Conversation 2

Son number One :

“Oh , yours is nothing.”

“When I was in this boarding school, one night we wanted to celebrate the birthday of five of our friends.”

“We brought along two packets of flour and twenty eggs. We will celebrate the birthday boys and girls by throwing the eggs and then throw the flour at them, what a sight it would be.”

“But someone told the warden. He came into the hostel and ransacked our bags and also our bags in the classroom. I got slapped because in my bag there was a whole packet of flour.”

Son number three:

“I also got scolded by my teacher.”

“The rules of my boarding school was nobody should bring MP 3 to the hostel. But I did , without mum’s knowledge.”

“ The teacher found my MP3. He threw down my MP 3 from the fourth floor of the hostel. It can’t be safe anymore.”


Cikgutanya: Why now (when they are all out of school ) and there is nothing I can do.

Conversation

While driving to my village (kampong) 240 km away form the capital city, I heard my three sons talking. They were all on their semester break of their respective universities.

All out of schools.

Their conversation goes like this:

Son number 2 :

“Brother, when I was in the boarding school, one night after the night preparation class , we went back to our dorm.”

“We talked about music and song and singers.”

“In the hostel at our dorm my friend knocked two spoons together , klik, klik , klik.”

“The other friend of mine knocked on the bed ..klang …klang ….klang.”

“Two other boys knocked on the window pane ….. kling … kling …. Kling.”

”Three other boys clapped their hands and a beautiful rhythm was created.”

”I danced to the tune. I break dance.”

“Suddenly! The hostel warden barged in. He scolded us and punished us by asking us to sleep on the corridor of the hostel.”

“We abide, but sleeping outside is better, it is colder.”

Cikgutanya: I just keep my mouth shut , but my heart says WHAT?

Lazy Daughter 2

I received a phone call form the mother telling me that her daughter was in a coma at the hospital for the past two weeks.

Her class teachers and I went to the hospital immediately.

The mother explained, “She passed out at home. We brought her to the hospital. The doctor give her a thorough check-up, CAT scan, and blood test.”

Sob.sob.sob.

“The diagnosis and the finding was that, she had brain tumor which is as big as a ping pong ball.”

“That was the reason why she was sleepy all the time. The tumor keeps on pressing on her brain. She will always be sleepy though not in pain.”

The doctor came out from the ICU room with a gloomy face.

“I think, it’s better for you and your husband to be with your daughter now”

Then she and her husband went in.

Half an hour later, she came out of the ICU room crying.

“Teacher, she’s gone. I regretted the way I treated her. If only I knew it, I’ll take her to the hospital earlier."

CIKGUTANYA: Is she right or wrong? May God bless her soul.

Lazy Daughter

“My daughter is very lazy. Sometimes I just wish that she wasn’t born.

“She does nothing. She wakes up late, sometimes at 9.00 or 10.00 in the morning and she will go back to sleep again. She eats and eats and eats.”

“ She won’t help me. Sometimes because she wakes up so late, she won’t be able to go to school. So I ask her to do a little house work like hanging out the cloth.”

“I came back form work at four in the afternoon, the cloth will still be in the washing machine and she will, again, sleep!”

“Teacher, what about her schooling? She just refuse to wake up in the morning. I am truly worried about her studies.”

I explained to her, “What you need to do is just write a letter explaining why she’s not in school. The letter must be written to us or if she keep on doing this she will be expelled from school. Please write the letter.”

“What about her lessons? She must be far back on her learning.”

“Yes, she can study at home under your guidance. We, teacher s can’t do anything if she won’t come to school. That’s your responsibility. Please, try to make her come to school. I will ask the counselor to advise her.”

The next morning, the student did come to school. But , in class she will be sleeping.

She come to school about one week then she was absent again. No news, nothing. We (the teachers) were wondering. What happened to her?

CIKGUTANYA: I need my afternoon nap. Continue tomorrow.

Blue Film for Minor 2

I wanted to send him home.

But he told me, “My mom told me not to follow strangers. So I am walking home.”

At least, I know that his parents taught him the right thing.

I went to his mother’s office, introduced myself and told her what happened.

She was shocked!

“No wonder, I always see that my CD was not in order. It changed places all the time. I thought my husband did it.”

“Sorry that I asked. Where did you put all those CD’s?”

“In my bedroom, on the top self of my cabinet. There is no way that he could know about the existance of the CD’s”

“You must have underestimated your son’s intelligence.”

“What have I done? He’s only 11 years old.”

“Only you know the answer.” I told her.

“What do you think is the best I could do?”

I advised her, “Throw away all the CD’s. What happened had happened.”

“Send your son to see the school counselor and next time please be very careful with adult materials. Children of this era have a very high sense of curiosity.”

After the meeting, I bought my son a cartoon movie. He watched it. He never asked me about blue film any more.

He is now 22 years old. Blue film. A very big question mark on my mind.

CIKGUTANYA: Parents, be careful.

Blue Film For Minor

My son was in Standard Five at that time.

I am very protective over him since he is the youngest in the family. My maid will sent him to school and fetched him from school everyday without fail.

One night, he asked me, “Mama, tomorrow can I go to my friend’s house?”

“Why?”

“He asked me to go to his house to watch ‘filem biru’ (blue film).”

“Dear, what is blue film?”

“I don’t know, but my friend told me that he always watch it when his mother and father is not around.”

I was speechless for a moment.

“OK dear, you go to school tomorrow and kak MI will fetch you from school. What I want is for you to introduce me to this boy after school. Can you do that for me dear?”

“Yes, mama sure can!”

The next morning he went to school and at 12.30 pm when the school session was over, I was outside the school waiting for him to introduce me to the boy.

“Mama this is my friend.”

I shook the boy’s hand and told my son to follow my maid home.

“Sayang (dear), I would like to know your father’s and your mother’s name and phone number”

He gave it to me.

“What about their office”

He also gave me the name and the addresses of his parents’ office.

He got the card of both offices.

CIKGUTANYA: Children are very trusting especially to teachers.

Minor 2

“What is you father’s opinion?”

“He just don’t care about me. He’s always drunk, always beat up my mother, my sister and I for no apparent reason.”

“So with the money that I earned, I can help my mother and also enjoy myself.”

“How do you enjoy yourself?”

“Watching movies, eating out and go camping.”

Since, he never break any school rules, never played truant, did all his homework on time, there is nothing the school could do.

We just advised him to think about his future.

He was caught three times in his two years tenure as an illegal CD seller.

He passed his SPM examination and got a place in Form Sixth.

I asked him about his illegal activities.

“I stopped selling it once I turned 18”

“Why?”

“If caught, I am not a minor anymore. I can be send to jail.”

“With the money that I have saved, my mother and my 25 year old unmarried sister opened a small stall in front of our house selling food.”

“My house is located near a factory. Every day the workers of this factory will buy the food my mother and sister sells. From rice to noodles, kuih (cakes) to drinks. My mother and sister can make between RM50 – RM 100 a day.”

“My father passed away last year due to yellow fever. The doctor told us it is due to his drinking habits. My family is happier now.”

“From now on, I will study and be a good citizen.”

CIKGUTANYA: To err is human. Give them the chance to grow and mature.

Minor

This boy brought a lot of money to school. He usually spent it on his friends in school. Buying t-shirts, food in the canteen, and many more.

I asked my discipline teacher to investigate how he came to have so much money.

Three days later he came back to me with the report:

“Principal, he sells illegal CD in the famous night market in the capital city. He also delivers the CD to homes whose owner ordered the CD over the phone.”

“He is being paid RM 50/= a day. Earning between RM1,500 - RM2000 including commission he can sometimes earn RM3,000 a month!”

As the Principal, I called the boy. He is 16 yrs old.

“Boy, You’re underage. How could you work at the night market selling illegal CD.”

“Teacher, it is easier for underage boys or girls to sell illegal CD.”

“Who told you that?”

“My boss.”

“An underage boy or girl who sells illegal CD, if caught by the police, can’t be send to jail because we are a minor.”

“We’ll be back in the street the very next day.”

CIKGUTANYA: Do you know this? Hmmm... the law?

Loyalty 5

No 8 : An Indonesian man.

“I am so scared. I watched the news on television about Malaysian getting married to Indonesians.”

I also told my friend that I have advised my maid to get married. But she just refused.

My maid told me she doesn’t want to get married just because the society wants her to get married.

My maid said to me, “We must also think of our future. I have been here working with you for the past twenty years.”

“I know there’ll be a point of time for me to leave you.”

“20 years of working with you and getting a monthly payment, I have put some good in it anyway.”

“I have asked my father and brother to plant coconut trees on the empty plot behind our house. It is quite a big area, about three acres of land.”

“The land was inherited from my grandfather by my father. My brother is in charge of taking care of the plants. We share the income.”

“Beside that three acres of land which is big enough for us all (my 2 brothers and I), we can build a house each. Two other sisters of mine will make their home in Johor as they are all married to Johorians”

“I have a substantial amount of savings in my Bank Simpanan Nasional account. It is enough to built a two bedroom house for my self. A kampung style house. A mixture of wood and cement. So I think, I will be taken care off in my old age.”

“But I still want to work with you because you are just like a sister to me now. So why worry about getting married that might not come out well.”

CIKGUTANYA : For a person who never went to school and who cannot read nor write, she can think objectively.

Loyalty 4

No 5: A 49 year old man. Never married.

“All his sisters were married.”

“So he is living with mother and father without his sisters. His parents are old. The mother is 80 years old, the father is 84 years old. They are not invalid but might be one soon.”

“He wanted a wife to take care of him and his parents. Cooking, washing, and everything else in the house.”

“He goes to work in the plantation and I will stay home to take care of his parents.”

“I really don’t mind taking care of the old, but, I am questioning his intention. He just wanted me to be the unpaid maid of the house.”

No 6: A man from her own village.

“I don’t want to marry him, because he wants me to live with him and his domineering mother. In short he is a mama’s baby.”

No 7 : A man recommended by her auntie.

“I saw him, his behavior was very weird. He likes to smile alone. He talk to the trees while his mother and father were in the house talking to my parents. I saw him from the window of my room. Now, his parent must have wanted me to take care of their ‘gila’ (mad) son.”

Cikgutanya; It is not easy to make a major decision.

Loyalty 3

No 3: A widower.

“His wife passed away.”

“He’s looking for a new wife to take care of his five kids, aged one to six.”

“I don’t want to be a cruel step mother. One or two kid maybe I don’t mind. But five!”

“Can you imagine the behavior of five kids of that age? He himself won’t be able to control them. The house will be in a mess, and I won’t be able to stand that!”

“I might lose my patience and will eventually hit them. That becomes cruelty and can be reported to TELEDERA!”

“Imagine also taking care of five kids and doing everything else. Huh! I will die standing”

No 4: A man in his 30’s.

“I don’t want to marry him because he wanted us to stay with his mother after we were married.”

“His mother is old and invalid. She can’t even walk, she just lie on the mattress. Someone must help her do everything.”

“His sister was just recently married and moved to Negeri Sembilan following her husband who is a teacher.”

“Before her marriage she did everything for the mother.”

“So, though I never went to school but I know his intention. He just wanted to get married so that his wife will be taking care of his mother for him.”

“In short he just wanted me to be his unpaid maid in the name of a wife.”

“Don’t you think he’s very selfish?”

CIKGUTANYA: I have to admit that she’s right! More tomorrow!