A TRUE STARIAN!

When I made up my mind to travel up north for the weekend, it was a rather difficult decission to make, for a number of reasons. Most pertinent and obvious was the fact that, that trip was my number one, my first time ever, participating in the STAROBA Old Boy's Weekend (OBW). Secondly because I was not sure of what to expect in Ipoh after leaving the school almost 34 years ago!. But what I came across and experienced was something that beyond my expectation!.

Nobody took noticed of this guy. He stood a forlorn figure underneath the tree. I was watching the rugby game between STAR Present team against the STAROBA when Mohamad approached me and asked me whether I would mind taking another passenger to KL. Mohamad had met this guy, who happened to be going the same way as he was i.e. to JB, after which he would continue his journey home to Pontian Dalam. Of course I would not mind!. I had driven alone to Ipoh for the OBW, having failed to convince Che Wan or Rahim or getting Rashid Gong to accompany me. Mohamad was supposed to accompany me back to KL, a pre-arrangement that was agreed amongst us (Rostam, Omar Dollah, Omar Suhaimi Lan Chik). So, having another passenger travelling with me and Mohamad was not a problem at all.

We left Tiger Lane after the rugby game and stopped at Uu Bernam R&R for refreshment and the deserved break. That break turned up to be the one that haunted me and kept me thinking all the way, while driving to KL. During the coffee break, I took the opportunity to chitchat with him and he told me something that made me ashamed of myself. Here stood right in front of me, a TRUE STARIAN!. One that had been attending the OBW every year! (apart from last year because nobody informed and invited him over!). What really astonished me was the fact that he had journeyed and travelled by bus!!. That journey would take him from Pontian Dalam to JB, got himself into the bus for the trip to his beloved alma mater! And he has been doing this for almost every year! (except last year of course).

He took all the trouble for his journey home because STAR made him what he is today. He wanted to show his appreciation and would pay homage to the school that has made and shaped him. Of course attending the OBW would meant that he would able him to see his old friends again, if at all they were present. I felt so humbled and ashamed of myself upon hearing this. And I remembered the nite before, during the grand dinner, when prizes were given to those deservedly so, but we may have forgetten old boy/s like this guy who was a champion on his own way. When we reached KL, after saying goodbye, from the corner of my eyes, I could see him clutching dearly that little bag, the one the organiser for OBW gave away when you check in for registration - contained in it was that 'little mug' with the school logo, that car sticker and momentos from MIMOS. That was all there was for him to remember for his trip down the Tiger Lane in 2009.

To have helped him accomplished his mission so that he could pay homage to his alma mater and to enable him to recall and mesmerise the memory of his life in Tiger Lane, was something that I would treasured for a long long long time. He is 66 years old now, retired from the navy since 1985. God's willing, next year, in that little town of Pontian Dalam, one would see a small guy with a forlorn face,by the road side awaiting for the bus that would take him back the journey to the place he remembered and loved most...., Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Ipoh. InsyaAllah. We salute you, Khalid Siran (Batch '57).