It doesn't sound right, does it? ( Part 1 )

Last week Pah Cik was readjusting the timetable for Almanar when a form 1 pupil anxiously said. “Pak Cik, tiap tiap hari pun saya boleh datang ke Almanar minggu hadapan.” Then a chorus of other pupils quickly objected, “Tak boleh Pak Cik, kita kena pergi sekolah seperti biasa.” It was a baffling situation although the answer was indeed very simple. Pak Cik was too old - for that matter I was never trained to be a teacher - to understand the modern thinking in this highly complex field of management.

One group was given time-off for a whole week and others had to attend classes as usual. It transpired that those in the end classes ( of less able pupils ) could sacrifice their class rooms for the PMR examination (or to be sure that less noise would be created for the benefit of candidates cracking their heads in the life threatening PMR examination!) The ‘better’ pupils would continue to attend classes and be taught It was the same case with the end classes of form 4. They too, being poorer pupils, must not go to school and not be a nuisance.

So the school does not have to worry over the need for poorer pupils to get greater attention in education to catch up with the better ones. How simple the answer was to a simple problem.

That sounds right, doesn’t it ?

Selamat Hari Raya 2008

It is time for surprises. Pak Cik know for sure from past Hari Raya that I will be faced with such question as “Pak Cik ingat tak saya?” or “Pak Cik dah lupa saya?” Those were moments of minor embarrassment, but of great pleasure, nevertheless. And now Pak Cik can again look forward to these most rewarding encounters.

To every one of you, the ex-Almanar pupils and the present ones alike, I wish a happy Hari Raya. If, for some inevitable reasons, we do not meet on this occasion let us hope and pray we will somehow meet again in the not too distant future. I cherish the memory of those instances when you reacted to my scolding with long faces, the moments you were jubilant over your exam results and so on. And to see your faces again and be reminded of those lost moments is a pleasure indeed.

Selamat Hari Raya, maaf dzahir batin.

It’s AUGUST again. Let’s celebrate

August is just a month like any other month but is not quite like any other month – not to us, Pak Cik and Mak Cik. For a start our wedding anniversary ( never mind the number! One gets tired of counting, anyway)is in the middle of August. Mak Cik was born in that month as well. Unfortunately, Pak Cik – I missed it by just a couple of days, for an even better one, of course!

That is not all. Our daughter and our elder son tied the knot on 25th and 26th August respectively. Our daughter and our only son-in-law had their fourth child on their anniversary. Our elder son had his first boy born in August. And not to miss the fun our younger son had his second daughter in that auspicious month too. So IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY.


So, true to being a loyal rakyat Malaysia Pak Cik had the Jalur Gemilang hoisted right to the very top of the flag pole in front of Almanar. We celebrate IT ALL, this month of August, with a prayer in our heart, humbly grateful to Him. For all these,

kita berkhidmat untuk kemanusiaan

Pak Cik reminisces (Part 4) - An old Friend resurfaces

Slowly and surely another month of August has crept up and caught up with us, making it the 51st Merdeka Anniversary. This is Pak Cik’s 8th posting since last year’s Merdeka golden jubilee. Without doubt the posting frequency has improved over that of previous years. It is Pak Cik’s hope to do no less in future. After all, this website and my e-mail are the most effective means of communication between Almanar and students associated with it.

During the course of this year Pak Cik had a very pleasant surprise, a message from one of my long lost friends of pre-Merdeka era. Those who have read Pak Cik’s postings a year ago - Pak Cik Reminisces, (Part 1)and(Part 2) - would realise that 50 years ago I was a lonely Malayan student in England, away from Malaya then and living in an English home with others who hardly knew where on earth Malaya was, Pak Cik had little choice but to adapt myself to the new environment. Over time Pak cik had many close friends from England itself. To my regret, we have lost touch with one another. By a stroke of luck, somehow, one of these old friends was able to contact me through the alumni association. He is Ian Sanderson, simply known as Ian among us. Apparently he migrated to United States, where he and his family are today.


Photo : 1961 Mechanical Eng class (L to R) - Peter Goodman, Harold Levy, Ray Perkins, Pak Cik, Anthony Roylance(dec) and Ian Sanderson


Ian sent Pak Cik a number of e-mail messages some extracts of which are recorded below:

“Hassan,

Hey, how are you- do you remember me, Ian [!] We are all well, Blair, my wife and I have been enjoying retirement-almost a year….. . I keep quite fit playing table tennis [ping pong] 4 hours a week with some retired men who are very good. Also I still bike 30 miles every few weeks and play tennis…. I like to sail- I crewed in a friend’s sail boat for a [ Block Island ] race. We came 5th overall. I also sing in a church choir…”

“…….I have 3 sons; Peter 39, Mark 36, Matthew 23 and 5 grandchildren ……”

“ ….I have no contact with our old class at Loughboro' unfortunately- but I do with people in the old cycling club. I have a lot of relatives in England, nieces, nephews, cousins, sisters- that I like to keep in contact with…. .”

“ …..The only person I was in contact with was Tony Roylance- alas he died 3-4 years ago…..”

“……Blair & I went on a great vacation to Italy & Greece recently ……..”

“…….I actually retired June 2007 ……..
From Ian”

That is Ian Sanderson who belongs to Pak Cik’s age group and was together with me for four years about the time Malaya became independent. It is apparent from the brief notes above that he is far more active and mobile than Pak Cik, professionally and physically. To all intents and purposes Pak Cik looked at Ian as a typical English lad during the years we were together. On that account I thought he was conservative enough to make his home in good old England. Instead he opted to migrate to America and be an American citizen. Pak Cik, on the other hand, have returned to my birth place – “.. belut pulang ke lumpur”.

Ian is a truly hard engineer to the core. He was active professionally until he retired in June 2007, a good 15 years after Pak Cik had called it a day. It is interesting to view Ian’s work background and experience. Before he retired last year he had been involved in most aspects of mechanical engineering work ranging from operations and maintenance to design and development, with designs patented to his credit as well. As a true professional he has, on top of it, authored several scientific papers.

Ian has three children, all boys, and is proud of them. Pak Cik have three as well but with a girl among them. Ian may say he is one up on Pak Cik since a girl is just a nuisance! I may indeed agree with him. My classes at Almanar are full of girls, shrieking, chattering, yelling, you name it, driving Pak Cik crazy at times! However there is a plus point in having a daughter, an opportunity to have a son-in-law!

Now allow Pak Cik to reminisce back to the Merdeka time, when Ian and Pak Cik attended the same lecture theatre, enjoying cups of tea served by the same tea lady during tea breaks and queuing up for lunch (of fish and chips for me) in the same dining hall. Ian was an avid cyclist and I was not. Cycling was a pure necessity to shuttle me between my house of residence and the college. Pak Cik can never forget an occasion when I was hurrying to college one morning. The road had an invisible thin layer of ice. That being the arrival of my first winter and inexperienced, Pak Cik soon found myself flat on the road surface with coat, overcoat, hat, files and all, after trying to make a clever manoeuvre on my bike. I knew a group of English school girls were across the road. Quite naturally Pak Cik expected humbling smiles and giggles. Instead they did the unexpected, hurrying across the road to offer help to a silly foreign student. That was a lesson in humility and civic-mindedness. I wonder how many of Almanar girls would react in such a manner under a similar situation – furtive glances and suppressed giggles at best!

Ian often enthusiastically talked about his hiking and biking with friends all over the country during weekends. And Pak Cik had to be contented with my hitch-hiking trips which were planned for semester holidays only. Pak Cik could never see the fun of sweating it out hours and hours on a bicycle. “These crazy English guys!” I used to say to myself. How strange it is that at my age today I have begun to appreciate it. Alas, I have none of the energy to pump up and sweat it out on the road. Now I sit to admire the likes of Ian. I am full of envy whenever I think of my Malaysian friend, Ramli, who takes it in his stride to cycle all the way home from KL to KB in Kelantan, calling at Almanar for keropok lekur. (To appreciate the true prowess of this Malaysian cycling enthusiast friend, Pak Cik would certainly recommend his website: When Less Is More)



Once, Ian told me that, when he was as young as 16, he had already been cycling with his cousin of 14 to places in the south of England, doing a distance as much as 140 km a day. I too was 16 once but my bicycle was for going to school, a distance of about 5 km! Now let Pak Cik ask how many of you have seen a penny farthing ( a bike with a small and a huge wheel – see photo ) being ridden? Pak Cik have and it was Ian who demonstrated it. He rode one during a college carnival week. It was a great annual event known as Loughboro’ Rag Week when students of our college staged a week of festival, reputed for a very sizeable sum of money collected for charity. Ian surprised us all riding a penny farthing! During the parade the traffic stopped. Guess how one makes a stop on a penny farthing! Ian deftly stepped off on to the hood of a nearby car. The driver didn't seem to mind. Few realised how much pain he took to be sufficiently good at riding that machine. On one occasion he managed to get up on it and soon found himself propelled unstoppable toward a nearby canal. Fortunately he fell off away from the canal. What a hilarious sight it was!

That was 50 years ago, a year after Merdeka.

According to his e-mail Ian still cycles on top of many other activities. He is in possession of an old bike, a rickety one indeed. Look at the picture of a proud man with his old bike – or should I say a prized bike with its old owner? (No offence intended, Ian, if you happen to read this.)

In his e-mail above he made reference to a Tony Roylance, another close English friend of ours, who has passed away. Tony too was a successful engineer. It is sad to hear of his passing. We were close those days (see photo above).

Pak Cik will end this posting a message for Pak Cik’s ‘anak buah’. I am sad to see that very few of you take up a hobby, a healthy co-curricular activity. I wish you would adopt one and learn to love and enjoy it.

End of the tunnel, at last! - Part 1

“Pak Cik,you still remember me, don’t you ?” I looked hard at the short chubby figure dressed in baju kurung and smiling broadly at me. It was a familiar face indeed, unmistakable with dimpled cheeks and all. Her name was on the tip of my tongue. Noticing my stunned look and slight hesitation she volunteered, “Ana…” That was as far as she got. “Ana Sarda!” escaped from my mouth quite spontaneously. That name is by no means a common one but I had it uttered over and over again during the years she was at Almanar. It is like the title of an old favourite tune which escapes you when you need to name it. Someone needs just to say the first word and you get the rest.

Ana Sarda joined Almanar early in 1998, together with a group of form 1 pupils. She was a skinny figure of twelve, to-day a charming lass of twenty-two. Pak Cik have not seen her for a good seven years. How she has changed over the years to one who is free and easy at conversation and generous with her smile.

Then, in 1998, she was the eldest of six in the family. Her father retired early from the army but life had to go on with the growing family. Her mother, a good cook, prepared half-a-dozen types of ‘kueh’ every night and her father had it all delivered to a number of coffee stalls before dawn to catch customers on their way home from surau after their subuh prayers. Ana did her share of the work helping her mother. Consequently, she could only start doing her school work after nine o’clock. But that was not all as she had to wake up again by four, an unearthly hour for children of her age, to help out with the final part of her mother’s work, frying, boiling, packaging and so on.

That was Anna who, nonetheless, never failed to attend classes at Almanar with enthusiasm, albeit looking rather tired. Pak Cik came to learn of her nocturnal ‘co-curricular’ activity at home, and appreciating her position, I chose to ease my pressure on her. I even tolerated her occasional sleepy nods in class, fighting drowsiness. But Pak Cik was very worried particularly when it was barely three months before her important Form 3 examination (PMR). With hardly another choice I sought her father for a frank talk. It was such a relief to Pak Cik when he readily agreed to my suggestion that Anna be given the permission to stay with Pak Cik’s family during the months leading to PMR. Nuri then became her temporary home.



For some reason best known to Anna she left our house after the examination and simply vanished. There had not been a visit from her, not even a phone call. It was a great disappointment beyond words. And now, after seven long years of diappearance, she turned up. Pak Cik was least surprised when her second question was, “Are you angry with me, Pak Cik ?” I was truly lost for words. “Pak Cik I have finished my study at UPSI.”

Pak Cik and family offered her tea and sympathy with the sole intention of seeing her succeeding in life, and now she turned up to tell us just that. Should we grudge her for her disappearance and apparent lack of gratitude or should we be delighted with her success? She is now waiting for her posting as a teacher in chemistry, the subject she majored in.

A drop of tears for Ana!

It was a long dark tunnel and Ana has come to the end of it.

-----------------------

Foot-note:

1. While waiting to be posted, Ana has been seen at Almanar voluntarily giving help to
pupils with problems in science and maths.
2. Ana is now the eldest of eight, two more added into her family since she joined in
1998. She is hoping to take along her two young brothers, still in primary school, to
wherever she is being posted because she is determined to see their success in life as
well.

Ana has begun to live up to our motto : Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

PIBG meeting of sorts at Almanar

For the first time in all these years, thirteen in all, Pak Cik decided to invite parents of new pupils for a get-together. Pak Cik opted for small groups of about twenty parents with the hope of promoting a more cordial gathering. Furthermore the Form One group of 2008 opened with quite a large number, close to forty.



Pak Cik began the afternoon with a simple introduction of Almanar, explaining the very reason for its existence – berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan. (Ex-Almanar members must have heard enough of that, for sure.) Pak Cik tried to dispel the general notion that something offered for free was of lesser quality than one with a high price tag. Fortunately, in as far as the free tuition at Almanar was concerned, this was not difficult to sell. The performance of pupils associated with Almanar during the last several years had spoken for itself.

During the course of the ‘cakap-cakap’ session we talked, among other things, about Pak Cik’s rather critical view on TV, computers and hand-phones. Uncontrolled, the numerous entertainment programmes dished out over TV, and ingenious computer games are fast turning into a problem of addiction among children. It is so easy for the addicted ones to spend absorbing hours on TV or exciting hours on a computer. On the contrary, how tiresome and boring it is for the same pupils to concentrate for ten minutes on a school book!


A pupil not in possession of a hand-phone can be regarded ‘ketinggalan zaman’. Among certain groups of pupils that is how it is. It may be beyond the comprehension of many village folks that an unhealthy relationship between ‘shy’ kampong boys and girls can develop from the ‘misuse’ of this modern gadget. Sending SMS is private and is hardly noticeable and, hence, it causes no embarrassment. That extra courage to approach a girl or a boy is no longer necessary. Coffee shop ‘politicians’ lament endlessly over the worsening moral problems. Few indeed appreciate that an innocent looking hand-phone can be a serious beginning. In an urban environment, where parents are from the middle or upper class, modern gadgets are just things taken for granted. For that matter it is a norm to see two cars in front of a house. In a village where two bicycles are shared among a family and one bicycle for each member of a family is a luxury, a hand-phone does represent a different value, more so to a young teenager, and can cause a different effect, too.


Pak Cik cited to the parents an occasion when two girls exchanged glances as I was talking on my hand-phone in a room at Almanar, At the end my conversation one of the girls, wearing a cheeky smile on her face, asked Pak Cik the model of my hand-phone. They did not have to hide from Pak Cik that they very well knew it.

“Nur, it’s just a cheap Nokia, the cheapest Pak Cik could get for under RM 150/-.” I responded casually. “And what is the price of yours?” I asked, playing an admiring look at a hand-phone beside her book.

“It’s just over RM300, Pak Cik. This friend’s is worth nearly RM 400/-,” smiling at he girl beside her.

“Why are yours so expensive?” I asked, showing a genuine curiosity.

“Ours have cameras, Pak Cik,” was her reply. “Ask a silly question and get a silly answer,” I thought to myself.

Well, here is poor PakCik, totally lagging in ‘kecanggihan’, and these children, spending their annual bursary of RM600 from the government – being of poor family but way up front in the possession of something ‘canggeh’!

Indeed we have numerous problems at a village level, different from one to another, a fishing village or one in the interior. Pak Cik often wonder how many ‘experts’ and ‘pakar’ from our ‘menara gading yang bertaraf antara bangsa’ care to carry out this kind of social study and highlight the many ills in a kampong society. The Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz did many of those during his days, hence his in-depth views of problems among Malay children and so on. A person like him could have thought of the need for an organization like Tabung Haji. He is convinced that Malay children in the villages need better nourishment for better brain. Alas, we are now all for turning our young ones to astronauts!

The parents listened to Pak Cik’s ‘cakap cakap’ and we all laughed light-heartedly. Finally we adjourned to Nuri where Mak Cik had some tea with ‘something-something’ simple prepared to end the occasion. That was an afternoon well spent.





Anak Pakcik No.2
-----------------------
Trust pakcik to jolt our senses to the reality of things! Indeed, the habitual act of taking things for granted. RM300 mobile phones? It is even scarier to find out from Azim (a form 1 student in urban KL) that some of his friends are walking with RM3000 handphones stuck in their pockets, and still complaining of lagging behind in terms of “yang tercanggih”! Ringgit and sense seldom come together.

For you dear Al-manar students, I envy you. You are with pakcik in his “prime time”, when he can sit back and share his life experience to all of you on a constant basis. His words oozes with virtues and wisdom, so children, listen up and pay attention!

Sufiah – oh – Sufiah

When Sufiah hit the headlines recently, Pak Cik mentioned her name in class. Surprise, surprise, the whole class of Form 3 seemed to have read about the girl. I wonder if it was an English language paper they had picked up the story from. If that was so, they would have acquainted themselves with a few 'useful' English terminologies associated with Sufiah's profession ! If only they had read the London paper, which first splashed the news, they would have been thrilled with the accompanying photos. Pak Cik can say that I was truly saddened by the 'exposure' - the story as well as the pictures.


Do I feel the need to organise help for this girl ? Pak Cik commented to Almanar pupils that what they had read was the bitter side of life which they would, sooner or later, come to recognise and have to come to grip with. At the same time Pak Cik cannot take my mind off statistical figures published in a local daily recently. There is nothing to be proud of in what it says that 75% of the unemployed are Bumiputra and 60% of those involved in prostitution are Bumiputra as well. So why have we got to clamour over the lone Sufiah, an intelligent person with good education,who has willfully chosen to live the way she does? The 75% and the 60% are closer to home and are the ones we all need to be concerned about. If we cannot help them let us help ourselves and those who are dear to us from being part of that statistic. And Pak Cik sincerely hope with education, including conviction in our religious belief, we will survive the bitter tests in life.


To make the news of Sufiah appear more personal ( as Pak Cik did with our celebrity, Awang Goneng ) I must bring in Mak Cik into the picture. As soon as she had read the News of the World on internet, she scurried around searching our collection of photo albums. " I knew I had it," said Mak Cik proudly. " Here's my photograph with her."


It was on a trip to Oxford. Pak Cik's niece, Karina, was studying there and so was Sufiah, aged 13. Look at the photograph. Study the innocent face of Sufiah standing alongside Mak Cik, Pak Cik's sister and a family member. Would it ever cross our mind then that such an innocent looking and intelligent lass would be what she is today ? Such is life - a shadow, a poor player that frets and struts his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. So, ex-pupils of Almanar, wherever you are, I must say that we ought to look at ourselves, where we are and question ourselves what good are we that gives us the right to notice and criticise 'kuman diseberang lautan'. Let us do our utmost, then hope and pray that all is well. Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

St. Hilda's College, Oxford - October 1997

2007 PMR Results - Further update

Unhappy with their awarded grade for Bahasa Malaysia, three pupils requested for a review which brought cheers. They have been awarded A grade in the subject after all. They have, therefore, joined their colleagues of all 8As. The final tally of results for Almanar-assisted candidates now stands as follows :

Grade: 8As - 8 students
Grade: 7As - 5 students
Grade: 6As - 2 students
Grade: 5As - 1 student
Total - 16 students

Equally heartening to us is the news that two more pupils have been offered admission into boarding schools, an SBP and a MRSM.

2007 PMR students in Almanar main room

Acknowledging a gift from Awang Goneng

Saying ‘thank you’, which reflects a feeling from within, is one that ought to be delivered outright, spontaneously and promptly. Any hesitation in delivery may be misunderstood. On this score Pak Cik am guilty - to none other than the current celebrity, Awang Goneng. I should have said at the end of December last year what I am about to say now.

24 Dec 2007 - Awang Goneng & Kak Teh's visit to Nuri

There was so much hullabaloo over the arrival of Awang Goneng in Kuala Terengganu. It was an event worthy of many events. Pak Cik could never hope to be heard. So Pak Cik have waited for the dust to settle before saying my piece. Hopefully, some will read and come to realise that, unknown to many, the celebrated writer is not, to Pak Cik and Mak Cik, Awang Goneng and his wife simply Kak Teh. They are very much dearer to Pak Cik and family than those glamorous names. They are simply Mi and Zaharah to us. So here goes what Pak Cik have to say to them :

"That Mi and Zaharah chose to come to our home on the very eve of the successful launching of your Growing Up in Trengganu was a gesture of your true humility to Kak Mah and Abang Ngah. Instead of allowing us to go down town to buy a copy of GUIT for you to sign, you took so much trouble driving a copy of your celebrated work all the way to Pengkalan Maras. How much greater honour can anyone hope to be given? Kak Mah and Abang Ngah pray that what we are seeing is just the beginning of something greater to come for you both. Thank you Mi and Zaharah for the visit and the precious momento."

So Pak Cik have had it out of my chest at last. Now comes the time to brag about acquaintances – call it name dropping if you may.

When someone becomes famous, many will naturally want to be identified with him one way or another. You should not be surprised to hear,
“ You know, my brother’s wife’s cousin used to go to school with Awang Goneng’s second cousin. And ….”.

A second person quickly interrupts,
“Is that so? But my wife told me her father’s brother-in-law once played football and won the game against a team which had Awang Goneng’s uncle’s third cousin in it. Not only that ……”.

Before he could continue a third person, not to be left out, cut him short,
“Now hear this. Do you know Awang Goneng’s grandfather was a very very important person in Kampong Raja, Besut? Besut is in Terengganu if you do not know. Believe it or not my grandfather lived in Pasir Puteh in Kelantan. You may not know the two states have a common border. A road links the two towns. Half way the road runs over a bridge across a river at a town called Jerteh. I have crossed that river many times. But many years ago there was no bridge. Vehicles of all sorts had to cross by ferry. So I am very certain my grandfather must have met that great Awang Goneng’s grandfather on that ferry. I am dead certain, I bet you.”

8 Aug 1983 - 99 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington

Yes indeed, Wan Hulaimi and Zaharah are no strangers to us. Our three children used to visit their home in East Acton for tea and sympathy. In fact we ourselves spent many a night in their flat on Chapelside. It was there Wan Goneng caught on camera our little boy enjoying himself in the long bath in his birthday suit! The boy could never forgive him for that embarrassing photo. It could very well be out in Awang Goneng’s next creation.

No, Pak Cik will not say any more. Those ex-Almanar pupils who have read Growing Up in Trengganu may get more information about the real Awang Goneng, such as how he commercialised ‘tempe’ in London town and how he was recently lost, driving in circles for one hour in Kuala Trengganu, of all place!

P.S. Just look at the two photos above. See what 24 years can do to people!

2007 PMR Results - Update

Some may want to have an update of what has become of those who performed well in their recent 2007 PMR - posted late December 2007. It is good news, a repeat of past years.

Two pupils will join Form 4 at sekolah menengah sains berasrama Penuh, namely
- Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuala Terengganu and
- Sekolah Menengah Sains Machang, Kelantan.

Seven others have been offered places at four MRSM schools namely:
- Pengkalan Chepa - Kelantan - 3
- Kuala Berang - Terengganu - 2
- Besut - Terengganu - 1
- Kuala Terengganu - 1

A few others may accept places at Sekolah Tekniks.

Pak Cik wish them all success wherever they may be, carrying the torch of Almanar.

1 Muharram 1429H - A New Year farewell to Pak Cik’s Ayah Cik (a belated posting)

Yes, another New Year. Pak Cik was up at five that morning to greet the arrival of our Muslim New Year.

It was a public holiday but Pak Cik had, nevertheless, decided to run my Almanar classes as usual, scheduling a two-and-half-hour one in the morning and another in the afternoon. By 8.20 Pak Cik was already crossing the road to Almanar, all very enthusiastic to deliver my royal New Year message to Form 3 pupils. Then came an uneasy feeling when no one was in sight. ‘These lazy children,’ ran my thought. But when the clock showed 8.30 and there was still no sign of them, I was beginning to lose my cool on the 1st day of Muharram.

A few form 4 and form 5 pupils began to turn up to study in private, greeting their obviously irritated Pak Cik. I strolled to check the time-table on the notice board then my diary. ‘Oh, this is an absolute cock-up!’ I told myself. It began to dawn on me that a few days earlier I decided to alter the morning group to the afternoon without telling the afternoon group to come in the morning. Pak Cik could now expect two groups fighting it out in the afternoon. A flurry of activities followed, sending messages of cancellation of afternoon for one of the two groups. That done and feeling somewhat relieved, Pak Cik decided to drive down town to buy some books and a pair of new sandals. A few shops were open that day.

“Baguslah pakai sandal baru hari pertama tahun baru,” commented the shop-keeper when Pak Cik put on my new purchase to walk out. Just as I was about to step into the car the hand-phone buzzed. This was not at all a welcome news after the morning’s mess-up. At the other end of the line was Pak Cik’s brother-in-law. His voice was terse to announce the death of Pak Cik’s uncle, Hj Ismail, whom Pak Cik lovingly addressed as Ayah Cik. In September this year he will be 92. By Maal Hijrah he is 95, a grand old man by any standard. In my new sandals Pak Cik dashed to his house.

So around ten in the morning of 1st Muharram 1429 the final curtain fell and Pak Cik’s uncle made his exit, his final ‘hijrah’. One moment he was seen resting on a couch and the next slumped on his side breathless. How easy and what an appropriate and auspicious date it was. May Allah bless his soul.

In his life Pak Cik’s Ayah Cik had two loves, collecting religious books ( kitabs ) and flower plants. Never tell him of your going to do Umrah and you could be sure of getting a shopping list of kitabs to buy in Mecca . I felt guilty that, at times Pak Cik avoided telling him of my intended umrah for fear of having extra weight to lug around.

Frail as he was he would not miss visiting the twice-a-week ‘pasar tani’ days (farmers’ open market days). He simply must stroll around ogling admiringly at the display of orchids and other flower plants, hoping to see a new breed. More often than not he would take one home. He ceased visiting the pasar tani when one day he was given a lift home without his trusted motorbike. He claimed that he had forgotten the place where he parked it, though many of us believed that it had been stolen. In a way it was a blessing as the family feared for his safety riding his motorbike shakily along the busy main road to and from the pasar tani.

Pak Cik visited this uncle a couple of weeks ago. After parking my car in front I walked straight into his house passing his many plants on the way, hardly noticing his small body among the plants. He was squatting on his bended knees watering a couple of potted orchids. “Kasihan nampak pokok-pokok ini tak kena air,” he murmured to me. To him his plants were as much alive as little children that needed to be loved and cared. Gone is Pak Cik’s Ayah Cik – a hijrah on the first day of Muharram 1429 - one new year day that I woke up to greet with high expectation only to begin with confusion at Almanar and a sad farewell to someone who had shown a lot of kindness to me in particular. Semoga dicucuri Allah rohnya.

Tokens of Appreciation

PMR results are known and it is all over until another year. What an added pleasure it was to see signs of appreciation on top of the satisfaction of witnessing good performance. A kain batik for Mak Cik, a pelikat, a sejadah or a towel for Pak Cik, a framed ayat Al-Quran to adorn the wall and such items are all what make you feel good. A visit from parents to express thanks for helping their son or daughter had no monetary value. When a boy was overwhelmed with emotion, crying and haltingly uttered, “ Thank ----- you ---- Pak Cik ---- I could not have -- done it –without Almanar –“ you felt like crying too. What if a pupil came with a small plastic bag containing about half a kilogram of small fish saying, “ Ini ayah beri.”? You began to imagine the harshness of life to earn some fish in the midst of monsoon season, the stormy sea and the risk that went with it.

All such invaluable tokens, material or otherwise, make us ponder and realise how lucky we are.

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

Pak Cik reminisces (part 3) - New Year, 50 years ago

The clock on the wall is showing 2.05 am, Tuesday, the 1st of January 2008. Mak Cik is fast asleep after watching the New Year celebration on TV. In the dark and still of the night, Pak Cik have just said a short prayer on the verandah outside our bedroom, a way of saying farewell to 2007 and welcoming 2008. And now here I am, Pak Cik, sitting and thinking. From sheer force of habit Pak Cik have to sit back and reflect on the year that has just slipped by. What have I achieved to thank Him for and what failure is there that I should feel ashamed of myself as a legacy of 2007? And what do I do now for my tomorrow? I thank Him for the gifts of the past year and continue to seek more help for what I must start now to build a better tomorrow.

I reached into a box of old diaries and picked up that for 1957. It was on top because I had dug it out very recently for the note on Merdeka (Pak Cik Reminisces - Part 2). What a coincidence , 1st January 1957 fell on Tuesday as well. The page is full. As always it begins with a short prayer. This one is in my poor Arabic which says :

Bismillah …….. O God, I have not been fair to myself and I belong to the weak. So forgive me and strengthen my faith in You. All praises are Yours and to You I shall return. God, please help me through this new year as You have always helped me. To You goes all my gratitudse. Only you are the Perfect. .Amin.

The weather was cold where I was.
Afternoon temperature - 8 deg C
Evening temperature - 5 deg C.

Pak Cik must be sensing the great change in weather to see it fit to record the temperature readings in my diary. Here I am in my in my room with the air-conditioner set at 23 deg C.

To the Almanar community, the past and present, Pak Cik wish and pray that this new year will be better than the ones gone by. Do reflect on the past, resolve to achieve better and start the act today. As Pak Cik often say to you all, Yesterdays are not ours and we cannot count on tomorrows. Those are His, Alawwalu wal Akhiru. If at all we can claim today to do something and then we can hope and pray that we have a better tomorrow.

.

.

2007 PMR Results

This is the time of the year that Pak Cik can hardly wait, neither for the Christmas season nor for the New Year. In fact for one of Pak Cik’s age ( still a secret to you ?) a new year carries with it two heavy thoughts, one of gratitude for being blessed by Him with such a fruitful age, the second of the nearness of the end of the ‘recorded time’ ( remember the piece from your Form 1 English literature?). Another reward for Pak Cik’s year’s labour is the one Pak Cik look forwards to, the PMR results. This time round the results are much like the last many years (exceeding ten now), Alhamdulillah.

Yesterday, 27th December, Pak Cik faced an ad hoc class of 16 beaming faces. Could it be possible for Pak Cik to hide the few drops of tears when I learned the following figures?

8 As 6 persons
7 As 7 persons
6 As 2 persons
5 As 1 person
(6Bs 1 person)*

All of them achieved A grades in English, Maths and Science. It was other subjects like Bahasa Malaysia and Agama that had brought some to grief. Like those in the past years, most from this group will soon bid us farewell to join SBPs and MRSMs. Pak Cik’s greatest hope and wish and pray is that they will go and succeed in life, taking along with them a few of the values they have acquired from Almanar ( our Light-house ) – not forgetting one day to ...

berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan

* One girl managed only 6Bs, including English and Maths. She joined us late in Form 3. It was much too late to help her. Her young brother, insya Allah, who is now going into Form 2 in 2008, will join the excellent performers two years hence. He has shown an exceptional and exemplary working attitude. Pak Cik saw him near lunch time yesterday sitting in one corner of Almanar looking dazed, a Form 2 Science book lying open in front on the table. “ Rasa demam terok, Pak Cik,” he murmured on seeing Pak Cik approaching him.

“Mengapa datang juga kalau dah sakit? Pergi balik tidur.Ada duit kah ?”. In response he shook his head sadly. So Pak Cik sent him back immediately with three ringgits in his hand to buy some Panadols on the way.

“Pulang balik kepada Pak Cik kah kalau ada duit baki ?” looking askance. How often Pak Cik have been touched by such simple honesty. And how can we not want to carry on doing something for the future of such a person? And there are so many of them out there, if only we choose to see.

Pak Cik reminisces ( Pt 2 ) – 50 years ago – Merdeka (b)

Two weeks after Merdeka I received a letter from a friend in K Terengganu, one of my several very close Chinese classmates in Form 5. Affectionately I called him ‘baba’, otherwise Wee Lian Hong. We were so very close at school that our mothers became friends. He was then about to be sent by his family to Australia to do medicine. Unfortunately, today, fifty years later, he is just one of those who live in my memory. A Dato’, having his own clinic and doing a lot of voluntary services, he passed away four years ago. It is fortunate that I still have in my possession that letter which reads :


Kuala Terengganu
31. 8. 1957

Dear Hassan,

Today is Merdeka Day. The time now is just 20 minutes after midnight. I have just heard ( on radio of course, in the absence of TV then) the last address by the former High Commissioner for the Federation, the National Anthem and the chimes of the clock tower in Kuala Lumpur, and a very short speech by Y.T.M Tunku Abdul Rahman, the Prime Minister now.

------------- The whole town goes gay as the day nears and now decorations are up and no house in Kampong China is without strings of coloured bulbs, flags and buntings. The whole town turns into a holiday resort where people from the ulu and across the river flock to see the bright lights of the festive K.T. -----------------

------------- I met Wan Adnan -------- He is the same old fellow – jovial and still retaining the sense of humour. He is a bit plump though. He may go to UK to do law at Lincoln’s Inn. ----------


Yours,
Baba


That is part of the letter, a voice from the past. Reference is made to a mutual close friend, Wan Adnan. The person is none other than the late Tan Sri Wan Adnan Ismail who passed away while serving as the President of the Court of Appeal. He did go to London as Baba’s letter hinted, and that was a real blessing to me. His presence there saw me visiting London at every available opportunity, to enjoy the company of a familiar face, to mutually compliment each other on how well we could prepare nasi goreng in his rented room, and without fail to do the short walk down the road to Malaya Hall in Bryanston Square. It was always warm and cosy inside that old building no matter how cold the weather was outside. What a joy it was to be among young Malayans, hearing the familiar lingo with ‘lah’, ‘hah’ and all. Smiles were offered generously and in abundance. Everyone was everyone else’s friend 8000 miles from home.

That was fifty years ago. The names Baba and Wan Adnan are recorded in the above letter. They belong to two individuals, decorated and highly respected during their lifetime. Looking back at those happy young days I cannot but be reminded with full humanity of these two individuals. Born and schooled before Merdeka they lived and they served with dedication, honour and dignity in independent Malaysia. They were worthy of being the citizens of independent Malaysia. And so should we all hope to be - kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

Pak Cik reminisces ( Pt 1 )– 50 years ago –Merdeka (a)

It was September 1957. I was then living in a ‘digs’, a family house with spare rooms rented to students, in a town about 100 miles away from London, 8000 miles away from home (perhaps I should say 160 km and 13,000 km respectively to be more topical with the unit of measure). Three rooms were shared between seven of us: a Peruvian, a Jew from London, a rich son of a minister from Lebanon, a Christian Arab from Iraq, an Indian from India, an Irishman and the lone Malay boy from Malaya. Our English landlady, a widow with a grown up son working in London, served us daily breakfast and dinner. We were a happy mix, sharing our differences. Nevertheless, I was but a lonely lad trying hard to adapt himself to this strange environment. There were houses of worship everywhere and plenty of food and drinks, but almost none for a Muslim. There was no shortage of restaurants but one could not find rice and curry on the menu.

There were no cassette tapes or CD’s to hear the voice of Saloma and P Ramlee. My country was celebrating her independence and here I was, oblivious to the kind of celebrations being held 8000 miles away at a place called home. Today I realise those are the elements that can contribute towards building or destroying a character. And I survived.

How about a phone call to Malaya? We can forget that, let alone hand-phones. It was a great many years before the emergence of E-mail and sending SMS. It was at an era when it was fashionable for a young would-be engineer to show off a pocket slide rule sticking out in his shirt. Today a Form 1 pupil is expected to own a calculator, a device that would be the eighth wonder of the world then. If a young person now was to ask what on earth a ‘pocket slide rule’ is, a similar question would be asked then of a ‘pocket calculator’. So, sending and receiving news was all by air-mail letters which took about two weeks to reach. If you could not afford the cost of an air-mail stamp, the alternative was going by ‘surface-mail’, a slow boat that would take about a month, with the added risk of the mail getting lost altogether.

It is pointless to keep reminding myself now how lonely it could be then. Circumstances often drive one to discover happy alternatives. So life went on. Of some comfort to me was the news I received a couple of weeks earlier that I had just passed my University of London GCE ‘A’ level, a two-year course which I was made to accomplish in one year by my sponsors. Hence I was on course to begin my degree as planned. As I had already completed my first year in UK I could rejoice at the thought that in another year I would be allowed to take my holiday at home, all paid for by my sponsors.

So this time fifty year ago I heard of the coming historic event in Malaya. What did I record in my diary ? Here goes one page from my 1957 diary :

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

31 AUGUST, SATURDAY ( 1957)

M E R D E K A D A Y !

News in all papers
Headlines of BBC news too
The voice of T Abdul Rahman shouting ‘Merdeka!’ (3 times) and the response from people came out and clear.
Tears trickled down my face
Special BBC broadcast 10.45 to 11.00 pm
Slept very late , after 2.30 am

Am I happy to see Malaya’s independence?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today I wonder why I deemed it important to end the brief note in my diary with that question. There seems to be a sense of disquiet, an echo of uncertainty in that young boy’s mind, away and alone among strangers, remote from the scene of the action. Today, wiser by 50 years, I understand it better. I had my independence at that young age, out of my family’s direct control. I had no need for their financial help. I could do just what I wanted, fooling around, spending my allowance, breaking all my religious rules and ethics and all. Nonetheless I needed love and affection. I longed to be with those who shared my childhood, rice and curry prepared by my mother’s loving hands. Without my sponsors I would not have the very opportunity to be at the heart of the world’s greatest empire, which granted Malaya’s independence.

Indeed I think I know it better today that ‘merdeka’ is just a great sound from an empty drum until one is able to break free from being at the receiving end to a position that others benefit from what he can contribute.

Let me take a break here. A sequel to this will follow in due course.

Pak Cik’s message – 31st August 2007 (50th Merdeka Anniversary)

It has been quite a while since the last entry was made. Pak Cik has always had in mind updating Almanarnuri regularly. This has failed miserably. Consequently, this site tells nothing of the current situation at Almanar, its failures as well as its successes. Pak Cik has every intention to put this right. Every attempt will be made to have a bit of news from time to time. Perhaps, this day being the 50th anniversary of our independence, it is as good a day as any to make a start.

In general Almanar has been able to live up to its motto, ‘ Berkhidmat kerana tuhan untuk kemanusiaan’. Single-handed at the helm Pak Cik has not failed to keep reviewing the effectiveness of materials and methods employed. Many quarters have seen Almanar as a unique non-profit-making venture. It has now entered the thirteenth year of its existence. Convinced of what Almanar has done, a number of families have given their votes of confidence by having their third children enrolled. In more than one way Almanar has developed into an institution in its own right. Most unfortunate is Pak Cik’s failure to attract voluntary teaching resource to expand the programme envisaged. Its enrolment is levelled at around 80 to 90 pupils attending the basic three-year course beginning at Form One. There are of course a number of those from Form 4 and Form 5, who find the familiar atmosphere at Almanar conducive to concentrated work. This is most noticeable during school holidays when ex-Almanar pupils return home from their boarding schools. Here they congregate to exchange experience and to work ahead together.

The year 2006 saw a great success for the 20 odd pupils sitting for PMR examination. Ten candidates obtained 8A’a. Thirteen were given places to continue Form 4 at MRSM, of whom five went to Pengkalan Cepa, rated among the top MRSM in the country. These boys and girls have given credits to their families. Almanar is proud to share their pride.

To all those who have shared parts of their student life at Almanar Pak Cik would wish this: “all the best to you, post Merdeka children. Pak Cik’s school days belong to pre-Merdeka era, a period in time with different kind of challenges, some greater than today’s. But your future will undoubtedly be no less challeging. Strive and, kerana Tuhan and in the spirit of Merdeka, keep on striving. I have often borrowed the saying that the measure of our success is the amount of effort we put into it.”

2002 PMR Results

They Have Done Themselves Credit
Almanar takes great pleasure to congratulate twenty odd Form III pupils who sat for their PMR examination at the end of 2002. They formed the third group to join Almanar at Form I for the special classes in English and Mathematics and for general guidance in other subjects.

The group passed with 100% A grade in Mathematics . Half of them obtained grade A in Bahasa Inggeris, grade B for the rest.. One candidate obtained 9A’s, three 8A’s and three 7A’s. To appreciate the height of achievement of this group of pupils one must take into account the level of their earlier generally average-to-low UPSR performance.

For instance, the UPSR result of the person with 9A’s is AABCC (B in Mathematics and C in Bahasa Inggeris) . One candidate who achieved 8A’s at PMR level can only boast of BBBBB at UPSR level , whilst one with 7A’s+1B at PMR (B in Bahasa Inggeris) obtained BBBBD (D in Bahasa Inggeris) at UPSR level.

On the basis of their performance in the recent PMR examination, a surprising number of 17 of them have left their very ordinary Sekolah Menengah to start their new hostel lives at the following centres :

2 to Sek. Sains asrama penuh in Kuala Terengganu.
4 to MRSM in Pahang and Terengganu
3 to Sek. Men.Tekniks in Kedah
1 to Sek. Men.Tekniks in Perak
3 to Sek. Men.Tekniks in Pahang
4 to Sek. Men. Tekniks in Terengganu

The above performance and that of previous groups associated with Almanar justify our conviction that the lack lustre UPSR results among many pupils do not necessarily reflect their true academic potentials. Many are victims of circumstances and environments, and they, therefore, deserve to be accorded a second chance. For their determination and hard work, and now that they are being given a second chance to continue excelling themselves, we wish all these boys and girls success.

**********************
Where they are :

Sek Menengah Sains Kuala Terengganu
Azmi HashimNor Hamimah Abd. Kasim

MRSM, Kuantan
Mohd Ridhwan Said
Fara Waheda Jusoh
Rose Aitul Adilah M Zaki
Nurul Shuhada Hassan

Sek Men Tekniks in Pahang
Amir Musa
Nor Farhana Zakariya
Nor Hafiza Mamat

Sek Men Tekniks in T Intan
Azida Abd Aziz

Sek Men Tekniks, Alor Star
Mayuni Mohd
Mazliani Abd. Aziz
Nor Baitie Razali

Sek Men Tekniks in Terengganu
Kamaliza Sidik
Nor Hasmidar A. Samad
Noor Akmal Mohamad
Zuriawani Mamat

Those who have opted to remain at their old school :

Farah Amirah Mat Deris ( 4 A’s )
Jazul Hafiz Jefri Jaafar ( 5 A’s )
Iza Emilia Mohamed ( 4 A’s )
Masitah Abd Latif ( 7 A’s)
Syaliza Dhamira Amad Rosli ( 2 A’s )
Syeikh Izzat Hamimi S Mohamad ( 2 A’s )

2001 SPM Results

SPM RESULTS

Early 1997 a small group of students , the pioneer group, joined Almanar as Form One students for our special English and Mathematics classes.Three years later this group left us and their original primary school to join other secondary schools , day as well as residential schools in the country . Today, with a sense of gratitude and pride , we offer our congratulations to this pioneer group who have successfully passed their SPM examination held at the end of 2001. One student, a girl, went as far as obtaining 7A1's and 1A2 ; and others with 7, 6A's and so on. We would like to feel that we did give them something while they were with us during their foundation years.

It is even more rewarding to us that thus far one has left to join the Metriculation course at MRSM college, Kulim, aspiring to be a doctor. Three others have left to join a similar course at the more enviable MRSM college, Banting, two also hoping to ultimately join medical courses and one engineering. We are hopeful that shortly the rest will also be offered places for further studies.

New Intakes

Pressure on our daily schedule and the need to offer more places for Secondary School pupils have forced us to reduce the intakes from Primary schools. Almanar is now running four classes for pupils of Form One to Form Three with a total enrolment of about 80 pupils. The recent SPM results have given a clear indication that emphasis at these three levels optimises our current limited capability.

2001 Class Size

In May 2001, Almanar is running classes with a total enrolment of about 130 students.
The exact number varies slightly from time to time resulting from voluntary
or forced withdrawals and new intakes. A few do find it tough to conform to
the strict academic demand here. To maintain an acceptable high standard Almanar cannot compromise. Those few will leave or have to leave.
The breakdown of the current classes is as follows :

A small number of students who joined before 1997 , that is before the construction of the school building proper, are already in several universities and colleges. While those who joined Almanar in 1997 (Form 1) and studied until 1999 (Form 3) will be sitting for their SPM examination in December this year,2001. They are now in their Form 5 in various secondary schools in the country, some in full boarding schools.