IN HIS MAJESTY SERVICE 2: FIRST CAR

My first car Volkswagen, KB 7080

When I was posted as a Cadet KCS at the Land Office of Kota Setar, I rented a house at Taman Bunga Raya, Tongkang Yard. My three other housemates were Thobrani Hanafi (fellow Cadet KCS), Ajalmi Othman and Joehari Shahruddin. Thobrani was my classmate In Sultan Abdul Hamid College. Together with our College mate, Wan Lokman Dato' Wan Ibrahim, Thobrani and I joined the KCS at the same time that was on 2nd. March 1969.

Ajalmi was a teacher and also a Collegian. Joehari Shahruddin was from Taiping, Perak and he was working as a Cooperative Department Officer. Today, Ajalmi is a retiree of Bank Bumiputra London and he is residing in Earling, London. While Joehari is now a retired LPN Complex Manager and residing in Taman Muhibbah, Alor Setar.

All three of my housemates has their own cars each. I was using my motorbike Honda 65, KB 18 which I used during my University days. Some of the elders adviced me that as a KCS Officer, I should not be riding the motorbike. Even the Secretariat aprroved my car loan application speedily. I was entitled to a maximum car loan of $4,000.00. With the loan and the proceeds of my motorbike sale, I confirmed my order of acquiring a Volkswagen car which cost only $5,000.00. The car KB 7080 was delivered to me before I even pass my car driving test. So Thobrani became my driver for a month before I was isuued with my driving licence for the car.

Since I was a lazy chap, I liked my Volkswagen very much as it did not use water for cooling the engine and as such it was much easier for me to maintain the car. I fancied the Volkswagen so much so that my second car was also a Volkswagen with the registraion number of KB 8905. The price of my second car was $ 6,500.00 as compared to our car loan entitlement of $ 5,000.00.

Today, my first car KB 7080 is still on the road driven by its current owner, Pak Aziz Tajuddin, a retired Mada officer. When I glanced at my first car on the road, I think the car is very lucky to have the current owner who really take good care of him as compared to his first owner. Long live KB 7080.