Tawau

SMK Kuhara Tawau Class of 1986 Reunion in Kota Kinabalu in December 2023

"Nowhere on earth could possibly live up to those halcyon days. But that’s nostalgia for you, the tyranny of those memories of childhood that feel so golden, so perfect.” Lucy Foley in The Guest Lost

As doctors working within Malaysia’s public healthcare system, many of us are posted to East Malaysia. This often comes with trepidation. What is it like out there? Should I take my family along? What will the schools be like? Will my children be able to adjust and make new friends? What will I do without shopping malls?

My parents were posted to Tawau in 1982. I was seven years old and had just started making friends at my primary school in Klang, but leaving them was not a problem for me. Children are resilient. I looked forward to living with my parents and was eager to make new friends.

We found Tawau to have booming timber, cocoa, and palm oil industries. The district hospital had many expatriate specialists from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Myanmar. Many of my schoolteachers were from Peninsular Malaysia and had settled comfortably in this old town. The best seafood could be found here - fresh fish, juicy prawns, and the tastiest stuffed crab shells.

The days began early, as the sky brightened by six o’clock. My primary school was SK Holy Trinity, founded in 1922 by Catholic missionaries. Lunch was at home with my parents who could walk over from the hospital during their lunch break. Domestic help was easily available from the migrant population that entered the country through stretches of unmanned coastline, and they lived in large settlements within the town itself.

My evenings were spent playing and cycling outside with my friends. Television channels were limited to RTM1 and RTM2, but the town had a splendid public library.

Photo Credit https://www.etawau.com/Government/Library.htm

The public library had all the books I needed to keep me company - Noddy in Toyland, Malory Towers, The Famous Five, What Katy Did, and Agatha Christie. As I grew older, I discovered the gothic romances of Victoria Holt and Daphne du Maurier, as well as the novels of Iris Bromige. Books opened windows to ideas and outlooks beyond my protected world. They helped me form my sense of self.

The best part of my secondary school years was the arrival of my brother, after which we moved into the old hospital quarters overlooking the sea (pictured below).

Every morning, I woke up to this view

Every evening, I swam at the sports club next door because outdoor activities were so affordable.

My teachers and friends from SMK Kuhara had an enormous influence on me during my teenage years. I gained confidence after joining the school debating team. In a small town where people often bump into one another, I could not hide. My parents knew about my chit-chatting and daydreaming during lessons and found out about my grades before I could tell them.

Growing up in a township on the east coast of Sabah, I did not have access to expensive private school education, coaching, fashionable outfits, mobile phones, or shopping malls. However, I did have consistent parenting, experienced teachers, home-cooked food, a safe environment to play in, plenty of outdoor physical activity, and access to books.

After STPM, many of my friends and I left home to further our studies. We drifted apart, met our partners, and started over in other parts of the world. Some of my friends returned to Tawau to become teachers or run successful businesses. We met again thirty years later, and the camaraderie and values have endured.

I would not have had this childhood experience if my parents had rejected the posting to serve in a faraway town. Familiarity is comforting, but if the opportunity comes your way, seize the chance to see parts of the country you never knew about. It made all the difference in my life.

Dr Poongkodi Nagappan

31st January 2026

Tawau Yacht Club, with Chan Pui Ling and Chung Fei Wen in 1993

Getting back together in 2023