By Tan Gim Ean | The Edge | Malaysia |
“What for you want to sell milk if you can go to university?” Pola Singh’s neighbours in Melaka might not have said this out loud, but they could see a better future for him and his older brother when the pair got places at University of Malaya.
Going to university was a game changer for his family as well as Kampung Ayer Leleh, where Pola and his nine siblings were born and raised. He and Jaib, the first person from their village to win a state scholarship, “broke the taboo” of impoverished kids having no chance to pursue tertiary education. Suddenly, the villagers — for whom even filling up a form was susah — saw that anyone could do it, if they worked hard.
University changed the course of this young man’s life. “I shed my inferiority complex and made new friends. I realised I was no longer the Pola Singh from Melaka. I was a new person with talent and brains.”
Pola, whose name denotes “a good man”, has certainly made good. He shares how his family made do with what they had in Uphill — The Journey of a Sikh-Chinese Kampung Boy and the brood inheriting values and a belief system from two worlds.
“My father tackled my mother because both of them knew Hokkien. But he told mum that at home, we must only speak Punjabi or Malay. My cowherd parents went for my convocation and could not understand what was going on. But they shed tears of joy.”
NOTE: POLA SINGH WILL TALK ABOUT HIS BOOK ON 14 MARCH 2023 AT GURDWARA SAHIB PETALING JAYA. Book priced at RM40, all proceeds from the sale will go to GSPJ. To attend, please RSVP to Sarjit Kaur (012 213 9005) by March 7, 2023. Seats limited to first 40.
The Movement Control Orders imposed in 2020 allowed Pola to reflect on his humble beginnings and write this book, after his first, My Reflections of Life (2016), a compilation of articles published in newspapers, periodicals and news websites.
He also wanted to leave a legacy for the younger generation so they will never forget how Tara Singh and Ram Kaur raised five girls and five boys through sweat and sacrifice but did not leave them a single sen. “So we didn’t quarrel. We had enough.”
In 1992, he joined the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department, where he served for more than seven years. The job gave him an in-depth working knowledge of economic and social development issues that affected the nation.
After 27 years in the civil service and just before turning 50, Pola opted to retire. He then did consultancy work for a Danish energy company before joining the Initiative for Asean Integration, established in 2000 to bridge the development gap within the association and enhance its competitiveness as a region. But flying to and from the Asean secretariat in Jakarta took a toll on his back. So, after four years, he decided to take a break from work.
In 2009, just as his back improved, he was offered the post of director-general of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, a policy institute parked under the Transport Ministry. The role involved removing deadwood and shaking up a few others in the name of change. Resistance to those measures caused him to lose sleep and he did not renew his contract in 2011.
Read the full article here.
RELATED STORY:
My Reflections of Life: New book by former Malaysian DG Pola Singh (Asia Samachar, 15 Aug 2016)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. When you leave a comment at the bottom of this article, it takes time to appear as it is moderated by human being. Unless it is offensive or libelous, it should appear. You can also comment at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here.
