Monday, September 16, 2013
E7 Down Memory Lane
When movie tickets cost 50 cts By Georgette Tan
T
he greatest weekend a kid could have growing up in post-independence Malaysia was a Saturday movie marathon at the local cinemas. In those days, a cineplex was something not within the realms of possibility. Instead, Gordon Tan, 56, recalled getting on his bicycle first thing in the morning, and spending the rest of the day cycling from cinema to cinema to see as many movies as he could in a day. “I remember cycling around one weekend to watch as many movies as I could. I cycled from Capitol, to Odeon, to Lido, to Rex, and to Cathay. It didn’t matter what movie was showing. You start at the 10.30am show, then the 1pm, try to hit the 3pm, then 6pm and midnight.” He would buy the 50 cent tickets, and if the good seats were not full, move up to the $1.10 seats when the show started. Tan still remembered the last movie he watched at Odeon Jackie Chan’s ‘Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow’. “Of course, we watched all the James Bond and Bruce Lee movies,” he said, adding that movies today rely a lot of special effects, with more science fiction genres available. Spiderman, Superman and The Avengers were limited to
I remember cycling around one weekend to watch as many movies as I could. I cycled from Capitol, to Odeon, to Lido, to Rex, and to Cathay. It didn’t matter what movie was showing. You start at the 10.30am show, then the 1pm, try to hit the 3pm, then 6pm and midnight. — Gordon Tan
the printed page when he was a kid. Now they’re on the big screen as movies. Tan quipped that Spiderman was his least favourite comic book character because the story was always ‘to be continued’ in the next issue. One experience he was glad to experience was his first plane ride, following his father to Sibu for a day trip. “We flew in the Dakota, the War World 2 plane, before the Fokker Friendship. I’m glad because after that, there wasn’t any more Dakota. I don’t remember how long it took. I only know my ears hurt and it was noisy.” Tan left Malaysia for further studies in 1974, on board a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane, but for family holidays in his childhood days, they flew to Singapore on the Malaysia Singapore Airlines (MSA). Born just before the formation of the Malaya federation, Tan possessed a British birth certificate and went to an English medium school - St Joseph’s. He went on to do his A-levels, followed by chemical engineering in England. Going to univer-
sity in the seventies meant that you’d either graduate as a doctor or engineer, Tan explained. He eliminated the medical profession from his options because biology did not come naturally to him, and because of a lecturer that made things difficult for him in class. “I found out I could drop biology so I did.” Tan described himself as a numbers person, therefore adapting better to physics, mathematics and chemistry. Today, he is the office network lines manager for an international company supplying solutions to the oil and gas industry, with 1,200 offices across the globe under his care and a budget of US$60 million. “I started nearly 33 years ago as an offshore chemical engineer pumping cement. I was based in Miri, but the rigs are usually in the waters of Sabah,” said Tan, who is now based in Houston, Texas. When asked what buildings from his childhood he wished was still around, the first answer was an unsurprising one. “Our house. The one I was born
in: The government quarters at Satok road. Now it’s just a garden. And St Michael’s canteen. I have memories of walking to school, before reaching museum, taking kolo mee at St Michael’s.” But everything changes, he said. What hasn’t changed is the people of Sarawak. “People in Kuching are still very friendly and simple. Maybe the younger generation are more aware of global trends because of the Internet and because of what they have - smartphones, mobile devices. They are more aligned with what’s happening globally and try to follow the trend.” There are also more local colleges and roads now, he added. “But we are still very considerate of one another despite the different cultures.” Tan expressed his hope that Sarawak continued to be peaceful and united as a state and multi-cultural people group, tolerant to each other in terms of religion and freedom in expressing those beliefs. “If there are any restrictions to any groups because of their race or religious beliefs, I hope that can be overcome so we can focus on the land we have. There is still growth opportunities in Sarawak. The development still happening, we’re still a little bit behind some areas. We can still learn from other parts of Malaysia how we can do things better.” A DIFFERENT TIME: Gordon Tan with his British birth certificate.