panjang reworked3

PANJANG
The tall boy who
became prime minister
Story and Words by Peh Shing Huei
Illustration by Andrew Tan

PANJANG

This is Panjang.
His father passed away when he was just
10 years old. So his mother worked to
feed the whole family. So at an early age,
Panjang quickly learned to be responsible
and hardworking.
But there was one things that made
him stand out from the other kids.

He was tall.
He outgrew his shorts so quickly
his mom would make them longer
than usual.

He became the tallest kid in his kampong.
That’s why his friends called him Panjang,
which means tall in Malay.

Panjang was so tall that his head
would touch the roof of the school bus.

Panjang was so tall that he
blocked his classmates. And
his teacher made him sit at
the back of the classroom.

He found that couldn’t see clearly from
so far back. So he had to wear glasses.

Panjang didn’t like being tall. He felt like
everyone was staring and making fun of him.
He lost his confidence. He began hunching
and slouching.

Panjang spent many hours alone.
He found comfort reading
about great men and women.
And amazing exploits.

Panjang wrote letters to pen pals all over
the world. They were from the United States,
New Zealand, and Southern Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe). These friends appreciated
him for who he was, and not what he looked
like. They opened his eyes to a world much
bigger than himself.

Soon it was fruit picking season
in his kampong. His neighbours were
too short to reach the tallest branches,
Panjang stepped up to help.
That season, they had a lot of guava,
chiku and jambu fruits to eat.

One day, seawater flooded the longkang
in behind his house. Panjang decided
to try swimming - something he’d never
tried before.
He stepped down and found that he could stand
against the drain walls. WIth his long legs, he
didn’t need to worry about being swept away.

From that day on, Panjang taught himself to swim
and loved it. Soon, he became so good at it that
he was swimming in the sea near his kampong.

Pajang started representing his school.
He did so well that they made him
captain of the swim team.

Whenever his teachers and friends looked out
for a leader, Panjang stood out because he was
tall. But also responsible, hardworking and he did
things well. He was made class monitor,
a prefect and a Scoot troop leader.

Panjang was no longer ashamed of his height.
He no longer hunched. He no longer slouched.
He walked tall and proud.
When election time came around,
his friends made him chairman of the
school’s historial society.

When the society needed to find a speaker
for a school talk, Panjang walked right up to
the famous politician Lee Kuan Yew’s office
to invite him.
Little did Panjang know,
they would meet again,
years later.

Panjang grew up to be a great many things,
including the Prime Minister of Singapore.