About half a century has elapsed since I last read an Agatha Christie novel.  I was in Form One or Form Two at Kai Chung Middle School in Binatang when I read my first Agatha Christie novel. After such a long lapse, I did not know what to expect when I first started reading Death in the Clouds. According to ...

A friend of mine lent me the book “1963 A Slice of Bread and Jam” by Tommy Rhattigan a couple of months ago but because I have so many books on my TBR list, I did not get around to reading it until a couple of days ago. I thought it is a gloomy type of book about abject poverty ...

I had a dream a few nights ago I was still a kid in Bintangor The Rejang River was in high tide My delight I could not hide.   Stripped down to my cotton pants I raced to the river bank Into the river I dived Piercing through the water like a knife.   Swimming in the river were my ...

Masuk bilek, tutup pintu, tutup lampu, buka kain, main main. If you can answer the above riddle easily, it means you are most likely in your 50s or 60s now. Yes, I am talking about watching movies at the cinemas. What were you thinking about? Growing up in Binatang, I often tagged along with my parents or my friends to ...

I was born in a very small town but for the past 35 years, I have called Miri my home. The small-town boy in me never truly goes away. Time and again, I am caught up in nostalgia whenever I recall my childhood days in Binatang (now known as Bintangor). The recent sale of my dad’s shophouse in Bintangor has ...

I lost my Mum to lung cancer on August 30, 2016 and that has made me realise how transient life is. She was still in reasonably good shape albeit feeling tired and a bit breathless when I went to Kuching on August 14. I never expected her to leave us so soon. She was first diagnosed with terminal lung cancer ...

Small and laid back, Conjuring images of the outback, Along the lower reaches of the mighty Rejang it sits, Capital of Meradong District it is.   Inhabitants predominantly Foochows, Industrious like hardworking cows, Binatang is its old name, Green tangerines bring it fame.   Vibrant and lively in the old days, The town deteriorated in many ways, Riverine life quietened, ...

I am a lucky guy! Lucky to have been born in Sarawak, the Land of the Hornbills where there had never been a need for 1Malaysia to instill racial harmony among the people. Laidback, peaceful and beautiful. Lucky to have spent the first seventeen years of my life in Binatang (now Bintangor). Yes, the Animal Town where everybody seemed to ...

It is sad to hear the news that Omar Sharif has died aged 83 from a heart attack yesterday afternoon in a hospital in Cairo. It was announced in May that he had Alzheimer’s disease. I was in lower secondary at Kai Chung Middle School in Binatang when I watched Lawrence of Arabia at the Eastern Theatre and that was ...

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. – Richard Steele, Tatler, 1710 It was during my primary school days at St Augustine’s Primary School in Binatang that I picked up reading as a hobby. I devoured books by Enid Blyton and immersed myself in the world of the Famous Five and Secret Seven. I would drop ...