Chapter 2 Ken

The intro of my story was not good ,in any case those were simple illustrations.Depicting that Hell will break lose should anyone erred unknowingly and not given the opportunity to repent to fit into society to prevent them to allow their hatred multiplied into a huge time bomb against those offending them.If left attended would bring out the devil in them.Thus ending in tragedies.

Ken was born in a tiny little town along the Perak river namely Telok Anson,a quiet little town during the Japanese occupation.Before he was born the family was one of those wealthy folks in town.The grand old man made his fortune from being a Contractor thereon moved on to saw milling and bricks manufacturing having kilns in Sungei Nibong.He even owned a row of shop houses at the end of Anson Road.

However he passed away just before the war and then onwards the family fortune took a down turn.The Japanese occupation made it worst as all the machinery from the sawmill were removed and thrown into the adjacent river.When the war was finally over with the surrender of the Japanese the mill was never restored to it former glories.

Machinery lost were never recovered and there were doubts those machinery if recovered could be of any used anymore.There was no funds to proceed with the milling and therefore forced to sell the whole mill away.Thereafter properties after properties were sold away.

The grandmother managed to savage some savings to buy a piece of land along Anson Road and there constructed a wooden house with "attap" roofing for the existing family.The other part of the family broke away from this branch of family.

This portion of the family consisted of a mother and two grown up children a daughter and an adopted son.The son got married just before the Japanese occupation.
Just before the Japanese came they bored a daughter name Laila in 1939.Two sons subsequently came during the Japanese occupation in 1942 the elder son named Ken and the other younger son born in 1944,name Jun .

During the Japanese occupation the whole family retreated into the jungle or far from town areas.As food was scared they were forced to cultivate their own food in the jungle.Food like sweet potatoes and "Ubi Kayu" or Cassava were common food those days as rice was very scare as well as expensive.

Later they shifted back to town areas when the situation permitted them with the Japanese still loitering around,throwing their boastful might around.
In such an elder brother of their mother was arrested for suspecting as a traitor,and executed by chopping off his head.

The Japanese had another reason for chopping off his head because this guy was tall and handsome looking and when the Japanese talked to him they had to look up at him,that was serious matter for they being small size like a cartoon had that inferiority complex and for they always forced those their captives to bow down and look up to them and never they looked up at the captives.

An execution without trail whatsoever,they condemned anyone they suspected as spy and off he goes to the chopping block.Poor thing the family had difficulties in retrieving back his head.He was subsequently buried in the cemetery in Sungei Nibong.
What tragic end to a bright young man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Thereafter the war was over with the Japanese surrendering with the "running dogs" or traitors scattered with youthful cadres of communist pursuing them from all corners.At that time I think the communist had infiltrated into many Chinese School,maybe I am wrong because Ken was too young to know or really understand.

There was also news of racial clashes then and the British came and put a stop to that.In any case Ken only remembered vividly part of it but not the whole story and he grew up in those circumstances.

With the British in to restore law and order everything were at peace,but apparently not for long as the Communist party revolted against the British rulers and slipped into the jungle to wage a gorilla warfare against them.

They draw away quite a number of young man mostly of Chinese decent,a few of other races also went along with them.However they had inferior arms and usually out numbered,so they resorted to ambushing the British utilizing "hit and then run" tactics.

These frustrated the British very much and they were pushed to adhere to employ other tactics against them.Most notable was the grouping of all the people especially the Chinese into new villages.Well fenced villages whereby no one were allowed to venture out of that vicinity after dark.

That meant curfew during the night to prevent sympathizers from smuggling food to the Communists.The system worked very well as workers going into the fields to work could only take limited amount of consumable food supply into the fields.Whatever it maybe the Communist or bandits they were then called still had supply of some food.

Being excellent survivors in the jungle they still can managed easily,because they were so versed with the jungles they know what were edible and what was not.Besides there were many animals in the jungle not like presently over hunting had depleted and made many animals distinct.

With the Communists in the jungles,many Chinese were recruited by the British as Home guards.Ken's father was a member of the Home Guard force for a number of years.The Home Guards were disbanded with the end of emergency.Ken's father thus lost his job.On one school holidays their father took them to Ipoh,visiting those caves' temples, and to Kampar to view those home guard camp,where he worked as a home guard.

Ken grew up under the above circumstances but was at no time under threat from the bandits as they were residing in town.Their house was opposite the General Hospital.Bandits those days were in the jungles of Changkat Jong Road,so quite a distance from town.

Ken initial schooling was at Anglo Chinese School (Primary School) along Anson Road.In actual fact that school was only a stone throw from his house.However that house and land wee sold for only a petty sum those days.He was about twelve years old then.During that time Ken's Auntie got married to a Hospital Assistant and Ken also met a beautiful tall girl from Penang.There was no courtship as Ken was too young,too raw to understand about about girls,unlike kids today.At eleven they already know how to make love so very advanced of them.

While residing along Anson Road Ken was never bullied by anyone because he had a tall strong buddy,Ah leng who was all the time by his side and fought off those who bullied him.The spent many great adventures together and all good things must come to an end somehow as Ken's family had to shift away from there.But fond memories remained forever.

The family shifted to Immigrant Road where the father was timber retailer.Ken by then was going into secondary school,his friends were now very different from those he knew at Anson Road.These were slightly of the poorer class of boys,who walked and played around shirtless and running everywhere bare footed.So when in Rome he had to follow suit and does what the Romans did.

Business was not good for his father,so poor Ken and brother had no money.His friends were also penniless,so they resorted to plucking coconuts in the neighborhood for drinks and stole fruits for something to eat.
Life was difficult and at times he had to fight his way out among these friends.

Because of his small in size he was very often the pick of the bigger guys who bullied them.Initially being the new kid in the block he surrendered timidly but one day he was so annoyed that he decided to fight back.He stood up against a guy a head above him.He surprised everyone by knocking that big boy with a very fast and strong upper cut which instantly brought him down.Sprawling on the ground the poor big boy cried like a baby.

That day on Ken was hailed as a hero.Now he knows he must stand up and fight back,right or wrong,he must put up a fight.No forgiving and be humble and be bullied.

As times were and money was scared he and his kid brother at the suggestion of all those friends followed them to carry banners for a funeral procession for only a small merger of two ringgit.No money what to do,have to do.So both brother carried the banners for an hour or so.

Those were very embarrassing moments when people who knew their parents kept pointing fingers at them saying"You see so and so sons carrying banners,oh,poor little souls," .
Initially Ken bend his head and looked down on the ground,but on second thought he stood aloft as if not noticing those awful hawk eyes.

Well he perceived no harm earning honest money the right way at least he and his brother did not go a begging neither did they stole that money.They had to work for them so it was no bloody shame so he put his head high.His rage grew against these hypocrites.In anger within he planned to show these people that he would definitely do well in life to come.This will spurred him to thrive for success in the future.

The point was is,was this good thinking? I mean for a boy so young? I think not,because this will make him a much angrier man in the future,it was not good.

Ken and his little brother,Jun got their money's worth of work performed,no matter the odds against them they had a wonderful breakfast that day with some spare cash in hand to spend in the week to come.Being from a poor family that little amount meant a lot to them.Those a bowl of "curry mee" cost only twenty cents or slightly lesser.
It was along Immigration where both brothers learned to swim at the river just behind their home.His group of friends were always with all those time,all became great swimmers.At one time Ken attempted to swim across that part of the river at low tide but got frighten half way on that stretch and swam back.The river was actually infested with crocodiles.Very lucky indeed as they were not victims of any mishap along that river.

In immigrant road the boys they mixed with always run around shirtless and bare footed and had they loiter longer there they would have grown up as one of the loafers in town but that was never their fate as their business faltered another turn of their lives took place.

Their sole bread winner,their beloved mother got a tapper's job in a rubber plantations with a small quarter provided.Thus all of them shifted to the quarter in the plantation.All five member have to squeeze into the one small room quarter.The thing was how to lodge within so small a space?

With the bed laid out,both brothers had to sleep under the bed while the sister and mother on the bed,their father had to sleep along the path along side the bed.Not very comfortable so at times he had to make do by sleeping at the five foot way especially during hot weather.

At least now in the plantation Ken and brother mixed with a very different category of boys,some Chinese and Indians.All these boys were not the loafer types,most of them were helpers of their parents during the holidays.They led a simple lifestyle all around were rubber trees.Playing football in the evening and going to school by buses.