Taking pride in my roots as an estate boy

COMMENT | My late father arrived in Malaya in 1934 after finishing his Senior Cambridge in Ceylon (which is now known as Sri Lanka). All his working life was spent in the estates.

When I was born, he was working as a conductor in Golden Hope Estate in Klang (where the Bayu Mas Cricket Oval is situated) and then moved to Ebor Estate which is now part of USJ Heights in Subang Jaya.

Like most parents, there was an emphasis on education because they believed that knowledge is the future of their children. I went to the Ebor Estate Tamil School at the age of five before moving to the Simpang Lima English School, which is now known as Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Simpang Lima in Klang, and thereafter to Klang High School for my secondary education.

Among my schoolmates were boys from different backgrounds – from the backwaters of Klang to the rubber estates scattered on both sides of what is now known as the Federal Highway.

In our community, there were then (and still are) too many people with the same names like Kandiah, Ponniah, Ponnampalam, etc...