MORE than 40 years after they left school, graduates of Batu Pekaka English School (BPES) and Sekolah Menengah Kuala Ketil (SMKK) in Kedah reunited last weekend at Dorsett Hotel, Putrajaya. It was a small, intimate event to share memories and reconnect with each other.
BPES was an English-medium school that was formed during pre-independence in rural Kuala Ketil to cater to rubber estate workers and the community within the area.
The town’s only secondary school, SMKK, was built later, and its opening was officiated by Tun Abdul Razak, then minister of education of Malaysia.
Both schools share the same compound and are located along a historic airstrip that was built by the Royal Air Force during World War Two. The schools, now renamed SK Batu Pekaka and SMK Kuala Ketil, have over 1,000 students collectively each year.
Decades later, SMKK’s class of 1979 reunited and reminisced about all that has taken place in their lives since. These graduates, while remaining in touch with one or two of their closest friends, were not linked with the rest of the batch.
They first reconnected in February 2015, spearheaded by efforts from Abdul Muzakir Ridwan, who tracked each one of his classmates and organised a WhatsApp group chat. Muzakir, unfortunately, passed away in April 2020 at the age of 58. He was a librarian with the German-Malaysian Institute.
Coming from all walks of life, race, and ethnicity, most of the alumni of ‘79 have all but retired. They admitted that old age is catching up to them and expressed gratitude that they could meet each other again, an opportunity they realise might not be afforded to them many more times.
The event started with an address from members of the organising committee, Abdul Halim Abdul Razak, Choon Peng Boon, Lee Hoon Teik and Nanda Kumar.
“We are all 60 today. The reality of life is such that we do not know how many more of these reunions we can organise, and what the likelihood is of us meeting again in person,” Nanda Kumar shared.
“We are all wearing name tags today, but the next time we’re here, we might not even be able to recognise the names on these tags,” he jokingly added. Halim, one of the more exuberant members of the group, opened the event with a prayer to remember their friends who have passed away.
Hoon Teik, took to the stage next. A humorous personality, he remarked, “all of us are ageing. Many of us have retired, and for those who have, we refer to them as YB, Yang Bersara and the rest of us who are still working, is just Yang Biasa.”
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A shout from one of the members of the audience, “YAB, Yang Akan Bersara” erupted the hall in laughter. (This joke works only in Malay and fails in translation).
“On a more serious note,” he added, “when we had the pandemic, I was concerned about how all of us were doing. Some of you, I have not seen for over 40 years. And now that we are out of the danger of the pandemic, I am so happy to see all of us here together, coming from all over Malaysia to have fellowship.”
An impromptu open mic session proceeded next, as more took to the stage to share about their lives. Most, if not all, have since left the small town of Kuala Ketil.
Peck Hiang, who was the top student at the school, reminisced about moving to Kuala Lumpur upon graduating in IT from USM, one of the earliest students in the programme. She worked in a bank until 2000, leaving the job to be a mother.
Sunthar Subramaniam, an accomplished footballer from the school, represented the state of Kedah and Penang in national tournaments. Upon finishing his secondary education, he joined Nestle Malaysia, and would go on to dedicate the next 36 years of his life to the company.
He has since retired, and now runs a farm with his family.
Selvam John shared the moment that made him infamous in the district. While out playing with friends, he was bitten by a pit viper, but out of fear of repercussion, neglected to inform his parents about what occurred.
After the bite swelled up, he was immediately placed under observation at a hospital. The event naturally became a cause celebre in the small town of Kuala Ketil; announcements were made in school and the incident even made headlines in the New Straits Times.
Mahizir Hanif joked, “I’m proud to say I made history being the only student who married someone in the same batch as us.” He first met his wife, Latipah Omar when they were 13, but reconnected during their tertiary education.
He recalls that he had offered his Form 6 textbooks to her, and since then a collegial relationship formed. Upon securing a job offer, he proposed to her in 1986 and they have been married since.
The reunion of SMKK’s class of ‘79 is a powerful reminder of the value of friendship and love for their alma maters and teachers which spans decades, and a testament to the unity we share as Malaysians, built on this country’s rich history. – The Vibes, September 24, 2022
