Milo

One of the famous drinks that we grew up with is the malt drink Milo. Who would forget "Minum Milo, Anda jadi sihat dan kuat" (Drink Milo and you'll be healthy and strong)? I think the slogan has changed, when I recently heard it over the TV.

Everybody remembers the green tin. The chocolate taste it offers. I think, in those days it was a substitute for chocolate for those who could not afford it. Chocolate was something unusual, something of a luxury item that only a select few can afford. After all, there were not many shopping malls in Kuching and Sibu in those days. If I am not wrong, the shops in Satok, Padang Pasir and Gambier Street seldom have them in the store. 

The Milo tin is very distinctive. Besides the distinctive green tin, an athlete in action would always be depicted on the tin. The athlete could be doing some sporting event - running a 100 metre dash, jumping over the hurdle, swimming, trying to get a hockey ball pass an opponent and of course, playing football. I would always recall a goalkeeper in yellow jersey making a save of a ball that was in the direction of the corner of the goal. Imagining it in real life, that goal, if it materialises, would be a splendid goal.

The games are those that Malaysians are popular with. Games that glorifies Malaysia, at least in the SEA Games level. However, I do not recognize any of the athletes on the tin. It could be just a depiction. And so, Milo associates itself with sports. Even the TV advertisement too showed the wining athlete drinking milo - before or after the sports event. It was a drink of the champions - as depicted by the winning athlete holding a milo mug amidst the flickering of flashes from the cameras.

So influential was the advertisement that almost every household had a tin of Milo then. It did not stop in the house. School sporting events too would see students and teachers queuing at the green Milo truck, getting a taste of free cold Milo in the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun. Some, without hesitating, would ask for two cups of Milo, and would return to ask for more. The school sports event would be incomplete without the presence of a Milo truck.

As a child that used to play football on the village road - it was not known as street soccer then, at "half time" our favourite drink would be Milo. To quench our thirst, all of us would dash home - or to a friend's home - to get a dose of ice cold Milo.

Sometimes, when we have the extra money, we would go to tuck shops to buy ourselves milo "ice cream". Those are Milo filled in a cylindrical plastic bags of about 15 centimetres, kept frozen and would make a great thirst reliever after the street soccer session. As children, we favoured the Milo ice cream with the most Milo and sweetened condensed milk in it. So at the tuck shop freezer, we would choose the Milo ice cream with the darkest brown colour. The faint coloured ones, due to the reduced Milo content, are usually left out. 

Drinking Milo seems routine until it became a religious-like obligation to drink Milo every time in a sporting event. I have a friend who never failed to accept my invitation to play street soccer. He was so active and agile that he would run up and down the pitch tirelessly. One wonders where did he get his energy from. Then one day, after failing to perform up to his usual top notch performance, he blamed the Milo for his failure to lift up to his usual game. That was funny and odd at the same time. I thought that just the other day he gloated that Milo was the energy drink that gets him the goals. To give reasons to his drop in performance, he further explained that if the depiction on the Milo is not a footballer, it will affect his football performance. So I asked him what the picture on the Milo tin he had at home was. He said it was showing swimmers in action - only suitable if you wished to win a swimming competition.

When I was little, I had an uncle who owned a tuck shop in the village in Bintangor. He would get lots of free gifts, at times, for making large purchases to stock up his store. I remembered him bringing home free Milo brand cotton t-shirt and pants. There were lots of other merchandises with the Milo logo on it, but I could not remember what they were now. As he might have many in his keeping, he would offer them to me, my sister or my other cousins. Some of us who got the tee would be brimming in pride, showing off the Milo logo. In addition to the logo, with the picture of an athlete on the shirt, it further burned the athletic spirit, making the new owner too eager to start a sports competition.

To test whether the new tee shirt did improve his or her (usually his) sports agility, the simplest sport to organize would be a dash on the empty village road. Most of the time, due to the placebo effects of donning a brand new, sporting attire, he or she would win the short dash. Or maybe, the other kids are terrified that this fella here has got a brand new weapon that will wipe us out of off the track? Naturally, everybody got intimidated. With that reinforced belief - guaranteed winning streaks in any form of sports challenges, be it in the school or in the end of the kampung - the wearer would only use the Milo shirt in those occasions, to rise up to the challenges.

It was never thought that an athlete's attire could play a role in his performance. Just look at the Olympics, athletes in speed events - running, cycling or swimming - would choose low resistance, water repelling and tight sport fits. A 100th in a milisecond is crucial  to determine if you would win the gold medal or not.  

During the secondary school years, milo was still the main drink. While studying, reading or doing homework, I would have a mug of hot milo beside me. When I have hunger pangs, I would take the " Jacob's cream crackers" and dip it into my hot Milo, letting it to soften and cool down a little before putting them in my mouth. It is sweet with Milo, soft and with every masticating motion of the mouth, you could taste the Milo liquid oozing from the soaked crackers. Well, not everybody likes that texture. Some would still prefer the crispy characteristics of the crackers, only to dip in their Milo drink briefly before eating them.

This practice continued till my early university years, especially when sitting along  in the dorm room in a cold rainy weather. I thought it was fulfilling and by keeping myself full, I saved myself from having to walk down to the cafeteria to buy dinner.  The saved money could be used for better things - in the definition of a teenager - like watching movies or go for bowling. Thinking about that now, how unhealthy!

Today, Milo is still there. Other alternatives to Milo have emerged. Nevertheless, on seeing a tin of Milo, it will automatically evoke the warmth and memories of the growing years.