I had my primary education in Brunei, high school and sixth form education in Singapore and Kuching, Sarawak respectively. After completing my sixth form education in 1955, I returned to Brunei to work for 2 years at the Telecom Department to save up money for my university education.
It had always been my dream to go to Japan for further studies, a country with beautiful culture and vitality. In August 1958, I began my 3 weeks journey by sea to Japan as a private student to study one year intensive course in Japanese language at Asia University, Musashi Sakai, Tokyo, prior to sitting for the National Tokyo Medical & Dental University Entrance examination. Fortunately, I passed the examination and was accepted by the University concerned in March 1959 as a scholarship student with no obligation. Hence, I began my six years studies at the National Tokyo Medical and Dental University majoring in Dentistry. All my classmates were Japanese students from all parts of Japan including Okinawa and they were very intelligent, hard-working and friendly. I had to study twice as hard in order to catch up with them. In my class of 60 students, I was the only Riugakusei.
During my six years university education in Tokyo, I stayed with a very good, strict and humble Japanese family of three generations; a couple with 2 children, a boy and a girl, and a grandmother at Konodai, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba-ken. I spent most of my time with the family besides my time with my classmates and our professors in the university. Sometimes I felt homesick due to new environment and different culture. As time passed by, I began to get accustomed to it and I liked it very much.
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