The 17th August Breakout

So, its was  with some  trepidation that I took the baton...but with total exhilaration that we all savour the sweet succulent success of a successful operation!

We had 70 attendees including three staff and one guest.. and some operation concerns.

Otherwise our ship sailed in!

Bravo!

The success in photos!

Remembering Noriyah Ahmad

Noriyah seated ever demurely behind.....another one lost this year 2017

Paths do cross and then we leave our footsteps in history over fading time.

Such was the case with Noriyah Ahmad.

A  dimpled smile, a canary-sweet voice lady from Kedah with a sprite in her voice and those eyes...... she was a prize to catch!

She was manja.

"Manja' in Malay means "beguiling".

Noriyah left us on 28 June 2017....

We only have fond memories left of her.

Its the GPS of life.....

We were here at a certain time and at a certain place each time....

This was our time....

We were richer to have met and know Noriyah.

In our own way, lets bade her goodbye and may God put her on His right side where all His favoured people sit.

Amen.

The Halcyon Days with Huzaimah

Hu ...that's Who!

Huzaimah may have picked some 'sounds' during USM days....perhaps even a legacy....

You never know a person except when you get up close and personal.

What you have here is a Puritan...meaning  the ethics of hard work and industry.

In some way, I was a family friend then...saw the children growing up;took care of her home when she went to Chelsea.

How we chuckled when she and the late Saadah Din bought travelling tickets from FLY NOW PAY LATER!

We worked together at the Ministry of Youth... into the nights where I had to guide Hu to the car-park as Hu is blind in one eye.

We were always in contact, if not personally then on the Whatsapp.

Now, she is in pain... possibly from a soft tissue condition.

Underwent an operation about 4 days ago. Sven hours long.

Hope God is kind to Hu and had guided the doctors to wisely excised all malignant tissues.

Pray God will ensure it's localized and have all been isolated.

Sedated most of the time, this is no time for a visit at HKL.

Possibly in another 7 days.

Meanwhile lets commit Sister Hu in all our daily prayers and prayerfully seek His  Blessings and protection for the full restoration of Huzaimah's health.

Amen!

To be a Scirbe

INTEC,UITM Section 17 , Shah Alam

You, a Scribe?

And so I became one on 5th June and 9th June 2017.

At INTEC, Section 17, Shah Alam,

I was a bundle of nerves at first.

Not being briefed.

Don't know what to expect.

INTEC is poor at temporary signages.

You would have gone to the four corners of the campus before you arrived at your destination.

Walkway to the Exam Hall

Malaysia, Bolehmah!

Duties?

To help the student approved with a Scribe service to write  and to imprint  her identity and paper details and MCQ answers to her answer sheet.

Nothing to it.

But your must have a level of English to handle professional papers such as ACCA Auditing and Financial Management.

My student was a model candidate.

I do hope she enjoyed my assistance for the two days.

And they pay you in Sterling equivalent.

A new page is now added to my leaf of experience!

Yahoo!

Heng Kok Kwang's 92 th Birthday Lunch

My Dad at 92

My father had a birthday lunch celebration in our home at Air Keroh, Melaka  on 7 May  2017 recently.

My brother, Jit Cheng feeding my Dad, bird-nest soup

I could not attend because of my teaching chores.

The Clan in Melaka on 7 May 2017

I and the family wished him the best of heath and may God bless one of the kindest soul that ever walk this earth.

With my Eldest Sister - in-  law

Blessings again.

Such gaiety

Praise the Lord!

The Birthday Video.

Postscript: 

Dad started walking with assistance on 8 June 2017. 

Praise the Lord!

Amen

New Years Eve 2017

It was a rare occasion to have the Reunion Dinner with my Mother and James family.

We had a great time at Pantai Seafood Restaurant.

Food could have been better.

In the pic is Mother-seated.

Left to right - Jemsen, James, Iriene, Juliana and yours truly.

Leaving:The Mother and Son Relationship

Leaving for the Greater Good

In the Form 4 English Literature component, one of the the most heartfelt issue that comes to mind is the theme of sacrifice. In M.G. Vassanji's short story,Leaving, we read about the value-laden conflict of perspectives between protagonist and antagonist.

Let us delve into the relationship of Aloo, the protagonist and his mother, the antagonist.

Aloo’s doting mother is the antagonist. Widowed at thirty-three, she has 5 children. A strong woman, she did not marry, committing to raise all five children on her own. She was practical and focused. She sold her shop after her elder two daughters married and then moved to quiet Upanga to take care of the youngest two children and their education. As her elder son, Firoz, was a school dropout who worked and lived on his own, her hopes and future were clearly pinned high on the narrator and Aloo.

Her younger son, Aloo is the protagonist. He is intelligent, bright and ambitious. He is obedient and respectful of his mother.

Then came the main event to bring conflict between mother and son.

Inspired by Mr. Datoo, a former teacher returning from America, Aloo made a decision to study in America. Armed with initiative and resourcefulness, he wrote to many universities in America to seek a place to study.  When Aloo was given a place to study medicine at the famed California Institute of Technology with a scholarship thrown in, Aloo was ecstatic! The door to opportunity and many related possibilities opened before his eyes.

While mother-son relationship was on an even keel of respect, responsibility and duty until now, the university offer and scholarship issue started to cause a schism to appear between mother and son. Their relationship was now put to a test. Will it bend or will it break or will the test strengthen their relationship further?

Both had their points of view on this matter. Let’s look at them.

For Aloo, to study in America, represents a vision of his tomorrow, the fruition of a longing hope. America was a brand new world out there for his taking. It will provide him with a golden opportunity to not only study at a renowned university but also in his desired course-medicine. On top of that he was awarded a scholarship! Certainly, not that Agriculture offered by a local university which he looked upon with so much disdain. He had friends studying overseas and these peers became his models to look beyond his native shores for education prospects.

Aloo was certainly disappointed when his mother did not share his excitement, hopes and dreams. When his mother brought up the issue of money that was needed to spend in America that was beyond the remit of the scholarship, he suggested that they could borrow some or that he could also work to help supplement the shortfall of the fees and other overheads. This shows his desperation to take advantage of the opportunity to be something better; to be someone better.  

For his mother, Aloo’s opportunity to study overseas certainly forced her to think long and hard. She realized she had many misgivings. Although she may not have to spend too much money to enable Aloo to go to America, she bore some unspoken fears; utmost being, that she may lose her son forever to a foreign land if he did not return. She also found out that she was conservative as she harbour a fear that Aloo might take a foreign wife. Similarly, she was also concerned that Aloo, being on his own, may fell victim to bad habits such as smoking and drinking.

Though, having mixed feelings as an overprotective mother who may be about to lose one of her son, albeit briefly, she was not blatantly against Aloo and his ambition to study overseas. We can perceive this as she never did raise any objection when Aloo started corresponding with foreign universities to obtain prospectuses and entry forms. We know she was a responsible mother who cares for the future of her children. As such, she was not insensitive to Aloo’s needs. In fact, she was sensible. She was aware of his ambitions and his dreams.

She had made sacrifices before, why not one more? Though careful, she sought assurance. So, she went to see Mr. Velji, a learned education officer whom she respected. They discussed on the matter at hand-Aloo’s scholastic performance, the course in medicine and the scholarship.  When the advice given was supportive that Aloo go to America to study; the mother, despite being conflicted by the sense of potential separation and loneliness, accepted the advice as profitable and was willing to forego her selfish fears such as loneliness, cultural issues and possibly, religious apprehensions.

In ending, we can say the relationship of the two main characters, which underwent a reassessment of their values and priorities through an intense emotional challenge, gained better footing as it matures to a new level of sacrifice, love and understanding. Allowing Aloo to go to America was the mother’s ultimate sacrifice. For both mother and son, it was to be an ideal win-win situation.