DOWN MEMORY LANE: 13 MAY 1969

BY HJ ZULHEIMY MAAMOR

13 MAY 2024

Where were you on 13 May 1969?

Some weren't born yet, some were small, some lost family. Me? I was in Standard 2 at SRJK (Inggeris) Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, before it split into Gombak 1 and 2.

We lived at Jalan Sekolah, Gombak, near Taman Ibu Kota — about 300m from school. Where Pasaraya Ong Tai Kim in Danau Kota is now used to be Lee Rubber.

On the afternoon of 13 May, I was in class sitting near the door, the best seat because you could feel the breeze from the corridor.

Suddenly I saw many parents gathering outside — I saw my mother among them, standing by the fence, looking for me. My father was away working in Melaka. The school peon, Abang Mat Zain, who know every child by face, came in and whispered to the teacher. The teacher told us to pack our books and go down to our parents.

My mother didn't say much, just pulled my hand and walked me home, just 300 meter from school, near the Taman Ibu Kota, what was today Pasaraya Ong Tai Kim at Danau Kota, formerly Lee Rubber Estate.

On the way home I saw a group of men in black silat clothes with yellow and red sashes gathered at a house. I asked what it was, my mother said maybe a silat competition.

At home my siblings were already there, faces full of fear. Mother locked all doors and windows and we gathered in the living room. She finally told us there was a big fight in Kuala Lumpur and everyone was ordered to stay home — curfew was declared that night.

She kept praying for my father who was on his way back from Melaka.

That night was very quiet. From the window I could see villagers on guard with parangs and sharpened bamboo, protecting the kampung.

Our area in Gombak was majority Malay, so we felt a bit safer, though we worried because next to us from Lee Rubber to Setapak was majority Chinese. But Alhamdulillah nothing bad happened around us because we lived harmoniously — my regular grocery shop was Chinese (Taukeh Ong Tai Kim now), Ah Hock who sold fish and vegetables came to our house every morning, and my school friends were from all races.

The heat was only in KL city centre — our place stayed calm.

After a few weeks when it calmed down, we went back to school as usual, playing with Chinese and Indian friends like nothing had happened. I still went to Ong's shop, Ah Hock still came to sell fish and veg — we felt no hatred, remained friendly as before.

What creates hatred between races is political extremists, just like today. While we common people remain friendly and mixed together — just like today.

An archive, not an ending.

I have scanned these as carefully as I could, keeping the dust, the slight blur, the slight tilt that makes them true. They are not perfect photographs. They were never meant to be. They were meant to prove we were there, together, for a year at a time.

If you were at SRJK (Inggeris) Gombak 2 between 1968 and 1973 — if you remember the potted ferns, the gravel, the ties — you might be in one of these frames. I would love to hear from you.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

Lembah Keramat, K.L

13 Mei 2024 : 3.35 p.m