“One is never too old to learn” has always been the motto of 75-year-old Yu Kai-Yun. As he is young at heart, he always has curiosity and is eager to learn new things.

He bought his first personal computer from Taiwan through his wife even before computer was popular in Malaysia in 1982. The then computer was connectable to the television set and all the text and audio could be recorded in small cassettes via a tape recorder.

In the late 1980s, he spent over RM5000 to buy a black-and-white computer with 80MB of memory. It was then considered as a very advanced computer. Even though it has now been eliminated by time, Yu still keeps it as an antique.

The current computer he is now using is the latest wireless model of 2009, which worth only RM3200 even it is more advanced than the old computers.

He told Sin Chew Daily that he keeps contact with his children through e-mails.

“It is not so convenient to call sometimes. Just like when my son calls from the United States when I’m driving, we can’t have long conversations. But we can chat as long as we want on the Internet,” said Yu.

He claimed that he learned using computer all by himself and he even gave seminars around the country to guide others how to use e-mails on behalf of a computer company after he was retired in the 1990s.

In fact, teaching was not his first ambition. Instead, he wanted to be an engineer or a lawyer.

Yu’s father was a school principle who earned a low income. He advised Yu to study at a normal school in Penang as his father was worried about not being able to pay for Yu’s college fees.

It was free to study at the normal school and his father comforted him by promising to accomplish his dream when their family’s financial status improved. After studying at the normal school for two years, his father asked him to return and start teaching in Triang.

He was required to complete two years of probation before becoming a teacher. His father even confiscated all the salary of his first year of teaching. And he started to receive RM200 of his RM420 monthly salary the second year.

He kept his money in a post office and bought a camera 10 months later. At the same time, he quietly applied for a university with the help of his senior. He got an offer letter each from New Asia College, Hong Kong and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU).

He chose NTNU as it was free. Thus, he went abroad to study after 22 months of teaching. His father was really frustrated. He bought Yu an air ticket but refused to send him money.

However, his father asked Yu to return and finish his probation for another two months during his semester break. His after also started to send him US$10 a month the second year of his study in Taiwan.

During his study, he worked as a part time correspondent for Sin Chew Daily. He was a part time photographer as well.

Yu spent his pension to pay off his house loan and started teaching at a tuition centre after his retirement, living a simple self-contained live.

Yu’s second daughter Yu Jia-Lin said that her father was strict but he was not an old-fashioned father. Instead, he was very flexible and would ask for his children’s opinions. They exchanged views and compromised with each other.

“He is more experienced than we are, after all. We always ask for his views when we encounter a problem,” she added. (Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)