“Kau hisap rokok, aku patah-patahkan tangan kau!”
This statement by En Kandan Saikun is what I remember most about him. He had gathered all of us on the badminton court between Hostel C and the Dining Hall one night, and issued the statement. Looking the part of a full-fledged WWE pro wrestler, I believed him. He scared the pants off of me enough to actually make me stop smoking!
I stopped for almost 3 hours.
No doubt about it, En Kandan had created an impactful first impression. But despite the gruff exterior, the eccentric way he wore his Johnson boots, his ‘take-no-prisoners’ demeanour, En Kandan turned out to be one of the gentlest and most caring person I have had the honour of knowing.
I know this for a fact when I was caught ‘liau-ing’ and brought to his office. I thought that I was going to have at least an arm and a leg broken (if I was lucky). As it turned out, he sat me down and had a chat with me. His fatherly tone was open, compassionate and surprisingly very sensitive. He was genuinely interested to know why I kept breaking the rules and how he could help me.
When it was his turn to speak, he gently shared with me some of his experience and wisdom. By the time he was finished, I was so touched that I was ready to swear that I would never break another rule again if I lived to be 125 years old! He stopped me just in time. Then smiled he smile and said I could go.
And as I walked out of his office, he screamed at he top of his voice, “LAIN KALI KAU KELUAR MALAM LAGI, AKU PATAH-PATAHKAN KAKI KAU!” Everyone in the administration office must have heard him and were probably wondering what hell I had just been through with him.
Stunned, I looked back at him for some clue as to what just happened. He smiled and winked.
- Pian Boe -
2 responses so far ↓
Jenk // July 23, 2008 at 12:05 am |
A small correction about the article above… Actually we were gathered at the badminton court because one of the kitchen staff (don’t know who or which one but I could never forget ‘Akak Mondok’, ‘abang bapok’ et al. ) reported that somebody had broken into the kitchen and stole a few chicken… In his attempt to solicit a confession En. Kandan isuued a threat… “…Baiklah… kalau tak ada yang mengaku dan kalau aku dapat tangkap siapa, aku akan patah-patahkan tangan dia…”. I believed that’s how the incident goes… Correct me if I’m wrong…
Badique // July 29, 2008 at 8:19 pm |
I guess Jenk & Zambo remember well the time 3 of us went to Kandan’s office in UniKL probably 2 yrs back.
He WAS smoking one stick after the one…he saw us (probably Jenk’s gian face..) and beamed..”hisapla..bukan aku tak tahu korang hisap dari sekolah lagi..!”
I took my cigarette out of my pocket faster than Jenk…..