Kampung Jalan Karim

During my younger days I was staying in a kampung area where people of different races live in old Malay-styled wooden houses. The place my family stays in is house number 2267. It is an attap-roof stilts wooden house. Actually there are two "semi-detached" houses which shared the same house number. Initially we were staying at the house on the right. This is where my late father passed away in 1970. After our next door Indian family neighbour shifted out, we moved next door to the vacated house. An elderly kuih-making old lady with three grown up sons moves into the house that we vacated earlier.

There is a bathroom in front of the house on the right which both families co-shared. Modern toilet facilities are unheard of during that time and all houses uses the traditional method where all excrements are collected in a "tong najis" (bucket). The midnight soil will be collected by the municipal workers in the early morning between 2am -4am. Sometimes if the workers are not careful and spilled the midnight soil onto the roads surface, it really smells like shit in the morning when we walks past to take our school bus.

As far as I know the so-called "kampung" do not have a proper name but there is one kampung road by the name of Jalan Karim. This small road is accessible from Jalan Maharaja Lela (formerly known as Jalan Batak Rabit) which is one of the main trunk road linking Teluk Intan (formerly Telok Anson). My "kampung" is about four kilometres to the Teluk Intan town centre.

The kampung Jalan Karim run parallel to the stream Sungai Pak Kalong which is a tributary of Sungai Perak. In the absence of computers, Internet and Play Stations, Sungai Pak Kalong was one of our main play ground or swimming pool. During high tide when Sungai Pak Kalong reaches a depth of seven feet, the boys will be having a great time swimming or just playing at the banks of the river.

For those keen on fishing, Sungai Pak Kalong is a boon as the river is a major place to catch fresh water fishes like haruan, ikan keli, sepat and puyu. Since Sungai Perak flows side by side with Jalan Maharaja Lela, fishing accessories like hooks and fishing lines are easily obtainable from one of the sundry shops along the road. We will use whatever discarded wooden staff we can find from a nearby sawmill or cut a small tree branch or long twig to tie the fishing line. As bait for the fishes, we just digged the ground around our houses for earthworms. Within less than half an hour of digging, a bagful of fishbait worms will be available.

When the river reaches ankle length during low tide, some will take the opportunity to scoop the fishes with whatever basket that they can get hold from their house. If one's lucky there will be the surprise catch of the day in the basket, an udang galah. The freshwater prawn move along with the in flow of the tide from Sungai Perak and hides amongst the plants below the river banks during low tide.

Kampung Jalan Karim will be flooded at least twice a year. It is not like those life threatening flood which happens in Johor or Pahang in recent years but just about one to two feet deep. This is as long as we do not swim in the river during specially high tide. The river can be fun but can be dangerous too. I was nearly drown in that river once. I slipped from the side of the river towards the middle of the river bed. Luckily one of my brothers friend caught hold of me and pulled me up.

At the right end of the Jalan Karim kampung is the railway tracks which links Teluk Intan to Tapah town. The railway station is about two kilometres away from the kampung. A railway bridge runs across the Sungai Pak Kalong. During the occasion when a train crosses the bridge while we are swimming, we will stay under the bridge until the train crosses. Imagine the sound from the wheel thumping on the tracks and the metal bridge shaking and vibrating for at least one to two minutes. Those were the days.

The railway track is no more there but replaced with a tarred lane. No one will ever wants to swim in the Sungai Pak Kalong nowadays. The river is so polluted with effluents from nearby factories and motor workshops for so many years that the river water turned from muddy brown to oily black. It is no more looks like a river but a dirty longkang (drain). What a sad case for my water playground.- Loka

Tin Lanterns

Tin lanterns enhance celebration, says carpenter

By CHRISTINA LOW
christinalow@thestar.com.my

THESE days, lanterns come in various shapes and designs. Most often they are made out of colourful papers which may only last a night, while the lucky ones are privileged enough to own the battery-operated ones bought at department stores.                                                                                                                                                                   



However, for Ling Hai Chong, his first lantern was not a paper lantern but instead one that was made out of a tin can which is no longer seen by anyone these days.


The 50-year-old carpenter said he first saw the tin-can lantern during the days when he lived in Behrang, Perak.

“My neighbour was busy making it for the Mid-Autumn Festival and I was curious how he can turn a normal tin into something so nice for the children to play with,” said Ling.

Variety of use: After the Mid-Autumn Festival, these lanterns can be used as a decorative ornament and can be placed anywhere around the house. ( Source: The Star )

After paying close attention to how it was made, Ling said he went out to search for used tin cans to try his hand at making the lanterns himself.“It was just trial and error, after trying a few times, I finally got it right just by watching,” said Ling who now lives in Rasah.

During a recent interview in Subang Jaya, Ling said the lantern he made usually had rollers made out of smaller cans, just so when the lantern was played by pushing it on the ground, it would make sounds.

 

“We want to have the sound because it signifies that everyone is enjoying the feasting and having a wonderful time,” said Ling who also demonstrated how the lanterns were made.

 

Armed with a used large round tin in hand, it took the carpenter just 30 minutes to complete the task with minimal tools such as a hammer, measuring tape, scraper, wire cuter, pliers, ruler and a small-sized piece of wood.

 

Although making lanterns is just a hobby, Ling said it had kept him busy.

He said for this year, he only started making lanterns for his young nieces and nephews some three months back and could only manage to make the lanterns during his free time.

Those who are interested to learn the art of making lanterns out of tin-cans can visit Ling at the Laman Sukan USJ 1, Subang Jaya at 7pm for its Lantern Festival Celebration.

More photos on the making of a tin lantern at
 http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?id=1204188083&aid=213707

Survival within the Christian-Muslim domain

Many of my home town friends studied in a La Sallian school and participated in Christian based activities during our school days but we kept our faith.

The Young Christian Societies were active in many of these schools. In my former school, the Saint Anthony School, I attended their weekly meetings held in the Convent School across the road from my school in Teluk Intan. I sang Christian hymns and listen to a Catholic nun by the name of Sister Winnie's telling stories about Jesus. Even in my school band, we used to play the tune "Amazing Grace" during the many funerals that the school band were invited to attend as lead marchers.

After all these influences, affiliation and motivation, it never managed to convince me to embrace Christianity. On the contrary, the Christian-based environment in my school and mingling around with Christian friends, singing their hymns and attending  their meetings makes me more curious to search for answers and to understand the meaning of the faith written on my birth certificate - Buddhism.

I search and managed to get hold and read the first Buddhist book after my fifth form public examination. In that sense, the Christian environment during my school days actually provokes me to search and try to understand the meaning of the Teachings of the Buddha.

Few years later I was involved actively as a Buddhist advocate in the university and the community. Some of my school-days friends too were surprised on my strong commitment towards Buddhism after we left school.

During the many years that I was involved in the national level youth movement, I was in contact with many youth leaders and government officers from the Muslim community. I attended many functions and meetings where Islamic prayers and rituals were conducted. Not forgetting those lectures or speeches by Muslim based leaders and politicians who are so used to quoting verses from the Quran when giving their speeches. I listen and learn from them but it ends there as for me it is just an opportunity to know and understand other people's religious better.

By understanding other peoples faith and practices, we learn to respect them as what they are even though we may not agree and follow what their religion teaches them. Whatever practices and teachings in their religion stays with them. We respect their right to their religion that teaches their followers to be at peace with oneself and those in their surrounding.

On the other hand, I will seek any opportunity and persevere to explain the true meaning of my religion to those who might have mis-conception regarding my religion. I let them know the religious path that I follows. The intention is never to convert but to open their eyes and heart so that they will be able to know me and my religion better. That should be the way - mutual understanding and mutual respect amongst people of different faith by learning about each other. - Loka