As I watched the scene around me at a reunion dinner of old boys of the King Edward VII School, Taiping, I couldn’t help reflecting on some verses from Walt Whitman’s poem I Sing the Body Electric.
“There is something in staying close to men and women and looking on them, and in the contact and odour of them, that pleases the soul well,
All things please the soul, but these please the soul well.”
There was no doubt in my mind that Whitman had adequately described the feelings of the 260-plus people dining in a hotel ballroom in Taiping on July 20.
There was also no doubt in my mind that this is how old friends and former students of other schools feel when they get together.
The air was filled with a palpable conviviality and jollity. Even those who had been quiet in class years before found themselves bubbling in the maelstrom of gregariousness.
The Old Edwardian bond was manifestly clear. Everyone was a friend, a brother. There was no Malay, Chinese, Indian or Other present that night – only Old Edwardians, only Tigers (as they are called).
The annual reunion dinner organised by the Old Edwardians Association of Malaysia, Taiping, ((OEAM)) never fails to bring home former students in a continuing bond of friendship.
It was no different this time.
The gap between the rich and poor, the titled and non-titled, the CEO and labourer was absent. Everyone was a Tiger; and as many of them observed that night both in the speeches and in the table talk: once a Tiger, always a Tiger.
However, some old boys expressed concern that this level of camaraderie and acceptance will not last, given certain unhealthy trends in the country and an education system that is failing multiracial, multireligious Malaysia.
One of them, who did not wish to be named for obvious reasons, said: “During the 1950s to 1970s, schools had a good mix of boys or girls of all backgrounds and the school system had a healthy respect for the various cultures and religions that make up Malaysia.
I fear that in 20 years’ time, we will not see this level of interracial friendship.
The guest of honour this year was Pokok Assam assemblyman Ong Seng Guan, an old boy of the school. He later contributed RM10,000 to the OEAM.
As OEAM president Mohaideen Mohd Ishack noted in his speech, King Edward VII School has produced its share of stalwarts.
Two Rulers of Perak, Sultan Iskandar Shah, who became the 30th ruler of Perak in 1918, and his successor Sultan Sir Abdul Aziz al Mutasim Billah Shah, studied in the school which began in 1883 as The Central School. It was renamed King Edward VII School in January 1906.
Other greats the school has produced include the first president of Singapore Yusof Ishak, former Cabinet ministers Dr Lim Swee Aun and Dr Ling Liong Sik, ex-Perak menteri besar Mohamed Ghazali Jawi, ex-chief secretary to the government Abdullah Ayub, ex-armed forces chief General Mohamad Ghazali Che Mat and former chief judge of Malaya Ong Hock Thye, prominent lawyer the late RR Chelliah, G25 founding member Noor Farida Ariffin, the man behind Kuala Lumpur International Airport Jamilus Hussin and former Proton chairman Jamil Jan.
Retired Royal Malaysian Navy first admiral Danyal Balagopal Abdullah and retired deputy army chief General Masood Zainal Abidin are also old boys of the school.
King Edward VII School also produced a long list of sportsmen who represented Malaysia such as footballers M Karathu and Ahmad Nazri, throws champion M Dattaya, rugby player Lim Ah Sau, hockey players M Sockalingam and Randhir Singh, athlete Junaidah Aman, cricketer Abdul Aziz Ismail and shooter Abdul Rahman Yatim.
Several former students flew in just for the reunion dinner. They included three from Australia, one from the United States and another from Singapore.
One of them, Ng Hoe Bok came just to catch up with his old batchmates who booked one table at the dinner.The reunion dinner gave them an excuse to meet up and talk about old times.
Ng, who finished Form 5 in 1962, has been living in Perth for the last 34 years. He said people remembered their school days because those were innocent times.
“Your only responsibility is to study. Other than that you are carefree. There was an innocence among students then that you won’t find today.
“KEVII in those days had a healthy mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian students. There was no race or religion at play then. We studied together in class and played together on the field.
“For instance, after finishing Form 3, a group of us students – which included Dr Chan Ah Lak, Raja Abdul Rahman, Lee Chin Hoe, Alias Hashim, Wong Chow Loong and me – cycled from Taiping to Lumut and took a ferry to Pangkor.
he said.We pitched a tent and slept and ate together on the beach. We never saw each other as Malays or Chinese, only as Tigers. Even till today,
Tan Thian Hoo, the former CEO of Komac Inc, said he flew down from the US to show support for the hard work put in by Mohaideen and his committee in organising the dinners and keeping the OEAM going.
“I get to see old classmates and even a couple of old students, as I was a temporary teacher at King Edward VII during my university vacation months.
said Tan who helped establish the Long Heng Hua Scholarship Fund that gives aid to university going students of the school.The least I can do to show support is to travel to this annual dinner,
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I used to come once every five or six years. But I realised that time is passing us by and I have lost a few classmates, so I have been coming for the annual reunion dinner much more frequently, attending three in the last four years.
I noticed that most of those at the dinner were past age 50. There were hardly any in their twenties or thirties and only a few in their forties. I wondered why. Then I remembered I too did not attend the reunion dinners in my twenties and thirties.
I guess most of us are too busy building our careers or families until at least the age of 50 or so. After that, when we are somewhat stable financially and our duties as adult children and parents have eased, we have more time to look to our former schoolmates and our alma mater.
I guess it is also because as we grow older, we realise a lot of truths that escaped us in our younger days. And we begin to value friendship more.
Perhaps this is because our children have grown up and have little time for us; perhaps we yearn for old times; or perhaps we realise death will soon be knocking on our door.
Reunion dinners afford us an opportunity to revisit our old days, recall the naughty things we or someone else did and laugh over our foibles and mischievous actions without feeling guilty or fearing punishment.
We can talk freely to friends, and say things we may not be able to say to our spouses or children. With friends you can be yourself, warts and all simply because you know their warts and all. Its comforting.
School reunion dinners do not just bring cheer but also a sense of healing as we return to our carefree childhood days and share tales of mischief and mirth.
The presence of so many people who went through the same school that I did gave me a sense of shared experience, of shared humanity.
I looked around me and I felt safe; I felt good. It pleased my soul.
And my thoughts went back to the lines preceding the ones I quoted above from Whitman’s I Sing the Body Electric:
“I have perceiv’d that to be with those I like is enough,
To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,
To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough.” - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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