Chapter 10 Our Father - A Home Guard

Jobs in Teluk Anson were difficult to come by and especially for our father who had only Chinese education. There nothing for him to go by with except to write some small articles for some Chinese News Paper.Income was never attractive at all not enough even to buy himself a decent breakfast.

When I was in Primary three he secured a job as Home Guard,stationed in the out skirt of Kampar.This was to prevent Communists from infitrating onto the new villages.Whenever he was off duty he would returned home to us.

Most important was he was bring home money for us to live by.When at home he would play with us and take us out for breakfast at the  then renown Chinese restaurant named Cheong Kee.those days.He usually took us on there on his iron horse the Hercules bicycle.My brother would ride on on the center bar while I ride pillion.

At the restaurant he would order a cup of tea or coffee which he would poured partly on the plate for me to sip the coffee or tea.Sipping ? No I normally slurred the coffee or tea into my mouth.Very nice feeling in deed.Once instead of slurring down.

My brother would then be given the remaining of drinks in the cup.All were that well when that small brother also wanted the drinks in the dish.To prevent him having that I rushed in to slur the drinks first.

In haste instead of sucking the drinks into my mouth I blew it hard,thus the drinks flew all out splashing onto my dear brother all over.He was not a let down of cause he cried out loud and I ended up getting the scolding.That was when he laughed out loud at me.

Now that I am older I would sometime like to try out slurring my tea into my mouth.That I think would caused lookers to laugh at my endeavor,I presumed.Well,nothing like going through once again as I did when I was young.I think I have to give a try what so ever.


Our father would order for us glutinous rice with chicken ( Law Mike Kay ). One bowl was too big for one of us,so we both shared one.Those days this dish was very delicious but nowadays they never seem to be ant good either.

Our dear grand mother never did like any of those restaurant and never followed us there but our mother she was always in company.Our sister usually stayed back home with the grand mother who loved her dearly.


Once when our paternal grandmother was away in Kuala Lumpur,our father took us all to Ipoh and also to visit his place of work in Kampar.Our Maternal Grand mother also came with us with our small cousin Ah Soon.Our Teluk Anson uncle took us there in his car,a dark green Morris Minor.

So many of us yet can easily filled into the car,why?. We were all so very young then and definitely small in sizes.Just imagine Four adults and four small kids.Our auntie did not go along because no extra place.

That day we visited the "Sam Poh Tong",the "Nam Tien tong" and the Perak Tong.Ipoh was not that big those days and traffic never heavy at all.It was our first outing out station and we enjoyed that trip tremendrously.

We also visited our father's place of work.Their post were all Attap all round from roofings to the side walls.All those present wore green uniforms.They were housed at an old mining site.It was only a brief visit as we were not allowed to go any where we pleased.

I remembered once when my father was back just before the Chinese New Year he went out to town to purchase New Year's clothing for all of us..Of course there was no way he could by for us expensive clothing.Nevertheless he brought us what others also had those days.New clothes and shoes.

Alas being poor was never a sin only thing were my father could not afford to purchase for us expensive dresses,that was all.Nevertheless we had new clothes and shoes  to celebrate Chinese New Year. No doubt the quality were not good but purchased from road side vendors.

The designs and color were outrageoous but new.Wen we first put on we felt very proud and wore them to school just after Chinese New Year.Those days we do not have uniforms at all.I think the Convent School were the only school wearing uniforms.White shirts and light blue skirts.

No sooner had we stepped into the school compound one of the fattest boy from my class began calling us names as soon as he saw the wording on my brand new shit.It was written nicely as ABCD.Know what that fatty said,"Hey!!! ABCD - or Assistant Bullock Card Driver" on top of his voice.Well everyone laughed of course.


In reply I shouted back at him calling him,"Fatty,fatty Bom!!! Bom!!! Orang curi jagan". Immediately he chased after me.That when all the rest of the boys joined in and shouted the same wording at him which made him jumped like a gorilla.

Well that gorilla was a "Baby Beng Fatt",surprisingly  stopped chasing and cried aloud.Of course everyone laughed at him.Next day he stopped coming back to school and what a tragic lost to us.Without him no more names calling.I remembered his name even until this day.He was called Ong Chew Hock.

Our father as a home guard short lived for with the next three years he was retrenched  as the operation against the Communist were a huge success.Very soon it was all over with remnants of bandits surrendering.With the emergency over our father and company were left in a lurch without any further appointment at hand.


 I was in Primary six or so when he returned home without any employment.Later his elder brother gave him a job selling sawn timber at $ 5/= per day at his outlet along Immigrant Road..Those days barely enough for us to carry on.Business was never good and after a year he surrendered that business.Our father was again about to lose his job.


Our father had high hopes that he could take over and continued that business.The trouble was he never had the capital to take over. There was our last property in hand.He tried his very best to convince our dear old grandmother to sell it.He pestered her relentlessly but she was stubborn and flatly refused him.

So whenever he brought the matter to her she would run away to Kuala Lumpur.That kept him off his track temporary.Occasonally she would returned to see us.Whenever she be around it was customary for all to gather all family members together for dinner.

Eating at the round table where beginning from the youngest to the elder child, had to respect the Elders calling them name by name before we began to eat.That was the normal practice for most Chinese families.Not adhering to this tradition would be considered as ill-mannered,poor up bringing  as well as disrespectful for the Elders.

That was where most of the troubles began.Usually from simple conversation then with heated  grumbling and argument from our mother,father and then the grandmother.

Many a time ending in explosive situation,where our frustrated father would jumped up screaming on top of his voice.When in anger he would throw his bowl rice on the ground,smashing it.There was a time while pouring hot tea on to his cup got extremely angry at the constant grumbling against him smashing hot pot of tea on to the floor.

We all jumped up in fright but there was nothing we could do.He also insisted his mother to sell away the last property so that he can have the necessary capital to indulge fully into the timber  business.

Poor grandmother was the end of her wits held on and on to the last of the Cheahs property.She knew very well that should she disposed of this last property,that would meant  the end of the Cheahs heritage.So she always expressed that could only happened over her dead body.However,my father was relentless continued his pestering with no results to his favor.