SOM'S REUNION PICTURES

See if you can recognize the personalities in this pictures from Som's iPhone.

50th YEAR REUNION

First, an email forwarded by Som:

Assalamualaikum Tn Hj Mohd Som.
Semasa ide cetusan Tengku Ali utk mengadakan Jubili Emas Pelajar Kelas 61SSSS saya adalah salah orang pertama memberi response dan memberi ucapan Tahniah diatas usaha murni ini. Malangnya saya rasa amat sedih kerana atas sebab yang tak dapat dielakkan saya tak dapat bersama dgn rakan seperjuangan era 50an dan 60an pada hari ini. Sambutan ke 100 tahun amat jauh ke depan dan bagi saya adalah penungguan selama 30 tahun lagi. Atas kesedaran dan keinsafan ini maka saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini utk memohon pertolongan dari tuan. Permintaan saya adalah utk tuan menyampaikan kepada semua yang hadir Salam Mesra dan kedua memohon ampun dan maaf pertama kerana tidak dapat bersama pada hari ini dan kedua diatas segala kesalahan semasa pergaulan saya dgn tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekelian dan juga pada satu ketika dulu saya pernah diberi tanggungjawab sebagai " Class Monitor " mungkin saya terkasar tutur kata atau perbuatan. Sekali lagi saya mengangkat sepuluh jari mohon ampun dan maaf. Kepada Jawatankuasa Pengelola setinggi -tinggi Tahniah diatas kejayaan mengadakan perjumpaan ini. Allah swt sahaja dapat membalasnya.
Sekali lagi saya berdoa semoga semua berada didalam sihat walafiat dan dipanjangkan usia oleh Allah swt.
Sekian Wabillahitaufik walhidayah Wassalamualaikum Warahmatullahiwabarkatu.
Dato' Ir Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah
Sent from my iPod

For the record, the Reunion this time was'nt entirely Tengku Ali's idea/ As explained in our newsletter, it came about during a lunch given by Col. Shafique at the Selangor Club attended bt Shamsuddin Jaafar, Naguib, Som, Hassan Hussin and Tengku Mohd Ali. Tengku Ali took up from there with the newsletter and roping in Hajjah Wan Sapinah to organise things.
The Reunion went well. Classmates began arriving as early as Friday 23rd Dec. By Saturday 24th, there were enough classmates to form a party visiting our old school:

Later that evening we had our dinner at Puncak Gamelan ) formerly Top of The World) on the 12th Floor of Primula Beach Hotel.

Our Guests of Honour were Mr. Razally Mutalib and Ustaz Hj. Manan. We thank them all for gracing the occasion. Thanks to all classmates who made an effort to come. Congratulations to Dato' Senara Muda who was elected our new President with Hajjah Wan Sapinah as the Secretary.
The next day classmates continued their reminiscing over breakfast before going off on a tour of Taman Tamadun Islam and Muzium Negeri (or in some cases, shopping).
There is a the slideshow that you might want to have a look at:
http://www.slideroll.com/slideshows/members/kustamang/
More pictures to follow.

ONE AFTERNOON AT BAYU LAKE

Shamsuddin Zahid invited all of us to the Hari Raya Open House on Deepavali day. The usual suspects came. Hadi Endut came all the way from Kulim. Later Datin Sharifah Aminah brought along our juniors (Datin Tengku Maimun, Faridah Hanam and Atan).
Tahlil prayers were made for departed classmates and "Doa' Selamat" was read for Hajjah Rokiah who is going for haj next month.
Pak Daud, unable to leave his goats, sent his sallam to all.
Enjoy the slideshow. If you do not fancy waiting for You Tube or if you want to download the pictures, please go here.

SIRA's SUDDEN DEMISE

Our friend and classmate, Sirajuddin Abu Bakar passed away suddenly after asar yesterday barely two days after responding to my reply to his email. He was amused that his cucus enjoyed reading my blog and he wanted to compile a list of Terengganu words that he felt were becoming extinct and sending it to me.
I have not met Sira for a while. The real satisfying meeting was at our reunion in Marang Safari Park. That was years ago. When we started this blog, Sira wanted to contribute even though he was not familiar with the way the team could post. He decided to just email me his articles.
Last month, when attending a wedding in Kuala Lumpur, Sira promised to come to my place. He never did. He did however talked to me over the phone later and promised to get together on his next trip to KL. I wanted so much to meet him and listen to his adventures in the US.
We all remember Sira as a soft-spoken, quiet person. That is how I will remember him.
Al-Fatihah to Sira and our deepest condolences to his family.

Tan Sri M Yusoff Bin Mohamed

Some of us may have heard the sad news that Tan Sri Yusoff died yesterday. Al Fatihah.

Arwah was an ex student of SSS and if I am not mistaken he was the first Sulaimanian to be appointed the State Secretary of Terengganu in the early sixties or late fifties. I remember him giving a speech at Skoloh Kuala Liba (must be during a Speech Day) wearing a suit and a songkok. He was known as Yusoff Che Mat Tinggi to the locals in Kuala Terengganu.

I remember arwah as a nice man, pleasant disposition; a man of few words and never raised his voice. He must have been a man who believed in life long learning because some time in the 80s when I attended an Arabic class at UIA (in PJ then) as part of a course I was pleasantly surprised to meet him there. He had been in retirement for some years already. I met him again later in a matter involving his house in Johor Baru.

I also remember him as a man who liked "makan nasi lauk kampong". During one of my regular trips back to Terengganu I met him at the famous kedai makan "ikan patin masak asam tempoyak" in Termerloh (Karak Kuantan Highway was not around yet). That reataurant was famous for masak asam tempoyak ikan patin asli. There he was with his family just finished his meal when I arrived. He must have arrived early in order to beat the crowd.

Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat kepada roh nya sebagaimana yang dicucuri kepada roh mereka yang soleh dan beriman.


Som

AMINAH HJ ROSE

I have to confess that I have a strong urge to post this picture of Aminah Haji Rose. After we posted the picture of Miskiah I thought the next one must be of Aminah. If she reads this post I hope she does not mind. Aminah was one of my favourite girl classmates because as I remember she was really "one of us" meaning she was friendly to all boys and girls in our class. Of course there were the naughty boys who "nngusek lebih lebih". But she took it all and she gave back as good as she got. At the back of the picture she wrote "For my dear Som. With best wishes for a happy bright future. Classmate Aminah". I remember she had a younger sister in the school and I also remember she had a close friend named Fuziah (cannot remember from which class) who lived in the same area as her (Ngadang Akor?). The last time I met Aminah was at our get together at Marang Safari. She married Alias our senior who worked in the Terengganu Civil Service. I wonder how many anak and cucu she has.

May Allah bless her with strong iman, good health and every happinness.

Som

FOND MEMORIES OF TEACHING DAYS

(Contributed by Ahmad Sirajudin)

(Photo by Pak Idrus of idrus.blogspot)

On the way to school one afternoon, I stopped at a road side warong that sells crispy goreng pisang. When I was enjoying them in the staff room, a student came in to hand in his assignment. I offered him the goreng pisang. "Thank you Sir" he said and walked off with the whole package of goreng pisang. I was not at all annoyed with what happened but amused instead. And I am still amused at the incident today.

In another incidence a girl stopped me on the corridor "Sir, I want to be a doctor. I must get A for English" she told me.
"Good" I said "I will think of something. Come and see me tomorrow".
When she came the next day I gave her some story books including "The Count of Monte Cristo" and I made her come to the staff room to discuss the story. She got an A and is now a doctor.

I have hundred of anecdotes like the above. Teaching won't make you rich but you are rich in different ways, in job satisfaction.