Pak Idrus's Blog

On May 11, 2020 Umno or the United Malay National Organisation, one of the main political party in Malaysia celebrated its 74th Anniversary. Umno was formed in 1946 during the colonial era with an objective of gaining independence for Malaya. I was born in 1939 and saw the development of the country from day one.  There is a few coincident here between me and Umno. To begin with the year 1946. It was the year when all schools in Malaya was reopen after the war and it was in January 1946 that I start schooling at the Sekolah Melayu Teruntun in Kuantan. I was then seven years old and been a Malay we all start our schooling at a Malay school. It the best thing that happens to me because not many Malay at that time got the opportunity to go to school. Thanks for the vision of my father I am among the few that got to have a good education.  Then one day in May 1946 and I now believed it had to be the 11th of May 1946, the day Umno was formed, that my father took me with him t...

In those days scouting was the best youth organisation for us teenagers to learn leadership skill as well to enjoy the outdoors like hiking and camping. In scouting we learn many aspects of leadership and  of  how to survive during difficult times. In the days before telephone and the internet we kids would enjoy ourselves by going camping, hiking and swimming.. Most of the time during school holidays we would go for hiking and camping all over the places. Since Kuantan my hometown is beside the river and near the sea we have plenty of places all along the coastal area to go hiking and camping and of course swimming. During one school holiday in August in the fifties we still in our teens, a small group of us the Kuantan Boy scout group went on an adventure of a different kind by cycling from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the country Malaya. It was during the August school holiday. It took us five days one way. The road from Maran to Temerloh was just completed but ...

That last time we went to Sungai Lembing it was late and we could not go and see the new Museum there. This time I [my spouse did not come along] decided to go early and head straight to the museum before sightseeing of the other parts of the old town of Sungai Lembing. In its hay days during the colonial era Sungai Lembing was a dynamic small mining town. Here was the largest load tin mine in the world own by a British Company, the PCCL [Pahang Consolidated Company Limited]. The whole area of Sungai Lembing was sort of an autonomous region in the Kuantan District. It was managed by the company head, its General manager or as the Malay at that time call it the Tuan Besar. That is what colonization is all about. In the case of Malaya, the British came and took over the country and exploited it natural resources. They did it legally by signing an agreement with the local authority at that time. The mining of tin in Sungai Lembing was one huge enterprise that provides jobs for the loc...

Woke up to a beautiful Sunday in June. I could hear the birds chirping and singing merrily in my Little Garden.  The happening in my Little Garden brought back memory of my days while camping in the woods during my scouting days. With that memory I thought that I would just write about me been a Boy Scout in my teen during my schooling days. I join the Boy Scout Movement as soon as I am eligible to do so. I registered myself as a scout by joining the Abdullah School Scout Troop; the 1st Kuantan Scout Troop. That began a journey of adventure until I left school after completing the Form V extermination in 1957. I never missed any of the activities of the Scout troop like going on camping and hiking. In scouting we learn about every aspect of leadership and many skills that would eventually help me greatly in my career in the government.  I took test to qualified myself to be a Queen Scout and in mid-1957 just before the countr...

Above is the scene of the beach at Teluk Cempedak in Kuantan in the early hours of the morning. Images in this posting was taken while I was waiting for the sun to rise on a visit to the place some years ago. The weather was cool and the beach was almost empty of people but already heavy with activities of the little crabs digging holes all over the sandy beach. Small birds seen picking food on the shore careless of the bashing of the waves.  When I was growing up in the forties the beach was pristine with golden sand, a crystal clear river, lush jungle of greens all over making it a great place to whilst the day away and enjoy nature at its best. Then it was considered far from the town since there was no road leading to it. To get there one had to hike using a narrow path flank by dense jungle on both sides. One could see birds, small animals and creature like monkey and iguana or large lizard running loose here and there. There was no man-made structure ar...

I love scouting and have been in the scout movement all throughout my school days at Abdullah School Kuantan. It was through scouting that I learn about leadership and other skills which later on help me to be successful in my career in the Government Service. For my success in the Scout Movement I was awarded the highest award any scout could ever expected and that was the Queen Scout Certificate. It was call the Queen Scout when the country was still rule by the British colonial authority. Now it is known as Pengakap Raja. The above image shows me receiving the Queen Scout Certificate from the British High Commissioner at the town Padang in Kuala Lumpur just before the country gain its independence on August 31, 1957.  Have a nice day.