kuatagh ....

for me, it began sometime in december 1972    ....   baru dapat result penilaian darjah 5 ( nope, it wasn't std 6, & definitely was not called upsr )  ...  my result was not that gempak laa kan  ...  3As 2Bs  ...  masa result keluar, my parents were in mekah  ( masa tu pegi mekah naik kapal laut  ~ 1 mth to reach there, 1 mth stayed there, & 1 mth to reach home ) ....  i can't quite remember how, but thru some of my brothers, dia pesan suruh i apply for tunku kurshiah college ( u see, my sis studied there during her form 4 - 5, & later went to itm )  .... i didn't really know what was going on, but i now guess perhaps i was not qualified to apply  ...  my sis then have heard of maktab rendah sains mara, & helped to get the application form   ....   by then, my parents were home  ....  so the application form was basically "filled" by my father  ...  i only "transfer" all the info onto the form with my handwriting   ...  but i was on my own the rest of the way   ...  the iq/science/math test, the interview  ...  the interviewer asked, "kalau dapat tawaran pegi mrsm & juga tkc, nak pegi mana ?", & honestly i answered, "tkc"   ....  huhuuuuuuuu  ......  & all these happened within a span of 1 year

sometime in january 1974, i received the offer letter  ...  maktab rendah sains mara, kuantan  ....  to register on february 1st, 1974  ...   it was my mom, dad, sis & brothers yang sibuk beli & pack kan my stuff  ... really, i can't remember that part at all  .... am i not excited ?  ... of coz ! remember my story about fighting with my brother a lot ? i can't wait to get away, i supposed   ....  when we eventually got there, after hours &  hours of driving along the "long &winding" & sempit road with steep gaung ( there was no karak hiway YET then ), i was really overwhelmed with the big unfinished-like school compound ...

the academic building 

the dining hall & the dorms

                                                                         our badge

                                                   cikgu ramli, our first pengetua ( in blue )
                                               dia ingat nama students sampai ker bin / binti

after the registration, we were led to the block by one of the pioneers  ...  i was too busy looking around to even notice who it was ( sorry ... )  ...  i found out that my batch was the 2nd batch there  ....  & the first batch of girls   ...  meaning, our pioneers were all boys   ..... hmm  ......   some of their pics back then

                                             *awwwwww   ......   sooo cute !!*
                                                       public figures in this pic
                                                         millionaires pon ader

                                                                     *so cute too !!*

                                                        my gawd  ...  jongoih jer kann
       

                                          pengetua iman masa kat mrsm alor gajah pon ader !!                                                           

           

                                                 too many to put up  ....  can u name them ??
                                       
when we got to the room - F22, my 2 roommates were already there  ...  rozimah & siti zaleha  ... & of coz they had chosen the best of the double-decker beds & lockers  ...  suzy came last, so she had to take whatever's left

                                                        rozi           me      siti       suzy

                                                    don't u dare make any comments !!

 while my mom & sis were busy unpacking my stuff, & pasang kan my cadar, i went off to "visit" the other girls in their rooms  ...no one i kenal   .....  wait ! i saw a familiar face  ...   it was the girl i met during the test & interview   ....  che roseni nordin

 this is che roseni now (errr ... 2011 ?)

i didn't know her that well then anyway   ...  so i left her there in her room  ....  i went back to my room only to find that everything had been unpacked, & my bed made  ....  so my family was ready to leave me there  ...  like all the other parents, they pesan to me & my roommates to look after each other, study hard, blah, blah  ...  & i walked them back to the car  ....  it was my mom who started crying  ...  she hugged & kissed me, & of coz told me to take good care of myself  ...  & my stuff  ...  me ? i just simply smiled  ....  probably glad to be away from my brother-i-fought-often-with  ....   we finally bade goodbyes  ....  as soon as they were out of sight, instead of going back to the dorm, i wondered on my own to the academic building  .... still amazed at this "open system" school  ....

the first week there was quite upsetting actually  ....  a few girls cried profusely & wanted to go home  ....  one i know of   ~ she-who-should-not-be-named ~  practically packed back all her things !!  but her roommates & friends managed to pujuk her to stay, & convinced her that she'll be okay   ... 

school was "school"   ....  with classes, blackboards, tables & chairs  ...  but no rooms !! ...  classes were separated by the blackboards  ...  those sitting outside the "border" of the blackboard would be facing the class next door  ....   selalu nyer the girls laa yang kena sebab we like to seat in the front row   ....  it would be pretty embarassing  ....  or fun !  ....  depending whose class it is infront of u   ....  kan girls ???   ....  & we didn't even have school uniforms   ....  well, the first 3 years laaa   ....  yang pakai jeans lubang2 laa, tshirts, slipper jepun   ...   cool !  ....  until  ~  can't remember whether it was siti zaharah or rafidah aziz  ~  complained that we looked sooo selekeh    ......   dia kata since our school is situated right smack in the middle of a housing area, we should "portray" as well-disciplined MARA students   ....    borrrrrriiiinnnngggg....   so the uniform era began for all the 3 - 5 mrsms then 

our teachers

 one of our peacecorps

                                                                our science lab

                                                               the official uniform                                                  

                                              the class uniform   --  beige / blue / green

                                                   the pioneer girls in school uniform

                                                           the k79 boys in uniform

                                                          xenon  -  but can't remember the year
                                                masa form 4, there we movement/changes of classes

                                      our kak matron who looked after us in sickness & in health
                                             especially the times when most of us girls just  ...

but it was not all about school  ....  i learned a lot of other things as well  ...  especially skills i never knew i had in me  ...  washed my own clothes & made my own bed  ....  made & LIVED with friends 24/7   .... learned how to play roller skates, ping pong, tennis ~ which i don't think i would have the opportunity if i had not gone to boarding school  ....  performed tarian melayu, fashion shows  ...  & of coz, about boys ( do u remember that i went to methodist GIRLS school ?? ) .....  the weekend "dates" siap kena suloh torchlite lagi ngan warden  ...   happened to be my homeroom adviser, cikgu halim  ....  hahaha  ... no need to mention names la yer  ... let those walls & tiangs at the walkway jadi saksi jer

                                                                       gadis ayu !!                                                            

                                                                    bebudak jer lagi  ...

                                                 we still have not met sofiah  .....

orang tua2 kata tak elok dok atas tangga but  ....

....  favorite spot laa kannn  ....

 

see ???

 

ni camping after LCE ( yes, LCE  ..  not PMR), i think

got myself out of it by "telling" i'm having my menses

 

fashion show  ... which i was in it, too

but gone off to meet mokhzani

 

trip to the kandang lembu  .... eh, smthg pertanian after LCE

dapat minom milo with fresh milk

 

another fashion show ?

if it was not azman mat bulu yg menang, i wonder who  ...

 

the kelab sejarah (nope, i wasnt a member) trip

                                                   .....    tak leh nak lari dari tangga  ..

                                         modern dance performance  -  u know, like solid gold
                                                      only more decent kannnnn

                                               sand cake for my besday  -  huhuuuuuuuuu

                                                                      f33 roomies - 1979
                                                         & we have not met adida too  ...
                                                       & i have not met azlina & haziah gak

after form 5, we left the maktab  .... some in small groups, some on their own, we pursued our tertiary education either locally or abroad  ...  after all those years separated, we gathered back  ... dari small groups to a big scale  ... & from various batches !  what really matter is that until today, the bond between MOST of us, if not all pon, are still very close  .... infact, closer than we used to be  ...  & i love every minute i spent my time with my kuatagh brothers & sisters  ....   looking forward for more, insya'allah   ... at this over-the-hill age, as zahara westmacott ( yo babe !! ) likes to call it, we never know until when  ....

                                                                    mrsm year book
                                                                no comment, please !!