USM Perak Branch Campus (Engineering) was formerly situated at the Ipoh Padang, near the Main Hall, (Dewan Bandaran), just across the Ipoh Railway Station. When we first started to move from Penang to there in 1986, most of USM’s staff from Perak were overjoyed at the prospect of getting back to where we could get closer to our hometowns.
When the permanent site of the campus at Seri Iskandar (near the town of Tronoh) was ready in the year 1990, we began our next exodus. The place was deserted and so remote, akin to the images in cowboy films of yester years…
My husband, who at that time, happened to be the project manager (we moved because he was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Department of Development, USM) was responsible for the setting up of the temporary campus in Ipoh and then the permanent one at Seri Iskandar. We were on our way back to Ipoh from my parent’s place at Kampung Gajah and decided to just drop by at the site. We had to get into a four wheel (quite unlike the comfortable SUVs of today, it was a Mahindra a tough seater!) to really venture in. My daughter, aged eight then was really shaken. Her face ashened and then, threw up profusely. My small son (aged 3) had a question to ask, “Mum! The thing we rode just now, was that a horse?” That goes to show how rough the ride was!
The soil, much barren and arid, was a bit harsh. The gleaming white sands of the ex- mining land under the glaring sun, was an excuse for most of us to put on our stylish dark glasses. Absence of cafes inside as well as out of the campus walls forced most of us to bring our own food. I, in particular, cooked and brought my own food in a tiffin carrier (which reminded me of my childhood days when my mum would prepare food in the same sort of containers for my dad, a policeman, while on duty from 6 in the evening right through 10 at night).
Days on end, we would have one or two cars stranded as a result of punctured tyres. The campus was not quite ready and there were nails astray, here and there. Most of us deferred possession of new cars. The main road from Ipoh to Lumut was constantly being upgraded. Driving on layers of rocks the size of your rolled up palms was never easy. I imagined the rides were much like the ones you get while riding ‘Boneshakers’ in the 1860’s. Your body ached all over! Imagine this kind of journey twice a day, tens of kilometers a day! Some of us opt to take rides on the local bus network – the Perak Roadways (owned by the family of one of our ex-graduates while studying at the temporary campus in Ipoh), the owner was kind enough to allow the bus to get right into the campus until the roundabout just after the masjid.
During the early years, foliage was such a rare commodity. The trees just could not survive. Until the staff of my husband’s office engaged help from MARDI (Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute) whose officers suggested digging holes around the new trees and placing gunny sacks (made from jute) around the roots. Through the years, greenery then started to sprout and prosper. The view around became more picturesque. Shades of green were everywhere.
But then! The bomb was dropped! We had to move. Yet again. This time, back up north, Seberang Perai Selatan. Imagine the frustration and anger. I had just acquired a new home, amongst lush green hills near the Jelapang highway. For a few years, two universities were sharing the same premise. Never before in history and in the world. USM Perak Branch Campus and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). Days of ‘fighting’ – for lecture halls, tutorial rooms, food at the cafes were never enough. So, we had to go out – the one cafe across the road from the main entrance, beside a small lake became our favourite haunt.
Unhappy faces were everwhere. Most of which belonged to those who have decided not to be relocated. Yet again….these were but some of the happy times and the sad moments while becoming pioneers at ‘Toronto’. Yes! The name we coined to refer to Tronoh. While presenting papers or attending conferences, I was often asked where USM Perak Branch Campus was. When I answered Tronoh, this was the response I used to get, “Tronoh? Where in the world is that?” I used to be very irritated but after a while, I would ask the question for them before I was even asked! So, ‘Toronto’ was a symbolic name (so was ‘Paris’ for Parit), to make ourselves feel good about a place which most people do not even realize it existed. That was very necessary to boost up our morale, since our location constantly became the subject of ridicule by certain quarters; referred to as – ‘no man’s land’, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ amongst other things….(…continued…)
When the permanent site of the campus at Seri Iskandar (near the town of Tronoh) was ready in the year 1990, we began our next exodus. The place was deserted and so remote, akin to the images in cowboy films of yester years…
My husband, who at that time, happened to be the project manager (we moved because he was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Department of Development, USM) was responsible for the setting up of the temporary campus in Ipoh and then the permanent one at Seri Iskandar. We were on our way back to Ipoh from my parent’s place at Kampung Gajah and decided to just drop by at the site. We had to get into a four wheel (quite unlike the comfortable SUVs of today, it was a Mahindra a tough seater!) to really venture in. My daughter, aged eight then was really shaken. Her face ashened and then, threw up profusely. My small son (aged 3) had a question to ask, “Mum! The thing we rode just now, was that a horse?” That goes to show how rough the ride was!
The soil, much barren and arid, was a bit harsh. The gleaming white sands of the ex- mining land under the glaring sun, was an excuse for most of us to put on our stylish dark glasses. Absence of cafes inside as well as out of the campus walls forced most of us to bring our own food. I, in particular, cooked and brought my own food in a tiffin carrier (which reminded me of my childhood days when my mum would prepare food in the same sort of containers for my dad, a policeman, while on duty from 6 in the evening right through 10 at night).
Days on end, we would have one or two cars stranded as a result of punctured tyres. The campus was not quite ready and there were nails astray, here and there. Most of us deferred possession of new cars. The main road from Ipoh to Lumut was constantly being upgraded. Driving on layers of rocks the size of your rolled up palms was never easy. I imagined the rides were much like the ones you get while riding ‘Boneshakers’ in the 1860’s. Your body ached all over! Imagine this kind of journey twice a day, tens of kilometers a day! Some of us opt to take rides on the local bus network – the Perak Roadways (owned by the family of one of our ex-graduates while studying at the temporary campus in Ipoh), the owner was kind enough to allow the bus to get right into the campus until the roundabout just after the masjid.
During the early years, foliage was such a rare commodity. The trees just could not survive. Until the staff of my husband’s office engaged help from MARDI (Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute) whose officers suggested digging holes around the new trees and placing gunny sacks (made from jute) around the roots. Through the years, greenery then started to sprout and prosper. The view around became more picturesque. Shades of green were everywhere.
But then! The bomb was dropped! We had to move. Yet again. This time, back up north, Seberang Perai Selatan. Imagine the frustration and anger. I had just acquired a new home, amongst lush green hills near the Jelapang highway. For a few years, two universities were sharing the same premise. Never before in history and in the world. USM Perak Branch Campus and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). Days of ‘fighting’ – for lecture halls, tutorial rooms, food at the cafes were never enough. So, we had to go out – the one cafe across the road from the main entrance, beside a small lake became our favourite haunt.
Unhappy faces were everwhere. Most of which belonged to those who have decided not to be relocated. Yet again….these were but some of the happy times and the sad moments while becoming pioneers at ‘Toronto’. Yes! The name we coined to refer to Tronoh. While presenting papers or attending conferences, I was often asked where USM Perak Branch Campus was. When I answered Tronoh, this was the response I used to get, “Tronoh? Where in the world is that?” I used to be very irritated but after a while, I would ask the question for them before I was even asked! So, ‘Toronto’ was a symbolic name (so was ‘Paris’ for Parit), to make ourselves feel good about a place which most people do not even realize it existed. That was very necessary to boost up our morale, since our location constantly became the subject of ridicule by certain quarters; referred to as – ‘no man’s land’, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ amongst other things….(…continued…)
Note: Pictures were taken in 1991
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