It Rocks

Let us talk about rock or batu. Mentioning about 'batu belah batu bertangkup' and Teluk Chempedak(TC), it is something of our past. I can still remember that we used to climb the hill and boulders to get across from Taman Teruntum to TC, leaving our bicycles behind and later had to walk back to get them.

We also ventured to the other side of the rock, from TC to Teluk Pertama which is now known as Teluk Tongkang. Half buried in the sand was a wreck Vietnamese boat which dated back to the 70's. I could still recall when the armed forces had to chase off the 'boat people' off the beach, not allowing them to land. These 'smart' Vietnamese knew the rules too well. They sank their boat leaving the authorities with no choice but to allow them to land on humanitarian ground.


The 'batu belah batu bertangkup' with lots of mud skippers (ikan tembakul) jumping was an attraction. We used to lie and relax on the flat surface of the rock with no worries of being swallowed by them. We jumped and played all sort of games without hesitation. The myth said that it only consumed those who were 'kempunan' (is there an english equivalent for it?).

Speaking of 'Batu' namely batu malai and tajam batu, the latter was frightening, whereas Batu Malai, for the love of a baby, gave the adored infant a pair of beautiful mittens. As she was just a general worker, it was expensive and of high value. A word of advice for the said baby; remember your roots, 'jangan seperti kacang lupakan kulit.'

'Tajam batu' used to haunt naughty children, especially those who cried alot. This 'tajam batu' would scream aloud calling any mum or dad who needed his service to discipline their children. He moved around with a bicycle, something like 'basikal jaguar' with a back carriage.

I used to be good at playing 'guli batu' or marbles and still had friends owing me guli. How to choose a good guli? Get something bluish, because it has an aura that can easily break other guli. Other ordinary guli are just for payment if defeated.

Batu bata; when we were at primary we used to clean this batu bata so that they could be painted white for decoration. They can also be used to increase the inertia of moving bodies making it more stable such as to climb a steep hill. We did try that when travelling through the old Genting Highlands road and ended up with the batu bata and a few of us having to get out so that the car had more power to tackle the steepness. What a theory!

Lastly, remember that batu is 'alive'. When one throws a batu wrongly, it can hit back like 'batu throwing' in Mina. One was supposed to throw the batu into the pit but a few pligrim as to show their great anger to the satan, took their position then aim carefully and threw with great might at the pillar instead. there goes the rebound with the batu hitting back at him. So take care.