“Hello Daniel. This is Seng Keng,” Lim Seng Keng comes a calling after he and Daniel had got themselves reacquainted at the Trafalgar Square. Daniel opens the door and is pleasantly surprised to see not only Seng Keng but also fellow Malaysians and former classmates, Johar and Muthu. “Hi Johar, Muthu! I am so glad to see both you here in London”, Daniel exchanged pleasantries with his friends. He then promptly leads them to the lounge and proceeds to boil water and serves them English tea and biscuits he bought from Marks & Spenser.
Although Daniel and Lim Seng Keng were classmates in the Fifth Form, they were not particularly close. Daniel at the time was heavily into the pop culture scene in KL, experiencing it with his band mates and at the same time falling head over heels in love with Janet. Lim Seng Keng was a studious student who consistently achieved good grades in class tests and exams. Teachers would heap praises on him and he quickly became the role model to other students in school. For Seng Keng comes from a very ordinarily humble background. His father came from China to seek a better life for his family. He worked as a waiter in the Majestic Hotel, leaving 3-year old Seng Keng and his mother behind. Seng Keng is the only child. After working in the hotel for two years and saving enough money, his father sent for his wife and son to join him in Malaya. Mother and son came by sea in a dilapidated Chinese junk and had to endure perilous weather conditions before reaching Kuala Lumpur to be reunited with his father. His mother also found work in the hotel. She worked as a laundry lady; basically washing and ironing the clothes of the hotel guests. They lived in the workers’ quarters situated behind the hotel. Sometimes, Seng Keng has to help out to supplement the family’s meager income, especially during festive periods such Christmas and New Year when the hotel organized midnight balls and dances for the British soldiers and officers serving in Malaya. The hotel needed extra hands to serve the guests and so Seng Keng would readily volunteer to wait at the tables. Despite his underprivileged situation, Seng Keng was a disciplined lad and determined to focus on his studies to achieve good results, much to the admiration of his teachers. His background also attracted the attention of one certain British foreign diplomat who was serving in Malaya at the time. The diplomat took a liking to Seng Keng. Maybe he took pity on him or perhaps it was because out of all the hotel workers, Seng Keng was the only one who could converse in understandable English with him when he went to the hotel for dinner functions. He was often invited to the home of the British diplomat and he quickly cemented strong friendships with the diplomat’s four young children, especially with his eldest teenage daughter. No wonder Seng Keng’s view of the world was dictated by all things British. Instead of going home after classes, he would often head straight to the British Library at Federal Hill. The Library was practically his second home. He would read English novels, English magazines and newspapers from England. Classmates would turn to him for general knowledge on Great Britain. Daniel particularly remembers Seng Keng has very good and impressive knowledge on British military planes, especially those employed in the World War II. His particular interest was in the Supermarine Spitfire which was a British single-seat fighter plane used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout WW II. He took great pride in showing off his knowledge on this particularly fighter plane. He would cut out images and drawings of the Spitfire from magazines and newspapers and show them to his classmates. He took great pride in explaining to his classmates that the Spitfire was the best short range high performance interceptor aircraft as it could perform a higher top speed than other fighter planes at the time which was the reason why Spitfire has been successful in carrying out the mission of home defence against enemy bombers. Seng Keng was the one who could explain with almost an authority the difference between a fighter plane and a bomber plane. At the time, Seng Keng was often seen with the pretty white teenage daughter of the British diplomat. They often went to the British Library together. On a few occasions, Seng Keng brought her to the school to watch the school’s debates and concerts, much to the envy of his classmates. They were also seen holding hands and talking intimately with each other. As expected, Seng Keng scored grade 1 at his Form 5 Cambridge exams. He was nowhere to be seen after that. Later, Daniel learnt from his close friend that Seng Keng has gone to study in London.
“Why study so hard for a degree Daniel?”, Seng Keng asks. “Is it because you want to have a well paid job so that you can accumulate wealth and fame? Do you know that the vast majority of peoples in the world are the poor workers and they are being exploited by the bourgeoisie?”, he continues. “No. Not really. I always like history, especially the study of human behavior . I also like archaeology, the skeletal remains of humans and animals buried underneath the earth reveal very interesting theories on evolution and about ourselves”, Daniel replies in defence. “ This is capitalist thinking, Daniel. You should go to the masses, be with the masses, and be part of the masses. If you like to study humanity, then you should know that throughout history, men accumulated wealth through exploitation of the working class, the proletariat. A country’s economy is controlled by few filthy rich men. They live in opulence and privileges while the larger population live in poverty and hardship. Communism is the only legitimate political system that could save the world from decay, corruption and injustice. We need a cultural revolution like what is happening in China,” Seng Keng preaches, not paying attention to what Daniel has said. “What about both of you? What is your ideology?” Daniel turns round to ask Johar and Muthu. “My father sent me here to study accountancy so that I could one day take over his business”, Muthu answers. “But, this is not the life I want. The good life should be the common good for all. Capitalism is shallow.”, Muthu reveals histhought. “Well, I have a government scholarship to study law. I not sure if I want to go home after I have finished my law studies. I am thinking of going to China to experience and learn about class struggle there. Like China, our country also has two social classes, i.e. the proletariat and the capitalists. We need a revolution that would lead to a socialist society in which the proletariat should control the state and its economy; a workers' democracy instead of bourgeois dictatorship”, it is Johar’s turn to give his views. “Gosh, how they have changed”, Daniel thinks to himself. The three of them then bid goodbye to Daniel. Seng Keng then slipped a copy of Chairman Mao’s Thoughts into Daniel pocket on his way out. Daniel’s interest was aroused by the ideology propounded by his friends. He started to read books and conducting research on political ideologies between capitalism and communism. He reads Karl Max and of course the Little Red Book left by Seng Keng. He is fascinated by Mao’s famed Long March and his eventual victory in turning a corrupt capitalist China into a communist state for the benefit of the proletariat which is a role model for many third world countries. One day Daniel called up Seng Keng and invited him for dinner a Chinese restaurant in China Town. “ Seng Keng, you have changed a lot since I last saw you. You used to be a shy introvert but now I see you are very politically minded and speaking your mind. I know you have an English girlfriend when you were in Form 5. How is she? “, Seng Keng asks politely, trying not to show his curiosity. “Well, it’s a long story Daniel. But since you asked, I shall let you know. Yes, I came here to study HND mainly because of her. I loved her so much and it was she who wrote to me and encouraged me to come to study in London so that we could be together again. But, you know what? I had the biggest disappointment in my life when I finally met up with her after arriving London, only to find out that she was going out with an English boy”, Seng Keng relates his story, still feeling the hurt from the look on his face. After dinner, Seng Keng suggested to Daniel to put a night at his flat which he is sharing with Johar and Muthu. It was a small flat with 2 rooms and a tidy lounge. Daniel found out that the flat is actually rented by Johar and Muthum, who occupy a room each. Seng Keng was only temporarily putting up at their place. Seng Keng usually sleeps on the sofa of the lounge. Daniel has to sleep on the lounge floor, with mattress borrowed from Johar. Daniel found out that Seng Keng usually comes home late because he needs to work as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant in order to pay for his tuition fees at the South Bank Polytechnics. They talked some more about class struggle and the communism ideology. Daniel sympathized with Seng Keng’s station in life. He then offers him to come stay with him. He has a big room with two single beds. Seng Kend does not need to pay rent. Seng Keng accepts his invitation. Daniel was impressed by the unselfish idea of sharing a nation’s resources and wealth among her common men and women. No class divide, everyone working for one another, one for all and all for one. How happy are the proletariat, how equal are men and women, how incredibly simple. It’s a utopia! Daniel starts to adorn in Mao’s jacket and Mao’s cap. He holds a copy of ‘The Thoughts of Chairman Mao’ in his hand as he walks round the campus. It gives him an air of enlightenment. He even joins Seng Keng, Johar and Muthu on their weekly visits to other students to try to convince them to believe in class struggle through ‘cultural revolution’.
In due course, Daniel noticed an aspect of Seng Keng’s personality which he tries very hard to overlook. But without much success as he is now living with him in his flat. Seng Keng would get up late in the mornings due to his evening part-time work in the Chinese restaurant. Daniel thought he must be frequently late for his polytechnics. How does he fair in his studies? What reason does he give to his lecturers for his lateness? Daniel often asks himself. For Seng Keng always has this sad scowling look on his face in the morning. The kind of look that expresses as if why him of all the people, who has to struggle throughout all his life, that life has done him wrong, life has done him great injustice, that he deserves better. He also complaints in the mornings. The guests he served the previous night in the restaurant annoyed him. His lecturers who gave him poor marks annoyed him. Fellow students who argue with him annoyed him. Daniel is the type who wants to start his mornings with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. He wants to start his day bright and cheerful. One day Daniel came home and saw a betting ticket on the table next to Seng Keng’s bed. He had bought a 50pence betting ticket with Ladbrokes the bookies . He was betting on a horse race in the weekend. Daniel kept this to himself; he thought Seng Keng did this because he needed the money. Poor soul, he blessed him. However, two weeks passed and one day Daniel decided to come home early from his lecture because he was runner up a fever. He could not concentrate in class and wanted to come home early for a much needed rest. He found the door to his room locked. After knocking it a hard a few times, Seng Keng opened the door. To Daniel’s surprise, he saw a white naked girl in his bed covered underneath his blanket. He had brought home a girl for sex in his room while Daniel was in the university. Out went Seng Keng and out went Daniel’s Mao jacket, Mao’ cap and Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book!
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