GEORGE TOWN: Despite his frailty, M. Rajamoorthy can still vividly remember where he was on the eve of Aug 31, 1957.

       The 88-year-old former Tamil school teacher in Langkawi said he and a few other teachers had to return to Alor Setar after being told to gather at Balai Besar and wait for the announcement by then-Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

       “News had spread that at the stroke of midnight, we would be given our independence, breaking the shackles of British rule.

       “There was a loud cheer when we heard Tunku’s voice with the thunderous shouts of Merdeka. I still remember people shouting way after the ceremony was over.

       “I was 24 years old then. Like everyone else around me, I was feeling upbeat and in a jubilant mood.

       “We teachers had a fair amount of discussion on the Japanese and British rule and many of us were feeling let down when the British could not defend us during the Japanese invasion.”

       As such, Rajamoorthy said the British were looked upon as a “lesser power” after the Japanese left and when the war ended in 1945, people became vocal that the British rule must end.

       Rajamoorthy was born in Penang and was residing at Trusan Road near Sungai Pinang. He later joined the Malayan Reserve Force in 1952 as a special constable in PK Estate in Jitra, Kedah.

       “I was 20 years old and it wasn’t a job I was looking for as I was more interested in becoming a teacher.

       “However, my mother, through a relative who was a senior police officer, arranged the job for me.

       “After working for two years, I left to become a teacher in the Sungai Raya Estate in Langkawi in 1954.”

       Rajamoorthy received his early education at the Penang Hindu Sabha in Datuk Keramat Road and later at the River Road Tamil School in Sungai Pinang.

       “Life in Penang was a constant threat during the war.

       “I was barely 10 years old but I still have a distant memory of my mother telling us how we ran for shelter every time we heard the blaring horns that a bombing raid was on the way.”

       After the country gained its independence, Rajamoorthy was transferred to the United Plantation Estate (now Taman Ria) Tamil School in Sungai Petani, but left to do his own business in 1960.

       “I have been in Penang since 1984 as my son is residing here, while both my daughters are in Selangor.

       “I remember passing by Tunku’s house once in Park Road some time ago with my son.

       “I met him once in the early 1960s when he was the Prime Minister and have a group photo of him with the Indian drama troupe from India, which was here for the state show of Raja Raja Cholan.”