SAS REVISITED

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It was my pleasure to be able to have a good reason to revisit SAS. It was on Wednesday, December 6, 1995 when we took Zidni to the school for his Form One. On my arrival, I was greeted and entertained by Mrs Lim, a Matriculation chemistry teacher who recognized me not only as a UKM lecturer involving in the Matriculation teaching but also as a former HB of SAS. She then asked a senior prefect to take me around, and he did, unrealising that I was very, very familiar with the place. On that day I did not find any person who knew my bond to SAS, all the present teachers, except Mrs Lim, did not so, even though there were already many SAS old boys came to send their children. My revisit extended through to 2001. My last visit was on Mar 10 Sat 1973 when I accompanied my "Kelas Asuhan MARA" students for a friendly matches with the SAS-ians.

A majestic gate was there to welcome every body. I had no idea when it was built. It was not there in my time, and in the few years after my time, in fact the school was even fenceless. Immediately after the gate the Pusat Sumber (Resource Centre) greets. Those days Pusat Sumber was called Khutub Khanah (Library) and was on the ground floor of A Block Classrooms, immediately below the laboratories. But why such an important element of the schooling activities is placed so remote from the classrooms or hostel? One plausibale explanation is that perhaps resource centre is no longer important to student these days. They are very much self-resourced, or perhaps the students are more resourceful than the resource centre, perhaps!

After all those years I was curious to know of any traces of my presence in SAS; and it is, my name is well preserved on the plaque in the hall, as the 8th HB, and wow! it surely had been a very long time now, for currently it is the 33rd HB; meaning, I was here, in making my life, 25 yeras ago!!!. My next successor, Raja Daniel (1971) is a physicist in TNB, his successor is a UM lecturer turned Vice Chairman of MIMOS, Dr Muhamad Awang Lah (1972). I knew only up to the 11th HB, Shahdan (1973) who is a UKM-graduate medical doctor. I do not know whereabout my predecessor, Jalil (7th - 1969) and his two previous predecessors, Nordin (6th - 1968) and Yusof (5th - 1967), although I knew all three of them during my days. I came to know the 1st HB, (the late) Lajman (1963), on Jan 1, 1985, in SAS hall when the Alumni meeting was first held, and he was elected the first President. The 2nd HB, Hairi (1964), fortunately is my colleague in UKM, he was then an Associate Professor in FSKK. I had never met the 3rd HB, Abdullah (1965) and the 4th, Ali (1966).
Sas HB was a very prestigious hierarchy, but the stake was correspondingly very high too: his future. I did not dream to be one when I first set foot on the school in the Thursday evening of Jan 19, 1967, but when I was offered one on September 15, 1969, by the then HM, CheGu Ghazali, I did not have enough courage to say no. HB was "houseless" and stayed in a strategic "command room" situated below 1B5 room, adjacent to warden (bachelor) quarter, radially converged from classrooms, dining hall, staffroom, hostel lobby and recreational field. Well, at least the room was sort of the HB room of SS which I saw in 1964 and dreamed to have one. I could equipped it with whatever furniture I want that it can take, unlimited by just a bed and a locker. HB overseer the school being 24-hrs a day. In a year a lot of things happened and many types of things happened, you gain some and lose some.

Teachers quarters viewed from the corridor of my dorm, 3A2 of Halimi House in 1968. The HM, his deputy, CheGu Omar, CheGu Ramli, CheGu Baharudin, and CheGu Aminah, all stayed in the quarter. CheGu Ismail Taib, a bachelor stayed in the hostel block next to HB room. The background is Salak South, the name that haunted us in May 1969. SAS is a borderless school with Specialist Teachers Training Institute (STTI). The hostel buildings were the largest and most prominent compared to classrooms. It used to board about eight hundreds pupil in eighteen classes of forms four to form six. Now, apparently, more classrooms were built. Block A was extended right to the edge of the road where it used to house only the LLN substation. There are many new inter-building constructions. The dining hall, the only single storey building, is on the foreground of the pictures. The fields between the school and STTI were sort of shared facilities. In my time we shared STTI's swimming pool too. The school perimeter was the road circling the buildings. UKM Matriculation hostel building, which began in 1975, was built on the site opposite the dining hall. The school thus stopped its sixth form programme, and began taking form one boys, beginning 1974. The girls were already "barred" from the school beginning 1972 since Sekolah Sri Puteri (SSP), Kolam Air, had grown to become a fully fit SAS sister. I should have visited it in late 80's when I was the Chemistry Coordinator beginning in January 1984 to December 1987.

The magnificent SAS in 1967 (top) and in 1999 (bottom), viewed from STTI. The most famous MM school in near 70. It bred the best of the ordinary contemporary Malay boys, twenty years later to become part of the most bona fide post-independent citizens of the 90 and through to the third millenium. In 1999, obviously the compound is greener, more trees have been planted and old tree are all grown-up already.

The Annual Sports Day in 1970 was held on this field on Saturday afternoon, Jun 13. I vividly remembered three big things happened on this day, but alas, I better keep it to myself.

Viewed from room HB room, the hall, which extended from the main building (Block A Classrooms), joins the gymnasium. The water tanks were prominent features in SAS from any point one stands in an open area. Below the area was The Tembusu Camp, the training ground for Scout, many of us were King Scouts. Since then landscaping had taken place a lot in front of the hall facing the hostels. An eco-park was built and extended into a minirecreational park up to the lobby which joins the A and B blocks of the hostels.

In hall in 70, March 30, "Malam Anikarama", which encompanied the "Speech Day 70", enjoyed very much by students. In the hall, August 14, 1999, Excellent Award Day. Those day it was called Speech Day, and in 1970, Speech Day was held on March 30 and Sports Day were held on June 13. Pupils activities were held in this hall, many of them and most of them were annually. Among them were Annual Parliamentary Debate with RMC Sg Besi, in 1967 debate SAS was the "Government" on topic: “Patutkan Malaysia Menggunakan Dasar Luar Negara”, SAS won by 2 supporter.; Telent Time Night, in 68 the champion song was "Delilah" sang by MOBY (commercial name of Mohamad Yaacob) and accompanied by En Musa's (a STTI general workers) family band consisting of a pair of daughters and two pairs of sons (each from two mothers); Master Alam Shah Night which included "leg hair" contest, one of the contestant was CheGu Nawawi, the Deputy HM; Science Soc Quiz on Saturday in which I represented Form 4 in 1967 and won the championship. We had assembly every Monday morning, all pupil had to wear neck-tie, even the short-panted form four and fivers; in 70, every Monday, I stood most infront to lead the pupil to sing "Negaraku" with Zubir or Husin playing piano and Alias "conducted". On Friday afternoon we had friday prayer. Since CheGu Ariffin became the HM, he read the sermon and a six-former lead the prayer. Since the basketball court was built on the open air "movie teatre", form five and upper sixer watched weekly movie in the hall on Saturday night, and on Sunday night it was the form four and lower sixers turn. On friday night the movie was for the girls in their hostel in Kg Baru.

Recreational areas, or rather multi-purpose area. It is actually a court-yard surrounded by hostel blocks and classroom block.

The whole ground floor of hostel A Block, used to be Rooms A1, A2, A3 and A4 of Aminudin Baki House (A House) was converted to Surau. Nonetheless, I was told that pupil still went to mosques outside the school for their Friday Prayer. In 67, for a few weeks, we went to Kg Congo (the precursor of Bandar Tun Razak) for our Friday Prayer. After that the prayer was held in the hall, sometimes combined with the gymnasium. Initially, Imams from Kg Congo came to the school to lead the prayer, but later the then HM, CheGu Ariffin Suhaimi, took the initiative to lead the prayer. He read the Khutbah. Sometimes the pupil lead the prayer. BUSAS was given the duty to organise the Friday prayer. For four years I had not accounted any hitch. But then unlike now, we could not perform mass daily prayer.

It used to be an empty ground here with a foot path across from left to right used by teachers to commute between the school office and the canteen, as well as to prefect room. On Saturday night this ground turned into an open air cinema with wall of the A Block became a giant screen. We enjoyed very much watching the open air movie. It turned uneasy however on the bright moonlight night. One film entitled "MAYA" was screened on one such night (Sat 18 Nov 1967), and most of the episodes in the film were at night. It tells about one run-away English boy in India, befriended a local boy. They kept on running away, at night, to avoid being spotted by the rescuers. Thus we had a quite "dull" film: a night scenery screened in the bright moonlight.
In the late 60, basketball court was built on the "cinema ground". Movies were no longer allowed to be screened because the chairs the pupil sit on demaged (punching holes) the court. The movie then were screened in the Hall.

This was on an early Sunday morning in 68. This spot has many historical moments (I did not realise this in 1968), like this one in 1963 when the school began its commission (image courtesy of "Persatuan Sejarah SAS"). This is, to date, the front lobby of the school, the HM parking lot, near the school office, close to the hall entrance. The staff room was just upstairs, but the HM office was downstairs. This area was not a common area for the pupil to be around. On Saturday and Sunday efternoon, Tong Fong bus #101 extended its route to pass through here for our convenience on returning from "town" (it mean KL). The fare was the same, 16 sen. On other days and time the bus stops at Cheras bus stand. It was about two km away.

In 1969 I was in 6SnB2, it means Lower Six Science Group 2, which together with 6SnB1, studied physics, chemistry and mathematics at principle level and biology at subsidiary level for 1970 STP. This was against group 3 (6SnB3) and group 4 (6SnB4) which studied principle biology instead of subsidiary biology and subsidiary mathematics insteads of principle mathematics. All of us took special GP for MM students. GP classes were grouped according to aptitute results. In 69 I was in Gp 1 but in 70, the HB things had bitten me a bit and I fall to Gp 2 under Mr Jimmy Thomas who I owed a lot of thanks for his crystal clear understanding. I made it up, and in second term I reclimbed to Gp 1 under CheGu Shahriza.

The late Drs Hitler Natasuwarna, chemistry teacher; the rocket team, and the prototype "Rocket". A lot of picnic sites, such as this one, had since been built around in the school compound to cater for the different breed of SAS pupils nowdays, whose parents come to visit at the weekends, and some even on the weekdays, in big cars with full family members including grand father and grand mother, from as far as Kedah, Kelantan and Johor. This eco-pond did not exist in my time. The site was a flat natural habitat without the pond. Behind the pool is a thick retaining wall with a flat slab floor. In 70, against the retaining wall on the flat slab floor, the science soc group headed by Sharif carried out successfully the rocket launching test, supervised by Pak Hitler. The project was posted on the 1970 National Malaysian School Science Exhibition organised by the Ministry and Esso Standard in LI, and won the second prize in physics section. I myself headed the Electronic Group and we posted "Radio Transmitter" in the exhibition; we actually built a radio transmitter with a FM coverage of about three km (deliberately limited to avoid having to acquire the HAM radio licence). Izzudin, Sulaiman and Husin helped me and Pak Kurishman supervised. Unfortunetely we were satisfied only with a consolation price.

Speech day 1968. It was Thursday May 16. The occasion began at two in the hall. I received by Form Four best student prize from the guest of honour, En Mohd Khir Johari, the then Minister of Education. Soon after taking my prize I ran out to get ready and performed the gysnastic display to the guests. It was on the vacant site behind the recreation room next to the canteen. Perhaps it was on this day that I was first spotted by the HM and by the senior prefects (on the left background in the picture). In the recreation room there were long tables on which letters for the pupils were spread. The pupils then rushed, after lunch, to check for any mail for them from their parents or from any of their loved ones. Registered mails were listed in the school office and needed to be collected from there. In my four years tenure I never received a registered mail, but obviously streams of ordinary mails, especially from my old mates in Terengganu. We kept in touched for "educational relationships", especially in geography. I could not help in other subjects for I took pure science subjects whereas they took arts subjects.

This is my favourite spot when I joined the folks on Sunday evening to visit their sons. It is actually the former site of Tembusu Camp, below the shadow of The Water Tanks, the prominent feature in pre-70. Every time I sit with my children to refresh at the picnic, I always sit facing towards the A Block of the hostel. I glanced at my son and throw the view toward room 3A2, the room I stayed for three years from 1967. From the room, one night still in Jan that year 1967 I viewed from the window towards the east, through the then small city of KL, deeper into the horizon where the silhouette of Banjaran Titiwangsa met the dimly-lighted night skyline, I almost shed my tears feeling I miss my mother very much. I was very scared indeed, I scared to know that my mother would not have any mean to know whether I was alright or not in here. Had my mother still alive, I would surely had taken her to see the school on these very days. She would surely be very glad to see with her own eyes: the distant school her son went to, with her provision for his well being in the school was merely her day and night prayer, plus absolutely nothing else. My children may not know this bond, and may even be incomprehensible to them, but every time I sit here having a picnic with them, I never stop thanking Allah for his Greatness in setting up my life for in 1967 I never ever had any imagination to revisit SAS, no matter how long later, with my own family in a roomy-enough car for the same reason my mother could never ever do.

I could not resist the temptation to revisit my other frolicking places in the school. This one was in 69 in front of the prefect room. The room was used as briefing room, meeting room, and as our prep room when we were off duty in the class rooms, etc.

This was in late 69. A few months later the room on my right became "mine", known as HB Room. I was then "houseless", from Halimi (B) House, room 3A2. With Tajul (the board Sec), I shared the HB room, until I left the school for good in November 70. When I moved into the room I had at my disposal six house captains and thirty-eight prefects, including seven girls, to look after about eight hundreds and fifty students, 24-hrs a day. The Chief Warden was CheGu Ibrahim, the Deputy HM, the wardens were CheGu Omar, CheGu Ismail and CheGu Ramli.

The blazer I was wearing was not mine. It belonged to the then HB, Jalil. I grabbed it for a quick pose; it was on a late Sunday morning in September 1969. The dining hall on the background was fenced, seven feet high.

This is in October 68, in Dining Hall A, right back corner, when I was in form five, after enjoying our food in the farewell dinner. Many of us in this picture I knew had made their lives successfully, some of them are my colleagues. Among them are Prof Hamzah (Geologist, UKM), Dr Wan Ali (Engineer, UTM), Dr Mohd Som (Chemist, UTM), Suhaimi Muslim (Matriculation, UKM), Prof Idris (Chemist, USM), Dr Fadil (Environmental Engineer, UTM), Ghazali (a partner in Ranhill), Mohd Embong (IT manager, DBKL), Jalil (a teacher), Dr Manan (Physicist, UTM), and myself if you can spot (click here to enlarge).

October 24, 1970, farewell dinner for the year, about a month before I left the school for good. It was in the Dining Hall A. The HM, CheGu Mahpor and his deputy CheGu Ibrahim were flanked by HG, Jariah and myself. Dining in this hall were form fivers and upper sixers, who were considered as seniors. The rest (including girls during lunch) dined in Hall B. In this dining hall, and right on this spot, through out 1970, I read, twice a day, once before lunch at one (1.30 pm present time) and another before dinner at six-thirty (7 pm present time), the dining prayer: "Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (Amin); Segala puji bagi Allah (Amin), Tuhan sekalian alam (Amin); Ya Allah ya Tuhan kami (Amin), kurniakanlah kepada kami (Amin), rezeki yang halal (Amin), ilmu yang berguna (Amin), dengan rahmat Engkau yang kasih sayang; Amin". During lunch and dinner time, the food were served on the table, and we ate together.