Siapa Pao Kun?
Kalau kau Tanya anak-anak yang sibuk ke hulu-hilir
Yang tanpa tujuan mereka mundar-mandir
Dari Bedok ke Joo Koon ke Potong Pasir
Pasti terketap, terkedu, terkunci bibir
Orang ni siapa?
Yang menjadi punca tanda Tanya
Tiada jalan atau lorong atau estet yang berbinkannya
Apatah lagi ukiran namanya di dada kitab-kitab sejarah
kita
Mungkin bukan sesiapa, sekadar nostalgia orang lama
Jadi siapa dia?
Pemuda tergaru-garu kepala
Pemudi tersengih-sengih tenganga-nganga
Penting sangat ke jawapannya
Keluar dalam peperiksaan ke kelak soalannya
Pao Kun ni, dia siapa?
Kita kenal Goh Keng Swee
Kita kenal Yusoff Ishak
Kita kenal Devan Nair
Kita kenal David Marshall
Kita kenal anak-beranak Lee
Tapi Pao Kun ni, dia siapa?
Who is Pao Kun?
Well if you were to ask the carefree young ones,
The ones whom, without knowing where they are going, nor
where they have been,
From Bedok to Joo Koon to Potong Pasir
Their lips will all be shut, still, unsure…
Who is this person?
That becomes the subject of this question
No jalan, no lorong, no estate that bears his name
In the thick books of history, there is no mention in fame
Maybe he is really, a nobody, no one, perhaps just nostalgia,
merely for the elderly
So who is this person?
Young men, scratching their heads
Young ladies grins sheepishly, agape
Seriously, is the answer that important
For tests, for marks, for grades, for the examinations?
Pao Kun who?
We know of Goh Keng Swee
We know of Yusoff Ishak
We know of Devan Nair
We know of David Marshall
We know about the Lees…
But Pao Kun, who is he, she…?
Pao Kun was a man, Pao Kun tu seorang lelaki
Yang budi jasanya tidak dapat termuat dalam puisi
Of whom his deeds, this poem, will never be able to read…
Kerana kata-kata adakalanya gagal melukis gambar
Because words do fail to paint a picture proper
Apatah lagi untuk mencorakkan seorang Kuo Pao Kun
What more, of a Kuo Pao Kun
The man behind every person here….
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