The write-up on Coliseum Café from the May issue of Malaysia Airlines’ Going Places sure brought back sweet memories.
As second Form students, we were given a group assignment in Sejarah (History) class to chronicle a subject that has shaped itself into the larger context of the country’s historical journey. Being given full independence to decide on the topic, my brainchild was to research on Lat’s life.
It was a selfish choice as I was a fan. Dato’ Lat, as he is known in recent years, was already at that time the nation’s foremost cartoonist whose illustrations of his own and the Malaysian way of life captured many hearts and imagination. As an impressionable child, I was entertained, provoked and marveled by his earlier publications, panel by panel, page by page. I must have leafed through all the sketches at least dozens of times during my childhood.
With the team’s agreement, we set to work. Of course, during the heydays, resources for research were scarce. The internet, for one, was non-existent. The school and public libraries were of no help. The only realistic way of researching the life of a tokoh tempatan (local hero) was to meet him for all the digs.
So on a hot afternoon after school, the group of four walked from Convent Bukit Nanas to the Coliseum Café on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. None of us had ever set foot in this place. We sheepishly pushed the swinging doors and toddled through. Needless to say, the din died down as patrons stopped their conversations to cast bemused looks at the school-uniformed ensemble set on approaching the pub section.
We waited by the bar counter till we were spoken to by the gentleman behind it. I recalled describing our school project and asked if he could so kindly point Lat out to us if he was around. The gentleman listened patiently and then told us that Lat so happen was not there on that day.
He could have just left it at that but he went on to scribe neatly on a piece of paper Lat’s real name and home phone number and suggested we try calling him instead. I was grateful to the core but due to shock I think I managed to just mumble something resembling “thank you” and we left.
I did call the number. The wife answered. She was another kind soul. She gently explained that unfortunately, he was at the hospital and was due for a medical procedure and as such would be out of commission for some time. We could of course re-pursue when he’s back.
Regretfully, the project had its deadline, so we soon moved on to another topic, which I recall was on KTM, the country’s railway service provider.
It would’ve been so exhilarating, and such a potential scoop, if we really got to meet Lat. But many a time, the journey to getting there is just as noteworthy, if not more.
I retain the slip of paper given by the bartender to this day. I wonder if he is still there (I didn’t see anyone resembling him when visiting the Coliseum years later) and would surely like to thank him properly if I met him again. Another mystery remains. How did I get the lead that Lat was a frequent patron of this restaurant? For the life of me I cannot remember.
Coliseum Café is for many the place to go for a good sizzling steak, a historical monument of the bygone days, or simply a convenient hangout place. For me, it’s a place where an adult stranger had shown genuine kindness to some kids during a brief encounter.
As second Form students, we were given a group assignment in Sejarah (History) class to chronicle a subject that has shaped itself into the larger context of the country’s historical journey. Being given full independence to decide on the topic, my brainchild was to research on Lat’s life.
It was a selfish choice as I was a fan. Dato’ Lat, as he is known in recent years, was already at that time the nation’s foremost cartoonist whose illustrations of his own and the Malaysian way of life captured many hearts and imagination. As an impressionable child, I was entertained, provoked and marveled by his earlier publications, panel by panel, page by page. I must have leafed through all the sketches at least dozens of times during my childhood.
With the team’s agreement, we set to work. Of course, during the heydays, resources for research were scarce. The internet, for one, was non-existent. The school and public libraries were of no help. The only realistic way of researching the life of a tokoh tempatan (local hero) was to meet him for all the digs.
So on a hot afternoon after school, the group of four walked from Convent Bukit Nanas to the Coliseum Café on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. None of us had ever set foot in this place. We sheepishly pushed the swinging doors and toddled through. Needless to say, the din died down as patrons stopped their conversations to cast bemused looks at the school-uniformed ensemble set on approaching the pub section.
We waited by the bar counter till we were spoken to by the gentleman behind it. I recalled describing our school project and asked if he could so kindly point Lat out to us if he was around. The gentleman listened patiently and then told us that Lat so happen was not there on that day.
He could have just left it at that but he went on to scribe neatly on a piece of paper Lat’s real name and home phone number and suggested we try calling him instead. I was grateful to the core but due to shock I think I managed to just mumble something resembling “thank you” and we left.
I did call the number. The wife answered. She was another kind soul. She gently explained that unfortunately, he was at the hospital and was due for a medical procedure and as such would be out of commission for some time. We could of course re-pursue when he’s back.
Regretfully, the project had its deadline, so we soon moved on to another topic, which I recall was on KTM, the country’s railway service provider.
It would’ve been so exhilarating, and such a potential scoop, if we really got to meet Lat. But many a time, the journey to getting there is just as noteworthy, if not more.
I retain the slip of paper given by the bartender to this day. I wonder if he is still there (I didn’t see anyone resembling him when visiting the Coliseum years later) and would surely like to thank him properly if I met him again. Another mystery remains. How did I get the lead that Lat was a frequent patron of this restaurant? For the life of me I cannot remember.
Coliseum Café is for many the place to go for a good sizzling steak, a historical monument of the bygone days, or simply a convenient hangout place. For me, it’s a place where an adult stranger had shown genuine kindness to some kids during a brief encounter.
