Old boys relive hostel days
SWEET MEMORIES: Alumni get chance to stay in their old dormitory
OLD boys of Penang Free School (PFS), the first English-medium school in Southeast Asia, relived their hostel days with a visit to their dorms.
The 200 old boys, from the 1972 to 2003 batch, were seen hugging and laughing heartily as they greeted each other.
Former Universiti Sains Malaysia vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Omar Osman said it was good to be back at the hostel with such a big group of old boys.
“Some of us had visited the hostel before, and even had batch reunions, but this is the first time we have so many batches.
“Last night (Friday night), after the school’s bicentenary celebration, some of us stayed at the dorm. It brought back many good memories of our hostel days,” he said.
Omar, who was the hostel reunion organising committee chairman, said he had more than 10 dorm mates back then and all of them led disciplined lives.
He recalled that the biggest part of hostel life was the hostel masters, who were very active, caring and taught them how to live in an urban setting.
“They exposed us to finer things New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd group managing editor
(centre), former Hot FM radio announcer (third from right), former director-general of Finas at the Penang Free School hostel in Jalan Masjid Negeri, George Town, on Saturday.
such as how to be strong, brave and live in the world. Many of us today are in leadership positions, something we would never have thought of during our school years.
“The training and culture moulded us into leaders,” said the 58-year-old.
Omar said he and his dorm mates of the 1976 batch used to play pranks to get out of the daily morning exercise of running around the field.
Former group managing director of Proton Holdings Bhd Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, who was a 1979 batch student, said the gathering was special as they got the chance to stay in
their old dorm rooms.
“We took the opportunity to stay in the dormitory and relive our younger days
“It was very nostalgic meeting our old friends, and on Friday night, we sat talking until 2am,” said the 54-year-old.
He said the old boys also interacted with the current batch of PFS students while eating and praying, and also advised them.
“The current generation is different from our generation as they need more support. I often come back to give speeches so that they can see those who succeed are also ordinary people.
“They need an idol or a role model and we can contribute by (fifth from left), former Universiti Sains Malaysia vice-chancellor ( fourth from left), Army
(second from right) with becoming one to motivate them.”
He said PFS, a school steeped in tradition, gave him the discipline and ability to be independent.
“The most important thing I gained from my years in school was the strong bond with my fellow batchmates, which saw us meeting up the last 30 years.
“Although we left decades ago, we still meet and hang out and that is something we treasure,” he said, adding that his years in the hostel had inspired him to enrol his three sons in hostels.
“I insisted my sons go to boarding schools because of what I saw here. Children can be spoilt at home, and living in boarding school builds character and survival skills,” he said.
The old boys enjoyed their threehour reunion walking through their dorms, taking pictures, and eating together.
They also held a lucky draw and spoke in honour of MH370 pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, who was also an alumnus.
Present at the reunion were Army Major-General Datuk Abu Muslim Ismail and New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd group managing editor Datuk A. Jalil Hamid.
Jalil said he had visited the hostel earlier but this was the first reunion with such a big group.
“Seeing my old hostel and my batchmates brings back all the sweet memories,” he said.