Last night, amidst the quiet celebration as I stayed up waiting for the results (thanks to the Malaysiakini site), I heard rumours of riots in Klang. My first reaction was curfew? And then … oh no, I have no food in the house! I was online with a friend, and told him we didn’t have a problem with food during the May 13 curfew because our shop (we lived upstairs) was between two sundry shops (as they were called in those days) and got supplies from them. That was one of the better memories from that time.
Speaking of Malaysiakini, I’d called my sister to tell her the good news each time I saw them on Malaysiakini, and her reaction was “are you sure or not?” She had a point. The results on Malaysiakini were mostly unofficial. But it took the longest time for the TV stations to post the official results. And it seemed to me they were only posting BN victories.
If it weren’t for Malaysiakini, we would’ve been kept waiting for the results much longer. Thank goodness for alternative news sources.
My late father had collected first day covers (FDCs) of various countries, including our own. Recently, I got down to sorting through them, more than a year after he left us. Well, not really sorting through them, but transferring them to plastic boxes that will protect the FDCs better.
Later, when thinking about the approaching 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence, and what I can do on this blog to commemorate it, I remembered seeing an FDC of the 10th Merdeka in the collection. I remembered lingering over it to admire how clean and well-kept it’d remained all these years. So I went back through the box holding the Malaysian FDCs, and came across an even older FDC - in fact, the country’s very first Merdeka FDC, postmarked 31 August 1957. Its condition was less clean and less than well-kept, but it was a historic FDC, nonetheless. But there was not all - I also found an alternative version, so in fact, there are two versions of the country’s first Merdeka FDC.
Put side by side, all three FDCs tell a story of how we’ve progressed - the language used, the racial communities represented. So here, in chronological order, Malaysia’s first Merdeka FDC (both versions) and the 10th Merdeka FDC.
(Oh wait, the 10th Merdeka FDC actually commemorates the 10th anniversary of Malaysia; Malaya, the country’s original name when it gained independence in 1957, had been renamed Malaysia in 1963 to reflect the addition of the states of Sabah and Sarawak to Malaya, so this FDC commemorates the 10th anniversary of that event and not of the 1957 independence.)
FDC commemorating Merdeka in 1957, postmarked 31 August 1957, and featuring three of the four main languages (English, Malay and Chinese):
A second version of the 1957 Merdeka FDC:
By the time of the 10th anniversary of Malaysia in 1973, the country had standardised its choice of main language - Malay - which is the only language featured on the FDC, including on the postmark. In additon to the Malaysian flag, the FDC also featured the flags of the 13 Malaysian states:
On the eve of celebrations for Malaysia’s 50th year of independence, I find myself wondering where were my parents on that morning of 31 August 1957?
This is a question I’ll never have an answer to. I can’t ask him because he’s not here anymore. I can’t ask her because only her body’s here, her mind’s wandering most of the time. I can try. Maybe I’ll do that when I see her this Saturday.
I remember my mother telling me the year Malaysia turned 10 in 1967 that the 10th Merdeka (Independence Day) was a milestone for the country, and that the next milestone would be the 25th Merdeka. And now look at us - a few days away from our 50th Merdeka.
The family shop used to be a favourite gathering place on 31 August each year. Relatives and friends would visit as, thanks to the shop’s location right in front of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (or Batu Road as it used to be called), the first floor had the best view of the Merdeka parade that would begin at Selangor Padang (old name for Dataran Merdeka) and go along the entire length of Batu Road right up to the roundabout (where the Chow Kit Monorail station is today).
In those days, Jalan TAR was the longest and straightest road in all of Kuala Lumpur. The family shop was located somewhere near the end of the long stretch. Each year’s parade would include schools represented by their students. Most everyone growing up would probably have participated in one of the Merdeka parades.
We would watch and wave to family members involved in the parade each year. But because by the time the parade got to our part of the road, it was almost at the end, they would be tired and out of order, totally unlike when they started at Selangor Padang, marching past the King, the Prime Minister and members of the Malaysian Cabinet. The year my brother was in the parade, he perked up as he and his gang approached the shop and waved to us as they marched past.
All this was before the overhead bridge was built near the old Post Office just in front of the Chow Kit market, which made it difficult for the taller Merdeka floats to pass under, and also before Jalan TAR was made one way (unfortunately, the wrong way). Even then, I think the road was closed for the parades along Jalan TAR each year. I don’t remember watching recent years’ parades. I was out of the country between 1986 and 1990, and the year I returned, we moved out of the family shop and out of the neighbourhood. These days, if I get to watch the Merdeka parade at all, it would be in front of the TV. And even if I do, it would be just so totally different from how it was when I was growing up and living along Jalan TAR.
10:50 p.m. Walk on By: The Story of Popular Music
11:40 p.m. Sounds of the Sixties
I’d discovered the second programme first, a wonderful trip down memory lane every Friday night for me, in all its black and white psychelic glory. Those around my age will understand what I mean.
Some Friday nights, I would tune in earlier and notice a similar programme, also in black and white, but featuring musical eras earlier than what I grew up in. Then, this evening, it all changed.
As usual, I’d tuned into Astro 26 earlier than 11:40 p.m. The programme was in colour this time, and taking centrestage was a familiar long-haired singer with guitar and harmonica … Neil Young! Singing what is probably his biggest hit, “Heart of Gold” . Gotta watch, gotta watch …
As if Neil Young was not enough, other singers featured on the programme included America ( “A Horse with No Name” , “Ventura Highway” ), Bill Withers ( “Ain’t No Sunshine” , “Lean on Me” ), Joni Mitchell ( “California” ), The Flying Burrito Brothers ( “Sin City” ), The Eagles ( “Take It Easy” ), and The Band ( “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” ). Wheeeeeeeeee … looks like this story of popular music has entered the 60s, which makes it a must-watch from now on.
Onto the next programme, Sounds of the Sixties. The first singer to appear tonight, Sandie Shaw, gave me an inkling of who else to expect in the rest of the show. And I wasn’t wrong - the artistes included the late Dusty Springfield, Long John Baldry, Tom Jones, Cilla Black, and a very bouncy Cliff Richard (before he was “Sir” ) singing Britain’s entry to the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, “Congratulations”. But it was the last singer and his song that really floored me and had me in tears even after all these years.
After the show, I came online to search for the song on YouTube, and found a version from a German show, Beat Club. Now that’s another stop along my memory lane. During the May 13 curfews in 1969, RTM had put on an interesting line-up of shows to keep everyone happy in the safety of their homes. One such show was Beat Club, featuring a popular UK radio deejay, Dave Lee Travis, and a German girl, Valerie. This was where we saw a lot of our favourite British pop stars - even the likes of Crazy World of Arthur Brown (I am the god of hellfire and I bring you … ), and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich (”Legenf of Xanadu”, complete with whip - anyone remember them?). This was where my sister first saw Cliff Richard, and screamed when she did, which prompted a scolding from my uncle (”Do you want the soldiers in here?” ), but I digress.
So here is Peter Sarstedt singing “Where Do You Go To, My Lovely” , and introduced by the German host of Beat Club, Valerie. The last couple of verses was what brought the tears.
