Amran's Reminiscence (Episodes 1-4)

This time I am putting here the stories told by a pioneering senior (SMSKel 1973-1977) in our e-group some time ago. The e-group was later deleted (I still don't know how it happened) but Hasmala keeps the original mails, so we can still reproduce them here!.

He had divided it into a few sections!!
[Thank you to Hasmala for keeping all the postins, and forwading them to me again!]

Peaceful Easy Feeling (Episode 1: THE LONG MARCH)

It was a long March from Wakaf Mek Zainab to Pengkalan Chepa. I need to let all of you know what SMSK meant to us ( batch 73).

Life was not so rosy in SMIP with its crowded dorm, stinking leaked septic tank that freed all its content into the drain and beyond everytime there was a heavy downpour. More than half of us contracted typhoid which forced us to set up a temporary ward at the hostel (I was the last to get it -- the day I helped dis-ambled the ward). Our big brothers (SMIP guys) took great care of us by making us their kid brother, help us in a lot of things especially teaching us how to demonstrate to fight for our rights (most of the time when we were served with nasi basi - remember the chants" apa kita mahu?". "Nasi!"

The stories about the real boarding school as been told by Cikgu Rashidi (MCOBA) made us cringed to see our own school in Pengkalan Chepa. Promises to move there were made every other week but to no avail. Out of sheer frustration, we demanded one day to go and see the building though not completed. He said okay but we need to walk there! Actually the teachers were tired of giving excuses.

One fine morning, the boys in white T shirt and short with the girls in their skirt, we walked in line. We passed thro' a few kampong stopping at every perigi along the way to quench our thirst, the 234 of us walked and walked and walked.......the dream school was nowhere to be seen. Soon, a few guys broke the rules and were sent back quashing their big dream of seeing the multi storey complex with big padang.

Under the intense heat, we continued our journey stopping at a couple of kedai kopi to buy some titbits. We emptied their bottles, but I'm not sure how much the owner got (siapa teringat pergilah cari balik kedai tu -- bayar).

Finally, we saw it.....our school.....the almost completed buildings....big padang. Everyone put that childish grin on their faces...........We were looking from outside the fence though. We were not allowed to step into the school compound cos it was still the contractor's site - it was a projek sakit . I remember Rosli Alias took a black and white photo of the school.....

Time to go home...it meant a lot to heal our yearning for 'our school'. I tell you, it was somewhat an emotional moment to leave the school behind...or was it because we have to walk back.

On our way home, most of us were too tired to walk in line. We broke loose and walked as fast as possible, drinking air perigi whenever we found one. We shortcut through the jungles where most of the Taman Perumahan were then built on. We walk and march back to the hostel. I couldn't recall the pain until today because there was no pain......only that peaceful easy feeling after finally seeing our own school with that big padang which we finally step into in January 1974.

Note: Those of you contractors out there, try your best not to let your project sakit especially school projects cos you wouldn't know how many hearts you will break by doing that!

Amran Mohd Nor

Lumut Perak

famili95@tm.net.my


Peaceful Easy Feeling(Episode 2: THE CHEETAHS AND THE GAZELLES)

assalamualaikum,

In 1973, Cikgu Rashidi form a group of relay teams which he called Cheetah for the boys and Gazelle for the girls. The Cheetahs were Ab. Rahman Suhaimi, Sazali, Raja Tarmizi and oh god I can't remember the other one...minta maaf banyak-banyak. The gazelles were Roselawati Kadir (QS JKR KL), Chua Seu Hong (where are you now?), Rohana (the last time jumpa kat UK buat A-level) and was it Rozita? I need help to recall them....dah lama kan, tapi adik-adik SMSK and Farisian punya pasal, abng/pakcik kamu ni akan cuba cerita mana yang ingat.

The team made a wave cos we beat a few established team and gave impressive performance against a much older students in KB.

Then, the football team. I remember Cikgu Rashidi went round asking for those who had represnted their state, district or school during their primary school.......He gathered them one day and we got two teams. Our greatest achievement that year was beating MRSM away. was the score 7-5? Anyway, it meant a lot cos our guys came home with swollen feet.......they played bare footed against the sophisticated MRSM who was supplied with boots. It was an emotional occasion yet again......that explains why every match against MRSM after that was very highly charged ---- for the record, SMSK team was never beaten by anybody until 1977. We supplied most of the Kelantan team players the likes of Rosli Hussein(Pak Da), Tarmizi Kassim, Nazrin, Azam and others.

I think we need to pay tribute to Cikgu Rashidi for initiating and instilling the fighting spirit from the very beginning to create a name for our school. He was a friend, going from class to class telling his MCOBA tales during our preps. He taught us how to smoke and lompat pagar without being caught....of course he caught them all......he was fierce but fair. We ran around like a mouse whenever we heard his volvo PF... 's engine coming into the school compound ...but we also waited eagerly for his presence in our class to listen to his tales and wonderful stories about life in a boarding school. We love him......I bumped into him in Pangkor a few years ago with his entire family going for a vacation........had he not been around with in SMIP, I wouldn't know how the SMSK storyline would be......

.....whenever I remember him, I remember the Cheetahs and the Gazelles gunning down the tracks in 1973.

Amran Mohd Nor

Lumut Perak

famili95@tm.net.my


Peaceful easy Feeling (Episode 3: GIVE ME YOUR RED EYES!!!)

Now that Aminuddin mentioned it, I have to share this story with all of you. I think you juniors around the world should get to know us the 73 batch cos we had loads of tales to share. Nowadays, we just can't imagine how some of us can be what and who we are today....ingat tak jadi orang dah!!!

Yes, it was in 1975, our LCE (dulu SPR now PMR) year. Ramadan as well. Most of us were busy and anxiously studying for our LCE. We were to be the first batch to sit down for the exam and after almost two years with us, the then principal, Mahadzir (his name means "Talk-Big" and he lives to his name -handsome no-nonsense very much like our PM - kalau nampak nak berselisih semua orang lari even the teacher and the gardener) had given up on our batch. He publicly caned so many of us for doing all sorts of nonsense. Our famous Sulong (adik Dato' Dr. Ramli Mohamad of PLUS) bothered him the most, I think. SMSK was pressured to do well in the exam but Mahadzir had only people like us --- so rowdy and very loyal to each other.

The exam tension was mounting whatmore with fasting and the hari raya coming....homesick lah! Especially thinking of your siblings eating sumptuous akok and what not while we had to make do with bubur hangit. Then, one of us contracted this severe red eye syndrome (conjunctivitis). It spread like fire, one after another went to the hospital and didn't return, wow...they got a week's MC. They celebrated like mad cos they're going home.

So, very soon everybody rushed for those guys' pillow and towel, rub them in the eye..and..off you go...home for a week....akok, nonde, lompat tikam...name it..ha..ha..ha...to hell with the exam. It was madness the way we jumped onto the infected pillows and rub the eyes it..... and passed it around. Fantastic trick, within hours, you got it! red eyes, the painful sensation when you rukuk in your prayer.......you feel like your whole head is coming out through your eyes.........oooo..what a nice feeling...going home for puasa.

The number diminished fast in all classrooms, it was a crisis. Mr. Mahadzir found out about our tricks and he was so furious that he asked for a roll call in the school hall that same night. Only a third of us left.....Exam is right after Raya...He tried to strike fear in us by telling that nobody would go home anymore........

I was so sad cos I had just about to feel that lump in my eyes. " Oh God, I'm not going to complete Ramadan here with my eyes like this". Off to the hospital and with one look at me, the doctor signed a week's MC. My eyes were throbing. Told the warden...and guess what..he asked me to go home.......better still, my MC finished just before Raya....I had a good time. The pain went off on the second day after taking a pill from Thailand (now banned)

The exam came, the first LCE result of SMS Kelantan were out........ 100 %. Mr Mahadzir cried!!! Very proud of us!! And what about Sulong, the boy that bothered Mr. Mahadzir so much? Did he get 7As or 8As. Of course, he did better in his MCE, went to Liverpool Univ and joined Schlumberger, that oil exploration company who pays unbelievable sum to their engineers ----- but now he is the head or something like that of Schlumberger , I am told, based in Paris. I met him almost 20years ago in Bangsar when he told me that he just wanted to get a porsche and quit......

Well, adik-adik, that was how the 100% tradition was made for you to continue. Everytime I read about our school getting 100%, I'll quickly remember that particular moment in life when I joined the rest foolishly. Whenever my kids contracted conjunctivitis, I'd tell them the story, and my wife, a doctor, just cannot understand how stupid I was!

WARNING TO THOSE WHO ARE STILL IN THE SCHOOL: The above dangerous action was performed by mostly professional people (sekarang lah!) and therefore shouldnot be re-enacted by any of you for any reason whatsoever. I should not be held responsible for sharing this episode with you.

However if you suspect that you have contracted conjunctivitis, please go immediately to any doctor but preferably, not from batch 73 ......cos they know how to deal with you...

Salam from

Amran Mohd Nor

Lumut Perak

famili95@tm.net.my

28 January 2003


PEACEFUL EASY FEELING (Episode 4: THE EARLY DEBATE FEVER)

I was in the hockey squad in the 1976 PPM in STF. We were very small and looked down by other more established schools like MCKK, STAR and SDAR. They were almost a different class above us. They got the eyes of TKC and STF girls then. So, obviously, we had to be more rowdy than them to attract attention. There're instances when we overdid it, and I must admit, we looked more like kampong boys. Things got worst when a SMSAH player walloped Rosli Hussein's shin in a hockey match....with heroes like Sudin, Che Amat etc in our team....all hell broke loose. News spread very fast about the incident and we felt like in a dustbin cos we suddenly became the 'badboy' of the tournament. But our debators changed the fortune...

Well....nothing could beat the night our debators ran down our more established opponents one after another with us cheering like mad, marching throughout the whole STF compound singing thro the night taunting the SDARians and STARians(these two were like brothers). If I'm not mistaken we qualified for the final that year (maybe someone can verify this for me). Suddenly, we were noticed! SMS Kelantan was the name. It put fear into others and we were suddenly on a new high (at least I was!). We behaved more 'kampong' after that. Of course we were beaten by Kolej Islam Klang in four straight years either in the final or semi final...real jinx.

Moments like that were contagious. At home the whole school was soon infected with debate fever. We suddenly had debate teams in every class and even dorm. I remember having debate contest in the dorm that started after the 'lights off'. The best part was that everybody was lying down in their bed dalam kelambu throughout the whole session. It amazed me till today how serious we were then. The eloquent and witty rebukes of Razali Mat Zin was emulated.....the forceful antonation and bombastic lingo of Anwar Ibrahim was the norm.....even within the kelambu.

In those days it was so difficult to get any message across because somebody no matter where and when will rebuke you to provoke a debate!!!

I must say that the debate team managed to speed up our effort in establishing our school as a top flight institution in the country.

For such a new school and at an era when there were only TV1 and TV2, appearing on national TV channel for the debate final was a very great achievement. It gave us a great pleasure to tell our kampong folks that "Sekolah Sain tu sekolah amba!"

Our strong pride in guarding the Kelantanese dialect did not deter us from participating in a debate contest. The classic case was when a contestant in an inter class debate went on emotionally putting across a case about indiscipline in school when he said something like ,"....... akan menyebabkan lebih ramai murid-murid sekolah merungkas pagar!"

Amran Mohd Nor

Lumut Perak

famili95@tm.net.my
29 January 2003