Rest in Peace - Alene Moris

An ex-Lok Yuk schoolmate posted in his Facebook on 3 September to inform the passing of Alene Moris. Alene or Mrs Moris whom her students liked to address her was my English Literature teacher in Lok Yuk School way back in 1966. Her passing on 31 August coincided with the Independence Day of Malaya.

Her husband, Pastor Walter Moris was sent by the Lutheran Church of America in mid 1960's to pastor the English congregation of the Church of BCCM KK. Alene and their children too joined him for this overseas mission. Mrs. Alene Moris was assigned to teach in Lok Yuk Secondary School, first at the old school in Signal Hill and later on at the new school premise in Likas.

She was one teacher I just could not forget. She was the only teacher I can remember who wept for her students. Her desire to see her students genuinely understood her teaching and excelled in the subject she taught was unprecedented. In those days, many of us had just transitioned from Chinese primary school to English medium secondary school and had difficulty conversing in English. Trying to understand English Literature taught by an English speaking foreigner (with American accent) was at best understood at a score of 2 out of 10 in most occasion. In the end, she wept in front of her Form 2 class when she felt so helpless to teach a bunch of "ignorance" and "mediocrity"!

In the end, her teaching was not in vain. Not long ago, a few of the classmates reminisced the old days of learning from Mrs. Moris.

One commented: "That sweet gracious lady Mrs. Moris, I remember her. She has a beautiful voice when she sang".

Another commented: "I was in her choir and we were champion in the inter-school competition. I sang tenor. She was very serious in our practice. I remember she cried when some of us were not paying attention". This chap could even recall her teaching the class the poem, "The Donkey" by G.K. Chesterton.

Alene Moris

1928 - 2019 

(Photo downloaded from Alene's FB)

Part of the teaching staff of Lok Yuk Secondary School, 
Likas (Photo taken between 1966 & 1967).
Arlene Moris is 3rd from left.

Arlene Moris is at front row, 2nd from right.
Her husband, Pastor Moris is at front row, 1st left.

I lost contact with her since she left Sabah in 1969. It was only in late 2017 after a lapse of 48 years that I was able to link up with her again. Her email on 30 October 2017 summarizes her life since she left Sabah in 1969.

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Alfred:

I am glad we were able to connect through e-mail. I have used e-mail since the early nineties and Google for the last ten years. I must become a learner again! I am going to be 90 years old next March. My husband, Rev. Walter Moris died in 1996 at the age of 70. For the last 12 years, I have been the "special friend" of Floyd Jones, a very generous philanthropist here in Seattle.

My four children all remember Sabah very fondly. My two sons, Erik and Karl, took me to visit Kota Kinabalu in 1998. It was wonderful to see Lok Yuk still flourishing though very different! My daughter, Kristina has her own company in New York but she works many times on assignment in Europe (she is there now). My older daughter, Karin, lives with her family just 40 miles north of Seattle.

We attended the English service while we were in Sabah. It has a different style of worship from the style we had when we were there. But I was excited to see the energy and enthusiasm of  the members. I remember well when I led the church choir and the choir at Lok Yuk. Shortly before we returned to the States in July 1969. I had the thrill of directing the massed choir of the male singers from three Christian senior schools. We sang Dona Nobis Pacem which is Latin for Give Us Peace. (The terrible Viet Nam War was going on.)

After doing graduate work in psychology, I have had a very busy professional life for almost 47 years. I am still doing public speaking at the University of Washington and many other places. You can "Google" me if you wish. I have concentrated on getting women into leadership positions because I know that they will work very hard not to have war.

We have a very bad president right now, Donald Trump. I am afraid he could lead us into another war.

Americans have been much too quick to go to war. God forgive us all! My latest speech was entitled "Women Leaders: Will They Make a Difference?" and the conclusion is that we need 50% men and 50% women to have the wisdom (Lao Tze) needed for peace. I use the yin/yang expression to express what I hope will come about. Probably not in my lifetime. We will keep on having what I call a "distorted reality" where we don't use the intelligence and compassion of ALL the citizens. Our Congress in Washington D.C. has only 19% female members and the Congress is a disaster and very dangerous and ugly in its behavior.

I must stop discussing this difficult topic. I usually am more cheerful!

Thanks again for contacting me and helping me to recall those happy years in Sabah 1965-1969.

I enjoyed seeing the photo of your family. What a good looking group of people. You must be happy to have such a clan!

For now    Alene Moris

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Alene is a woman of exceptional quality. Her perseverance, unrelenting pursuit of knowledge and empowerment of women are truly an inspiration for all. The blog of Alene's friend's granddaughter is an apt tribute to her long and fruitful life (Tap and Read Here).

The Aladdin Musical, Singapore

We flew to Singapore in early August to watch the Broadway musical, "Aladdin". The trip came with an added bonus: the chance to spend time with the families of Sam and Paul.

As it happened, our visit also coincided with Lucy's annual escape from the cold Tasmania winter - her return to Singapore and Malaysia. A fellow music enthusiast, Lucy was just as excited about Aladdin, and it gave us the perfect opportunity to reconnect and enjoy the show together.

Dinner before the show at the Sands Theatre.

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Thanks to the generous treat from Paul & Jun Shi, we dined at Justin Flavors of Asia, a restaurant by celebrity chef, Justin Quek - widely regarded as Singapore's most internationally renowned culinary talent.

Taking advantage of the beautiful setting and open space at the Marina Bay Sands Waterfront, it was also a wonderful opportunity for Livvie to bond with her grandparents.

Reunion of Sabah College Class 69

In actual fact, I was not a student of Class 69 of Sabah College. Nevertheless, I got to know many of them through my enrollment to Form 6 of Sabah College in 1970-1971. As a result, some of them in Class 69 have considered me as one of them and invited me to join their class reunion dinner on 12 July 2019.

The reunion attracted former students from Sabah as well as from overseas - Canada, Australia and Singapore. Most I have not met since 1971 except one whom I met in Perth recently (Read here).

As usual, the happy time prompted some to suggest a more regular meet up. A committee was quickly formed to plan for the next reunion scheduled in 2021.

I was invited to join the "class photo" of
Class 69 Science Class.

Sim Lo Tan, a doctor residing now in Brisbane and Chin Hin Pok, an electrical engineer in Singapore.

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In those days in the early 70's, doing Form 6 "A" level was not a popular option. Most preferred to continue the tertiary education overseas immediately after the Form 5 "O" Level. Those who stayed on were students who could not afford an overseas course or could not obtain any scholarship.

The class of Lower Six started with quite a "big" class. But by mid year, five had left for overseas. As a result, the small number of students became a close-knit group especially among the Mandarin speaking classmates.

The reunion triggered an interest among all attendees to look for old photos for sharing. It was with a mixed feeling of nostalgia and a bit of sadness to go through some of them. We laughed and sighed with nostalgia of those years of innocence and adventurism. In those years, we dared to try out all options just to make a head start in life.

We were sad because a number of the classmates had moved on to a "higher" home. At least one that we know of is at the end stage of a terminal illness.

A proud moment for an outsider of Sabah College to be appointed as a school prefect of the school. Wearing a striped necktie then was almost like wearing a yellow jersey in Tour de France.

Though just a mere two years spent in Sabah College, we had had many memorable moments.

A visit to the Istana during TYT's open house in 1971
and chatting with the then TYT, 
Pengiran Ahmad Raffae Pengiran Omar

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A break during a basketball match.

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An outing to the beach.

Many of the sixth formers rose to become top civil
servants. Noni Said in the photo was one of those
who rose to become the deputy state secretary
of Sabah 

Some of us at the old KK Airport to send off
Chan Kum Chun in Lower Six who gained
entry to a university in Canada.

Medical Mission To Kampung Muhang

It was at least 25 years ago when I first joined a mission trip. The destination was Pensiangan, a place reckoned to be one of the least developed places in Sabah then.

With some of the challenges of the Pensiangan trip still fresh at the back of my mind, the idea of joining another mission trip at my age seemed to be a huddle too big to handle, more so in a medical mission. I was wondering what I could do in a trip meant for medical personnel! But with the push from my better half and after reading the chapter, "Travel outside of your comfort zone" from the book "101 things you should do before you go to heaven", I decided to have another go for it!

Kampung Muhang is not considered a remote place, a mere 132 Km from Kota Kinabalu. It is accessible all the way by a sealed road except the final stretch of 14 Km. Eleven Km of the final stretch is fairly well maintained graveled road but the final 3 Km is horrendous. The condition of the final stretch is almost like going on a 4WD off road adventure drive. I was told by a friend who came to the same kampung with the Rotarian some ten years ago to help set up the gravity water supply that the road condition has more or less remained unchanged. This is a clear case of poor political leadership combined with a failure of proper resource allocation and the absence of a regular road maintenance program.

Majority of the local inhabitants in Kg. Muhang are really not dirt poor people. They are primarily handicapped by the absence of basic amenities like a reliable water supply system and a health clinic that is within reasonable reach and accessibility.

Chapel of Gereja PCS Muhang used as the temporary clinic.

The visit was well publicized by the local Church and huge crowd turned up for the free medical and dental consultation and treatment. Some walked miles from early morning just to make sure they wouldn't miss the opportunity. Still, there was a case of a woman who only started the walk on Sunday morning. By the time she arrived, we were all packed up and ready for our departure in the afternoon. Our doctor was kind enough to dispense some medicine from the first aid box and passed them to her. To her, the effort she put in had not been a waste.

Right photo: The lady who walked since early morning finally arrived just when we had packed up and were ready to depart.

Dental tools.

Without a dental chair, it's a pity the only treatment for problematic tooth is instant extraction. Had it been in a proper dental clinic, I believe many tooth may have been salvaged by way of other means: filling, root canal treatment.... But then, these simple village folks probably wouldn't have been able to afford the time and the multiple trips of visitation to the clinic. From what I observed, after the treatment, the village folks left in happy spirit even with less teeth in the mouth! 

Young doctors at work.

Medicine dispensary.

Intestinal worm infestation is common among rural kids. Willing kids were given free deworm medicine on the spot.

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A member of the team who is passionate about cleanliness, healthy living and environment sustainability took the chance to organize a gotong royong among the kids to clean up the village, in particular, all plastic non-degradable material. There is probably better hope of a better environment though educating the young rather than the adults.

The annex to the Chapel served as men bedroom as well
as dining area.

Reflection and  thought which I shared with the group before heading back home: 

This kind of trip allows us to see and feel the inner longing for care and love of another human being just like us. Our kind gesture sometime rekindles their souls just as much as it does to ours. In the process, we become more human.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” Mahatma Gandhi

Finding ourselves can mean a lot of things:

• You discover your courage.
• You have overcome certain prejudice against certain people.
• You have compassion.
• You have tenacity.
• You have a soft spot for the marginalized.

This experience also allows God to stretch us in new and different way. I believe we will not only become a more flexible and tolerant person, but a more fulfilled one as well.

An Ex-Blockmate Finally Found After 45 Years

Our recent trip back to KL to accompany my MIL coincided with a mini-reunion dinner for some of the ex-members of the 5th Residential College Christian Fellowship of the University Malaya and their spouses on 29 June 2019.

This reunion had added meaning because I managed to meet a "block-mate" whom I have not seen for over 45 years. This chap Quah Sim Aik was "discovered" by another ex-fifian by accident or by divine appointment as some may like to call it.

As the story goes: Just over two weeks or so before the reunion, another ex-fifian, Sun Nan Ping, his wife and grandson attended a Sunday Worship Service in a Church in Alor Setar. After the service, Sun and Quah started chatting with each other without realizing that they were once friends and stayed in the same Fifth Residential College of University Malaya. Only after ten minutes of conversation and exchange of names that the names rang a bell to them.

In 1973-74, I stayed at a corner unit of the 1st Floor of Block D and Quah stayed at the other end corner unit of the same floor. We saw each other very frequently. I remember in the weekdays, the college was normally quiet after dinner because all residents were deep into "study and assignment". Then at around 9.30pm, the quietness was suddenly broken and punctuated by bouts of yelling and shouting around the male blocks and occasionally from the female blocks.  That was a way of release and getting ready for a simple supper.

Quah was one of those who loved to yell and occasionally being shouted down by some ladies across at Block B.

Quah has been a teacher since his graduation from MU until his retirement. In the end, it is his dedication and service in his Church that proved to be most inspirational to us. Currently, he still serves as the Chairman of his Church and an active leader of the young working adults. His son too is active in Christian ministry. His son is a contributor to "The Asian Beacon", a free Christian publication in Malaysia.

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Block D of the 5th Residential College of Malaya University where we once stayed.  Left photo is the current view with courtesy from Google Map and the right is an old photo taken in 1973.

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A group photo of 5th College Christian Fellowship, 1973.

Quah was seated left of me during the Christmas
Celebration in 1973 in 5th College.

An outing to Fraser Hill, Pahang in 1973.
Quah is standing second from left.
i was squatting at left.