Reunion of Former Classmates of Class 70 of CHIJ, Batu Pahat

Retirees and seniors often look forward to reunion gatherings. These events offer them wonderful opportunity to reconnect - not just with each others but with the past - reliving fond memories, sharing stories of familiar places and people. 

I still remember organizing my first high school classmates reunion back in November 2013 (Read here). Since then, we have held smaller, more informal meetups - usually triggered by a classmate returning from overseas or after a "lost" classmate was finally "found".

My wife's high school friends from Convent of Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) Batu Pahat on the other hand are even more enthusiastic. Their reunions are more frequent and often held on a much larger scale. Their first major reunion after leaving school at the end of 1970 took place in February 2015 (See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of her blogs).

At their most recent reunion lunch, held on 10.04.2025 at SY Restaurant, a total of 16 individuals attended including two men. The two gentlemen were none other than the supportive spouses of two members - I was one of them and the other was Tian Sze, the husband of my wife's close friend, Choy Min (Read here about Choy Min). My role in the reunion has mainly been that of an unofficial photographer - capturing special moments and preserving memories for everyone to look back on!

My wife was given the role of ice-breaker for the event. After she got things started, many participants took turn sharing about themselves. As is often the case in a group of students in a class, some opened up easily while others needed a bit of prompting and encouragement. 

During the storytelling session, I was surprised to learn that one of the ladies - who now lives in Singapore- has fourteen siblings. Incredibly, the number could have been eighteen had four not passed away. Until then, the largest family I had personally heard of was one with eleven children. Eighteen truly felt like something straight out of the Guinness World Record!

Another interesting character is Anita who communicates exclusively in Chinese in their chat group even though many in the group neither speak nor read the language. Fortunately, another kind-hearted member uses Google Translate to help the English speaking members follow along. Anita's concluding remark is particularly amusing - "I observed the sisters at the gathering, some have matured while others haven't changed much like the Virgin Mary. The two handsome uncles have not changed at all. It's as if time has forgotten them. They are still as handsome and youthful as ever. May be they use SK-II for skin care!". (This information is provided by my wife :))

My wife - the ice breaker!

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Another highlight of the gathering was the heartfelt Powerpoint presentation done by Siew Khim, the group de-facto class leader. She had spent significant time and effort collecting old photos from high school days and past reunions to put together a nostalgic and meaningful slide show. The group is truly fortunate to have someone as dedicated and enthusiastic as her to facilitate, lead, organize and keep the spirit of the class alive!

Siew Khim's concluding remark before ending the gathering - "If any of you visit Singapore in the future, please let one of us know. We'd be so happy to meet up and catch up!"

Siew Khim doing the Powerpoint presentation.

Group photo of all the participants of the reunion.

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In the evening, my wife and I were invited by Choy Min to join another makan session with her husband's former high school classmates. We gathered at the Riverside Food Court to indulge in some of the most popular and beloved local dishes available there!

At the Riverside Food Court.

The evening didn't end at the Riverside Food Court. The group moved on to another food court for more drinks and chitchats before finally calling it a night!

A Fruitful Trip to Batu Pahat and KL

Our 3-week trip to reconnect with family members living in various parts of the world was both rewarding and at time, hectic. 

The journey began in West Malaysia. We arrived in KL on 08.04.2025 and headed straight to John's home to pick up a car. John, my wife's youngest brother lives in Bandar Tropicana Aman, Selangor. From there, we drove approx. 252Km to Maple Lodge in Batu Pahat where we stayed for three nights. 

The primary purposes of our visit to BP were to spend time with my MIL and for my wife to attend a reunion with her former high school classmates from CHIJ, BP.

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We last visited my MIL in mid-February, just under two months ago (Read here). Since then her condition has improved noticeably. While her legs are not as strong as they once were, her mind remains impressively sharp with a strong memory for both past and recent events.

On 09.04.2025.

She had another session of massage by her favourite masseuse!

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When we were in BP, we were surprised to see my wife's eldest sister, Yong Kiow whom we thought was in KL.

Breakfast with Yong Kiow on 09.04.2025 at Nanyang Kopi
before we proceeded to visit my MIL.

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The evening before our return to KL on 10.04.2025, Yong Kiow graciously invited us to dinner at Jia Sing Restaurant. It was a pleasant gathering where we also had the chance to catch up with another sibling of my wife, Hee Kiat and his wife who live in Sri Gading.

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Yong Kiow had originally planned to return to KL on 10.04.2025. However, she took the opportunity to reschedule her trip and joined us in our car on our return journey the following day. Upon arriving at her base in KL - her daughter's residence at Damasara Pertana, we were warmly treated to lunch and had the pleasure of catching up with Asley and her husband, Leon.

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Our recent trip turned out to far more meaningful than we had anticipated. Initially, we did not expect to be able to meet so many of my wife's siblings and their families. But by what felt like divine intervention - things aligned beautifully, allowing us to reconnect with many extended family members and make new memories. One of the highlights of our time in KL was the opportunity to get to know Amy, John Lim's wife and their son more personally. We spent the night of 11.04.2025 at their home before flying to Perth the following day.

It has been two and a half years since we last met John's family in the grand family reunion in October 2022 (Read here). Aaron is now in the final year of his high school and he shared with me his excitement about pursuing tertiary studies abroad and living independently. Time flies!

Amy currently serves as the Financial Controller of Endress+Hauser Malaysia, the local arm of a German leading company in instrumentation for water analysis and liquid measurement. The company is renowned for producing a wide range of high-precision sensors and analyzers used in liquid applications across various industries.

In the morning of 12.04.2025 before our evening departure to Perth, Amy kindly treated us to a dim sum breakfast. She went out of her way to drive us all the way from home to KLIA after the meal - a journey of 40Km - which we deeply appreciated.

In the evening of 11.04.2025, John along with Amy and Aaron graciously took us to a restaurant in nearby old town of Kota Kemuning for dinner. 

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Through John and Amy, I gained insight into the planning and design concept behind the expansive 863-acre Bandar Tropicana Aman residential development, located adjacent to Kota Kemuning where John's family now lives. 

Unlike conventional landed housing development, each of the various phases of Bandar Tropicana development is fully fenced and gated. Interestingly, aside from the side fences separating individual home, there is no front fences. Remarkably, house break-ins and theft are virtually unheard of - an appealing feature that adds to the development's desirability.

As a strata-titled community, houseowners are not permitted to alter the building's exterior or repaint it in colours outside the original colour scheme. Personally, I appreciate this uniformity but others may see it differently. In contrast, non-strata housing area often suffer from unregulated renovations and a patchwork of paint colour which eventually obscure the original architectural and aesthetic intent! This reminds me of our visit to Santorini, Greece last October where strict regulations preserve the island's iconic charm (Read here). The uniform white-washed facades of all buildings mandated by the local authorities, have shaped an iconic landscape that draws millions of visitors to this small island!