Journey Through Life – A Synopsis
I was born in 1938, at Kampong Loyang Besar in Changi, three years before the Second World War, and grew up durng the Japanese Occupation eating ubi kayu as a staple diet. My family stayed at Kim Chuan Municipal Quarters. As a kid, better known among relatives as “Odin”, I had great fun playing with Sanip, Rohana Ibrahim and others in the Quarters’ compound.
I started school in 1946 at Sekolah Melayu Kampong Sireh (Upper Serangoon Road). Walked all the way to school through rubber estate, coconut plantation and the Chinese kampong. Later, I attended the Sekolah Melayu Sepoy Lines. On completion Darjah 4, I got admitted to Outram Afternoon School in 1950. In the entrance examination, I came first and gained admission to Raffles Institution in 1954, then the premier secondary school in Singapore. My father had passed away in 1953, and we moved from Park Road Municipal Quarters in Chinatown to stay with Datok Siraj at Jalan Alsagoff in Geylang Serai. Life was hard, I had to cycle all the way from Geylang Serai to Bras Basah Road every day to attend school. There was hardly any coin in the pocket at recess time.
After finishing School Certificate, I started work as an Accounts Clerk in the Adelphi Hotel and later joined the Government Service as a Laboratory Assistant. I climbed up the ladder to become the Chief Lab Technician, at the Middle Road Hospital in 1985. I was the only Malay to have reached such position in the Laboratory Service at that point of time. In 1989 I accepted the offer to organise and head the Laboratory Department at the National Skin Centre Pte Ltd when Middle Road Hospital was restructured. I left the Centre in 1998 on reaching the official retirement age at 60. In 1999 I joined the Raffles Academy as a part-time lecturer for the Nottingham Trent University degree programme.
My interest in higher education began when I was awarded a WHO Fellowship to study Immunological Techniques at the Alfred Hospital, Monash University in Melbourne in 1977. Subsequently, I obtained a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Science from Riverina College of Advanced Education in New South Wales and a Master of Medical Science Degree from the University of Tasmania. In all these endeavours, I was fortunate to have the strong support and encouragement from both my wife Sofia and daughter Lyn. Lyn and I studied together for our higher education. She obtained a Master Degree in Hospitality and Tourism from Bournemouth University, and for me a Doctorate Degree in Organisation Behaviour from University of Wales, Swansea.
My other interests were in voluntary work and professional development. In the 1960s and 70s, I was actively involved with the Persatuan Persuratan Pemuda Pemudi Melayu (4PM) a Malay/Muslim VWO. Later I branched out, and formed the Singapore Association for Medical Laboratory Science, became its President in 1985 and chaired the Third ASEAN Conference in Medical Laboratory Technology in 1989, the first regional conference of its kind held in Singapore. It was attended by 28 countries.
Alhamdulillaah life has been good and I am enjoying it.
I was born in 1938, at Kampong Loyang Besar in Changi, three years before the Second World War, and grew up durng the Japanese Occupation eating ubi kayu as a staple diet. My family stayed at Kim Chuan Municipal Quarters. As a kid, better known among relatives as “Odin”, I had great fun playing with Sanip, Rohana Ibrahim and others in the Quarters’ compound.
I started school in 1946 at Sekolah Melayu Kampong Sireh (Upper Serangoon Road). Walked all the way to school through rubber estate, coconut plantation and the Chinese kampong. Later, I attended the Sekolah Melayu Sepoy Lines. On completion Darjah 4, I got admitted to Outram Afternoon School in 1950. In the entrance examination, I came first and gained admission to Raffles Institution in 1954, then the premier secondary school in Singapore. My father had passed away in 1953, and we moved from Park Road Municipal Quarters in Chinatown to stay with Datok Siraj at Jalan Alsagoff in Geylang Serai. Life was hard, I had to cycle all the way from Geylang Serai to Bras Basah Road every day to attend school. There was hardly any coin in the pocket at recess time.
After finishing School Certificate, I started work as an Accounts Clerk in the Adelphi Hotel and later joined the Government Service as a Laboratory Assistant. I climbed up the ladder to become the Chief Lab Technician, at the Middle Road Hospital in 1985. I was the only Malay to have reached such position in the Laboratory Service at that point of time. In 1989 I accepted the offer to organise and head the Laboratory Department at the National Skin Centre Pte Ltd when Middle Road Hospital was restructured. I left the Centre in 1998 on reaching the official retirement age at 60. In 1999 I joined the Raffles Academy as a part-time lecturer for the Nottingham Trent University degree programme.
My interest in higher education began when I was awarded a WHO Fellowship to study Immunological Techniques at the Alfred Hospital, Monash University in Melbourne in 1977. Subsequently, I obtained a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Science from Riverina College of Advanced Education in New South Wales and a Master of Medical Science Degree from the University of Tasmania. In all these endeavours, I was fortunate to have the strong support and encouragement from both my wife Sofia and daughter Lyn. Lyn and I studied together for our higher education. She obtained a Master Degree in Hospitality and Tourism from Bournemouth University, and for me a Doctorate Degree in Organisation Behaviour from University of Wales, Swansea.
My other interests were in voluntary work and professional development. In the 1960s and 70s, I was actively involved with the Persatuan Persuratan Pemuda Pemudi Melayu (4PM) a Malay/Muslim VWO. Later I branched out, and formed the Singapore Association for Medical Laboratory Science, became its President in 1985 and chaired the Third ASEAN Conference in Medical Laboratory Technology in 1989, the first regional conference of its kind held in Singapore. It was attended by 28 countries.
Alhamdulillaah life has been good and I am enjoying it.
KAMARUDIN ALI, PhD (Wales)
Email: goldwater7838@gmail.com
1 comment:
Assalamualaikum,
Well done! Nice to see your blog up and running. Yes, we're in the 21st century and like it or not, one way or another we are bound to deal with digital cyberspace or the internet in our daily activities. It just makes sense, especially with the younger generations growing up surfing the information highway.
As a supporter of this family tree project, i am your number one blog follower. Hope this will continue with our future generations to come, Insha'Allah. Once again, my sincere heartfelt thanks to all involved in making this dream idea/project a reality. Very much appreciated. Without your dedications, commitments and sacrifices, this wouldn't have materialised. Yeah, "Go For Gold!".
Salam Manis.
Hassan(Dzul)& Julie Mohd. Pilus
Melbourne, Australia.
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