Joy and Sorrow in March 2010

The elegant and dignified Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong meets her match in Ruby Ahmad, an exceptional Malaysian who breathed her last on Monday March 15, 2010. Our deepest condolences to her family.

Last week during the one-week school holiday, my parents, my sister and I were in KL to attend a family wedding at the Subang Golf Club. My brother could not join us as he had to spend time at his college with his Robotic team to make the final preparation for the 2010 First Lego League (FLL) Malaysian Open Championship.

We spent our weekend at Wan Cu’s house in Cheras.

Immediately after the wedding of Wan Long's and Tok Long's youngest son on Monday night, we left KL and drove back up north.

On the way back, we made a stop-over in Ipoh and stayed at the Majestic Station Hotel aka The Taj Mahal of Ipoh.

On the wall of the hotel’s vintage lift is a sticker of a grand grand-pa pleading “Hi Dearest Girls & Boys… So Lovely Girls & Boys …” to treat him gently and kindly.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel’s huge verandah, and were quite surprised to see the kind of clientele the hotel attracts.

Before we left Ipoh on Tuesday, despite all the hassles, Papa could not resist the opportunity to take a photo of me with the impossibly handsome St Michael’s Institution in the background.

As we were leaving Ipoh, my brother and his Robotic team were travelling the opposite direction to KL. On Wednesday and Thursday, the team competed in the FLL at the Pusat Sains Negara. Although the team did not win any prizes, it was a good exposure and learning experience for them. In Facebook, LET'S MAKE KOLEJ SULTAN ABDUL HAMID "SEKOLAH BERPRESTASI TINGGI" BY 2015 has this to say:

Today is a sad day for the College Robotics Team. After 2 days of grueling competition in the FIRST Lego League Open Championship at the National Science Center, the team ended their challenge without collecting a single award. Sixty schools from all over Malaysia participated in this championship organized by SASBADI. It was clear that our team was outclassed on all fronts - team spirit, robot performance, teamwork, project, and robot design. Kudos to the students for giving their level best, but at the end of the day it is all about true preparedness and good management of the team. CLEARLY THE COLLEGE TEAM NEEDS HELP.

On reaching home, Papa learned the sorrowful news that the vibrant and unpretentious Ruby Ahmad had passed away on Monday. Many loving tributes instantly poured in from fellow bloggers. To Papa, she is the epitome of beauty, a gracious lady with beautiful heart and mind. The last time they exchanged ideas was on Feb 4, 2010 when the frightfully clever and incisively perceptive Ruby challenged the authorities to consider changing their silly ways:

Dato, Dato', Datuk, Datin Paduka, Datin, Toh Puan! Can't there be a move to standardise? It is a constant headache for letter writing & sending out invites, as people can be sensitive to spellings & accuracy of their titles …arghh ... so standardise lah, boleh?!

In November 2008, she wrote this profound reminder:

One should know, we are here only temporary.
One should know death is inevitable.
For, that, we continue slogging, as long as our integrity is intact.
There is no point, reaching a certain wealth status, when all one did was dipping into coffers that don't belong to you.
Better the sweat & toil, but, we did it with dignity.
The ONE above is All Seeing.
So grieve. But don't regret the good that one is doing.

Get busy living for the good of many.

Don't with this grieve, make society lose you.

You have done a world of good. Rest in peace our dearest Ruby Ahmad. Al-Fatihah.

A Tale of Two Schools in Alor Setar

Gosh, the first month of the new year 2009 has just ended. Time passed by so swiftly in January. Lots of exciting things have happened, and February promises to be even more exciting. My brother started his secondary schooling at Sultan Abdul Hamid College (SAHC) and this excites Papa no end. Yesterday, when my brother told Mama that his application to MRSM was not successful, I swear I heard Mama cackled so heartily. Papa reasoned out that there are many more deserving students who really really need the limited places in MRSM more than my brother.

Whenever time permits, Papa always looks forward to the trip to SAHC, either to send my brother off on Saturday morning for him to attend the replacement classes or to fetch him in the evening after the co-curiculum activities on a weekday. Apart from the banners and permanent writing on the wall of the Sultan Abdul Hamid Pavilion proclaiming 100 years of excellence, what struck him most upon entering the compound of SAHC was the overall feel good ambience, as narrated to a couple of SAHC blogger-alumni:

1. Mat Cendana (10 January): Gosh, early this morning I ventured into SAHC for the first time. And I wanted so much to spend time in Stuart Library, but the door was shut, or so it seemed. The atmosphere was enchanting and full of aura. Am crazy about the old trees flanking the road leading to the teachers’ room.

2. Kak Teh (24 January): I've been to SAHC twice now, and really enjoyed the exhilarating short drive along the Persiaran Tunku Abdul Rahman as we entered the compound, then passed the imposing Main Building overlooking the rugby field and the Menara Alor Setar at a distance, and finally made our exit via the Persiaran Tun Dr Mahathir, with Stuart Library on the left and the Pavilion on the right. And the countless majestic raintrees flanking both the Persiaran, what a sight to behold.

However, rather depressingly, he felt devoid of similar uplifting

experience when he visited another famous all-girls school on the other part of town, in Jalan Telok Wanjah, near Istana Kuning and Menara Alor Setar. Relocated since the middle of 2001, St. Nicholas Convent (SNC) is just a skeletal of her former self. The one-storey classrooms situated along the main road are now converted into one big kopitiam (yellow inside), serving almost everything under the Malaysian sun for breakfast; nasi kerabu, nasi dagang, and toast, baked beans and grilled sausage, if that takes your fancy.

And the double storey buildings where the teachers’ rooms were located now lay abandoned, and unloved. Was there a concerted effort to preserve that great school whose illustrious alumni include Dr. Wan Azizah, Malaysia’s first female Opposition Leader?