KUALA LUMPUR: ‘Scholar, Sportsman, Gentleman”.
The motto aptly described the aspirations of Kedah’s premier school in Alor Star, Sultan Abdul Hamid College, which has produced leaders since its inception in 1908.
They included the late sultan of Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, the country’s first prime minister and Kedah prince Tunku Abdul Rahman, late national laureate Datuk Shahnon Ahmad and, of course, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
But that does not mean the boys spent their days merely studying.
The New Straits Times recently met five gentlemen from its alumni body, the Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians Association (Sahoca), who attested to their adventures, growing pains and halcyon days.
The five were General (Rtd) Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin, 67, Datuk Azmi Jaafar, Brigadier-General (Rtd) Datuk Tengku Izham Tengku Jusoh, Ismail Saad and Abd Aziz Ibrahim, all aged 68. They graduated from the school in 1969.
Despite being a year younger, Azizan’s enrolment at the school was fast-tracked as he attended an English-medium primary school.
Ahead of Sahoca’s 50th anniversary celebration, to be held in Alor Star on Nov 30, the men gathered at Azmi’s house for a meeting. Numerous plans were discussed, but were not made available to the NST.
LIFE AWAY FROM MAY 13
As fears swept the nation over communal safety following the May 13 racial riots, it was perhaps peculiar for Kedah, where the concerns were not palpable or overwhelming, at least.
Azizan, a former armed forces chief, said the tragedy had emboldened his schoolmates to be protective of one another, regardless of race. In the northern region, sentiments provoked by the riots were stronger in Penang compared with other states.
The desire to be protective of one another led Azizan and Tengku Izham to join the military.
Azizan said: “In Kedah, we went ahead with our lives. The school was attended by students from all races, and we did not feel any gap or disjointed.
“What we felt was a growing sense of duty to protect the country. We were inspired to serve the nation.
“There was a silver lining, of course. Following the riots, the government opened more doors for everyone to enter universities, the military and also to study abroad.”
Ismail, a former marketing general manager of Malaysian Rubber Development Corporation Bhd, said more scholarships were offered.
“Many of us were given the opportunity to further our studies abroad and, surprisingly, many of them also joined the military, like Azizan and Tengku Izham.
“The latter served in the Royal Malaysian Air Force.”
BOYS WILL BE BOYS
No man is an island. Or no boy is a Goonie when he is alone.
Azmi said the five grew closer through sports due to their love for rugby and sepak takraw, among others.
Not all of them studied in the same class and sports became the opportune moment for them to hang out together.
Azmi said: “We met at assembly, recess and games. My favourite thing about school was rugby.”
Tengku Izham’s favourite sport was sepak takraw and the boys had to set up their own court before they began tossing the rattan ball in a game of doubles or quadrants.
“Every time we wanted to play sepak takraw, we would have to draw our own court with chalk,” Tengku Izham said.
They also had a crush on their principal Joginder Singh Jessy’s daughter, Surinder Kaur, who was two years older than them and a Sixth Former at the same school.
Despite being an all-boys school, Form 6 classes ran under the co-ed system.
“She was beautiful, but we could only admire her from afar, being the principal’s daughter and that she was older,” said Azmi.
The boys also learned the meaning of discipline due to strict principals and school teachers, who were particular about tardiness, smoking and unkempt facial hair.
“I was caned once because I was late. That was the usual punishment you got if you were caught smoking and for keeping your moustache,” said Aziz.
He said the boys even gave their teachers nicknames based on characters from movies or television shows.
“We had Goldfinger, Odd Job and Dangerman. I think it was Azmi who came up with the idea,” he said, receiving a look from Azmi.
For Azizan, his fondest memory was of a 90km cycling tour from Alor Star to Pantai Merdeka in Kota Kuala Muda, which he took with two other schoolmates.
“During the trip, we stopped to rest and had wanted to take a quick meal. It was pitch black, and we were by the roadside,” said Azizan.
“One of us had mistakenly poured kerosene instead of cooking oil on sardines.
“Suffice to say, it was inedible.”
A number of them, including Tengku Izham, had also met Dr Mahathir at his clinic, Maha Klinik, in Jalan Sultan Badlishah, for check-ups upon leaving school to further their studies.
“He asked us where we were going (to continue our studies) and advised us to study well,” Tengku Izham said.
Azmi said the gang kept their friendship through the years, which grew stronger in the 1980s. At the time, each of them had found their vocations in different fields.
THE SAHOCA TRADITION
Four years ago, Aziz created a WhatsApp group for the batch, which now has 70 members, including the original five.
“Azmi mooted the idea in the WhatsApp group to have our 50th anniversary in Kedah.
“Celebrating anniversaries is a Sahoca tradition, so we’re hoping to see each other soon,” he said.
Azizan, who is the Sahoca committee chairman for the batch, said that they would love to meet and reunite with their former schoolmates, some of whom they have not met for more than five decades.
“This get-together will be held at the school hall on Nov 30. We are receiving assistance from our former batchmates in Kedah for the logistics.”
For those who would like to inquire more about the Sohaca 1969 batch’s 50th anniversary, contact Ooi Chai Hong at rainbo-woch@hotmail.com, Ismail at ismails@nilazfar.com or Aziz at azizaai@yahoo.com.