Extracted from an e-mail dated 31.1.2007 received
from Angeline Ong Siok Hong
(1958 -1959)
Our Cikgu Baharuddin Marji was conferred the title of Dato'
by the Sultan of Selangor recently. The Kirkbyites in
the
At about noon,
all of us gathered at the entrance to welcome Dato'
and Datin Baharuddin as
they made their way in. There were warm handshakes and broad smiles all around
as our guests-of-honour were led to the "Kirkby Corner" that Cititel
had reserved for us. The other patrons at the Hotel's buffet lunch were amazed
at the large number of senior citizens present. However, we,
though in our twilight years behaved more like schoolchildren
chatting animatedly and laughing excitedly when we met friends whom we have
lost touch for ages! It gave us a lift to meet again and speak fondly of
the good old days in Kampong Kirkby. As we tucked
into the sumptuous food, we talked about the present too - comparing notes
of our families, especially our grandchildren, our aches and pains and doctor's
medication. Fifty years ago, such topics were outside our realm, but now, they
are part and parcel of our lives.
Then our
attention was diverted to Cikgu as he made a
"Thank You" speech. It was short, sharp and sweet. He thanked us for
our generosity and affection and appreciated the warmth of our gesture in honouring him and his wife. He declared that even though he
is a Dato' he still prefers to be addressed as "Cikgu" because the latter honorific connotes respect
which must be earned. Then he invited us to his home on 28th January 2007 for
tea, insisting that we do not bring any gift or ang pow. After that, we sang "For
he's a jolly good fellow" robustly.
We burst into
song again when it was announced that it was Zainuddin
Zaini and Ahmad Omar's birthdays. Many happy
returns to both of them!! While Ahmad revealed that he's a
septuagenarian, Zainuddin did not utter a word. But
we know that if he's not yet seventy, he has to be a "sexygenarian"!
No Kirkbyite is any younger than sixty!!
Inevitably, a
photo session followed. Since there were too many of us to fit into one photo,
the different batches took photos with Dato' and Datin. Then Teresa Voon presented
Cikgu with a big congratulatory card which Wong Siew Hoon had designed using her beartiful calligraphy. All of us had signed it - a fitting
souvenir to remind Cikgu of his special award. We
continued mingling and exchanging news but as the saying goes, "All good
things must come to an end." So we parted company with the promise to meet
again - at Cikgu's home the following week and the
In a nutshell,
the get-together was a tremendous success. The Kirkby
spirit was evident and the big turnout speaks for itself. Cikgu
Baharuddin was and still is very much loved and respected.We wish him and his dear wife many years of Good
Health and hope we can share more makan and spend
more time together.
Credit goes to
Teresa and Martin Voon for taking on the
responsibility of contacting everyone via sms, phone,
etc. They roped in a few people to help them behind the scenes; collection of
the subscription lunch was done by Chong Hong Chong for the 1957 -1959 groups, Martin for the 1959 -1960
group, and Lim Yoke Kim for the 1960 -1961 group. Lye Yuen Chew took the
opportunity to sell some song books of "Golden Oldies" which he and
Teresa had compiled. The proceeds go to the
Contingency Fund for the 2008