If our hands or feet started to rot, the doctor would write instructions on our papan (medical treatment board) for the rotten part to be cut off. The doctor gave me some injections and every Monday and Wednesday, I had to take a Dapsone pill, the white coloured one. My hands and feet were already not too good when I arrived at Sungai Buloh. They also took X-rays of the parts of my hands and feet that showed symptoms of leprosy. The day after I was admitted, the Medical Superintendent cut off a piece of skin from my ear to be tested. “The youngest patient in my ward was around seven or eight years old. Lee still remembers that there were 17 patients in that ward. When he was first admitted, the doctors arranged for him to stay in Ward No. But I spent all that money in no time at all!” Chicken rice only cost 50 cents and fried noodles from the Indian shop was only 30 cents. In those days, a cup of coffee costs 10 cents, a piece of kuih (local cake) was also 10 cents. Lee’s father kept his word and came nearly every month to visit him, giving him twenty to thirty dollars each time. Before my father left, he gave me 20 dollars and told me that he would be back soon to see me.” At that time, I only had three sets of clothing, a toothbrush and toothpaste with me. “My father brought me here to seek treatment. But after considering how encouraging his parents were for him to leave home and seek treatment, he had no choice but to take their suggestion. Initially, he was very reluctant to leave home. In 1958, a young Lee in the prime of his life was forced to leave his home and travel more than a hundred kilometres to the Sungai Buloh Leprosy Settlement to seek treatment. After some discussions, my parents decided to send me to Kuala Lumpur for treatment. Then a former leprosy patient told my parents about an excellent place in Sungai Buloh where I could be cured. The condition of my hands and feet continued to get worse. “My mother brought me to numerous doctors, mostly traditional Chinese doctors, but I was still not cured. When the appointed date came, my friend really came out of hiding to surrender, but the police still shot him! What a pity! If I had not contracted leprosy and had frequently taken part in the Communist Party’s activities, I could very well have become one of them….” However, leprosy took away this possibility and Lee’s life went down a different path, one that he could not have imagined. They made an agreement that her son would surrender voluntarily but the police were not allowed to shoot him. When the government asked them to surrender, his mother begged the authorities for mercy. He even hid in the mountains for a few years. "One of my friends eventually joined the Communist Party. However, for some reason, the Communist Party songs were fresh in his memory. Lee said that he had still not mastered the national anthem of Malaysia and was unable to sing the whole song in one go. The melodies were very clear, but certain lyrics were difficult to be understood. His emotions also see-sawed along with the songs. One by one, he sang the long forgotten songs of the Communist Party, dusted off and brought to life once more. Those listening were also unwittingly drawn into the long-ago scene of his introduction to the Communist ideology. We pursue justice, we are united for our future, for the truth, move forward! Do not hesitate!” His excited voice rang clear like an echo in a valley, flowing naturally and easily from his lips. I think there was one song that went like this – A bright future! A bright future! We are the young ones the Republic of China is recruiting. Maybe they wrote these songs themselves during one of their activities. “I do not know how to write some of the words, my pronunciation is not very accurate, and I do not know the titles of certain songs. Many teachers were also members of the Communist Party.” As a result, Lee had subconsciously memorised many of the Communist Party’s songs. The local Communist Party leaders did not stop us either. While people were singing, we would go in and listen. “As children, we did not know if it was legal or illegal. They were very active and frequently sang the song, “The Three Principles of the People”, when they meet for party activities. Lee remembers that at that time, quite a number of people in Teluk Anson were members of the Communist Party. So he spent his time in idleness, gallivanting about town. During the years between the age of 11 and 18, Lee had no one to educate him after he dropped out of school.
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