6 days ago
Reminiscing the old days in civil service
Chan (right) and his brother-in-law Pang Ming Lee posing in front of the Miri Post Office, in this photo taken in 1988.
WHEN I met 91-year-old Chan Choon Chieng for our interview in Miri recently, I was really amazed by his sharp mind.
I'm a retiree myself, yet I do not know that the current Miri Post Office near the Miri Civic Centre is not the original site.
Chan does. The former head postmaster confirmed to me that prior to 1977, the city's post office occupied a section of the Miri Resident's and District Office (Rando) building.
'Back then, during my younger days, that old post office was quite a happening place.
'When the post office moved to the new premises near the Miri Civic Centre, the office of the 'Majlis Islam' (Islamic Council) occupied the Rando Miri site,' said Chan as he recounted to me his life in Miri over the past 40 years.
Chan is now enjoying his retirement in Miri.
'Before and during postmaster's days'
It was reported that the Miri City Council (MCC) had recently proposed for 'Miri's Kilometre (KM) Zero' to be set up in front of the Miri Rando building, aimed at making that point a significant historical and tourism site for the city.
When told about the Miri KM Zero idea, Chan was beyond happy, making him more enthusiastic to tell me about his days as a civil servant.
'Initially, I wanted to work in the JKR (Public Works Department) as technician, but my application was rejected,' he chuckled.
'Then, I applied to the Post and Telegraph Department; back then, it was an agency under the Crown Colonial Government.
'I secured the post of a postal and telegraph clerk, and I started on May 1, 1960, with a monthly salary of $150 a month. Also, this job came with a yearly increment of $5.
'Then in 1962, I was sent to Singapore for postal training under the Colombo Plan for three months.
'In 1971, I was transferred to the Sarawak General Post Office in Kuching and after five months, I was transferred back to Miri where not long after that, I was promoted assistant postmaster.
'Then in 1977, I was sent to the Kuala Lumpur headquarters for an in-service training for one-and-a-half month, and to the Penang Post Office for another one-and-a-half month.
'At the time, the Miri Post Office was still within the Rando Miri building at Kingsway.
'It was relocated to its own building at Sylvia Road in 1976, when I was promoted the head postmaster.'
Chan said the nation's postal services provider underwent restructuring in 1984, and this was followed by privatisation.
However, it was a good change for him as he was promoted to assistant director of post and eventually, he became the senior assistant director until his retirement in 1989.
'In 1986, I was awarded the 'Pingat Perkhidmatan Bakti' (Loyal Service Award) by the Governor of Sarawak.
'It was during my time at Miri Post Office in 1987 that I saw an extension of its service, from having 1,000 P.O. (post office) boxes to 2,500.
'The building also underwent major beautification works,' he said.
(It is noteworthy to mention that in those days, owning a P.O. box signified one's high status in society. An individual P.O. box was regarded as a business address, in that the person could afford the rather high fee to rent one unit. Thus, the rise in the number of P.O. boxes recorded by Miri Post Office indicated its positive growth in terms of the services provided.)
Adding on, Chan cited the special recognition accorded to Miri Post Office just before his retirement as among his best memories in the civil service.
'In 1989, just before I retired, a group of judges from the national headquarters had adjudged Miri Post Office as 'The Model Post Office in Malaysia'.
'I was so proud of our department, mostly because we really adhered to the five-year government's austerity drive when our staff did all the repainting work on the building and carried out the beautification without ever hiring a contractor.'
Chan looking sharp in a bush jacket, his usual office attire during his senior-officer years at the Miri Post Office.
'Of oil company, and Singapore'
Chan's family actually hailed from Singapore.
In 1927, his father responded to a recruitment drive conducted by Sarawak Oil Fields Ltd, the forerunner of Sarawak Shell.
'This was in the 1920s when Sarawak Oil Company was looking for good workers and it needed recommendations from Singapore and Hong Kong.
'Unlike today where jobseekers can apply online, my father Chan Heng came to Miri all the way from Singapore in 1927 with a recommendation letter from Singapore Chinese Engineering Association to support his application to work for the oil company.
'Soon my mother, Chong Sin, came over from China to marry my father in 1930.
'My sister was born in 1933, and I, on July 4, 1934.
'Our house then was at the Shell barracks, which used to occupy a site at the present-day Kwang Tung Road.
'My grandmother Loi Ha, from China, came to join us in 1937,' Chan spoke about his family.
In 1940, Chan went to a Chinese primary school at China Street, but this was very short-lived as the school was taken down by the Japanese who invaded Miri in December 1941.
'We had to move to Krokop. Miri was very badly bombed,' he recalled.
After the war, Shell Company began to re-employ its workers, including Chan's father.
'However, in 1947, my father left Shell and the family returned to Singapore, with the intention of migrating to Hong Kong later on.
'But this plan never materialised. I ended up attending a Chinese school in Singapore – a combined kindergarten and primary education that lasted for about five years.'
Chan accepting his 'Pingat Perkhidmatan Bakti' from then-Head of State of Sarawak, Tun Datuk Patinggi Haji Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, back in 1986.
'Embracing Miri as home'
Fate took the Chans back to Miri.
'Father brought us back to Miri in 1950, where he obtained work at Chop Kit Siang, looking after the ship engine of MV Loon.
'In 1951, I joined Ngu Khoon Workshop and became its apprentice.
'In the morning, I went to St Joseph's Primary School at Brighton Road, where I attended until Primary 6.
'In the afternoon, I did motor repairs and welding works, but I stopped once I entered secondary school.
'In those days, the older teens were doing their best to obtain formal education. Many were still in primary school in their mid-teens.'
In 1959, Chan obtained Grade 3 in the Sarawak Local Junior Examination.
'Tai Chi every day'
Chan said he always had deep interest in the martial arts, and in 1972, he had the opportunity to learn Tai Chi.
'I do Tai chi exercises every day to maintain health and wellness.
'I believe I get to live up until 91, all thanks to Tai Chi – the moves bring the energy, power and force that travel through the body, and give vitality to every cell.'
I agreed with the man. When we met, I felt that his handshake was one of the most powerful that anybody could ever experience! I definitely felt the solid steel grip.
Chan is the sole surviving student of a Tai Chi school located near the present-day Gloria Hotel in Miri.
Since 1972, he has never stopped practising Tai Chi.
He does his exercise at Bulatan Park Miri almost every day, as long as the weather condition permits.
'To me, the true essence of Tai Chi is the journey of continuous self-improvement,' he said.
Chan looking sharp in a bush jacket, his usual office attire during his senior-officer years at the Miri Post Office.
'Bad experience with Special Branch'
Chan said while he was generally happy with how his career had turned out, there was a 'dark period' that he felt was an injustice to him.
'Now I'm in my 90s, I think I can disclose this now,' he said, which piqued my curiosity.
'It was in the 1960s,' he began the story.
'In that period, many Chinese were suspected of being involved in subversive elements.
'Seeing myself as a very faithful and loyal Malaysian, I was surprised and very upset by the smearing campaign targeting many of my fellow Chinese.
'Even more upsetting was how the Police Special Branch, at the time, were very diligent – in the most wrongful kind of way, I must say – in documenting their suspicion.'
Chan said he was among a few of those fortunate ones to have gone through such an ordeal and come out alright.
'I had a file, but it has long been 'declassified'.
'Still, I have that lump in my throat whenever I think about it, especially about one particular Special Branch man who made my life miserable.'
He continued: 'In those days letters to China were intercepted by the Special Branch, and I believed that he had intercepted my letters to China addressed to a Mr Wong, a former neighbour during our days in the Shell barracks.
'Wong had attended the Chung Hua School at Brighton Road in Miri before returning to China.
'In my letters to him, I did express frustration over the Brits (British) selling opium in China.
'According to my grandmother, my grandfather was once a wealthy merchant, but he ended up bankrupt and later, died penniless, all because of opium addiction.'
Chan said the Special Branch had ordered for a room to be provided for their man in Miri Post Office.
'That Special Branch guy really made it hard for me. He needed a promotion and thus, he made me a scapegoat of his every accusation.
'For years, my file remained active under the watch of the Special Branch, and was passed over to any new officer coming in.
'But I stood firm to my belief that I was always loyal to the Malaysian government.
'It took some two decades of changes in politics for my file to be declared 'unverified and unproven'.
'I was able to attain honourable retirement in 1989.
'I proved my loyalty and resilience, but most importantly, nothing bad ever happened to my family.
'The truth prevailed.'
Chan (second left) seen among the welcoming committee during a visit by Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, to Miri in 1988.
'Life outside work'
Today, Chan is enjoying retirement with his wife Pang Nyuk Foo, 86, who hails from Niah and is a former government midwife.
The couple is blessed with two sons: Chan Chun Lee, a bachelor who is a retired company manager; and Chan Meng Lee, a successful businessman now living in Johor Bahru with his wife and their two children.
'Life for us cannot be any better. I am very content.'
Right after retirement, Chan joined the Chinese Engineering Association of Miri and got elected as a committee member in 1990.
Later, he was made the secretary, which he served for six years until he was elected the association's chairman – a post that he held until 2022.
Now, his daily routine comprises going to bed at 9pm and waking up at 5am; getting his Tai Chi exercise in the morning; and then going for breakfast with friends at the Bulatan Commercial Centre.
'After that, it's daily shopping at Krokop 10 Market.
'These activities help me stay active and also bring me closer to the community,' he smiled. 1980s Chan Choon Chieng Miri Post Office
