Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah

Five years ago today, in 2010, I arrived in this town to take up my current position. Little did I know back then that I would be staying for 5 years. My purpose of coming here back then was to gain some field experience of doing my job. This is where oil and gas activities take place and I have to be here to learn the operational side of it. All this while, I had been doing desk job since I started working around 20 years ago in research and consultancy. I thought I wanted to gain some field experience for a few years and then back to my home again in the Peninsular. But as for other things in my life, I do not have a long term plan and I take things as they come.

When I first arrived here I was alone, going back to my home once in a fortnight. I was staying with a friend who was also a weekend husband. But long distance family is not good for the long term. I decided to bring my whole family to this town. I was joined by them 15 months later and my life was normal again. Over the five years I have seen changes to this town. Materially, I'd say towards the better. More shopping malls and more happening now than 5 years ago. More shopping malls were built than is necessary for such a small city, but they are mainly to cater for our neighbours from accross the border whose money has increased in value due to the ringgit's depreciation. Things here are more expensive than in many places in Malaysia, especially so for the locals who earn so little. With the depressed wages due to cheap foreign labour, I think the locals are struggling to make ends meet. For us professionals, things are not that bad. One thing, traffic is much better here. It only takes 10 minutes to go to work and same length of time to go home in the evening. No stress to look for parking space and no toll booth to pass through. I can spend more time with my family and overall the quality of life is better.

I think I am living in the best possible area for me and my family in this town. My kids just walk to school as my house share fence with their school. I live about 100 meters from a mosque and it's only a short walk to grocery shops and local supermarket. My kid's tuition centre is also just across the main road. This is indeed a very good place to live. Everything is just a few blocks away. But even after 5 years I have not been able to embrace this place as my new home. At the back of my mind, this is a necessary sojourn and it has to be brief. Whether 5 years is brief is a matter of opinion. I imagine loving a place is like loving a partner. I love my wife that I cannot think of another woman in my life. I cannot love two women at the same time. Same thing goes to loving a place. A few times a year, during business trip to KL, I make a point to visit my home there so that I still reconnect with my home and maintain the sense of belonging there. I have to decide whether to stay longer and risk falling in love with this place or going back to the town in Peninsular, where I still have a place which I call home. Indeed, there is no place like home.