LETTERS: In the 1940s, births were registered at the local police stations. After my birth, my father went to the Bidor police station to apply for my birth certificate.
He pronounced my Chinese name and other birth details as best as he could in Malay. The policeman on duty wrote down all the details.
On that birth certificate appeared, "Liong Kam Chong" (LKC)! My father, as did all Chinese parents then, wrote to his parents in China to seek their approval.
This was important because I was the firstborn male in the family and all male siblings after me would have to carry the same middle name, besides the surname.
As it turned out, they chose a different middle name — "Yim". One objection to "LKC" was that the name in Cantonese sounded like "ruan kam zhuang", meaning "impatiently reckless".
The belief was that one would live up to one's name, for better or for worse. So, from then on, I was called "Yim Chong" instead of "Kam Chong" in the family.
Later, my father realised that the surname was spelt "wrongly" in my birth certificate. It should have been "Leong". No change, however, was made as I began schooling.
My three younger brothers carried "Leong Yim" as their surname and middle name in their birth certificates.
My father had learned the right approach. He wrote down the name of my brothers in Romanised alphabets to show to the policeman on duty.
All was well in the Chinese school. My name "LYC' was always called and written in Chinese. In English and Malay classes, the teachers just accepted "LYC" as the name.
When I enrolled for the remove class at the Government English Secondary School in Tapah, the first thing the class teacher asked for was my birth certificate.
She said I would be registered as "LKC" and not as "LYC" as I had wanted as it was only proper to follow the birth certificate.
My name was back to "LKC". On the advice of his friends, my father went to the Tapah magistrate's court to make a declaration that "LKC" and "LYC" referred to the same person.
So, when my IC (identity card) was issued, it bore two names — "LKC@LYC".
Having observed the hassle my father went through, I made sure that my children's names were all correctly spelt out in their birth certificates.
Having a name with an alias does bring some interesting moments. Here are a few examples.
My friends from primary school continue to know me as "LYC". A few called me to confirm if the "LKC" who often wrote his articles in the newspapers was the "LYC" they knew.
Also, why my brothers had "Yim" and not "Kam" as their middle name?
In my daughter's wedding card invitation, some relatives and friends found my name printed as "Liong" while my daughter's name was "Leong". They thought it was a misprint.
When I joined the Lions Club of Seremban years ago, I was fondly called "Lion G"! A friend also jestingly suggests that since I am already a "Liong" and "Leong", perhaps I may also add a "Liang".
There is a famous quote from Shakespeare: "What's in a name? In my case, I do well to take things in stride!
LKC @LYC
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
