In 1974, I had the honour of representing SMK Methodist at the inter-school divisional level of sepak takraw. As an Upper Sixth student, I led a group of eight students, mostly junior boys from our school. We travelled by motor express boat from Sibu to SMK SEDAYA (Sekolah Datuk Abdul Rahman Yaakub), near Kanowit town. Accompanying us was a Malay teacher, whose name I can’t recall.
Our journey took place in the late afternoon, as the tournament was scheduled to start early the next day, around April of that year. Upon arriving at the school, located by the majestic Rajang River, we disembarked and reported to the school office. From a distance, I spotted the principal, Christopher Sawan Jiram, whom I would come to know many years later.
We were then led to a clean and prepared classroom, which served as our lodging. Adjacent to it was a separate building with toilets and washrooms. The classroom, situated on the ground floor of a two-storey building, was surrounded by numerous birds, especially swallows. I noticed a few swallows flying from left to right, known in Iban belief as ‘mimpin,’ which signifies not gaining anything. On the contrary, a flight from right to left, called ‘ngeraup,’ indicates gaining since the right hand is used to collect something. Although the other Malay boys were unaware of this belief, I kept my thoughts to myself, hoping that the swallows’ flights held no significance for our competition the next day.
After being shown the way to the washrooms, we showered and gathered in the dining hall for dinner around 5:45 pm. While I can’t recall the specific items offered, the dinner was satisfactory. Following dinner, the school’s sports teacher briefed us about the upcoming tournament. It became apparent that most secondary schools in the Third Division were participating. We entered teams for both the senior boys and junior boys sections. Although I, at the age of 20, was eligible for the senior boys’ category, three younger boys from our team played alongside me.
After the briefing, we were informed about a social gathering scheduled to take place in the dining hall around 8 pm. This sparked the curiosity of our young boys, as I was the only boarder among them since primary school. Thus, I took on the role of guiding them, as our teacher was nowhere to be seen.
The highlight of the gathering was the school band, led by the principal himself, Christopher Sawan Jiram, who was busy giving instructions before their entertaining performances. The band started with the popular instrumental piece ‘Sendandung Malam,’ which our boys thoroughly enjoyed. Following that, students took turns singing songs, with one particular boy delivering an impressive rendition of Cliff Richard’s ‘Young Ones.’ He went on to perform another Cliff Richard number, ‘Visions,’ showcasing his astounding ability to sound like a renowned artist. By 9:30 pm, we concluded the day’s events and returned to our classroom lodging, where we retired after sharing some jokes that I had created.
The next morning, a Saturday, we prepared for breakfast consisting of bread and eggs in the school dining hall. Subsequently, we were shown the sepak takraw courts where the tournament would take place. Our match was scheduled a bit later, as the preceding two matches did not involve our school. When our turn came, the junior boys played first. They advanced to the semi-finals in the afternoon. However, in the senior boys’ category, where I competed, we won the first round but lost to SMK Sacred Heart in the second round. My earlier observation and interpretation of the birds’ flights turned out to be accurate, indicating no gains. However, I chose to keep this to myself, as our junior boys still had a good chance of success.
Our teacher became more involved, particularly after noticing the promising performance of our junior team in the afternoon semi-finals against SMK Luar Bandar Oya, Sibu. Their match took place around 2:30 pm, and they progressed to the finals against the host school, SMK SEDAYA. Having witnessed their opponents’ victory over Catholic High in the earlier semi-finals, I knew our boys would face a formidable challenge. True to my expectations, with the home crowd cheering for their school, our boys fell short but put up a valiant fight. Nevertheless, our teacher was content with the silver medals earned by the four boys.
We managed to catch the last express boat from Kapit just in time. The atmosphere was filled with happiness following their silver medal achievement. Around 6:30 pm, we were picked up from the wharf in Sibu by another teacher who then took me to the Methodist School’s hostel where I lodged.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the New Sarawak Tribune.
