By Foo Ming Li
Penangites would probably have their own life stories from their experience of living in the state. Similarly, a student of Han Chiang University College of Communication wrote a story titled ‘The Jelutong Kampung Boy’ telling his childhood experience and the ups and downs of living in a village in Jelutong.
Kang Chung Yee, a Year 1 Semester 2 Bachelor of Public Relations student was selected as one of the 22 writers to have their fiction stories, creative non-fiction stories or poems to be published in both print and digital platforms of MYWriters Penang’s 5th anniversary anthology, ‘Home Groan’ which is expected to reach the audience in December 2020.
The competition organised by MYWriters Penang requires the participants to share their relationships with Penang, in which, they must be acknowledged as an honorary Penangite by the organisers.
In the previous semester, Kang was approached by his lecturer, Cheah Wui Jia who suggested to him the idea of participating in the competition, but he declined the invitation as the submission date was too close. Two weeks later, he however decided to participate in the competition after receiving an update from Cheah stating the submission date of the competition had been extended from 31 July 2020 to 31 August 2020.
“I told myself to give it a try participating in the competition since the submission deadline has been extended regardless of the outcome of participating in it,” Kang said.
On one fine day, he received an email from MYWriters Penang stating that he is among the writers whose work has been selected for publication in the ‘Home Groan’ anthology for the December 2020 edition.
“I was thrilled that my first creative non-fiction work, ‘The Jelutong Kampung Boy’ along with other 21 participants’ work was selected to be published in the anthology,” said the debut writer, Kang.
‘The Jelutong Kampung Boy’ is a story about Kang’s childhood experience of living in a village which transpired as his source of inspiration for his short story because he finds that many children nowadays do not possess the privilege of living in the village.
“Sharing those memorable moments before technological advancement can overshadow our daily lives and present a different reality to the current generation to shed light on how people lived to the fullest back then without the presence of modern gadgets,” Kang said.
As for the challenges Kang faced during his life in the village, he said he had gone through some terrifying moments when huge monitor lizards would appear whenever there was a flood during the rainy season. He added that the bond between him and his family has helped him overcome the challenges.
“Even though there were sorrowful moments, I lived a contented life and had a strong bond with my family members. Reminiscing the good old days will help me to overcome the challenges in the future and my past has shaped me into who I am today,” he added.
Lastly, Kang believes that everyone has the potential of writing a good story, only a little inspiration is needed for themselves to take the first step and they will accomplish it.
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