Serving the people even after retirement The Star newspaper - Dec 2005
KUALA KANGSAR, Tues. - The home of a Perak titled chieftain was filled with the sound of "Chicken ..Licken" and "Little Red Riding Hood" yesterday. Almost 30 children and teenagers held their first mini-concert ever, and in English, after 13 months of coaching from Datuk Seri Yang Rashdi Ma'asom, (picture) one of Perak's "Orang Besar Enam Belas", and a retired Land and Mines director. Even though he is 79, and retired 24 years ago, Yang Rashdi still serves the people through teaching English to the children of Kampung Buaia, the village where his late wife was born. There were weekly visits to the Kuala Kangsar library, and occasional trips to river banks, zoos and even to Ipoh for an inter-school debate. Every week, he held discussions with Form Three to Form Five students from the village, and told stories, including one about the legend of Gunung Pondok, a prominent mountain near here. "I was surprised that some ofthem didn't even know the stories of their own village," he said at his home in Padang Rengas yesterday. Shortly after his classes started, his daughter Zurina began holding story-telling sessions at home for the younger children. Zurina said her family believed children should not focus solely on passing English examinations but should learn to communicate in the language. She said the children's theatre group may be named "Shamsiah's Children's Group" after her late mother.
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