Below are an exclusive interview session within The Seladang Editorial Board and “SuperMokh” at his home, on 1982
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“How did you get into V.I.?”.
SuperMokh:
“It’s a rather long story, but I’ll cut it short. You see, I entered V.I. in Form One. It was 1966 then. I stayed there for about four years till 1970. Actually I never expected to go to V.I.”
But since he was active in school sports in his primary days that was probably one of the reasons why he was selected.
As someone who enjoys sporting activities and who has wide interests, SuperMokh was not only in the V.I football team but also in its rugby team besides playing hockey, basketball and swimming for his House.
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“Life must have been fun, being a known figure in school?”
SuperMokh:
“No, not exactly. I wasn’t really known at that time as there were other prominent personalities to compete against, like the school athletes, for example. Were we taken aback! But I got by. Fame never comes easy, as the saying goes.”
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“Then how did you get into the limelight?”
SuperMokh:
“Well, that came only after I left school. It was during a trial play with the Selangor Junior Squad at the Piala Razak Tournament. Later, my manager, Mr M J Vincent, recommmended that I join the senior squad and from then everything started coming my way.”
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“Was it then that you got into the Selangor team?”
SuperMokh:
“Yes it was. It was 1972. I’ll always remember the year as it was during that year I was chosen for the Malaysia A Team after my splendid performance in Jakarta while in the B Team.
The Seladang Editorial Board:
What about your school days? What was the training like?”.
SuperMokh:
“Well, the truth is that I was just an average player. My position was left wing striker. Even now I feel that the training methods of my school days were very raw. There weren’t any qualified coaches at all. But Cikgu Othman Mohd Ali, our school coach, was really something. Though he taught us only from experience, he was very good. We were very disciplined and individual fitness was maintained. Sometimes we even had centralized training when we had to stay in the school!”
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“But the parents!. Didn’t they ever object to all this?”
SuperMokh:
“Naturally. But they accepted it later on. They let nature take its course.”
SuperMokh told The Seladang Editorial Board more about the V.I. besides sports, football and training. He remembered the prefects well enough to have vivid memories of them.
SuperMokh:
“They were a strict bunch. They even warned me for having my bicycle modified. I was sent to detention class, once or twice, I think, where I had to polish hinges. Well, that was swell enough for me!. My worse experience was when I failed two subjects and the report card given out on the same day that I was supposed to play against R.M.C. in the finals. But a couple of whacks from the Headmaster was enough to put some fire into my playing. We won the match as expected.”
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“What about your most memorable experience? Could it be any better than your worse,” we asked inquisitively.
SuperMokh:
“My most memorable experience was, of course, the solitary goal I helped to score in the 1970 Laxamana Cup against the MCKK. This is one more of the things I’ll always remember.
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“Haven’t you thought of coaching?” we asked.
SuperMokh:
“Coaching? Actually I was asked a few years back to coach the V.I. football team but because of my commitments and job, I’d rather leave it to Mr Rajasingam, who I personally think is very good.”
The Seladang Editorial Board:
“Mokhtar, after all this talk about football and school, what about yourself? Do you mind telling us?”
SuperMokh:
“Of course not! For a start, I’m an Executive Officer at PKNS, I am the Selangor State Football Captain and also the National Football Captain. At times I think these are too much for me but I get by like I used to, thanks to my own strategies and to my wife, Tengku Zarina and her encouragement. There was one time when I was asked to play for some other countries but I turned down the offer. I like listening to sentimental tunes, especially those of Air Supply and The Alley Cats. Lastly I would like to say that I’m proud to be a Victorian and may it be wiser every day.”
References
http://www.viweb.freehosting.net/SuperMokh.htm
