Chapter 2 A beautiful Girl called Linda

I was not a Christian then but the school I attended was a initially a missionary ran school.That was why I became involved with Christianity.

In that school every Friday afternoon we all  had to attend chapel services before school over.Muslim students cannot join us and were released to go to their Mosque to pray.

That was why I was exposed to the Bible and the hyms.In fact I offered Scripture (St.Luke) as one of my subjects for the Scholol Certificate Examination.Easy to score in this subject,of course,in fact a certain credit from it.

I was in form 5 then when I met James Ong.He and his family were staunch Christian.Very often he invited me to visit him at his house.It was he who first introduced me to the Church.

We attended the evening services as well as the other one on Sunday morning.One morning I surprisingly dropped into his house and there she was a very,very lovely girl.She was so charming and attractive so much so I could not lift my eyes away from her. 

She was simply stunningly beautiful Immediately I fell in love with her at first sight.James introduced her to me and teased me and her.What said were the truth because I actually fell for her that very instant.

We spoke a little sheepishly but got along fine.James invite her to Church which she agreed immediately and I was to escort her.It was an excellent start for us.That evening I escorted her to Church.We had a lovely outing although we were just going to Church.

That was to be the best part of my life although I was so young then.I was sixteen,perhaps too young for love or was it????.No never it was a love forever.I knew it from the very start that that was the girl in my life.True enough it adhered to me for life even there were no good ending.All good things never ended well in many cases.

There is a God and He has his ways of doing things.Who then were I to question it?.

Every moment of my escorting her to school in the morning and back in the afternoon.To Church services etc.were all treasured by me.All very happy memories.But life were never a bed of roses,at least not for me.

For before long another handsome tall youth had an eye on her.He was seen waiting and looking at affectionately at her as we passed by every morning.I was  mindful of him but just ignored him because she was a beautiful girl surely there were many admirer.Most important he was from a wealthy family.That family was a famous coffee merchant.

During those time her mother also requested me to tuition  her and brother in their lessons especially maths.Now how awful was that,because I myself was never good at it neither was I was I a top grade student.As it was I myself needed  tuition . In short I was just simply not a good sudent myself..

Observing that their mother and with the new rich boy after their daughter the mother just told me off in a nice and politely way to get lost.Got lost I did,but as I left the house that morning,the tears flowed down my face  drenching it non-stopped.

The tears kept pouring out even when I reached the main road and cycled on and on.Linda sensing some thing drastically wrong did called out to me as her young brother looked on.I was badly hurt that day.In sorrow and in tears which I did not wish her  to see me in that position just simply waved  to her without turning around and walked on.

That was the saddest day of my dear life. I cycled and cycled for miles,until I reached the far end of Selaba Estate some five miles away.My tears were then drying up.Then only I did turned back to ride home ward.Thereafter I went back to fish in a secluded place where no one could locate me that day.

After much deep thoughts I now know that poor boys should not fall in love.There were no place for them there.I became angry and frustrated at my predicaments I turned bad,real bad.An angry young man hunger for any fights that may come along.THere was nothing to prove but to vent my anger whosoever cross my path.

For from that day on I joined another group of boys.Together we made a fearful foursome.There were Wei Sang and the two brothers.Hardly into a week of moving with them  most people knew us.None dared challenged us to any fight because they know we would all fight together.

Should there be trouble we were the one to question them,"If you are looking for trouble.You have come to the right place".Once we were almost involved in a gang fight near the rice mill of Teluk Anson.We were to assist another gang in their fight against another gang whom non of us knew.

We went there at the appointed time but we were smart in taking another route to that spot.However before we reached that spot we notice the police in full force lying around.It was a Police trap set for all of us.

As we noticed that we broke up and ran away in two groups.Those two brothers cycled towards town and I took Wei Sang to run off the other way.We escaped that dragnet.Wei Sang stayed with me at the Plantation.

Next morning I attended school as normal but was pointed out by a Police  Officer to the Principal in class from out side the class.No arrest was made as they had no prove against me.From then I knew I was a marked man.My friend I sent him fishing  while I went to school.


A few days after I split from escorting that girl.that girl confronted me after Church service for starring fiercely at her new friend,the coffee boy.That really stunned me and I replied,"Well I only looked at him as he at me.Noting more". No threats whatsoever..

However,from that day on ward that boy stopped at escorting her.  Apparently he considered myself a threat to his well being. Cannot blamed him because I was already a well known thug. 

Just imagine even  a murderer who absconded from Ipoh when hiding in Teluk Anson also seek us out .Maybe he thought we could protect him from others.We relaxed and just allowed things be as we became friends.

So I turned bad and my worst enemy  those days were members of the Horse Shoe Gang of which Loke Weng Cheong was  a member.They never dared dreamed of  going round town alone because they know I would fight them anytime any place.I can now fight my own battles . At last I had left the shell of the protection of Suan Leng.

The School Certificate Examination was drawing near and in the eyes of all others I was bound to fail - no way I could passed,I wanted to prove all of them wrong.I studied after my roaming in town nightly.Yes,I was burning midnight oil studying in silence until 5.00 a.m daily.Could I still failed?..

By then we had shifted house again.We moved to a room upstairs in a wooden house along Pasir Pedamar.We moved in with our father while our mother went to tap rubber at another small holder some distance away from town.She only comes back to see us during her off days.

Soon the examination was over and almost immediately we left for Kuala LumpurThis was the third term holidays and it was longer.