by Dr Rahim Said October 2024
“You have to share your success with your classmates,” urged Tan Sri Abdul Razak Ramli when he learned of my recent recognition by Newswav. It was early October, and the awards night was still fresh in memory.
Tan Sri Razak and I go back a long way – Sultan Abdul Hamid College, 6th Form, 1966-67 in Alor Setar. Our cohort was a small, tightly-knit bunch, bound by shared memories and the occasional (and growing) aches of old age. With most of us now past 75, it seems fewer and fewer old friends remain. Those of us still in Kuala Lumpur or Klang Valley cling to the tradition of gathering for one another, honouring the years that bind us together.
Tan Sri Razak didn’t let the moment pass without fanfare. He sent word to everyone, inviting them to lunch in my honour but, of course, with a touch of humour: “You’ll have to foot the bill for this honour.” After all, winners must pay – especially among friends.
The Bunga Raya restaurant at Lake Club was an option, but tastes had become eclectic over the years; some wanted Western, while others craved a hearty fish head curry. So we settled on The Buttery, a spot that might satisfy our mixed preferences.
Ten friends arrived – men and women now, but boys and girls at heart, eager to celebrate and share their stories.
Over plates of food, we wove together jokes and war stories of life’s twists and turns. Aches and ailments crept into the conversation; these were inevitable now, in our late seventies.
But there was no bitterness. Instead, the mood was buoyant, perhaps fueled by a feeling that we’re in our twilight years and should be making them count.
My writing, which Newswav had recognised with four awards (Creator of the Year being the most surprising among them), sparked some inspiration. A few even mused about writing something of their own, but most insisted that I had found my calling. I think of it as my Ikigai – that sweet spot of purpose and passion.
When the meal ended and our laughter had quieted down, the goodbyes lingered. We exchanged hundreds of kind words, snapped photos, and some of us even hugged like old friends in a Simon & Garfunkel song. It was a gathering filled with shared pride and nostalgia – old friends like bookends, as they say.
And with a firm shake of hands and promises to meet again, we left, vowing to come together soon to mark another milestone.
Lyrics of Old Friends/Bookends from Simon & Garfunkel’s Album: Old Friends (Track Number 2)
Old friends
Old friends
Sat on their park bench
Like bookends
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
On the high shoes
Of the old friends
Old friends
Winter companions
The old men
Lost in their overcoats
Waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city
Sifting through trees
Settle like dust
On the shoulders
Of the old friends
Can you imagine us
Years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy
Old friends
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fear
Time it was,
And what a time it was
It was . . .
A time of innocence
A time of confidences
Long ago . . . it must be . . .
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories
They’re all that’s left you
Dr Rahim Said is a human behaviourist and regular contributor to digital media platforms. He is a professional management consultant, a corporate trainer and an executive coach specialising in coaching senior executives and individual entrepreneurs to modify their behaviour and pursue their cherished missions. (The views expressed by our columnist are entirely his own)
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