Organising Chairperson Patricia May Veloo (left) with Tan Sri Khalid Yunus (centre) and Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim (right)
by Betsy May Veloo
It all began when a group of sisters took a nostalgic drive to see their hometown of Jelebu, a sleepy hollow some 35 km from bustling Seremban. The sight of their old school, known then as Sekolah Menengah Undang Jelebu (SMUJ) triggered memories of the good old school days and of friends and teachers of days gone by.
“We should organise a reunion,” one sister said. “Even if only a few turned up, we will still hold one,” another sister added. Yet another quipped: “Let’s go as far back as to our primary school days, too.”
Those whimsical thoughts saw several months of knocking on doors and wandering the streets of Kuala Klawang and Titi, with leaflets. The reunion plan was also publicised through social media and chat groups. The hard work eventually paid off, as more and more Srujians and Smujians, as they were known, responded as word spread around quickly.
The networking and groundwork finally culminated in a reunion lunch on January 11 this year in Port Dickson. Close to 90 students and teachers, from Class of 1960 to 1971 attended.
Patricia May Veloo, committee chairperson and one of sisters who organised the get-together, said Port Dickson was chosen over Jelebu because the weather and long and winding road to Jelebu posed challenges as most attendees were in their 70s and 80s.
“Port Dickson made sense because this place held fond memories for many of us. The highlight of the year back then for students was a trip to PD, after which they, chaperoned by teachers, would spend the evening watching a movie at a cinema in Seremban and then, back to Jelebu along the winding Bukit Tangga Road, in the night,” Patricia recalled.
Among the most senior of the attendees was Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim, the former Senate President, Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, and Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan. The ex-MP for Jelebu from Gagu started his primary schooling when SRUJ was then known as the Government English School, or GES. He finished his Form Five in SMUJ in 1961.
His speech at the function was peppered with wit and humour plus a pantun, and a happy Rais hoped to see a bigger gathering the next time around.
Another well-known Smujian, Tan Sri Khalid Yunus, a former Deputy Minister of Education and Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development, also came. An avid mountain climber to this day, he serenaded the gathering with two songs, Seruling Anak Gembala” and “Semalam di Malaya”.
“Meeting old school friends is exciting and emotional. It reminds me of the time when we were still young. To move on in life one needs to be strong mentally and physically. To acquire that one needs to be active,” said Khalid, the ex-MP for Jempol.
The gathering also saw many others who had made their mark in their own chosen paths, such as Dato’ Abdul Aziz Bulat, who decided to make law enforcement his career. Despite studying law at the University of Buckingham in England and completing his Bar at the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn, he chose to stay with the police force. He retired as Chief Police Officer of Perak with the rank of Deputy Police Commissioner. His advice to retirees: “At our advanced age, it’s good to meet up old friends and acquaintances and take life easy.”
Social activist and blogger, Hishamuddin Rais, was also at the function. His comment: “What a day!!!”
Another notable alum was Dr Lim Kuan Joo, a pioneer in health planning, health economics and healthcare financing. Other attendees comprised former civil servants, nurses, lecturers, teachers, entrepreneurs, and from other professional fields.
“Is it really you? asked Lim Lee Lian (left) and Tengku Maimunah (right)
“Tengku Maimunah Tengku Agong (Class of ’62) said she was thrilled at meeting friends she had lost touch with “for more than half a century”.
“There were such beautiful moments when we hugged each other,” she said.
Her classmate, Lim Lee Lian, agreed. “I haven’t seen Maimunah for decades. It was a memorable event. We had a good time reconnecting and reminiscing.”
Families of brothers and sisters were there in full force. Gopi Pillay, whose three brothers and three sisters were also SRUJ and SMUJ alumni, described the reunion as “historic.”
Speaking after the event attended also by three of his siblings, Gopi, a former regional director of Rentokil Initial, said: “It was wonderful to meet all my friends and teachers after 50 years. It was amazing that my Standard 2 teacher, Patricia May Veloo, still remembered me. It was a truly fantastic event!”
A few SRUJ and SMUJ teachers who came along delighted their ex-students with their presence. “I never thought I’d see our beloved teachers again,” gushed Smujian Tunku Dara Tunku Razak, whose brother and sisters were also former students of SMUJ.
“Now we can personally thank them,” another student added.
Professor Lim Heng Gee, an Honorary Professor of UiTM and a well-known intellectual property law expert, who taught Industrial Science at SMUJ, described the reunion as “enjoyable.”
Arts teacher Bhaskaran Nair, who taught at SMUJ for eight years, said: “It was wonderful. It was one thing to have taught the students when they were teenagers and another to meet some of them in their twilight years. It was indeed a joy!”
This was echoed by Geography teacher Tilak Raj Sharma: “I was really happy that some students recognised me although I had left SMUJ some 50 years ago!”
Patricia May Veloo, one of the early overseas-trained special needs educators in Malaysia, started out as a primary school teacher in SRUJ and later became a principal of SRK Convent Bukit Nanas. Relieved that things had gone successfully, she said:“ Looking at all their faces, this reunion was well worth all the handwork.”
The alumni enjoyed an eight-course lunch with live music and a slideshow besides lucky dips and other prizes.
As the event drew to a close, there were promises to keep in touch and exclamations of “We must do this again! So, when and where will the next reunion be?”
Pretty ladies then and even now!
WE