Home is Where We Are by Wang Gungwu

Author:Wang Gungwu [Gungwu, Wang]
Language: eng
Format: epub

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Malaya’s independence also meant that the Tunku, as prime minister, could not see why the university carrying the country’s name should be in Singapore. I was not aware of the negotiations that had been going on before my return. But it became clear that there would be a MU campus in Kuala Lumpur, and it was agreed that the freshman class of 1958 would actually start their studies there, before the KL campus took in their own first cohort. Thus, within months of my return, I was asked to help Alastair Lamb, who had volunteered to teach that first class in KL, by flying there for two days every fortnight during term and teaching in a borrowed building in the technical college. It was a strenuous assignment, and my frequent absences made Margaret’s home-making duties heavier than they already were. She never complained. She could see how excited I was to see a new campus being built and readily supported me when the time came—at the end of 1958—to decide whether or not to volunteer to move to KL to what some of us thought would become the national university of the country.

However, in September 1957, our main challenge was to settle down to our first local home. During our months in Cambridge, I had begun to appreciate Margaret’s talent for making our lives comfortable, and really admired the efficient way she organized our flat in London in preparation for our first child, as captured in her own words in the previous chapter. More severe tests were to come, as the university housed us in the medical faculty accommodation in Tiong Bahru, now within the Singapore General Hospital. That was miles away from both Margaret’s school and my office in Bukit Timah. We managed to adjust to all that travel every day, but it was soon clear what a great strain it was for Margaret. Her account, written for our children, describes our first year in Singapore.

We were assigned a two-bedroom flat in Macalister Road, within the medical faculty grounds. The block of flats was only three stories high but it didn’t have any lifts. We were given a third floor flat so had to walk two long flights of steps with baby stroller, shopping bags and so on to get to our flat. It was not at all convenient because of our baby. The flat was quite spacious but it didn’t have a study. It did have a large balcony shared by the two bedrooms, which were side by side. So we turned the second bedroom into a study and put Ming’s cot in the balcony and protected it with bamboo blinds which were lined with thick cotton to prevent the rain from coming in. This sufficed for a while.

I found returning to Singapore and setting up our new home very stressful. I not only started work within a few days of our arrival, I had to train a new maid to take over the care of our baby.

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