Man of Malaysia

I have just finishing reading the book "Man of Malaysia"(MoM) by Tan Kok Seng, a Singaporean. When I was a Secondary School boy in the 80s, his book "Son of Singapore" was my literature book. So the author was not unfamiliar to me.

The author described his life from 1959 to 1968 in Malaya. During that era, he was married, continued to work as a chauffeur for his boss and friend, lost his job and was almost broke before becoming a egg seller in a market in redhill (after moving back to Singapore). It is an easy and interesting read showing the life back in 60s in Malaya. In the early 60s, Singapore was part of Malaya and residence could travel between the 2 states without much imigration restriction. Life was not easy as jobs were not readily available. A daily earnings of $4 to $6 (monthy of about $150) was already substantiate. He tried to be self employed by being a provision shop owner but suffered lost as his customers did not pay him while on loan for purchases. He was almost robbed and killed by police imposter who visited him at night but he was fortunate not to open his door. He tried to be a driver again but was treated badly by his engineering supervisor in a tin mine. In the end, the family had to return back to Singapore which was a wise decision. It was in Singapore where he found success as a egg/chicken seller. His wife gave birth to a son and a daughter in the 60s and they managed to purchase a flat from the government.

I could understand some of the places where he described in MoM; Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Taiping and Kuching Sarawak. It also reminded me of a tin dredging machine which I had visited many year ago near Taiping. He also described his experience seeing some important VIPs of that era, Chief Minister of Singapore (Mr Lee), Foreign Minister of Thailand, etc.

In "Son of Singapore", I could remember he worked as a coolie as a teenager. It was not really fun to read as literature means I had to remember the facts.

It was a good read for those interested to find out the life in the 60s and also his attitude and determination in life. The book is available in Singapore library under code 920.