THOSE WERE THE DAYS - KAMPUNG LIFE

Posted on Facebook: 24 May 2024

"Kampong" in Malay refers to a hamlet or village. The old-fashioned kampong in those days (60’s and 70’s) didn’t really have too much electricity, where every evening my grandfather would light the gasoline lamp for the night, and the basic form and structure of most ‘kampong’ houses are similar; most have attap houses.

Life in a kampong those days was mostly harmonious, and it was not uncommon for people to readily offer their neighbors food, help, and support.

Although I grew up in the city of Kuala Lumpur, I still have my mother’s and father's village in Melaka and Negeri Sembilan. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s was simply epic; life was much different then. It is the day that you spend only 50 cents on school, where you can have a bowl of mee curry and drinks at the school canteen. Those who brought 1 ringgit to school were considered rich and gained plenty of 'friends. 'But that's not what I want to scribble here; what I want to write about is a life in the village in those days in the 70s.

When I was a kid, we would go back to my mom's and my father’s kampong every Hari Raya or on special occasions. My father's village is in Lubok China Negeri Sembilan, while my mother's is in Lubok China Melaka, bordering between the two villages.

Before the existence of the North-South highway, the journey back to my Kampong would take about 6 hours through the old roads passing the villages and towns around Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Melaka. Nowadays, through the highway, it takes about 2-3 hours only.

For me, Kampong life is still the best; people are much more relaxed in the kampong, and life moves much more slowly. I would miss the day when my cousins and I would run around the kampong and swim in the river, just a whole lot of outdoors activities.

And at night, before bedtime, we would gather and get horror stories to tell. There was no gadget and internet at the time, and that is great. Yet another scariest part was, if you have a stomachache in the middle of the night, particularly if no one was willing to accompany you to the external toilets, the toilet that was located outside the house at that time. Then, you have no choice but to go to the toilet alone at night. Later, one of your cousins will knock on the toilet door and make creepy noises while you are inside... you can imagine how you feel at that time.... hahaha

Man, do you know how much I miss those days at Kampung life in the 60s, 70s, and 80s? Unfortunately, I have rarely been there since my grandparents and my parents passed away, but I’m glad I experienced it, unlike some friends of mine who were born and raised in big cities.

As you can see these days, children and teenagers today, their favorite pastimes are watching YouTube and playing video games on their handheld gadgets, not to forget surfing the internet and keeping themselves updated on social media. That’s what life is like for our children and youngsters; it used to be different during our times in the 60’s and 70’s.

Gone are the days where children went to the river or stream to catch fighting fish and climbed up trees in the jungle to pick fruits. Some of them would feel embarrassed to be labeled as Kampung kids; little do they realize that people who grew up in the era before the arrival of the internet and digital gadgets were generally resilient and independent, thanks to their kampong life and upbringing, which taught them valuable lessons on how to fend for themselves and overcome challenges…

I remember Mary Hopkins with her song “THOSE WERE THE DAYS"... some of the lyrics that really touch my soul…

Those were the days, my friend.

We thought they'd never end.

We'd sing and dance forever and a day.

We'd live the life we choose.

We'd fight and never lose.

Those were the days; oh yes, those were the days.

Copy and paste: 7 April 2025: 1.25 p.m.