Sixth Form Arts Class of 1962/1963 Reunion
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Cheong Kee Fong, Tan Eng Lin, Shirley Lai Swee Sum,
Shaun Yee, Chiew Ah Kim, |
ime flies but the friendships we had forged and the fond memories of the happy days we had spent together in the VI in 1962-63 remain strongly in our minds. It all started with a few of us hoping to meet up with the rest of our classmates from the Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur after more than 45 years absence. After agreeing to spearhead and organise the event, Chiew Ah Kim, Cheong Kee Cheok, Liu Tai Meng, Shirley Lai, Tan Eng Lin, Liu Cheng Choong, Sieh Kok Shang, and Shaun Yee Thiam Fook very quickly settled down to trace as many old friends as possible. This was followed with a frenzied deluge of emails flying across the globe, and after months of hard work, determination and perseverance, our relentless efforts were finally realised with a class reunion of 37 students from the Sixth Form batch of Arts students, the class of 1962/1963, on Saturday August 16, 2008 at the Hilton Hotel in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Besides those of us still residing in Malaysia, many returned from various parts of the world, from Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Europe and the United States. One was Pamela Sodhy, now a History Professor from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. And from Milan, Italy, came our very own real life professional magician, Shaun Yee. Most of us had not met since leaving the Victoria Institution 45 years ago. SOME WHO CAME: Ibrahim Mohd, Ng Lian Soon, Liu Cheng Choong, Indran Rajendram, Shahidah Majid, S. Jegatheesan, Liu Tai Meng, Seto Kuan Mun, Lim Ah Hoon, Cheong Kee Fong, Sieh Kok Shang, Rahil Mahyuddin, Chew Swee Yoke, Tan Eng Lin, Siti Rukiah, Lai Swee Sum, Tengku Idaura. We came back eagerly with a common purpose, to catch up with old friends, to celebrate our reunion, to re-live old memories and to update our ties. It was also only fitting that we met again in Kuala Lumpur. A pleasant surprise was the presence of our former economics teacher, Mr. John Doraisamy. Cheong Kee Cheok watches as Chiew Ah Kim points out absent classmate Ng Lian Eng on the screen; part of the rapt audience. Thirty-seven of us were supposed to turn up at the Petaling Jaya Hilton at 7 pm, but many of us turned up way before the scheduled meeting time and it was back to schooldays! We were certainly a bunch of grey-haired "teenagers", with hairlines a little higher (some even missing), some bosoms a little bit saggier (!), and many bottoms a little wider! Now if only our Shaun Yee could make those wrinkles and bulging waistlines magically disappear with a wave of his hand! Our laughter and greetings filled the room as we tried to identify each other, with loads of jokes and some mild ragging taking place! Indran "John" Rajendram; Hey Presto! Shaun Yee mystifying Jegatheesan and Aziza Shaik. This was a most eventful and memorable night with an excellent eight-course dinner accompanied with an abundant flow of wine contributed by Tai Meng's brother, non-alcoholic drinks for our Muslim friends, and slide presentations by Prof. Cheong Kee Cheok with nostalgic photographs mingled with loads of jokes and side comments. Tribute was paid to departed classmates including two outstanding individuals who had made their mark in public service. They were Khong Kim Nyoon, Deputy Governor of Bank Negara and Tan Sri Dr. Mohammad Noordin Sopiee who was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Strategic and International Studies. Entertainment was provided by our very own talented singer, John Rajendran, and, of course, our magician Shaun Yee, both being the highlights of the evening. We all felt young again as time stood still and we certainly have to thank our alma mater VI for giving us such a memorable evening. Front: Tan Sian Sim, Leow Lee Fah, Pamela Sodhy, Agnes Kok Back: Siti Rokiah binti Zainal Abidin, Shahidah Abd Majid, Shirley Lai Swee Sum, Tengku Idaura, Aziza A.G. Shaik, Rahil Binti Mahyuddin, Sharifah Noor Haron Alhabshi, Ng Lian Soon, Liu Tai Meng, Low Kwai Sim, Chew Swee Yoke Front: Wan Ismail Ibrahim, Shahidah Abd Majid, Mr John Doraisamy, Liu Cheng Choong Back: Cheong Kee Fong, Liu Tai Meng, Siti Rukiah bt Zainal Abidin, Agnes Kok, Leow Lee Fah, Tengku Zaman, How Wan Hong Front: Siti Rukiah bt Zainal Abidin, Leow Lee Fah, Beng Hua (Mrs Lim A.H.), Grace (Mrs Chiew A.K.) Back: Shaun Yee, Shirley Lai Swee Sum, Tan Eng Lin, Chew Swee Yoke Back (l. to r.) : Chiew Ah Kim, Cheong Kee Cheok, Nik Mohd Sidek, Liu Cheng Choong, Tan Eng Lin, Shaun Yee Thiam Fook, Ibrahim Mohd, S.Jegatheesan, Lim Ah Hoon, Rajendram Indran, Cheong Kee Fong, Tengku Zaman, Seto Kuan Mun, Sieh Kok Shang Front (l. to r.): Pamela Sodhy, Liu Tai Meng, Siti Rukiah bt Zainal Abidin, Rahil bt Mahyuddin, Chew Swee Yoke, Shirley Lai Swee Sum, Shahidah Abd. Majid, Leow Lee Fah, Tan Sian Sim, Mr John Doraisamy, Aziza A.G. Shaik, Tengku Idaura, Ng Lian Soon, Agnes Kok, Sharifah Noor Haron Alhabshi, Low Kwai Sim The evening ended at around midnight with a singing of the School Song and Auld Lang Syne, and a promise to meet again in three years' time .... The next day, about twenty of us met again for an informal lunch at a Thai restaurant for a further round of food, laughter and jokes and we finally parted with an agreement that we should all meet again in two years' time instead of three, most probably in the beautiful island of Penang! Report by the Organising Committee FROM THE V.I. ARCHIVESForm 5A, 1961. Geography Project, Speech Day Exhibition, 1963. (l. to r.) Jegatheesan, Kee Cheok, Seto, Wah Hong, Boon Teik, Tai Meng, Kim Nyoon, Ah Kim Front: Abu Bakar, Moo Len, Noordin, John Rajendram. Back: Cheng Choong, Kok Shang, Kim Nyoon, Eng Lin and Seto. 1961(?) Political intrigue lurks everywhere in U6A1's Kennedy's Birthday Party, School Concert, 1963. [Winner of the Senior Award for best item.] Cast of U6A2's Sunset over the Visayans; performing the Bamboo Dance, School Concert, 1963. VI Girls with Senior Girl Agnes Kok, Headmaster Mr Alan D. Baker, and teacher Miss Fay Siebel (also an Old Girl herself), 1963. Last update: November 20, 2008. Page-Keeper: Chung Chee Min |