Kemaman.... Once Upon A Time....

Believe it or not, my family and I used to stay at a place located far far away from Kuala Lumpur in the East Coast of Malaysia. Terengganu Darul Iman is the name

of the state where we spent 4 long years there learning, digesting the culture and also the lifestyle of the people there. We did not go to as far as Kuala Terengganu as my father was being based at Bandar Cukai @ Taxes Town, Kemaman. Kemaman is just a small town like Muar, Segamat and Alor Gajah but the lifestyle of the people there were totally different but it was an unforgettable moment and an expensive experience that I cant afford to buy.

We went out from our beloved British designed crib in Berjuntai Tin Dredging (refer An Excerption of My Blog) and moved to Kemaman back in July 1990. It was the first time ever my family and I stepped to a strange place where we lived far away from the hustle and bustle of the nearest town to Batang Berjuntai; Kuala Lumpur. As for me the people there were totally strangers to me as they were not like my friends when I was in Batang Berjuntai but then I have to move on with my new life there and yes, it took me only a few months to get myself a new circle of friends there. The only thing that I need to adjust myself back then was to get up early to go to school on Sunday as Terengganu's first day of the week starts on Sunday and weekend is on Friday. I first started schooling in Kemaman at Sekolah Rendah Sultan Ismail, Kemaman. I must say that the school is a pure 1 Malaysia school as there were Malays, Indians and Chinese went to the school. I did not spent much time there as the duration is rather short from July 1990 till December 1990 where later I went to the next door school. Keep reading friends.

Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Kemaman or acronymly known as SKSK is located next to Sekolah Rendah Sultan Ismail, not very far actually, approx 100 meters from the school. This was where I met most of my friends and the longest school I went to until we moved back to KL in 1994. I remembered for being marked as the lousiest pupil there amongst teachers there and often being punished over things that I did not do, why they did that, I was too young to know back then. But hey I ain't talking about the bad experiences but the good experiences there. Friends of mine, Hafizan Zaini, Wan Appy Adnan, Eksan and few others were amongst those who light up the cheerfulness of our class. I had the best memories with them throughout my stay there. We shared almost identical interests, we joined Taekwando, English society and off course cycling in the evening around the village of Mak Chilli, Gong Limau dan Gong Pauh and many more, man how time flies.

I had fond memories with some teachers of SKSK (wonder if they read blogs) and one of my beloved, forgiving, loving teacher was Cikgu Rodnan Seman who had been the backbone of the class. He likes to crack jokes whilst being strict on the subject taught to us. He taught Bahasa Melayu and Mathematics. But too bad, I was not good in Mathematics back then, so you know what happened right hehehe... But then everything changed when  I was in form 5 where out of no where my Mathematics improved tremendously, Alhamdulillah. And another teacher which I will always remember her motherly touches, was Allahyarham Cikgu Sanida. She was such a wonderful teacher despite and when I heard that she had passed away, I was devastated that I did not manage to show her how am I doing now and how thankful I was to have her as my teacher. I will always remember all teachers who used to teach me regardless on how they punished me for being naughty boy in the class back then. 

Apart from schooling and staying there for 4 years (man, was it that long?) my parents and I took the time to know Terengganu better hence we had been to isolated states of Terengganu like Besut, Setiu and Lake Kenyir near Kuala Berang. To me, it was an expensive experience that I cant afford to buy even if I got the chance to change it. Oh yes, I also befriended with an American boy back then. His family stayed very near to my house and everyday I would go down to his place and chatted with him for hours. Although some people did not quite like idea of befriending an expatriates children, but this was when my command for English improved slightly. The name of the boy is Trenton and he was from Carolina, America. Kemaman really brought me up as who i am today. 

Last but not least before I called the day off, our last journey in Kemaman ended on the 28 November 1994 and it was time for us to go back to where I came from the other day. Well gtg..... see you....