KUALA LUMPUR: NO matter where we are, we can never forget the town we grew up in, which will always have a special place in our hearts.
For me, that special place is Kuala Kedah. This is a place I call home. It is where I learnt about family, friendship, love and forgiveness.
I grew up in Kuala Kedah and after finishing secondary school in Alor Star, I pursued a mass communication degree in Penang.
Kuala Kedah is 12km from Alor Star. It is a small fishing town that is known to many because it is one of the ferry terminals to Pulau Langkawi, apart from Penang and Kuala Perlis.
I used to stay at my grandfather’s house in Taman Seri Putra, a residential area and a stone’s throw away from the Kuala Kedah ferry terminal, before I moved to nearby Taman Sepakat when I was 7.
Just like other kids, I spent my childhood playing with my siblings, cousins and neighbours, some whose names I can’t recall now.
Back then, without computers, tablets and smartphones, the games we played were much simpler but more exciting.
Playing with marbles, skipping, cycling, running and playing catch — these are games with lots of physical contact that children today are not familiar with.
Another fond memory is when I learnt how to cycle and ended up in a dirty monsoon drain.
It was not long after I “graduated” from the three-wheel bike. I can still remember how I took my cousin’s bike out for a ride on a sunny day. Little did I know that the bicycle was without a handbrake.
Gleefully, I cycled and accelerated, enjoying the wind blowing through my hair.
When I saw the drain at the end of the lane, I tried to grip the hand-brake to slow down.
That’s when I realised that the bicycle would not stop.
In a split second, I was in the drain that was clogged with garbage. I fell into the black dirty water and was submerged. I thought it was the end of me.
Luckily, my great-aunt, who lived next door, saw the incident. Screaming frantically for my mum, she helped pull me out of the drain.
I didn’t remember much after that, but the incident left a scar on my right hand.
One good thing that came out of it: I learnt how to balance myself when I am on a bicycle.
Growing up in a fishing village is special. I remember going to my grandfather’s fishing dock and seeing the boats return after days of being away at sea.
I always watched my father and uncles load crates of fish and categorise them before sending them to the middleman. I would watch them tie fishing nets together and repair them.
The dock, filled with fishing equipment, was our playground. My cousins, friends and I would play hide-and-seek there and sometimes catch little mud crabs.
Until today, I still remember the aroma of Chinese tea that my father’s friends would prepare for me every time I came to visit the dock.
Kuala Kedah has not changed much. It is still a fishing village but lacks infrastructure and public transportation.
A popular fast-food fried chicken chain, the town’s first, even opened only late last year. Those without transportation may need to wait for an hour or more to get to Alor Star.
I hope my town will prosper with the right balance of
traditional charm and modern infrastructure.
As it is one of the main gateways to Langkawi, Kuala Kedah should be made more tourist-friendly by the state government.
One of the historical landmarks in Kuala Kedah is a 250-year-old fort.
Work on Kuala Kedah Fort, or Kuala Bahang Fort, started in 1771 during Sultan Muhammad Jiwa’s reign and was completed in
1780.
The fort survived attacks by the Bugis, Acehnese and Siamese. In 1909, when Kedah was under British rule, a few government
offices were built in the vicinity of the fort, including a lighthouse.
During the Japanese occupation in Malaya, the fort was
used as their armed forces’ headquarters until their defeat at
the hands of the British in
1945.
In November 2000, the Department of Museums and Antiquities embarked on excavation and restorations works in the eastern and southern parts of the fort, including rebuilding the Kacapuri gateway, which collapsed in 1970.
There is an attractive old white timber house in the centre of the fort, which comprises the main part of the museum, surrounded by brick walls adorned by cannons.
There are two gates to the fort. The white-arched gate is known as the Kacapuri archway, while the other is known as the British archway.
Kuala Kedah is slowly forgotten by the younger generation as they seek better opportunities elsewhere in the country.
However, it still manages to pull me back. Despite leaving the town in 2007 and now working
as a journalist in Kuala Lumpur,
I still go back home every month.
That’s where I recharge myself, as the slow pace of Kuala Kedah re-energises my soul.