Memories of a lifetime
Former tailor recalls joyful atmosphere on Aug 31, 1957
PETALING JAYA: It was Aug 31, 1957, and Ng Nyot Ngo recalled wearing a kebaya and going for a movie that day.
“Everyone looked so happy. They were cheering and chanting ‘ Merdeka, merdeka’. I also cheered with my friends although we did not quite understand what it really meant at that time,” recalled Ng, who was 15 years old then.
On that day, Ng watched a Elvis Presley movie in Kluang. The King of Rock and Roll was her teenage crush.
“It was part of the celebration. We got free tickets and had a great time,” Ng, 74, recalled.
Back then, she would always wear a kebaya when she went out with friends.
“Very few women wore baju kurung then. It was quite common to see women, regardless of race, wearing the kebaya for their outings.
“I look like a Malay. That is why I wore a kebaya. But I did not know how to tie the kain so I simply did it,” she said, laughing.
Ng’s husband, Francis George Thomas, used to serve in the British army reserves during the pre-independence period. He died in 1993 at the age of 62. The couple have four children . They are what Malaysians would fondly refer to as “Chindians”.
Now very much involved in the lives of her children and six grandchildren, Ng – who used to be a tailor – helps to pick up her grandchildren from school.
Ng’s daughter Reisha Jessie Thomas, 42, who also has four children, described her mother as someone who feels deeply about racial harmony.
She said Ng would encourage her children and grandchildren to give gifts to their neighbours not only during festivals but each time they returned from holidays abroad.
“She would give gifts and oranges to her neighbours, and always reminds me to do so,” said Reisha.
Today Ng, who lives in Batu Berendam, Malacca, enjoys the companionship of her neighbours.
“There is a Malay family who lives next door to my mother,” said Reisha, adding that “Kak Mona” was always giving her mother a helping hand without being asked.
The Peranakan family who lived across from Ng’s house were also regular visitors, she said.