Doctor - a zigzag journey

Part 14 - Goodbye, Sungai Siput

Background: 1988 - 1990 (Age 21 - 23 years)

For the sake of my future career, I decided to leave the rural town, "Sungai Siput", and travel to Singapore to study an engineering degree course at the National University of Singapore (NUS). At the juncture, I gave up my dream to study medicine. Did I really give up the hope?

Singapore is a country on an island; it is also known as the Lion City. It is separated from Malaysia by a strait, and it is regarded as a foreign country to me. Leaving the rural town in which I was born and raised, I would surely miss my family and friends. On the other hand, I was worried about my ability to cope with the abrupt change in the education environment in which the medium of instruction would be English instead of the familiar Malay language used in my secondary and high schools.

Two days prior to the departure, I packed my luggage including a "dictionary to translate the Malay language to English". My clothes were mostly jeans, T-shirts, and a few long-sleeved shirts.

Ah Ma said in earnest: "This is your first trip abroad, you must bring along your passport documents, clothing, and books. Your siblings and I will not be around you. You shall know how to take care of yourself. You should see a doctor when unwell. "

Shortly after she had walked out of the door, she came back into my room again. "Here are some Chinese traditional medicines that you should keep with you in case you need to take them. Moreover, this small box contains a few buttons, threads, and sewing needles. If the button of your clothes come off, I won't be there to fix it for you, you can fix it yourself."

Having said that, she sat beside me on my wooden bed to teach me how to fix a button. The surrounding was quiet to the extent that I could hear the needle and thread passing through the button.

The silence was broken when she said in a husky voice: "Though you have obtained a Singapore bank loan to fund your university fees, you will still short of money for living expenses. I will sell this wooden house and transfer some money to you."

I was touched and grateful.

In that era, there was no direct bus from Sungai Siput to Singapore. I shall travel to another town called Ipoh to catch the 6-hour long-distance coach to Singapore. My classmate, KY, and his parents kindly agreed to give me a lift to Ipoh. KY had enrolled to study engineering in Singapore too. His academic performance was superior, especially his mathematics. He lived in another town called Kuala Kangsar. We made an appointment to meet on Saturday midday when they passed by Sungai Siput.

That Friday night, I put my packed luggage by the side of my wooden bed. I was tossing on my bed for a long while. Fear. Worries. These two words aptly described my feeling. I cherished my wooden bed, pillow, and blanket. I would soon miss all these in the new environment. Most importantly, I would not have my family with me in Singapore. When I came back, this wooden house would no longer belong to us. The fear and worries ran wild in my head. Exhausted. Then, I fell into an interrupted slumber.

On the Saturday midday, the radio in our living room was playing the theme song of the movie "A Better Tomorrow". The Cantonese theme song was sung by Leslie Cheung. It was composed by Joseph Koo and the lyric was written by James Wong. You can listen to the song by clicking on the Youtube link.

The song was sung in a melancholic voice, expressing the love and bonding between brothers. While listening to the song, I carried my luggage and walked out of the wooden house to meet my classmate by the roadside. My siblings were not at home on that afternoon as they were working outside. Ah Ma accompanied me to the roadside. We remained silent as we might break down in tears because this was the first time that I was "uprooted" from the town in which I had lived 21 years.

Shortly, my classmate's car arrived. Ah Ma thanked the family for their kindness and reminded us to take care of each other. I shook her hands briefly and hurriedly get into the car. The car departed. I looked back and saw Ah Ma waving goodbye and she was in tears. The car kept moving and separating us further apart until Ah Ma's figure gradually disappeared in view. When I closed my eyes, the Cantonese theme song emerged in my head. The meaningful lyric phrase i.e. "the childhood dream and ambition remain unchanged" lingered in my mind during the journey to Singapore.