Makassar, here I come

Less than five days to go, and counting.

I am in trepidation, but I am looking forward for a trip to Makassar to visit a former teacher of mine, who used to teach Sains Paduan and Fizik in high school in 1977-79. I have always been on the lookout for my three bapaks from high school and two of them passed away before I could meet up with them.

In Bapak Maryoso's case, just the with knowledge that he hailed from Pekalongan, my brother went to Education Dept in Pekalongan to seek info on bapak and by chance, the person there knew of a Bapak Maryoso who went to Malaysia to teach in the 70s. He returned to Jawa in 1977 and according to that person, he went back to Malaysia and apparently his family now lives in Selayang.

No, he had passed away.

Just like Bapak Muljadi, though in Bapak Muljadi's case, he was so near too as he was living in Seremban.

So after knowing Bapak Mappa's whereabouts, I am not taking any chance and immediately arranged a ziarah trip to visit Bapak. Fortunately, my buddies from KB76, Zul Maon, and Rozhan are willing to join me to visit as part of entourage to visit Bapak.

Bapak is now 86, and is apparently healthy.

Bapak is part of the 3 science teachers who taught and prepared us for integrated science for the SRP exams and we did so well then. Part of the credit for science has to be given to Bapak (with Cikgu Ghazali and Shaari), if I remember correctly. They probably work harder than us for SRP 78 with daily tests, and quizzes.

He went on to teach us Physics for F4.

What makes this trip more interesting and more 'meriah' is that Cikgu Dr Fatanah will be joining us too. We have the KNAP story to tell Bapak, and I am sure from teachers' perspectives, there are many stories to be told.

Sunday 5 February. Makassar, and Bapak Mappa, here we come.

Serenading Juria

Prologue

In the 70s, specifically from 1974 onwards, we lived in a government bungalow located within the compound of the police barrack of Aulong, Taiping. I guess the bungalow was built for senior government officer, so for security reason, it is placed within the compound of the police barrack. One can't be at a safer place. Most of the time, the police officer on duty would be opening the main gate for us; at times, we would open it ourselves to show respect.

As I have mentioned in a-much-earlier entry (2010) - Beautiful homes of my souls, the barrack boys are of different materials than us. They were much more hardy and resilient. Tougher, if you must. Unlike us, I must admit.

I wrote about them being thick-skin having serenading a particular girl that caught their attention. Yes, they would, much to my amusement. I would never do such thing. Of course especially not today and certainly not during those years.

But the song in particular was not really a big hit song, so I can't find it over at Youtube and posted in together with my entry.

Until I uploaded it myself last night.

This is a lesser known song of Hail Amir, but in 1978, I would think, this girl Ju (or Juria) was The girl at the Aulong Barrack. Perfect. I was really amused with the boys' antics to remember it until today.

Serenading Juria

And I certainly would not forget during one of the rare occasions I was at home - circa 77/78, a group of the Berek kids would sing Juria, a song popularised by Hail Amir. And they would sing it out loud; loud enough for me to hear them and remember it.

Juriah, engkau cantik, engkau manis...so goes the lyric. I don't remember the whole thing now. It was not the most popular of Hail Amir's songs during those years, but there is a reason why the kids loved to sing this song in the 70's Aulong Police Station.

For obvious reasons, there was this (pretty) girl called Ju - I am not sure if her actual name is Juriah or the Ju is just an initial of a slightly different name, I think, living in the police quarters, and she was the object of their attentions and affections.

As for me during those years, there were already many pretty gals in Kota Bharu, so I had never been bothered with the Berek gals! Obviously, I am trying to justify that I have nothing to do with this episode.

And I would like to make full denial that I have anything to do with this! ;-)

I remember this incident because I thought they were funny, and downright brave - if not foolish, to be doing what they did. Actually I found it amusing. It reminds of movies where the boy would serenade the girl at their home - and sometimes they got kicked at their ass by the gal's dad. PRamlee also has similar scene with S Samsudin trying to woo the maid in one of his movie - was it Antara Dua Darjat? But of course Wak Karto would come to the 'rescue' much to his chagrin.

Brave indeed - these Berek kids. And they must have thick skin.

EPILOGUE

This is Juria, but not the Juria of the 70s. Of course I would not have a picture of the Barrack police Aulong's Juria.

This is the Japanese version Juria and a fashion icon in Japan.

Syed Haron - Songwriter/Composer Extraordinaire

"Tuan Syed Haron!" I called him,

He turned around, and I grabbed his hand and shook it. Not knowing me obviously, he was puzzled by the attention this stranger is giving him.

"Thank you for Hujan, thank you for Warisan and thank you for Hanya Lagu. I think Hanya Lagu is yours, right? " I said, while still holding his hand. (Hanya Lagu was his first composition for Sudirman that caught my attention in his first LP in 1978.)

"You remember alll his songs?" his wife exclaimed, listening intently to my monologue with her husband. "I was brought up with Sudir's songs, dan tentunya mesti ada lagu-lagu tuan Syed. Masa itu saya sekolah menengah." I replied.

He squealed in delight, obviously embarrassed by the attention, and clearly overwhelmed by the occasion. Being a humble man, suddenly he was surrounded by more and more people wanting to take pictures with him.

Hujan and Kepulanganku are probably his two best songs; they are a delight to my ears. Kau Akan Kembali, Tak Perlu Diucapkan and Hari Itu Dalam Kenangan were amongst the other many hits he had with his best buddy Sudirman. Untukmu is another pleasant song to me. Beautiful. Back then I would only know him by name, and had never seen his picture. They were all beautiful songs and I can only then admire this gifted songwriter.

Warisan has been used many times over, over many events and occasions, especially Merdeka day celebrations. Yes, I don't understand why he is not being recognized and rewarded by the government. He deserved better for sure. Lesser mortal had been rewarded much more.

Thank you again, tuan Syed Haron. Your songs live on in my mind, and I am sure I not exaggerating if I say in thousands others. Make that in million others!

The boys also memorializing the occasion with this picture

EPILOGUE

You can read my take on Kepulanganku here. Otherwise here is the song.




 Hari Itu Dalam Kenangan

I uploaded this song. Now with over 24,000 views and 77 likes.

This is the first song he penned. I like this song. It is close to my heart.

Excuse me, did you just arrive from London?

When I was asked to give a talk on career day at my alma mater - this time under Ansara KB umbrella, I was unsure. Unsure whether I was the right person and have the right credentials. Have I done enough in my career to give me an air of authority to talk to anyone, especially school leavers? Do I have a career worth talking about in the first place? Or would I be talking nonsense and confuse them even more?

Or worst, guide them into the wrong career!

I am not sure who nominated my name to be honest - was it Ku Hamid, or a former teacher in KB? I am not an orator, nor a speaker who speaks from memory, and with gusto, and did not have to prepare to give a talk. As a rule of thumb, I need powerpoint slides to guide my talk.

And I don't talk without doing some kind of research and back up my talk with data first. So I had to ask a staff of mine to prepare 40 pages worth of slides and I prepare another 40 pages, and software with a demo so that I can illustrate my points.

And I will bring chemical engineering down to SPM students' level.

I am going to change the title to Chemical Engineering for SPM Students, or better still, I am a chemical engineer!

Even if the talk was only for secondary school, and secondary school students - albeit smart students, I need to do a good job, and not a half-hearted one. I need to make an impression on them.

But I over-prepare myself in the end, which is typical of me. I was told I have from 1030 hours to 1300 hours, so I took it that I have 2 1/2 hours to talk. That will be 80 slides in 2 hours and 30 mins worth of simulation demo of the very basic principle of chemical engineering.

My presentation and demo materials

All in all, it took five days of preparation for my engineer and another 2 days for me. That's 7 man-days worth of worth of work for a 2 1/2 hours talk. Too long a time, but I had to start from scratch. I didn't have anything to start with. I even told the organizer (in jest) that I can talk for whole day if I am required. A senior at school Abg Zahari quipped that one should not give the microphone to 3 types of person, unless we are prepared to give them ample of time to talk.

1. a trainer

2. karaoke singer

3. politicians

Yes, of course. I fall into the first category!

But I did not expect the worst, to be honest. In the end, it became a 15-min talk. It was a nightmare, too early in the morning to have one. I have 2 1/2 hours worth of slides and I am given 15 mins?

That's the official allocation, though I am quite sure I took a lot more. More than my fair share of time. We had to talk to a bigger group and each discipline of engineering have to share the 2 1/2 hours available.

I was waiting for nasik berlauk, but this guy turned up first, so it has to be nasik tumpang for me

And after I was given a good breakfast of nasik tumpang - many hours after waking up at 3 am, I was in no mood to argue. I had to re-group and move on. 

That's life, I guess. Just make full use of what's given. I think I had gone through enough to know what to expect, and when to argue and fight, and when to accept.

When I was preparing the presentation earlier, I was not expecting to fight for students' attention or to ensure that chemical engineering had to be their chosen discipline. I was there to give them a choice, so that they can choose wisely. Nothing more, nothing less.

Our super senior Abd Zahari talking about aviation and being an aircraft engineer

It was not a competition amongst all the branches of engineering. Not to me anyway. I was not there to say chemical engineering is most important profession in the world. I was there to put the right perspective for the students to choose a career.

But I came fully prepared with data as back up, so I did not make mere statements.

Anyway, so what if chemical engineering is less important than some other disciplines - or more important. It is how you made use of it to build your career and what you contributed to the profession, to the nation and in the end how you lead your life.

Looks like me, talk like me. Is it me? I am not so sure.

So, I had 3 good questions from the students, more than my fair share of questions - for 8 speakers. And perhaps many students are considering to take up chemical engineering, again more than any other engineering profession.

That's definitely me. But taken at the wrong time when I was facing the other side and when my slide is not colourful and attention grabbing. This is when I started talking about the ideal gas law. Hahaha..nothing much, all SPM level physics

I feel good. If I had made some kind of impression on them, it was worth the trip to KB on a very early Sunday morning. I did not cost me that much - more like paying for a bus ticket, but I did lose many hours of sleep, which at this age, I may or may not need it.

One thing I am impressed is the fact the whole event was conducted in English. Heck, even the doa was in English. And the students spoke fluently in English, even during Q&A.

I am impressed. Good job, teachers.

The event was officiated by a former student - a very successful one. Datuk Kamarul is owner and CEO and the brain child behind Uzma Berhad. He is not just a successful entrepreneur but also a well known petroleum engineer.

To me, he had visions of what he wants in the future at the start of his career. I wish I was like that when I was just starting in the 80s. But I guess I did not have visions of myself in 30 years' time then. I was then happy to just be an employee. NOthing more than that.

Datuk Kamarul officiating the career day talk.

I am not sure during my time, in the 70s, of how many time I was invited on stage. I remember competing in quizzes ( and winning at least one), and of course many of those quizzes were conducted in the hall. But for better or worse, I am neutral about remembering those. if at all. If one remembers too much, I guess it can mean one thing: one had had public caning on stage!

I will be scarred for life had that happened to me. Haha, in retrospect, I can laugh I guess.

View from the stage, taken by yours truly. It is now an air-conditioned hall

There were 30 of us, ex-students that days. Many medical specialists amongst us that day, and of course a wide ranging careers from engineers to accountants, including artist - graphic artist that is. From the well known such as our good Dato and Nik Hasyudeen to the unknown like yours truly! From the old like yours truly to the youngsters.

And by virtue of being the second oldest batch that was there, I was accorded a seat during the official photography on stage. Nothing more, nothing less, I told my former classmates - I am there only by virtue of my seniority and not because I was one of the more successful person, career-wise that is. I am happy - and contented really, to admit. So it was my minute of fame, I guess.

The 'talker' on career day 2014.

While I was sitting and listening for others giving their point view - after all, I was the first speaker, I was approached by a former student, who had just graduated from Vanderbilt Uni in chemical engineering. She has good grades and that is a good university for chemical engineering. And had just returned home in June.

I did not know that someone had snapped a pic of me chatting with her, technically interviewing her during the career day talk at MRSM

It was a quickie interview on the side. I was not expecting it, to tell you the truth. Yes, she can have a job with us, but I told her that I want her to exhaust her avenue or decide on her career to what kind of area and company that she would want to work for. Technically, I think many companies much bigger than mine would be interested in hiring her, so I am a bit cautious in hiring. I would hire her if she wants to be with us for the medium term.

Good to see and here people graduating with good grades from good school. Especially MRSM students.

On stage during the introduction - young and old

I met with a few teachers, some of whom I would meet every now and then. I saw and talked to Ustaz Ridhwan, whom I had not met since 1981. I reminded of the car he had in the 70s. While I don't remember of the make or model anymore, his number plate starts with AR - obviously it was not registered in Kelantan.

He was washing his car near the old building and I was between classes, or was going to the library. Having a bit more time then, I approached him. "Ustaz," I said, "you have my name for your car."

"AR stands for Abdul Rahman."

He smiled. "Bukan, AR tu untuk Abang Ridhwan," he quipped.

That my ustaz for you!

Ustaz Ridhwan and I at the Dewan Makan after the talk

Another funny incident occurred and was related to me by Cikgu Nik. At the end of the day, she was showing me around, and told me of this incident. "Rahman," she said, "they were asking me about you. Whether you were the guy who had just arrived from London."

I looked at her in bewilderment. I did not arrive from London and I doubt it if anybody would travel that journey for a career day talk unless he or she is already KB due to one reason or another. Either they made a mistake or.... Then  it dawned upon me!

"Oh, yes upon arrival at the registration counter, I did declare that I have just 'landed'. Pardon my English. Probably the way I spoke and pronounced the word landed, it must have sound like London!" I laughed.

Err, sorry lah. May be I should quit talking in English. I must have certain slang or tried to speak with a certain slang la kut.

Excuse my English!

EPILOGUE I

The career day reminds me of Almarhumah Cikgu Azizah.

In the the days before Facebook  (late 90s, very late 90s), and the proliferation of cheap air travel, she contacted me and asked me to come and officiate the career day at my alma mater. Officiate: that's what I remember. May be I am supposed to just give a talk to the students. May be. I am not sure, to be honest.

But I remember she mentioning the word - rasmikan.

"Rahman datang la KB. If you are busy, just make a day trip. You can come in teh morning, and leave in the evening" she said, matter of factly, during the phone conversation.

My first view of my alma mater that morning

I did not make it then. I had to apologize profusely, but I presume I was too busy. Too busy building a career. Then I was. I was between assignments, so I was briefly in Kuala Lumpur. Otherwise, I was supposed to be in Houston.

Of course, since that day, I have made it to KB and my alma mater a couple of times. I had met Cikgu Azizah at her home in 2002, and when she was sick in Damansara at Cikgu's Somchit's house, but it left me with a deep scar.

For not heeding to a request by a former teacher of mine. She was not asking for the world from a former student. 

Moga Allah mencucuri rahmat keatas ruh Almarhumah.

EPILOGUE II

If these are your pictures and would like to claim credit, please contract me, or leave a comment below. I got this from various sources and am still waiting for the official pictures with more of me during the talk itself. :) 

Credit to Hiday, Ansara KB Reloaded, though I believe the actual sources are many more.

It was a very early wet Sunday for me in KL on the 17th Aug

 when I left for KB

Chatting with Wak Leh, a batch mate prior to giving the talk

Cikgu Wan Nasihah and En Nik Ahmad, former pengetuas

jjh

Aaah, kambing golek

With Cikgu Nik Faridah during lunch

More group photo of ex students with former teachers

More money from Uzma?

I think this comes from Nik Hasyudeen's FB

During breakfast

Talk for medical career

Mother of Mine

Mother of mine you gave to me,
all of my life to do as I please,
I owe everything I have to you,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

Mother of mine when I was young
you showed me the right way things had to be done,
without your arms where would I be,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

Mother you gave me happiness,
much more than words can say,
I pray the Lord that he may bless you
every night and every day.

Mother of mine now I am grown
and I can walk straight all on my own,
I'd like to give you what you gave to me,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

Mother of mine now I am grown
and I can walk straight all on my own,
I'd like to give you what you gave to me,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

I remember during the 70s, RTM did a big music concert with many of the majority of the singers from the old days (60s) were involved. This song was sung by Indra Shahrir - the son of Nona Asiah(??), but obviously the Malay version of this classic would be titled Mamaku Sayang.

I like that version too, as it remained etched in my memory.

Old Paintings by Othmansor

These paintings were left to the elements behind the bedroom door at our Taiping home, and has been with the family since 1970. According to MCKam, the artist painted them in 1968, when he was a bachelor and a teacher. Almarhum Othman Mansor was one talented artist who in 1980 was even sent to the States to study art.

These painting were given to bapak, during one of our visit to his studio home in Assam Kumbang, immediately after he married her in 1970. Almarhum offered one of the paintings for bapak to choose, but bapak could not choose one over the other; so instead Almarhum generously gave both of them away to him.

That's how we came into possession of these two priceless paintings. I should know and I knew it to the fine details as I was there when it happened. I may be young then, as a seven year old, but that conversation remains etched in my memory.

 

One of his painting now resides in Balai Seni Lukis Negara. He won second place in a national competition sponsored by RRI, circa 73/74 when he was a student at USM. It was not a competition for the amateur actually, as the winner was one Latiff Mohidin, Malaysia's most celebrated artist and poet.

That shows how talented he was then. He passed away at a very young age of 37 in 1982. Talented (and nice) people normally die young. He left a very young family obviously - his widow (my auntie) at 27 and his three children, the youngest at two.

This was painted in 1968 and I hope his son and my cousin will be able to restore them.

Now Balai Seni Lukis Negara has two paintings, one done by him and another one by his son, as they had recently purchased a painting by his equally talented son Arif Fauzan Othman. Kemana jatuhnya kuah kalau tidak ke nasi.

His painting (murals if you must) also used to adorn the main entrance of Taiping zoo in the 70s and 80s.

Alfatihah to my uncle Othman Mansor (Othmansor). Moga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas ruhnya, dan dimasukkan dalam golongan orang2 yg beriman.

Once a Tiger

Initially, I was a bit reluctant to join, but he insisted.

"There will be many from our primary school, furthermore I will also be around," Siva trying hard to convince me.

I don't really know everybody, to be honest. After all, this is basically a secondary school gathering - Class of 1980, to be precise. I was barely there then - a mere 2 weeks in January of 1976, while biding for time before heading to a boarding school in Kota Bharu, so far removed from Taiping. Other than that, I was an Edwardian in Std 6 in KE-1 primary in 1975 (from  1973). That means I have not seen them for at least 38 years. That's a lifetime, to be honest.

I had attended my main alma mater Class of 1980 reunion years ago, but that was for a secondary school where I had studied for 5 years.

Studied and lived, if I may correct that, which means that I was there 24 hours a day, not quite 365 days a year though, and knew almost everybody. I am still waiting for the 50th year anniversary reunion, but that's like waiting for the cat to grow horns. It probably will never come. The organizing committee must have been hibernating in a cave somewhere.

So the KE anniversary seems like an ideal alternative.

I was counting on the fact that I was a rugby player in primary school. I was the 8th person in scrum in the primary school rugby team. For the uninitiated - like me - it is considered as the last person. Typically that position is reserved to the biggest (and most powerful) boy, as he is required to push all his seven mates in front of him, against another 8 persons in the opposite side. So many should, and would remember me - that's what I was hoping.

But ignore the 'powerful' statement. I don't believe it myself. Hahaha.

If not for Siva, I would not be here. By this time, I felt at home with familiar faces all around me, so it was a joyous occasion for everybody, including yours truly.

Siva, now a teacher at KE himself, was a classmate and more importantly was part of the team that won the Perak rugby championship for U-12 in 1975, and by virtue of that alone, no one can question our (read: my) credibility as a Tiger.

I thought I would qualify as as permanent OE member automatically, never mind him. You can read about our exploits in 1975 here.

Smiles all around. Rahman Salleh is a good friend until today as we live in the same Taman in Taiping. Well, my mother's house anyway, so I meet up with him regularly every time I return home to Taiping.

So upon arriving at at Selangor Royal Club that Saturday night (14 Sept 2013), immediately Siva greeted me. I was relieved. He is a familiar face as I had met him again last year. Immediately he informed another friend - Zainal Azman. Yes, another person I had met a few years ago.

And while I was about to register myself, another guy approached and said, "Hey Rahman, do you remember me?"

Singing session. Gim Teik is on the right.

I stared intently at him, smiling but it was a blank stare. I can't for the life of me figured him out. He - whoever he was then, was a matured man of 50, just like me. I am sure I last saw him as a 12-year old. I told Siva that it was unfair for him to declare my name to this guy, while I had to figure him out on my own.

"Gim Teik," he told me. That's all that I need. Of course I remember Cheong Gim Teik.

Gim Teik was a very generous guy - generous in his compliment. He took me around while telling everybody about my exploits in rugby at KE primary. "He is the last man in scrum - the 8th person. Without him, we would not have won the state rugby championship," he said.

Well, it is nice to be remembered in such an endearing fashion, but honestly I don't deserve such accolade. I was the last person - that much I would admit, but I was not the star player then. That accolade should go to Azli, whom I believe was a very nippy and critical player then, (and perhaps Muniandy and Ahada).

Wishing ourselves happy birthday in 3 languages

But I played my part, as did everybody in the team. We had buried the previous year's (1974) albatross hanging over our heads - that massive loss (0-98) to Clifford of Kuala Kangsar by our seniors. It was a tight game this time around - in the first 10 mins, we were trailing 0-8, but we regrouped. We were the better team and won reasonably convincingly (19-11) in the end.

The Edwardians were a boisterous lot. They were loud, they were rowdy - as they should be. I had never seen such a jovial friendship and camaraderie. Honestly my main secondary school alma mater did not come close to having the OE spirit, and paled in comparison.

May be because KE is a boys school - there was no protocol to follow. May be KE was such a mixed school in term of race - every race was represented, and represented well at school and during the reunion. With beers flowing freely - it was not free though, even the most reserved person would soon get rowdy.

Hahaha - don't worry, we did not touch any. We had to sing the school song, which I had never heard before. I guess when we were at primary we did not have that song, I am not sure. But luckily, many had to look at the lyric sheet to sing along, just like yours truly.

But sing they did. With their hearts and with pride.

There was no 1Malaysia then, but there was no need for one. I think there was no segregation in as far as Edwardians were concerned then. We mixed with everybody, and we mixed very well then. We even had 6 Indians in the takraw team!

I saw Gim Leong. Still look young enough for me to recognize him and apparently he has good memory to be able to recognize me at first behest. There was no hesitation in his voice when he mentioned my name. Gim Leong was one of the top students, if not the top one. He would always compete with Zakri as the best students then. I could never beat him in exams, to be honest.

Funnily he is also in Oil and gas industry, so we do have something in common. I saw Zaini, Fu Seng, Rahman Salleh and Tharmarajah. I have to apologize to Tharmarajah - I could not figure him out without looking at the class picture and I have misplaced the class pix.

Marriyappan was the heart of the party

I think Mariyappan played a good role in making it a joyous and memorable occasion. He was a jovial person and that trait is contagious to the rest of us!

I also like the fact that everybody was asked to say a few words - obviously many have many things to say, some few. Even I was invited and shared the rugby story with rest, with Cik Razak exclaiming in amazement that I could remember all the scores.(Cikgu Razak was the sole teacher that night. He taught pendidikan seni at SM KE, so I don't really know him.)

Yes sir, I could. It is as if it was only yesterday I played those games!

Loss for words? Not! Personally, I found that it odd and perplexing that no one brought up a rugby story at a KE gathering, so I had to bring up the story of how we won the Perak U-12 rugby tournament. I even related a story I shared with Siva on how we used to poke fun at our Sikh friends, with apology to them - well, he did mainly! We were kids then, and we had learned our lesson from Cikgu Lee Tat Choy that afternoon while waiting for our rugby training session one afternoon in 1975.

Thank you all, thank you for the occasion. It seems that it was organized on the go, and that is a compliment. No pompous ceremony; there was no caste. Everybody is Edwardian, and everybody was wearing the same school-coloured t-shirts.

With pride.

Some of the souvenirs I got from that night

I got myself many school souvenirs - t-shirts, mug, golf umbrella, stickers and a coffee-table book. I don't think my other alma mater would be able to top that - in term of numbers of souvenirs for a batch or even school reunion, and especially for that 'The First Century" book. I had asked them to do one, but got a response saying that they did not want to follow MCKK (since MCKK had also published a book of their old boys reminiscing the old days). Yeah, I know what he means. We are better than MCKK; we are the MRSMers!

Lame excuse though, I must add.

Din Selamat showing off the KE umbrella. I managed to get the bigger golfer umbrella. Unfortunately it rained that night, so we had no choice but to try and stay dry, so it was a good idea to buy the umbrella.

But King Edward, an older and much respected institution had taken the lead. It was not a select school like MRSM. Not as glamorous either, I guess. But King Edward seems to do better in term of spirit of its former students. KE has the tradition and the history on our side. That tiger spirit is missing at my other alma mater; may be because there is no big ego at OE, definitely not for the Class of 1980.

Oh by the way, actually I was not the only one with Edwardian with MRSM connection. Shahrom aka Ohm shares that linkage as does Dr Jalaluddin (who was not there). So that adds up one more familiar face that night.

Eh, MRSMers, especially KB76ers, this is how reunion and anniversary should be organized!

Tigers with two alma maters

(Pictures courtesy of Asokan Chinniah. Thank you, sir.)

Are Bumiputra Rights Ethical and/or Islamic? Part IV (Compensatory Justice)

TABLE OF CONTENT

1.0              INTRODUCTION                                                                                        

2.0              HISTORY LEADING TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION                           

2.1              THE AFTERMATH OF MAY 13 RIOT                                       

2.2              HOW DID THE NEP FARE?                                                         

3.0              THE ETHICS OF NEP                                                                                

3.1              DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE                                                                        

3.1.1        STATISTIC                                                                          

3.2              COMPENSATORY JUSTICE                                                       

3.3              ARGUMENTS AGAINST NEP                                                    

3.4              IS THE NEP ISLAMIC?                                                                 

4.0       CONCLUSION                                                                                             

Compensatory Justice

Compensatory Justice states that people who have been treated unjustly ought to be compensated. Throughout the colonialization of Malaya, Malays have fought the colonial powers of Portuguese, Dutch and British and the colonialization of the then Malaya was part of the Crusade. As such, it was the agenda of the British colonials to leave the Muslim Malays behind economically and socially. By discriminating the Malays from the main economic activity of the day, the Malays were isolated in the own country and continued to be the peasants that they were.

While many of the today’s Malays may not have been victims of discrimination themselves, they have been victimized by its effect. It is typically a vicious cycle of poverty for many families deeply entrenched in poverty. The children of these families were often deprived resources to upgrade themselves in term of education and skills and were relegated to low-paying jobs. The Malays, for example, lacked the confidence and skills to compete on equal term with the Chinese. The so-called level playing field was not level in as far as the Malays were concerned.

We would like to quote President Johnson who gave a very beautiful analogy of this. He said, “Imagine a 100-yard dash in which one of the two runners has his leg shackled together. He has progressed 10 yards, while the unshackled runner has gone 50 yards. How do they rectify the situation? Do they merely remove the shackles and allow the race to proceed? Then they could say equal opportunity now prevailed. But one of the runners would still be 40 yards ahead of the other. Would it not be the better part of justice to allow the previously shackled runner to make up the 40-yard gap or to start the race all over again?’ (Steiner, G.A., et al)

The NEP was not created as a result of contempt for the Chinese or Indians, but merely to redistribute the wealth of the nations.

If one were to argue that the present day Chinese and Indians were not the perpetrators and as such should be asked to hold the burden of the wrongdoings of the British colonials, they (the Chinese and Indians) were the major beneficiaries and have benefited from its effects.

Utilitarian ethic can also be used to justify NEP. NEP brought an overall good the society by bridging the gap between races. Avoiding another May 13^th Incident is one of the major achievements of NEP. IN fact, Pueng Vongs in his article The Changing Face of Race: Global Affirmative Actrions says that ‘The Malaysian Prime Minister recently hinted at dumping the bumiputra policy, a move that could ‘plunge the nation into chaos and violence.’