Standing 3rd from right at Kpg Sg. Apin, Simunjan in the early 70's
Staff of Simunjan Secondary School, 1974
With my wife during Simunjan Sec.school dinner, 1976
My three years' stay in Simunjan is one of the best time of my life. That was the first time I stayed separated from my family especially my late mom. At the age of twenty and first time separated from family gave me a lot of opportunities and rooms for doing things which I have never thought of doing before.
Anyway Simunjan always remained one of the sweetest and most remembered memories of my life. I would like to share with you a sad story that happened in 1973/74 in Simunjan.It was Sunday and students of the school were allowed to go out of their school compound. Some student would spent the time to go to Simunjan Bazaar , a distance of three miles from school. To go to the town you could either walk or rode a bicycle or became a pillion rider of a motor cycle but with a fare . ( I could not remember how much was the fare, probably RM1.00). But for that Sunday a group of around 50 student went to a picnic spot somewhere near the school where there's a waterfall. It is a beautiful spot, situated at Mount Ngili.
On that fateful day, there was heavy downpour of rain. Water from the mountain that form the waterfall rushed down towards the students. Those student were caught and there was panic. The water that fell down the spot below the waterfall overflowed and rushed toward student who were playing close by. Upon seeing the water rushing down those student rushed away from the spot and saved themselves.
It happened a few minutes only. Then the group realized that one of their friends was missing. They began to look around and some tried to search at the waterfall spot but not successful. The missing boy was nowhere to be found. So, those students rushed back to the school to inform the principal and to get assistance.
That morning I woke up quite late since it was not working day. I stayed in bed longer than other days. My untie, Udak Bibah did not want to wake me. Udak Bibah came to stay with me for a few weeks to assist me in my cooking and laundry. A teacher by the name Mashor came to my quarters and informed me of what had happened. We followed the students to the spot where it happened. Report were made to Police Station and so more help came. Kampung folks from nearby kampung rushed to give whatever assistance. So the search continued. Everybody seem to think that the boy must have drowned in the water spot. We began to search in that pond. I dived in the cold water , still there was not a trace of the boy.
One teacher by the name Ardi or Ashaari, I could not recalled, went further. He followed the flow of the water which led to the downhill. At about one hundred feet below there lies the body of the boy, dead. He must have been hit by the rock when he fell from the platform towards the downhill without anybody realizing what had happened to him.
My friend, Ardi help to carry the body of the boy to his kampung which was quite a distance from the school . In the 70s, you needed to pass through the jungle to reach the kampung.By the way the name of the boy that died in the tragedy was P. Ramlee, an Iban boy. It was a sad day for our school. I was called to the Police station that time to give some detail to the Police corporal, Corporal Tan. It was one tragedy that I still remembered until today. May the the late P. Ramlee rest in peace.
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