Above: Satay at the compound of Arif Hotel.
Singaporean as a Malaysian
Last night I was helping step-dad with his application for “Malaysia My Second Home” visa. One of the forms asked for the date of his first arrival in Sarawak. That would probably be in the 1950s and had to flick through all the past passports in his life.
His earlier passports were British (as a colony) and the latest ones Singaporean. But in the stack, I found one that was Malaysian! On the inside front it said “Citizen of Malaysia”. Step-dad is fiercely proud of being Singaporean and sometimes puts down Malaysia. I had asked him before whether he had a Malaysian passport when the island was part of the federation and he said “No”. But now I know the truth.
I noticed that the Malaysian passport was issued on 5 August 1965, only a few days before Singapore became an independent nation on 9 August 1965. I noticed that the Singaporean checkpoint stamps said “Malaysian Immigration Singapore” until 1966.
Breakfast with brother
In the last couple of decades, I hadn’t made many trips to Kuching. And in the recent years, I’ve often visited Mum when she was in Singapore and didn’t need to come to Kuching. But that will change soon as I have more freedom as I gain confidence in self-employment.
I hadn’t spent that much time with my siblings so it was nice to have breakfast with one of them today. We met for a satay breakfast at the compound of the Arif Hotel. The satay were very nicely marinated. The sauce was generous in portion but a little watery. Still delicious.
Satay at the compound of Arif Hotel