THE MEMOIRS OF MUSTAPHA HUSSAIN - Malaysia Today

Malay School Education 47
delegated his task to those who were already proficient. He had a mean
cane, but never used it on slow pupils, just on naughty ones, especially
those who played truant. More often, it was used to hit the floor to quiet
noisy students.
The Qur’an teacher had one minor weakness; he was addicted to
soccer, so we nicknamed him the ‘Soccer-Mad Tok Guru’. Each time a
game was scheduled at the Matang football field, he let us out early, much
to our delight.
At that time, entertainment was hard to come by. There were the
silent movies, the bangsawan, sepak raga (kickball game using a woven
rattan ball) and soccer. Of the four, soccer was about the only appropriate
entertainment for a religious teacher, and even then, only as a noncheering
spectator. What would members of the Muslim community say
if they saw a Qur’an teacher attend movies or operas, or play soccer or
sepak raga? But being what they are, human beings, regardless of race,
culture, gender, age and economic backgrounds, need entertainment all
the same.
We sympathised with our Qur’an teacher when we heard of his
innocent fondness for soccer being vehemently criticised by the older
religious fraternity, who pointed out that it was unbecoming for someone
of his position to be seen watching soccer games. This fondness became
most pronounced when he would clap his hands. Weren’t religious leaders
important in determining the religious development of members of the
community? Enlightened religious teachers, like our ‘Soccer-mad Tok
Guru’, had their share of opposition from strict old-fashioned seniors who
would not flow with the changing times.
Our Qur’an teacher had an extremely fair and cute daughter, a major
attraction in the kampung. Whenever he invited us home to help his wife
grate hundreds of coconuts to be converted into coconut oil, there was
never a shortage of willing volunteers, including myself. We gallantly
reported to his home for the exercise. In fact, all pupils, except those who
were really young, were willing to contribute their sweat to serve the
Qur’an teacher. Apart from an eyeful of the pretty girl, we got to take
home a can full of oil dregs.
Tok Guru Ismail was replaced by Sheikh Daud, a refined gentleman,
but with a pair of penetrating observant eyes that made us avoid his gaze.
These two religious teachers were worlds apart, like the Malay proverb
“as far apart as the earth and the sky.” Sheikh Daud was dead serious,
never once joked with us and suffered from no weakness whatsoever. But
slowly, with the flow of Matang community activities and amidst our loud
reciting of Qur’anic verses, his walls weakened and soon, came tumbling