With a five-dollar note stashed in my ‘L-lembu' licence, the plastic sleeve smudged through frequent fiddling, I handed it over.

"Boleh selesai kah, Tuan?" Five dollars was a lot of money in 1974.

From muted mutter to bold proposition, slipping duit kopi to traffic cops got easier each time I was nabbed in my Honda-cub ride to Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Next stop, the RIMV (now known as the JPJ)

After months of learning to drive in a boneshaker green Mini, which often stalled between first and second gear, it was time for my test.