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.

Revisit Sabah Tea Garden

An overnight stay at Sabah Tea Garden was another outing planned for my MIL's visit to Sabah. 

As we moved towards the newly renovated restaurant after arrival to the car park, we could see that the place has undergone a major "face lift" since our last visit over ten years ago (Read here).

A popular backdrop for photography by visitors.

Taking advantage of the world renowned Mt. Kinabalu, the owner has installed a photo frame for visitors to capture the scene of the mountain as a backdrop. The frame instantly reminded me of the photo frame we saw in Stanley, Tasmania (Read here). In the case of the photo frame in Stanley, the frame is perfectly aligned such that the "Nut" fits perfectly within the frame. The frame in Sabah Tea Garden unfortunately is slightly misaligned resulting Mt Kinabalu not centered exactly within the frame!

The restaurant is popular among visitors. Its key attraction is to enjoy the awesome view of Mount Kinabalu while having a meal or snack.

Now, Sabah Tea Garden is also one of the love lock
destinations where couples can go to "lock up their love"!

The Plantation offers both dormitory-typed as well as chalet-typed accommodation. These facilities are built atop a small hill commanding a terrific view of the undulating landscape of the plantation. 

We stayed in one of the semi-detached chalet units which is named after Alfred Dent. This man, a British colonial merchant and entrepreneur was also the founder of the British North Borneo Company established in 1882.

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At the plantation, I met an ex-colleague, Mr. Tam Yaw Kong whom I have not met since 1989. He used to work as a storekeeper when I was working in Antah-Biwater way back in 1988-1989. Being an avid Mt Kinabalu climber, he has since ventured into tourism business, TYK Adventure Tour. He has climbed the mountain more than 500 times, a feat few can rival with.

At the time of our encounter at the Plantation, he and his son (an equally enthusiastic mountain climber and cyclist) were taking a few cyclists to do a cycling tour to Lahad Datu.

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On the way back to KK, we made a detour to Poring Hot Spring of Sabah National Park. We had hoped that my MIL would get a chance to see the real Rafflesia in the Park. Unfortunately, there was none that time. Then, an advertisement put up by a local inhabitant not far from the park entrance gave us a chance to see one. We called the contact number and was soon directed into a fruit farm. After half a kilometer walk, we saw what we looked for and we were not disappointed.

Reaffirming a Heritage

Symbol sometimes does define a heritage. 

SM Lok Yuk, Likas Kota Kinabalu, my alma mater (formerly known as Lok Yuk Secondary School) was established by the Basel Church KK as a mission school. In the past, SM Lok Yuk's relationship with Basel Church was well understood just as much as All Saints School to the Anglican Church and La Salle School to the RC Church. Over time, this understanding gradually subdued and was lost among the new generations. This loss was further hastened by hostile school head and possibly compounded by an acquiescent school management board. 

On 1 June 2019, a cross was installed on a wall of a school block of SM Lok Yuk. This prominent display of the cross combined with Bibles verses reaffirms SM Lok Yuk's heritage as a Christian mission school. This effort was made possible to a certain extent by a receptive school head and a more assertive school management board.

Installation was conducted by the Bishop of BCCM and Pastor-in-Charge of BCCK KK (E).

A file photo of the wall at one time.