NOBODY would have imagined that Bayan Lepas – which is now full of factories, houses and shopping centres — used to be the rice bowl of Penang, just one big padi field stretching as far as the eye can see.

These padi fields used to be on both sides of the main road, and the network of irrigation canals provided youngsters like us plenty of opportunities to fish and catch frogs.

The fish were not for the dinner table, but were mainly common guppies and the occasional fighting fish, which found their way into our home aquariums.

Back then, a number of pre-war bunkers could be seen scattered among the padi fields. There is one remaining along the road in Relau now, not far from the Bayan Lepas main road, but most people pass it by without knowing it is there.

In Batu Maung, where a war museum has been set up, visitors can now see the underground tunnels, ammunition bunkers and ventilation shafts set up by the British army in their futile attempt to fight the Japanese invaders.

For older Penangites who remember Bayan Lepas as an isolated rural setting, its transformation into a major urban hub, starting with the setting up of the Free Trade Zone, must have been quite phenomenal.

As a child, I always looked forward to my trips to the Bayan Lepas airport to see a relative off. Those were the days when you could still see the passengers up close from the viewing gallery as they walked towards the planes.

Other than that, Bayan Lepas was not really a place a city boy like me would head to — it was simply a faraway place as far as we were concerned.

But I still recalled those days when we would be put onto chartered buses for the traditional round-the-island trip as part of the year-end programmes.

Point of arrival: The Penang Airport in its early days.

Bayan Lepas, Relau and Balik Pulau — regarded as spots on the other side of the island — were usually compulsory stops along the way.

The 163-year-old Snake Temple was of course one of the main attractions as was the Tunku Abdul Rahman Aquarium, located at the Fisheries Department off Jalan Gelugor. In fact, Jalan Akuarium remains as testimony to the existence of the first public aquarium in the country.

While the Snake Temple remains a major tourist attraction, the aquarium in that locality has since been closed down and the National Aquarium at Zoo Negara now bears the same name in honour of the country’s first Prime Minister.

Another aquarium, the Penang Aquarium, has since been set up in Batu Maung by the Fisheries Department as part of its research centre and is drawing visitors as well.

According to reports, the name Bayan Lepas means “the parakeet has flown away.”

The folklore has it that a wealthy Sumatran family had arrived by boat at the coast of Bayan Lepas in the late 19th century and as they reached the shore, their pet parakeet flew off.

Another story has it that Bayan Lepas was named after Raja Bayan or Nakhoda Bayan, said to be a prince from Minangkabau.

He was said to have settled in Penang in the 1700s, when Penang was still part of Kedah, and that he was appointed to be a headman by the Sultan of Kedah.

But there was one man who changed the entire face of Bayan Lepas. After Gerakan, then an opposition party, swept into power in the 1969 general election, Chief Minister Dr Lim Chong Eu rolled out his economic plans.

He created the Bayan Lepas Free Trade Zone to enable foreign investors to open factories, mostly assembly plants, in Penang, to resolve the high unemployment rate in the state.

With attractive options, including pioneer tax status, multinational electronic giants descended on the island, paving the way for Penang to be known as the Silicon Valley of the East.

Still popular: Devotees offering prayers at the Snake Temple.

It would not be wrong to say that Dr Lim’s masterplan of turning the padi fields into one big industrial area helped propel Penang’s economy, especially after its free port status had been taken away.

The Free Trade Zone created thousands of job opportunities for people from all walks of life.

But some things will never change. Just a little distance from the Penang International Airport is the old town of Bayan Lepas.

Pre-war houses still line both sides of the main road while the police station and market, built in 1930, have remained.

Each time I return to Penang, I would make an effort to eat at the Cargas Café, which serves one of the best nasi campur Melayu on the island. The fried chicken and sting ray curry – the signature dishes of the restaurant – are simply delicious.

The seafood porridge in Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah is also a local favourite.

Another important icon in Bayan Lepas which has personal bearing for me is The Star’s Northern Hub.

For those of us who began our Star careers in the earlier offices, either in Weld Quay or Pitt Street, the Star Northern Hub is truly a different office altogether.

Out of this five-storey building in Sungai Tiram, Bayan Lepas, the Star is printed for distribution in Penang and throughout the northern region.

Because of its size, the building feels “spacious” compared to the town office, but it has all the latest trimmings of the complete media hub.

Each time I am back in Penang, I will drop in at the Northern Hub to touch base with our team there. And, without fail, my colleagues will always invite me out for a meal nearby.

Many people, including Penangites themselves, now see Bayan Lepas as a thriving township starting from Queensbay Mall.

But right at the other end of Bayan Lepas is where the old world charm has remained at the Bayan Lepas old town.

Time seemed to have stood still here. And that, in a way, is what makes Penang uniquely special with its blend of new and old world charms.

For sure, there are still some things about Bayan Lepas that have not terlepas, or disappeared.

*Readers write

> KK Tan: I have always wondered why Francis Light is regarded as the founder of Penang. Surely, there were already locals on the island before he landed on the island.

Chun Wai: I am not a historian but merely a student of history. This has always been a controversial subject, depending on which school of thought you subscribe to. But conventionally, the understanding is that Light was the first person to set up a proper system of administration and governance after his arrival. The legal, financial and security systems, for example, had to be properly set up to allow trading to be carried out as Penang had become a port by then. By having these systems in place, it attracted more traders to Penang and conduct business with the assurance that everything will be properly documented.

> Another reader, tourist Jeff Black, wants to know the origin of the name Batu Ferringhi, where he often stays when he comes to Penang.

Chun Wai: According to what has been reported, the word ferringhi is said to originate from the Malay term for a person of Portuguese descent, but could also be taken to mean all westerners. Some said Batu Ferringhi also meant the rocks where the western foreigner landed.

> Jeffrey Leong asked for some information about Chowrasta Street along Penang Road.

Chun Wai: Chowrasta is an Urdu word which means “four cross roads”. In fact, the Chowrasta Market is located within the area flanked by Chowrasta Street, Tamil Street, Kuala Kangsar Road and Penang Road. Known to Hokkien-speaking Penangites as kelinga ban san or Indian market, it used to be dominated by Tamil Muslim traders.

Old ways: Bullock carts were a common sight as it was used to ferry people and goods.

I CRINGE every time I hear our television news reader or radio announcer pronounce Weld Quay as Weld Koay. And I wonder whether English is still being properly taught in schools or if the teachers themselves need to go back to school again.

But for many Penangites, who were exposed to the English language much earlier than the rest of the country, we know how to pronounce quay correctly as “key” instead of “koay”.

Many of the local Hokkiens, who only know Weld Quay as Sin Hai Kee or New Waterfront Street, are also able to get the street name correct. Weld Quay, or Pengkalan Weld, as it is now known, is a coastal road on the east side of George Town.

It is named after Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, the Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1880 to 1887. He was responsible for the land reclamation and port expansion on the waterfront.

Where it started: The Star building in Weld Quay.

To detour a bit, Weld was also recognised in Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Port Weld in Perak is now known as Kuala Sepetang.

In Kuala Lumpur, what is now known as Jalan Raja Chulan, was previously Weld Road before the name was changed in 1982.

Today, The Weld shopping complex remains as testimony to the road’s original name. The nearby Weld Hill was also renamed Bukit Mahkamah, where Menara Maybank now stands.

In Singapore, however, Weld Road and Upper Weld Road still remain.

According to published records, Weld was born to a strong Catholic family in Dorset, England, but carved a name for himself in the British colonies of Australia and New Zealand.

Making their way through: Passengers at the Customs checkpoint at Swettenham Pier in 1975.

Prior to his arrival in Malaya in 1880, he had a successful political career in New Zealand where he was elected as a Member of Parliament for three terms.

In 1869, he moved to Australia to begin his career as a colonial officer, where he was appointed the Governor of Western Australia.

Weld will be remembered in Malaya’s history as the colonial officer who saw the importance of ports and a well-connected logistics network.

According to the book Streets of George Town, Weld Quay was created during the 1880s when Weld was Governor.

He embarked on land reclamation works which culminated in the development of Swettenham Pier.

Completed in 1904, the pier boosted Penang’s status as a modern transhipment centre.

Today, the pier is also connected to the newly completed Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal.

Swettenham Pier was named after Frank Athelstane Swettenham (1850-1946), the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States between 1896 and 1901.

Khoo Salma Nasution also wrote that the Indians called Weld Quay kitengi teru or the “street of company godowns”.

Touris t attract ion: An aerial view of the clan jetties at Weld Quay, which was declared a heritage site by Unesco.

The godowns were used by Indian stevedores transporting rope with hand-pulled carts. Some of these godowns can still be found in some parts of the area.

And if you are wondering where the famous mee mamak comes from, Khoo insisted that Weld Quay was the birthplace of kelinga mee, as mee mamak was originally known as, together with pasembur or mamak rojak. These delicacies were to whet the appetite of sailors and port workers along Weld Quay.

As the port grew, settlements for Chinese port workers from the various Chinese clans also came into being.

According to Khoo, there were originally seven “clan jetties” at the waterfront but the Ong Jetty was dismantled when the ferry terminal was built.

The six originals which remain are the Lim, Chew, Tan, Lee, Yeoh and the “mixed clan” jetties known as Chap Seh Keo.

“The jetty with the largest community was Chew Jetty, near the Armenian Street Ghaut. The Chew stevedores supplied fresh water to the ships,” she wrote.

“The end of the Chew Jetty was the mooring place for Burmese trawlers which brought rubber, timber and other materials from Burma.”

The jetties, while keeping their reputation as a tough neighbourhood for the working class, have undergone changes over the years, and now form part of the Penang Heritage Trail.

Not far from the area is Noordin Street, known locally as Jee Teow Lor (the second road), which had a reputation for its triads.

When I was a student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, there was a leggy, good-looking business administration student who hailed from one of the jetties.

She had many admirers and when my campus mates asked me about her, I would cheekily tell them that she came from such a notorious area that any outsider who tried to date her risked being beaten up!

The clan jetties remain to this day even though there are regular rumours that they will be demolished.

They are now popular with tourists, who walk along the boardwalks and are made to feel welcome by the residents, who understand the importance of tourism.

Some enterprising residents have offered homestays while others have offered their boats as water taxis for tourists. Souvenir stalls have also been set up at these jetties.

Along the main road, food stalls have sprouted, and one fish head porridge-noodle stall, Siong Ho, has been featured on a popular Astro food programme hosted by Penangite Jason Teoh.

When I was starting out as a reporter in Penang, I used to visit the Kwong Wah Yit Poh newspaper office in that vicinity regularly for coffee with my counterparts to compare notes.

The newspaper was founded by Dr Sun Yat Sen, the father of modern China, on Dec 20, 1910, when he was in exile in Penang from China.

Weld Quay is also where The Star newspaper was born. The newspaper began its operations at Weld Quay in September, 1971, and was helmed by its founder and editor K.S. Choong.

When The Star hit the streets, I was barely 10 years old and too young to read the newspaper, although my parents had started reading the new racy tabloid.

As I was not part of its initial beginnings, the home of The Star to me was the building along Pitt Street, or Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling, where I first began work in 1980. (Refer to my earlier article, Pressing on from Day One, published on March 2)

Media practitioner Rajan Moses, who was a Universiti Sains Malaysia student in 1971, was accepted as a stringer or freelance writer, when The Star was launched.

He wrote: “The launch of The Star had a great impact on Penangites, who were so used to the existing newspaper fare, that the arrival of something new perked them up. Finally, an alternative paper to read had arrived, and a racy tabloid at that!

“Newspaper boys sold the first editions of the new paper late into the night in Penang’s streets, and The Star created quite a buzz.

“It had a picture of a Page 3 girl daily (very much like what the The Sun and Daily Mirror did in London) and bright, bold and interesting human interest stories and pictures which sparked much local interest.”

Weld Quay still has a great story to tell, just like this newspaper. It has a strong sense of history yet is ready to adapt and keep up with the changes.

Related Stories:
Weld’s great-grandson comes to Penang

1984: Radio RAAF Butterworth station production manager Flight Lieutenant Peter Howman with announcer Bronwyn Tuohy going through the recorded tape tracks.

The days of a special radio station and the community of Aussies who made Tanjung Bungah their home while working at the Butterworth air base.

GROWING up in the 1970s as a teenager, there was no such thing as Internet radio. There was no paid television either such as Astro or Hypp.TV.

We only had RTM, which was not the best option for entertainment back then, as it was primarily an information station.

But lucky for us Penangites, we had Radio RAAF. Its frequency was limited to Penang and parts of Kedah.

But as a music–loving teenager, I was introduced to the world of Australian bands such as Little River Band, Sherbet, INXS, Men At Work and of course, John Paul Young, with his monster hit Love Is In The Air.

The announcers were all amateurs, mostly family members of the Australian servicemen, and often their presentation was flat, even monotonous, but the music repertoire was up-to-date.

Come Saturday night, it was Party Time, which came on air at 9pm and lasted till past midnight.

The deejays entertained requests we sent in by snail mail. And we could buy ready-made postcards where the address of the radio station was printed.

To this day, I can still recall the call sign for each programme that simply began with, “This is Radio R, double A, F…”

In 1989: RAAF Wing Commander Ross Fox climbing up a Hornet fighter aircraft as RAAF maintenance staff conduct pre-flight checks

The Australia air base in Butterworth certainly left an impact on many Penangites because they became very much a part of the local community.

With its thriving port, Penangites had long been exposed to foreign presence, but to have Australians in the neighbourhood emphasised how cosmopolitan the state was in the early years.

For the servicemen and their families, the preferred neighbourhoods were Fettes Park, Hillside and Tanjung Bungah, where they stayed mostly in rented homes.

These areas were walking distance to public beaches, which must have brought back memories of their homes Down Under. The Pulau Tikus market was also just 20 minutes away by car, where they did most of their shopping.

Fettes Park in Tanjung Tokong was and still is a middle-class housing area, with mostly English educated residents.

It is named after the municipal engineer of George Town, JD Fettes, who played a major role in the building of Guillemard Reservoir above Fettes Park.

The Fettes Park neighbourhood is bordered by Jalan Tanjung Tokong to the east, Mount Erskine to the south and Vale of Tempe to the north.

Tanjung Bungah or sometimes spelt Tanjong Bunga, is a suburban route to the tourist belt of Batu Ferringhi, a name which some said was derived from Portuguese, to mean the spot where the foreigners landed.

Tanjung Tokong, which one must pass through on the way to the seaside resorts, used to be an old fishing village.

Near the UDA low-cost flats, there is the Tua Pek Kong temple. This is probably the reason why the village was named Tokong.

This temple is famous to this day because of the annual Chneah Hoay (flame-watching) ceremony held on the eve of Chap Goh Meh, where the deity would predict the economic outlook for the country.

Residential: An aerial view of Tanjung Bungah now.

So it was around these locations that thousands of servicemen and their families found their home away from home.

Their story began in 1957 when the Royal Air Force, which was part of the British defence plan, closed the base in Butterworth and transferred ownership to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The RAAF stationed numerous Australian fighters and bomber squadrons there.

These planes were to play a crucial, but supportive role during the Emergency as well as the Confrontation with Indonesia.

It was reported that in 1964, its Sabre jets responded to Indonesian jet fighters heading towards Malaysian airspace but the latter turned back before crossing the international air space.

The RAAF personnel were generally well-behaved, unlike the rowdier American marines, who also dropped by Penang as part of their rest and recreation entitlement back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

For the Australians, when they were off duty, they could be seen in George Town, wearing their trademark shorts and stockings which were pulled up to their knees.

Their favourite eating spot was the Eden Restaurant in Hutton Lane, which served western set meals at reasonable prices, while their watering hole was the Hong Kong Bar in Chulia Street, which was something of an institution in Penang until the RAAF closed its base in 1988.

The servicemen would leave pictures, badges, momentoes and plaques as a reminder of their days at the bar.

By then, Penang already has a decent-sized supermarket — Cold Storage in Penang Road, which catered to these Australians and Westerners, who wanted fresh food and meat products.

Not far from the Cold Storage supermarket was a snack bar which served western and Chinese food and the most famous ice-cream then, Magnolia.

My late uncle Simon Leow, who used to frequent the eatery, got me my first job there in 1978 after Form Five.

I was supposed to be a bartender and waiter. I did not last very long because I spent more on food than the meagre wage that I earned.

The only consolation was that I tried the entire range of ice-cream.

It was here that I made my first milkshake, and my first banana split. But I had to split from the scene soon enough because I was really a nuisance to my fellow workers.

Leow, obviously wanted me to learn the hard way that it was better that I concentrated on schooling rather than entertain any foolish thoughts of entering the workforce at an early age.

For Australian families, who had just arrived in Penang, the RAAF Club was their oasis.

Temporary accommodation would be provided to these new arrivals until they find their homes in Fettes Park, Tanjung Tokong and Tanjung Bungah — these were their three favourite spots although the base was on the other side of the channel.

Their social lives revolved around the RAAF Club — where sporting and social events were held. It was open only to RAAF personnel and Malaysians working with them.

The term sarong party girl — a derogatory term used in Malaysia and Singapore to describe a local woman, who exclusively dates white men — was not commonly used then.

But the presence of these Aussies was bound to see romance blossom with the local women.

A neighbour of mine at Jalan Kampung Melayu married a RAAF officer, whose children would often drop by my house.

These Australians left behind many friends among Penangites. The Radio RAAF played Everytime You Go Away as its farewell song, before signing off for good.

Maybe the relationship between Penang and Australia was fated in some ways. After all, Captain Francis Light founded Penang while his son, William Light, founded Adelaide.

Old and new: Cathay, also known as the Choong Lye Hock Theatre,
stood as a cinema for more than 35 years, but today, it houses a Mydin
supermarket (pic below).

FOR just 40sen, many of us got to buy a third-class ticket to watch a movie. A third-class ticket meant sitting on the first three rows of a cinema with our necks craned to focus on the giant screen in front.

And you can imagine the discomfort if you were seated on the extreme left or right of the first row.

In some cinemas, the class distinction was further aggravated by the wooden third-class seats as cushioned seats were only for first and second class, as well as balcony seats also known as “upstairs”.

One cannot but feel that cinema operators wanted to punish us for just being too poor or too cheapskate.

Welcome to the 1960s and 1970s — when going to the movies was a real treat, a weekend reward from your parents.

Remember, those were the days when most families were big, and it would be extremely expensive to buy first class or balcony seats for the entire family, unless you are well-to-do.

Unlike today’s cineplexes, the seating arrangement was divided into first, second and third classes, and ticket prices varied accordingly. The most expensive tickets were for the “upstairs” seats, where there was even a side entrance to the cinema bar.

Like the English theatre, there would be an interval or break midway into the movies, for the cinema-goers to buy drinks.

In some cinemas, a woman would walk around the aisles selling ice-cream, which was really quite amazing, considering how strict modern cineplexes are about food consumption in cinema halls.

Another unique touch to cinema-going back then, was the ticket inspector who would come by once the show has started. With torchlight in hand, they would make sure that you are sitting where you should be.

Well, when the show is not packed, it is quite common for the third-class patrons to quietly move to first class.

Back in those days, most of the children would go to the movies, especially the evening shows, with sweaters as they were not accustomed to air-conditioning.

But some cinemas in Penang, even until the late 1970s, did not even have air-conditioning, and only used giant fans to cool the premises, which must be hard to imagine today!

World of flying swordsmen: Federal Cinema in Datuk Keramat Road used to show the latest kung fu and sword-fighting
flicks from Hong Kong.

The cinema experience was a real outing and we would all be seated way before the show started because we enjoyed the spotlights beaming different colours onto the huge velvet curtain, which would start to part once the movie projector came on.

The first cinema in Penang was the Majestic Theatre, which opened in 1926. It was also named after its owner, the late Khoo Sian Ewe, who was the doyen of the Chinese business community.

It was the first cinema in Penang to screen sound movies, or talkies, in the 1930s. According to reports, it was also known to the locals as the Shanghai Sound Movie Theatre.

The cinemas in those days had an air of grandeur with their distinctive architecture. Every cinema was different, unlike today when you recognise the cinema hall in a cineplex, located in a mall, by a number.

Growing up in Penang, there was plenty to choose from.

Besides the Lido and Globe cinemas at the New World Park at Swatow Lane, which has now become a food court, the English movies would usually be screened at the Cathay and Odeon cinemas along Penang Road.

A movie I remembered watching at the Cathay cinema was Mackenna’s Gold, a 1969 western starring Gregory Peck and Telly Savalas, where the greedy characters shot themselves to death in their mad scramble for gold. The theme song, Old Turkey Buzzard, by Jose Feliciano was a hit.

Cathay, also known as the Choong Lye Hock Theatre, stood as a cinema for more than 35 years, but today, it houses a Mydin supermarket.

My eldest brother, Chun Sang, the only Chinese-educated one among my brothers, made sure that I had a balanced entertainment.

So regularly on Sundays, he would take me on his motorcycle to Federal Cinema, along Datuk Keramat Road, to watch the latest kung fu and sword-fighting flicks from Hong Kong. In those days, they all spoke Mandarin even though the movies were made in Hong Kong.

He opened me up to the amazing world of flying swordsmen with the likes of Wang Yu, David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan Tai, Fu Sheng and Lo Lieh.

I was then in primary school, and like the rest of the world, I was swept away by the movies of the legendary Bruce Lee with his unique martial arts skills.

But while I did not mind the action movies, I cringed and protested each time my brother took me to watch the Taiwanese romance movies of Chin Han, Chen Chen, Lin Fong Chiao (the wife of Jackie Chan) and Tien Niu.

These days, when you go to the movies, your choice of knick-knacks is limited by what is sold officially at the cineplex.

But at the Federal, for example, we could have either lok lok (small bits of food on skewers), steamed groundnuts, sotong bakar or barbecued meat buns.

At every cinema, there will always be an Indian man with his tray of salted peanuts and yellow kacang putih.

One item which the cinema-going generation of those days will surely remember is the kuaci or sunflower seeds.

Everyone just ate it throughout the movie, and the shells were simply scattered all over the floor. Which is why there is a long break in between shows as the cleaners have to come in to clear up.

With all the leftover food, the occasional one or two rats running across our feet in the middle of a show was not something strange! Finding a chewing gum stuck on the floor, annoying as it may be, was also common.

The toilets were located in the cinema itself, often towards the front third-class section, so one could actually go and take a quick toilet break.

But as children, we were terrified to go to the toilet alone in the middle of a show. The toilet, with its row of urinals, was huge. Often, we just hold it in, especially if we were watching a horror movie!

My parents widened my mind further by taking me to watch my first Hindi movie — Haathi Mere Saathi (Elephant, My Friend) — about a man who was forced to choose his love for his elephant friends and his wife. It starred Rajesh Khanna Tanuja.

This movie was shown at the Royal cinema at Maxwell Road and to this day, still probably holds the record for being one of the longest-running movies ever shown in local cinemas. It touched the heart of every Penangite, no matter what race, and everyone would have watched it more than once, often leaving in tears because the ending was so sad.

My father, Wong Soon Cheong, who was born in Kuah, Langkawi, laid the foundation for my love of Malay movies, and the works of the legendary P. Ramlee, himself a Penangite. And the one cinema that showed mainly Malay movies was the Paramount at Prangin Road.

As I write this article, I could see that we were really spoilt for choice back then and these were some of the cinemas I recall.

The Capitol, Paramount, Royal and Eastern have all been demolished to make way for new developments. At the New World Park, there were the Lido and the Globe, the latter being a semi-open cinema, which allowed those who did not buy tickets to watch the movie from outside.

Then, of course, there were Odeon cinema (still open) in Penang Road, the Rex cinema (now a home furnishing store) in Burmah Road, the Star cinema (now a lighting shop) in Datuk Keramat Road, the Capitol cinema also at Penang Road, the Gala cinema (defunct) in Aboo Siti Lane, the Majestic cinema (abandoned) in Phee Choon Road, the Sun cinema (discotheque) off Campbell Street, the Metro cinema (now the office of Sculpture at Work) in Perak Road, Movieland (demolished) next to City Bayview Hotel, the Wembly cinema (demolished) in Noordin Street, the Kok Pin cinema (a supermarket now) and the Choong Nam cinema (now a church) in Ayer Itam.

By the Gama Supermarket, which is where Penang Road, Datuk Keramat Road and Brick Kiln Road meet, there used to be an open patch of land where the giant-sized posters promoting the movies were placed. This stretch has now been renamed Jalan Gurdwara after the Sikh temple located in its vicinity.

By the time I was in school, with my parents being more generous with my allowance, I became more addicted to movies.

In the late 1970s, when John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever reached Penang, I skipped school to make sure I was the first in the queue to buy a ticket. Many young people watched the movies countless times at the Rex cinema just to learn the dance steps.

It was also the era of the Hui Brothers — Sam, Michael and Ricky — with their wacky sense of humour, portraying the struggling lives of the working class in Hong Kong, in their comedy blockbusters made between 1974 and 1981.

Those were our growing-up years as teenagers and taking a girl out on a date meant taking her to watch a movie. It was best and most affordable, if not the healthiest way, to meet members of the opposite sex.

Interestingly enough, men and women were segregated at the ticket counters and the men would always try to get the women to buy tickets for them, provided they did not exceed their quota of four tickets.

The women’s queue was always shorter but I am sure some of the men just wanted to pick up girls by asking for this favour.

And it was also a time when X-rated movies were allowed to be shown. We were too young to be admitted but we could remember the uncles from our neighbourhood looking rather sheepish as they queued up for tickets.

But was it the good old times? I am not sure. The cineplexes are cleaner now, the sound system is better and the seats more comfortable. If you pay more, you even get a blanket with a reclining seat and a cup of soft drink and popcorn.

Gone are the “carpets” of kuaci shells on the floor and scurrying rats are only memories of the past.

The smokers, which we had to tolerate back then, have finally disappeared but are replaced by people who talk or send SMSes on their mobile phones.

And with today’s online booking, who could have imagined that there was a time when scalpers selling over-priced tickets did roaring business each time a blockbuster was screened?