Muar 76/78 Reunion

A quiet meeting with Angelina Lee Poh one September evening somwehere in Batu Pahat over a cup of tea and an assortment of mouth-watering goodies (that explains our size) was where talk of a Muar 76/78 (Muar Convent Form 5 1976 & Muar High School Form 6 1978) first-ever reunion started. Lee Poh mooted the idea and I fell for it immediately.

The idea took flight and culminated in a group of Muar 76/78 old girls and boys congregating in the Nusantara Ballroom,Muar Traders Hotel on Sat 10 Dec 2007 from 6 p.m. to 12 mid-night. Several old girls and boys lugged photos and heavy albums from yesteryears, complete with microscopes so that we the soon-to-be senior citizens could see ourselves better in the photos. How considerate of them!

My heart was warmed as I met friends, friends and more friends - those with whom we parted ways after Form 5 (Jenny Soo Fen, Ruby, Florence, Sadiah, Bee Eng....); the pals from Form 6 (Kee Chung, Chor Kuan, Kenny Boo, Lily....); the quiet ones (Upper 6 Bio Maths B - all the brainy ones, still serious after all these years); the noisy ones (Philip, Woon Han, Gurch... still as nosiy). Many, to my great envy, look young and trim like Joanne Chun Khim, Jane Siok Kim, Liew Eng (so trendy), Linda Bee Leng .... and the old boys, just gorgeous (like Gurch who used to be so thin but has "bloomed" nicely). The presence of the old teachers made the reunion even sweeter and the game of "guess who is who" even harder! I for one couldn't recognise Mr. Teah - remember Convent girls, he was so rake thin we used to call him "Skeleton"!

All of us laughed our hearts and lungs out as the old girls and old boys had a battle of the sexes, weighed ourselves in order to fight for the Miss Lightweight crown (Yoke Eng of Convent 76 at 45 kg) and Mr. Heavyweight title (Michael Chong at 90 kg), won prizes for silly categories (the most Towkay-soh look, the most number of children, etc.)

This reunion would not have been possible if not for the following people. A vote of thanks to them:

1. Miss Business Acumen - Margaret Niap. She saw to the food, accommodation, photography session, ... down to the cake. Don't play play with her - she made sure that the hotel gave what it promised.

2. Misses "Money Face" - Teow Yen and Hui Chen (aka Kuching aka Nora "Meow" aka Kitty - more sophisticated name). They collected money and made sure everyone paid!

3. Misses Know-all - Lee Poh and Hui Chen. I suspect they are running some detective agency. If you want to locate anybody, anywhere, anytime, they are the ones you should call. But seriously speaking, they managed to contact so many old girls and boys. Amazing...

4. Miss SK II (her beauty secret - she swears by it!) - Linda Bee Leng for painstakingly preparing the door gifts.

5. Mr. Ji Pa Ban (One hundred million) - Michael Chong for starting the Muar 76/78 group making communication easy and hassle-free. Thanks for sharing the song "Ji Pa Ban" in our group - it's so hilarious.

6. Mr. Generous & Mr. Nice Guy- Kee Chung and Su (Tiang Joo) for all the prizes for the night.

7. The children of the organizers (forced labour) - no choice, they had to help their mum and dad to make the night a success.

8. All the old girls and old boys for all the contacts you provided, for encouraging friends to come and even driving them to the Muar Traders Hotel, for making an effort to attend.

Take care all of you, till we meet again. God bless each and everyone of the Muar 76/78 group.

* Top right picture - Convent girls singing the Convent school song. Reminded me of Mrs. D' Cruz ("Hold........!" "Breathe......!)

From left - Shee Poh, Philip Chua (with his trademark smile and Dennis the Menace-like mop of hair), Gurch.

High School alumni trying hard to recall and sing the school song. Mr. Michael Parry (the school principal during our time) would have caned the old boys and sent the old girls to detention class for the absolutely awful singing!

Seated from left: Richard Eng Tee, myself Ai Ling, Lily Low, Magdalene (my best friend - we used to go cycling every evening during our crazy days together) , Teresa.

Standing behind from left: Vincent Juh Quek, Hui Chen (always latest to reach school on her bicycle built for two), Mei Yoong, Michael

P.S. Added in on 14 Dec 2007 - Thanks to Lily for correcting me. The reunion was on 8 Dec, not 10 Dec. I got all my dates mixed up - blame it on old age!