A Hari Raya do with all batches (well, almost...) from my old school

On the 4th week of the Raya festive month, on 3rd October 2010 to be exact my old alma mater Sekolah Menengah Sains (Science secondary school of) Johor, Kluang held a Hari Raya do at University Kebangsaan (National university of) Malaysia in Bangi.

With old boys from all batches invited it was the first time I attended such a do since leaving school in 1986.


For the record the first batch of school was the ones who came for Form Four before doing their MCE exams in 1975. A few years later or so the MCE which was taken by 17-year-old boys about to finish school was renamed as SPM and I took mine in 1987... hence the identification of batch by when the SPM was taken (despite the fact that I was kicked out of school in 1986 due to disciplinary problem and changed to another school).


Thus they do practically have old boys who finished school in 1975 on to those who finished in the 2000s. Among those coming I've seen some wearing patches saying they are from SPM 2003 but no later. Perhaps I've missed the younger ones. Then again while those who finished school in 2009 could also be considered old boys, they are perhaps too young to come to this do as meets like this are normally attended by those who are already established at work.



Relaxing in the hall next to the dining area. Normally after school, one continues with around 2 years of pre-university studies followed by 3 to 4 years doing their first degree. Then only they started working. Confirmation at a work place would take an average around 6 months. Only then one could say they already have a career and could be considered matured enough to mingle with their more established seniors in an old boys do.

Logically the youngest lot to qualify should be someone who finished university in 2009 before gaining enough footing at work in 2010. Such a person would have done 6 years of studies after finishing school (2 years pre-university plus 3-4 years in university) meaning he/she did his/her SPM in 2003. Hmm... that could explain why the youngest old boys to attend (at least the ones I saw) was from SPM 2003.


There were younger attendees of course such as this young girl and my then 11-month old boy Muhammad Al-Aminul Rasyid. But they were not graduates from our school, at least not yet. By the way my boy turned one year old today! :]


OK. While the boys tend to gather among their own batches or the ones closest to them there were enough interactions to go across all ages. Granted we tend to mingle with those we remember from our own time. For example when my batch were in Form One the eldest we knew was those who did their SPM then which was in 1983. Then when we turned 17 and started taking the SPM ourselves, we knew our youngest junior who was in Form One in 1987 (and girls too, but we hardly use the word old girls from a school except if it was an all-girls school right?), juniors who took the SPM in 1991.

In other words each of us tend to remember at most those who are 4 years older and 4 years younger. Well, in this do there are old boys 12 years older than me and 16 years younger. But in the working world such a divide means nothing.

That's why earlier I said normally one has to have enough footing in the working world to attend a do like this, a do of which all batches were invited. For it is easy for an 18-year-old out of school to immediately start a reunion among themselves as obviously they have much in common. But when you have to address super seniors who are up to more than 20 years older than yourselves and some of them have gained enough status to be on the country's top echelon of politicians, businessmen and noted individuals, you obviously need some acumen that could only be gathered after at least a few years in the working world.


On a lighter note, propping up the atmosphere was a professional musician. Then there's the two old mates from my batch Sam and Adrian.

Ah. I must say I totally enjoyed attending this do. While the attendee numbered a small percentage of all graduates from our school we still have almost 30 years of representation (MCE 75 to SPM 2003).

My wife who is 5 years younger and hailed from another science school (Sekolah Menengah Sains Teluk Intan or SEMESTI in Perak) was also pleased. I think our boy Al-Rasyid enjoyed it too...