Some say Alma Mater is not applicable to the primary school one has attended. They contend that Alma Mater is normally reserved for university or a college. I hold slightly different view. I regard the impact of the first school one attend to be very significant. Hence, the declaration of Lok Yuk Primary School Jesselton which has been renamed Sekolah Junis Kebangsaan (Cina) Lok Yuk, Kota Kinabalu as my Alma Mater should be acceptable when viewed from this perspective.
I spent six years in this Chinese primary school from 1958 to 1963. Since then, fifty over years has passed. Today, I can still vividly remember all my primary school teachers and most of the incidences both happy and sad that happened during those formative years. That part of the brain that stores those information surprisingly is intact compared to another part of the brain that stores recent events. Recent events, names of people just don't stick well in the cerebral cortex these days!
I could not remember exactly the last time I attended an official function of this school. Definitely, it was a very long time ago. I did visit the school many times in the last twenty years or so. Those were occasions when I acted as the Consulting Engineer for the construction of the two of the three building blocks of the school. When the School Management Board held the Official Opening Ceremony for the last and most recently completed school block - the New School Canteen and Multi-Purpose School Block, I was invited but I could not attend that function for reason I now can not remember.
Since early this year, the school has a new management board and its first project is the widening of the main entrance access road. This time, I was able to attend the ground breaking ceremony officiated by the Bishop of the Basel Christian Church Malaysia.
I was early for the function scheduled at 8.00am on 18 October 2016. I was asked to join a group of board members and other dignitaries who also came early and were seated in the school canteen. I recognized practically all except a young lady seated in front of me. For a split second, I thought the face looked familiar but I immediately stopped trying to recall. I was told by the Senior Pastor of BCCM KK (C) sitting next to me that she is the chairperson of the PTA of the school after I asked him for her identity. Suddenly, she looked at me and said,
"Did you stay in Taman Foh Sang before?". That question immediately triggered my memory. I suddenly remembered the Shim family who lived exactly across the street opposite my house. I was then staying in a Semi-D house, a government rented quarter when I was with JKR. Before she finished the word "Ger...", I could instantly finished saying her name "Geraldine" for her.
That year was 1983, almost 33 years ago when she came over to my house with her younger brother to attend Serene's and Sam's joint birthday celebration. She was probably 8 or 9 then.
When the name Geraldine was resonating in my ears, I was in no doubt that kids do remember faces, better than we think and imagine.
We had quite a long chat to update ourselves of events spanning over 33 years. Her eldest kid is in Form 1 in Tshung Tshin while her second kid in Primary 2 in this primary school. That explained her role in the PTA. Her only reservation is her lack of Chinese language proficiency as she was educated in BM/English medium schools. I was certain and assured her that she would be more than capable of handling this role.
I was glad the school management took another step to upgrade and improve the school. I was more pleased to realize that people grow and excel and move to be your equals and peers! I was reminded to never disregard or ignore people no matter how small or insignificant they are. You may never imagine that someday, somewhere, he may just turn out to be your peer or even your superior and best of all your lucky star.
I spent six years in this Chinese primary school from 1958 to 1963. Since then, fifty over years has passed. Today, I can still vividly remember all my primary school teachers and most of the incidences both happy and sad that happened during those formative years. That part of the brain that stores those information surprisingly is intact compared to another part of the brain that stores recent events. Recent events, names of people just don't stick well in the cerebral cortex these days!
I could not remember exactly the last time I attended an official function of this school. Definitely, it was a very long time ago. I did visit the school many times in the last twenty years or so. Those were occasions when I acted as the Consulting Engineer for the construction of the two of the three building blocks of the school. When the School Management Board held the Official Opening Ceremony for the last and most recently completed school block - the New School Canteen and Multi-Purpose School Block, I was invited but I could not attend that function for reason I now can not remember.
Since early this year, the school has a new management board and its first project is the widening of the main entrance access road. This time, I was able to attend the ground breaking ceremony officiated by the Bishop of the Basel Christian Church Malaysia.
I was early for the function scheduled at 8.00am on 18 October 2016. I was asked to join a group of board members and other dignitaries who also came early and were seated in the school canteen. I recognized practically all except a young lady seated in front of me. For a split second, I thought the face looked familiar but I immediately stopped trying to recall. I was told by the Senior Pastor of BCCM KK (C) sitting next to me that she is the chairperson of the PTA of the school after I asked him for her identity. Suddenly, she looked at me and said,
"Did you stay in Taman Foh Sang before?". That question immediately triggered my memory. I suddenly remembered the Shim family who lived exactly across the street opposite my house. I was then staying in a Semi-D house, a government rented quarter when I was with JKR. Before she finished the word "Ger...", I could instantly finished saying her name "Geraldine" for her.
That year was 1983, almost 33 years ago when she came over to my house with her younger brother to attend Serene's and Sam's joint birthday celebration. She was probably 8 or 9 then.
When the name Geraldine was resonating in my ears, I was in no doubt that kids do remember faces, better than we think and imagine.
We had quite a long chat to update ourselves of events spanning over 33 years. Her eldest kid is in Form 1 in Tshung Tshin while her second kid in Primary 2 in this primary school. That explained her role in the PTA. Her only reservation is her lack of Chinese language proficiency as she was educated in BM/English medium schools. I was certain and assured her that she would be more than capable of handling this role.
I was glad the school management took another step to upgrade and improve the school. I was more pleased to realize that people grow and excel and move to be your equals and peers! I was reminded to never disregard or ignore people no matter how small or insignificant they are. You may never imagine that someday, somewhere, he may just turn out to be your peer or even your superior and best of all your lucky star.
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| Group photo after the ceremony. |
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| December 1983 in Taman Foh Sang. Standing at back row middle is Geraldine. |
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