Childhood memories

1.   I have only hazy memories of my childhood. When I was 4 or 5 years old, my father used to take us to Pulau Pinang. What still remains in my memory are vague images of a grand mansion, moving trams on the streets of Georgetown, monkeys and snakes.
   
2.   It was the mansion that had fascinated me most. It was situated on a slope by the side of a lonely road, with a flight of stone steps which led to the door. The surrounding area was still green virgin forest. On the other side of the road, the greenery was fenced off by long bamboo stems raised on posts about a metre high. The place was so quiet and peaceful. My mother used to tell me that my father’s mother lived in the “big house.”
3.   Sometimes it makes me wonder why my father, a scion of a well-to-do family, had come over from Pulau Pinang to pursue a career in civil service in Alor Star. One account stated that

   “... Through the influence of H.H. Tunku Ibrahim, Ismail Merican, another Senior Assistant Master at the Penang Free School and … a great friend of Ibrahim, was appointed headmaster of the  school (Government English School)* in 1911.” - http://kevinlim95.blogspot.my/

4.   It might have been his aptitude for the English language that had driven him to become a teacher and then to work his way up and become an assistant in the Legal Adviser’s office. During his time in the Kedah Civil Service, he had also worked as auditor and registrar of the High Court. But I think it was during his time in the Legal Adviser’s office that he had made a significant contribution to the state namely his work in translating the enactments.
   
   
   
   *Mine in brackets.