My early days began with a couple of health problems. Before I reached the age of 2 years old, I suffered from fits and severe seizures. My mother, quite naturally, became frightened and rushed me to the hospital that happened to be very close to our home in Ulu Remis. My mother told me that my father was not too perturbed even though I was the first boy child in the family. By God’s grace, I survived and I was told that this was a huge miracle.
After the fits and seizures, I grew up to become extremely naughty! I used to chase frogs and snakes, starting from the age of 4 years old. Somehow, I was not scared. Looking back, and listening to what my mother told me, I do not know why I was behaving like this. I managed to grow more naughty as the years went by. The advantage we all had was the fact that we had a lot of beautiful fruit trees and wonderful workers who helped to maintain our home and the land we lived on. I can proudly say, looking back, that it was a great version of the Eden gardens that I imagined!
Unfortunately, I had severe stammering till the age of eleven. The biggest change came to me, at the age of nine years old, when I went from being extremely talkative to becoming a good student in class. I started studying better and involving myself in athletics. Gradually, I topped my class in all the subjects that we were taught. Mathematics and English were my favorite subjects. My mother and second sister inspired me to take up Mathematics seriously and I began to love the subject. That love has stuck with me till this day!
Another important transition came to me when I was 11 years old. I was inspired to start reading the Bible and my purpose was just to improve my English. The Bible helped me to improve my English by leaps and bounds. Even my strict English grammar teacher praised me for my writing skills and I will always remember his encouragement.
The biggest breakthrough in my youth came when I was placed as the number one in a Malaysian National examination for students in grade 6 (standard 6 as it was called). As a result of my achievement, I received a prize – a book about Albert Einstein – and this transformed my whole outlook about life!
