The World of Tai Tai

A few days ago, the senior assistant for curriculum of my school put up a sign on the front door of the teachers' staffroom.It read, " Please always keep the door closed". The sign caught the attention of all the English teachers. Teacher A: " The sentence is wrong. It should have been: Please keep the door closed always ." Teacher B: "No, it should have been Please keep the door closed. The word ' always ' is not necessary." An hour later. Teacher C: "My goodness, see how wrong the imperative is! It should have been 'Please always keep the door close ." Teacher D: " There's nothing wrong with the word 'closed'." Teacher C: "But the word 'closed' is a past tense word!" Teacher D: "It is not a past tense word. It's an adjective." Teacher C: "Whatever!" Two hours later. Teacher E: " Who crossed out the word 'closed' and wrote the word...

My Papa is special. Every day around 5.30a.m, the familiar low, droning cadence of his age-worn Toyota Starlet comes approaching my house. Its headlight beams penetrate the curtained windows and throw moving, elongated shadows on the walls in my sitting room. When the jalopy sputters to a stop in front of my gate, I lock the front door and get into the car. The following is our habitual conversation along the way to school: "Did you have a good night's sleep, Tai-Tai?" asks Papa. "Yes, Papa," answer I, yawning. "Where would you like to have breakfast?" "As usual, the 2020 Cafe," was my perfunctory reply. "Will you be having an extra class this afternoon?" "Yes, two to three pm." "I will come and pick you up at three." "You don't have to, Pa, I can go back by bus." "It's difficult catching a bus, Tai. There is only one bus plying the Tanjong Road every hour. Just wait for me t...

I am walking along the Waterfront boulevard beside the long Sarawak River.The footpath, paved with mosaic tiles,stretches for at least a kilometer. Small boats are plying up and down the river. Bright sunlight glints off the gently-flowing ripples. I look beyond the simmering water and see a large, imposing building on the opposite bank.It is the State Legislative Assembly Building.I hear that it was modeled after the architecture of a Bidayuh Long house. There is a lightning conductor on the highest point of its golden tapered roof. Many rant about the large sum of money spent on building it. (Sarawak Legislative Assembly Building) A short distance further east from the legislative building lies the famous Astana. It is a white building with well-preserved battlements. Keen on visiting the place, I walk down the nearest pier and hail a boat on a derelict and rotting water taxi berth.However, I have to give up on the idea when the boatman tells me it is not open for tourists. I reg...

In 2009, A group of inclusive education students from my school achieved a major milestone in sports for the nation. My Principal still gloats over their success. The following is a report I wrote for the school bulletin: The Malaysian Floor Hockey team scored a remarkable success in the Special Olympics World Winter Games held recently in Idaho, USA, on 12 February 2009 with a silver medal winning performance. The feat is particularly significant to SMK St. XXX, as seven of the team players are inclusive students from the school. They are: Syarulnizam Raslan, Geoffrey Rodyean, Siew Yong Hock, Sylvester Bony Tanjong, Harundin Awang Ibrahim, Mohammad Affendie Yong and Aldryn Alau. The sixteen-member team is the embodiment of the ‘Malaysia Boleh’ spirit. They scored successive wins after incurring two defeats on the first and second days of the round robin preliminaries. The uplifting rebound brought them to the semi finals, in which they outplayed the host USA Red team 8-0. They ...

On 3rd June, I was scolded by a Filipino waiter while dining in Ipoh Town Kopitiam, a famous cafe in Kuching.It is housed in Tun Jugah Plaza. What made him scold me? Before the incident happened, I was enjoying a mug of iced coffee. An effeminate Bidayuh waiter seemed to take an interest in me. He sashayed over to my table and inquired where I came from. Politely, I satisfied his curiosity despite my reluctance. Then, he asked me if there were any cafes like Ipoh Town Kopitiam in my hometown. I nodded yes and he went on asking if they were halal ones. In an uncertain tone, I said:"I am not sure. But I heard that pork is served in some of them." The Filipino , obviously a head waiter in his singularly different coloured uniform, overheard our conversation. When the Bidayuh waiter left me, he came up to me and accused me of tarnishing the reputation of Ipoh Town Kopitiam as a halal eatery. Calmly, I told him he had misconstrued what I had said. However, my explanation...

In Kuching,many people rave about the Laksa at Chong Choon Coffee shop and Mdm. Tang's Restaurant. To justify whether they lived up to their good reputations, I went to dine in the two eateries. Situated on Abell Street, Chong Choon is a single shop building behind Long house Hotel.It has been operating for more than half a century. On the other hand, there are three outlets of Madam Tang's Restaurant in Kuching. I dined in the one beside the famous Min Joo noodle shop on Carpenter Street. Eating Laksa is addictive. Over the past few months, my love of this noodle dish has swung from a mild one to a fervent infatuation. In a bowl of Laksa, you can see blanched rice vermicelli aswim in a reddish coconut-milk based soup.Arranged atop the noodles are blanched bean sprouts, blanched shrimps, omelet strips and a few sprigs of cilantro leaves. Sarawak Laksa is normally eaten with Sambal Belacan. Tartness is also added to the noodles with a squeeze of lime. It is quite similar ...

I am now on my third day in Kuching, being almost recklessly unrestrained in my gastronomic adventure. I had a bowl of Laksa in two places at different times this morning. Later in the afternoon, I ate four pieces of Siew-Mai,four pieces of Yam Bean dumplings, one piece of Popiah, one take-away carton of Mixed Fruit Rojak and five pieces of Keropok Lekor.What a feat! I rounded off my dinner of chicken porridge and fried chicken wings with two mugs of iced lemon tea. I still have two pieces of lotus-leaf wrapped sticky rice and a bunch of bananas left in my shopping bag. How am I going to finish them? I have eaten terribly too much . Worse still, I am on the verge of vomiting!

After ten years, I have finally set foot on Kuching soil. I first came to Kuching in 1990 for studying purposes.It was my first time being away from the comfort of home. I attended the now defunct St. Patrick Secondary School on Stampin Road. It was a church-run institution offering classes to students who had been denied a place to study in government schools.During my two-year-stint as a Form Six student boarder,I learnt the importance of friendship . In the first few months of my stay, I had been wrought with unmitigated homesickness. It sapped my confidence, energy and optimism for life. My weight plunged down drastically and it took a toll on my health. At one time I was so delirious with fever that I was not aware of what was happening around me.My fellow boarders had to take turns looking after me. They brought me food, sponged my feverish forehead and washed my sweat-soiled clothes. I finally came to my senses when a Melanao boy named Simon Dupree warned me that I would let ...