My father's first job was as a golf caddie in Sentul Golf Club in the '20s which served the Sentul Railway Workshop staff. It was one of the oldest, if not the oldest golf club in Malaya, until it was taken over by YTL Land which continued the Sentul Raya project which was started and stalled by Taiping Consolidated. YTL closed down the club amid protests by club members. Its plans for more condominiums were not approved and they capitalized on the park, comparing it with St. James's Park in London.
Through recommendation by a railway engineer, my father got a job as apprentice in the railway workshop, working under Dato Wong Seng Chow's grandfather; and father of octogenarian, Ng Sek Kong who was also my school senior in Methodist Boys' Secondary School, Sentul. In fact, he was senior to even my eldest of brothers! I used to meet him in Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, and like me, he will repeat some old stories. Many of my former school mates were children of railway employees who live in the railway quarters which were being re-developed by YTL, like my old friend since Standard One, now in Sydney's Matraville.
Occasionally, I used to walk back from school, passing through the compounds of Sentul Railway Workshop. After we have moved from Jalan Ipoh to Jalan Pipit in the '60s, our house was even nearer to the golf club. In fact, for a number of years, my membership in Kinta Golf Club, Batu Gajah was used to patronize the Sentul Golf Club for lunches. My second brother's house is adjoining the fence at the back of the club house!
Just to make it interesting, our house is just a stone's throw from Samy Vellu's house off Jalan Ipoh, which in turn, is just a stone's throw from Teresa Kok's parents house in Rainbow Garden! But I had nothing to do with the molotov cocktails, ok?
Even when we were living in Jalan Ipoh (3 ¼ mile, to be precise, it being a long road), as a child I used to hear the distinctive siren of Sentul Railway Workshop calling its workers to start or stop work!
By strange coincidence, after I have moved to Batu Gajah in 1995, there was talk that the railway workshop will be moved from Sentul to Batu Gajah! Even the workshop decided to follow me! Now there is even talk that the Batu Cantonment, off Jalan Ipoh, will also be moving to BG! One thing for sure, I won't feel lonely here!
When my family was staying with my in-laws, the sounds of passing trains moving on the wooden sleepers were something we had got used to. Even now, our house being behind my in-laws, we can still hear the sounds of any train passing. Some people could not sleep because of it, but to us, it becomes a lullaby!
For those who have watched Agatha Christie's Murder on the Oriental Express, train journeys can be both nostalgic as well as romantic. When we were in Belgium, some of the older trains really reminded me of Oriental Express! The current Chanel advertisement on television captures the fantasy of romance on an overnight train journey best.
My son is secretly wishing that one day, he can actually come home on his own, taking the KLIA Express to KL Sentral, and then to Batu Gajah and walk home! This is subject to the success of my Petition to KTMB to have a scheduled stop at the old station! But believe me, this was not the reason why I am harping on it! I am sure, many people will thank me, if only KTMB management have a heart and listen to us.
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