PETALING JAYA, Aug 31 — From the days of teaming up for a high school basketball game, to setting up a computer school, fast forward it to the year 2010, two former schoolmates from Ipoh ranted over everything from the cost of their children’s education to the political climate of the country at a modern “kopitiam”.
Leven Wong and Jeffrey Chan both Libras, were born on the year the country gained its independence, reminisced about the good old days as one sipped from a kopitiam coffee cup while the other from a traditional-looking tea set, unaware of the subtle yin and yang element present.
Wong, an insurance agent for Prudential BSN Takaful told The Malaysian Insider that he had lived the evolution of the way people travelled. He started off going to school in a DIY “two-tiered” trishaw, then he cycled and rode a motorcycle to school when he was in Form Four, to “get girls.”
As for Chan, he remembered being in the school bus which was packed like a can of sardines, with school children standing on the bus steps, with half their body hanging out of the bus as it zoomed around town to school. He added though that there were fewer cars on the road back then, so it wasn’t too dangerous, he said with a chuckle.
They both remember that they used to hang out with their schoolmates and played all kinds of sports from basketball, badminton, to football and hockey. It was regardless of class and race but there was always fierce competition and a divide between students from their school, St Michael Institution (SMI) and students from the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS), the two, which are still so-called rival schools today.
“We used to cycle together in a big group... it was the Bruce Lee era, 1972,” Chan remembered.
“We were mostly not from the same class but we were a close-knit group,” Wong added almost immediately.
Wong had gone to the United Kingdom for A-levels for a year and a half, which he later found out would be free if someone had told him about a student programme. After completing Form Three, any Malaysian can go to the UK to complete high school for free and even after that, the student will be granted free tuition and allowance on top of that, he explained. He quickly added that mostly parents from the affluent class knew of this programme and took advantage of it.
Upon completing his studies abroad, he said it was a “natural process” to return to his home country. He had several jobs but not one lasted long. Both Wong and Chan had a similar passion: computers.
Chan had worked in printing equipment sales upon completing Form Six. He was selling what would be a photocopier or better known as a photostat machine today. It was a huge stencil machine to make copies of mostly exam papers. He said the 1984 economic crisis had also affected him, and resulted in him losing his job.
He moved to Kuala Lumpur to find more opportunities.
The duo and seven others started a school in Ipoh for teaching computer usage. Back then, a computer cost about RM10,000. It was in 1983 and they had bought five NEC computers. They said they ran out of capital and were working for no salary. The demand was also low as they had only about 30 plus students. After two years, they had to shut the school down.
“In Ipoh, the computer usage pick-up was slow. It was not the trend at the time yet,” Chan said, jokingly placing the blame on Wong for his lack of determination to keep the school going.
He said at the time, there was a greater demand for book-keeping and accounting. Chan said even after taking a computer course, most companies did not even have computers at the time.
After several other stints, Wong returned to the UK for a management course for a year, followed by spending his next 11 years selling computers. However, he added he should have been an insurance agent right away.
“It was so difficult back then. We had to go to each stationery shop to give out sample papers,” he said. “It was easier to sell back then. Now it’s too competitive with the sprouting of hyper markets.”
Chan got married and had two sons, both still in high school. Wong has two girls and a boy and was complaining that he had to send RM20,000 each month to his son in Auckland, New Zealand. He is studying medicine, a field Wong was always interested in but couldn’t make the cut. He said his son still has two more years to go.
“To bring up a child these days can easily cost RM1 million,” he said.
Wong added that it was a luxury to send their children overseas back then.
Both had noticed the extreme state of corruption in the country, but were quick to add that it could be that they have become more aware.
Wong remembered back then, the police would let someone off for minor traffic offences if he or she was still a student.
“Now, they don’t care. They’ll just take first,” he said, referring to the rampant corruption and Malaysian’s culture of giving “duit kopi.”
When it comes to politics, both Wong and Chan were a little disappointed.
“Politics is politics, it’s always going to be dirty on both sides,” Wong said, although clearly stating that he favours the Opposition.
“You want to make a difference. One vote might not make a difference but if everyone thinks that way, it can (affect the results),” he said.
Chan echoed his sentiments.
“Now politicians from both sides, you cannot rely on them. Both sides are equally bad,” he said, adding that it doesn’t matter if the ruling coalition or the Opposition is in power next, it would take time for the people to see positive changes.
“We don’t have any successors. At one time, we were looking at Anwar, but now he is too old. He has his own problems,” Wong said.
When it comes to the standard of living, they both found it easier to survive when they were younger.
“It was easier to survive last time, there are less commitment,” he recalled. Chan said for an average family now, there would at least be two cars, four cellphones, Internet connection, credit card and Astro bills to pay off every month.
He said the basic cost of living is just very high. He also said he spends about RM200 for toll a month alone and in addition to that, a cell phone and a laptop can almost be considered a necessity these days. He said his children’s generation is lucky and there’s a vast difference in the value of money compared to when he was growing up.
“If you give them RM1 today, they won’t even know what to do with it,” he said. Back then, he remembered his allowance to school was 50 sen and a bottle of Coca-Cola would cost 20 sen, and even then he would share it with a friend.
In addition to that, he said he is clueless sometimes, about his teenage children’s behaviour.
“They can be confined to the room all day. But if I ask to have a face to face conversation, it won’t even last for an hour,” he said.
If given a chance to migrate to another country, both had differing views.
Wong said he had actually wanted to migrate in the 1980s to Australia.
“The only thing that held me back was if my wife could adapt to such a different lifestyle,” he said, adding that his wife, at the time had never before left the country.
He added that he is also attached to his family.
“Here can cari makan, it’s not like there’s nothing to do,” he said, justifying the reason for him to still be in the country.
When asked about how they felt about Malaysia today, both shared a similar sentiment.
“I used to be proud of being a Malaysian,” Wong said sombrely.
Chan on the other hand said he has “no choice but to be proud.” He added that this is where he’s from and was brought up, he will be a proud Malaysian no matter what.
He said even if he had a chance to migrate, he said he can’t. He said he’s too picky with his food and admitted that he couldn’t survive without Malaysian food.
And that, is just a typical Malaysian concern, the food that goes into their stomachs.
