JUNE 22 — That decade etched as the 60s has been described as the “counter culture” period where social norms were “revolutionised”. Long hair was no more a female franchise, debunked together with many other long-held taboos.
We had the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the freedom march by Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, Carnaby Street, Muhammad Ali, Che Guevara, Marilyn Monroe, Woodstock, and The Beatles.
Baby boomers are those born during the phenomenal birth rate period of post-World War II, for the next 10 years.
Three baby boomers spoke with me.
Tony Goh (born 1947)
My first date — she was 14 and I, 15. My father’s chauffeur drove us to the movies but she insisted that we returned by bus. She assured me she knew how because until then my bus trips were only for school excursions.
But I was quite adept at driving, even at 16. I had been “practising” with a Morris Minor and switched to my father’s new Morris Oxford, even trying it out in the narrow backlanes of Segambut.
My first date eventually became my first girlfriend even though she couldn’t speak English. We corresponded while I was in Australia with my brother Alex as the translator of my letters and the writer of hers. Her letters always start with, “ My darling …” There will be a slight disorientation whenever Alex comes to mind.
As kids, we played picture cards, tops and flew kites. We would pound broken light bulbs until it was fine like sandpaper and poured it over horse glue to be coated on kite strings. It cuts into other kite strings like a knife.
I attended La Trobe University and graduated with a BSC in chemistry. I started work with Goh Ban Huat in 1971, and was paid RM350. But it was fine as I stayed at home. My first car was the Mitsubishi Colt Gallant.
Robert Cheong Eng Tick (born 1947)
My first date was with Wendy in 1964. I was in Form Five and she was a year younger. My heart would skip several beats every time our arms brushed against each other while walking. Cliff Richard’s When a girl in your arms was a favourite.
Form Five was a nightmare because of the anguish over the limited Sixth Form places. I got a Grade Two in Senior Cambridge.
In our new village, we could walk into any home and the lady of the house would ask if we had eaten, and would feed us if we were hungry. Kids games were playing marbles, top spinning, collecting cigarette boxes, flying kites – sometimes the strings were laced with pounded glass for kite-fighting. Macho boys would catch “fighting fish” in murky ponds. Girls and sissies played “five stones”.
In 1967, I got to read law at Singapore University because there was no law faculty in the University of Malaya. The Bukit Timah campus was small but I felt on top of the world to be able to enter university.
The four years were like in another world compared to rural Ipoh. Singapore had just been “kicked” out, and we were going through the 60s. The lecturers from United Kingdom, Europe and the United States treated us with decorum and encouraged us to debate.
This was amidst the dating and campus parties called “Hops” held every other weekend. Graduation was the happiest day in my life. My first pay was RM500.
Fiat 850 was my first buy, the one with the engine at the back. There was no air-conditioning and the seat was non-adjustable. A large bottle of water in the car was essential – as the engine overheated quite dependably.
Tawfik Ismail (born 1951)
My pre-school and primary school was in Washington, where my father was the ambassador. When we returned, I attended St John’s Institution (SJI).
In SJI, my daily allowance was RM2. Orange-based Green Spot was my favourite soft drink because it was non-carbonated. Food and beverages were packed from home. I was only allowed to go out in groups, and if girls were involved, it was with my sisters and her friends, usually from Convent Bukit Nanas, which was next door to SJI.
I liked the songs Look for a Star, Maria of West Side Story and Somewhere My Love from Dr Zhivago. Our family lived in government provided accommodation in Maxwell Road. It was the Istana Hinggap, which belonged to the Selangor Ruler. Before retirement, my father bought a house near to where the late Tan Sri P.G. Lim lived.
Some of the games we played as kids were hitting picture cards stacked against a wall with rubber bands. We had “spider fights” on classroom desks or on canteen tabletops. The spiders were caught from the hibiscus trees around the school. Swapping comics, toy soldiers, dinky cars, and matchbox cars were our past-times.
I did my Form Five equivalent in Australia, and my first degree was from Armidale, New South Wales. Those were some of my fondest memories. I became famous when my father, then deputy prime minister, visited in 1973.
I completed my post-graduate degree from Oxford and was hired by Malayan Banking, which paid RM800. My first posting was at the Pudu Road branch. It was during the Datuk Harun Idris crisis (1977) and tension was high in the predominantly Chinese area, but our good mix of Malaysian staff was unperturbed.
In Parliament, there was always robust exchanges, including race-laced repartees, but nobody got offended. I suppose it was the intent and language used which did not earn the ire of anyone.
I made a lot of friends from all walks of life while in SJI, the Royal Military College (RMC) and with children of the diplomatic corps. We mingled freely and were completely colour blind.
My first car was a Mercedes 190SL which my father bought second-hand.
* Then, the results of the Senior Cambridge Examination were published in The Straits Times and a loaf of “Sunshine” bread cost 25 sen. Tawfik’s father is our beloved Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, who sadly left us too soon.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
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