so he gets to travel the world. This was taken in Copenhagen, Denmark. It must have been in the later part of the year, because it appeared to be quite cool. I believe my sister Sui Fun went there for a business trip years later.

We owe the family's survival to Siew Loon. After father died, Siew Loon graduated and started work at the MISC (Malaysian International Shipping Corporation ?). He sends his paycheck home to mother, to keep the family alive and going. It is because of him that the rest of the siblings can continue to finish school. We owe our successes to him. Thank you very much, Loon.

Siew Loon has a boisterous and infectious laugh. He likes to tell tales and jokes, and laugh out loud. He would home in on a target and tease him or her to no end. Sarah can attest to the "The water is clean here!" tease, and Becky can remember his tease as well. "We are the Muis, not the Moays." He is a lot of fun to be with.

Eldest aunt

Here is a picture of my aunt. She is my mother's eldestsister. Her name Choon Choy Kam. She married a merchant called Young Chiew Man. The name translated phonetically into Cantonese means Sour Face, or a mean look, but he is really the nicest guy. They live in Sarawak, on the Borneo Island, in East Malaysia, so it is very far away. In the old days, when transportation is not so convenient, it may as well be the other side of the World.

We don't call her by her name. We called her "Ai Kem", or Eldest Aunt, Aunt number one. She is very sweet, and very nice to her sisters. (Grandmother had four girls and six boys) When we were young, we were very poor and struggling. A

i Kem and Chiew Man would sometimes send some nice gifts of clothes and what-nots to us to help out. Very nice lady.

In this second picture, which appeared to be taken at the back of the Penang airport, in the late 1950s. This

is probably when second uncle Simon Choon is going back to the US after a visit.

The entire family came out to send him off.

In the picture, from the left is Kok Heng (6th uncle, a.k.a. big mouth), Kok On (5th uncle, nice man, very gentle, died young), Kok Cheng (4th uncle, my friend, lives in Queens, NY now), and Simon (2nd Uncle, a.k.a. the Warlord, even more so a big mouth than 6th uncle, my least favorite person in the family, a toss up for least like uncle with big mouth), then Kok Weng (first uncle, died in the 80s or 90s, nice man, a.k.a. Old Horse), then my grandmother, Second Aunt (Choy Siew, aka Ah Yi, seamstress, nice lady, died early this year in an old folks' home), then my mother (the real sweetheart of the bunch, then 4th aunt (Choy Peng, a bit nasty, but tolerable), then wife of 4th uncle (nice lady, lives in Queens, NY, aka Ponnian. She is holding Ah Hoong, 2nd son).

In the front row is little Choon Mee Koon (4th uncle's daughter), Margaret Lee (Simon's step-daughter, called me gross, gruesome when we were kids), Bobby Lee (her brother, nice kid), Choon Yew Toon (cousin, 4th uncle's first son, aka Paul), and Siew Cheong. (I am not too sure about the last two kids, just guessing.)