![]() But then it was probably because there was a great need to win the hearts of the Foochows too. Radio Sarawak was very sensitive to the communal needs )Foochows and Hakkas) of the Chinese then. And believe it or not all of us then preferred the Foochow news. To this day I will remember how we used to gather around the transistor to listen to top news about how many communists were killed in the Sarawak jungle and then the news would end with rubber and pepper prices. The transistor radio took the place of the home radio was usually set up on the kitchen table or even on the open air hawkers' tables. Many families would gather to listen to the small transistor radio and enjoy the programmes like today's families which gather in front of the TV. I believe in those long ago days "showing off" was not the "done" thing and probably a transistor radio was a family belonging and no child would take it to school. No one of course brought it to school (unlike the children today) to show off. The transistor radio continued to be an important part of our lives from the 60's. Perhaps some of the boys did but I would never know. And probably we were all under the impression that by touching it the radio would "spoil".Īpart from Rosie no one else owned a transistor radio in the school for a long time. I believe that at that time the word "materialism" was not in our vocabulary. I am glad that that was my first introduction to "a sense of property ownership". My young colleagues call it "happening" person.īecause the new "toy" was so precious to all of us none of us dare to touch it. Today this kind of social pecking order still exists especially in the fashion scene. She held the important social position as the girl who "would be the rist to sing the new pop songs" because she had the transistor radio. She was a very pleasant senior girl with a good personality. The small radio would produce the English songs like "Oh Carol" and "Wooden Heart" and all of us would sing along with her. My first awareness came from a girl from Sarikei (Rosie) who loved singing and she had one which she proped on her girls' hostel table. ![]() Even though a small pocket size transistor radio cost about $60 (at that time currency was the dollar) it was beyond the means of many students. This was the the 60's equivalent of the iPod.
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