Kota Kinabalu: A group of old boys and girls from St Michael Secondary School, Penampang, decided to make their reunion dinner an annual affair.
“The reunion bring us together to catch up… you must remember all of us are approaching 70 years old now.
“That is why you never know, you might not be around in 10 years’ time,” said Moris Miji who is a organising committee chairman for the school’s Form Five Class of 1972 reunion dinner to celebrate their 50th anniversary at a restaurant here.
“Since some of us are still alive, we must make the effort to meet up so that we will not regret it later, said Moris.
This is especially so when the current life expectancy for Malaysia in 2022 is 76.51 years as based on report from the Malaysia Statistics Department, he added.
“During our time, there were only two classes – Art A and B – no science stream then. One class has about 37 students.
“Now we have 25 ex-students attending the dinner as 12 already died due to sickness including a recent one caused by Covid-19 infection,” said Moris.
“During the reunion we talk mostly about family matters like how many grandchildren you have.
“All of us are mostly government pensioners except for a few who are doing their own businesses including myself,” he said.
Surprisingly, he said, most of their batch joined the government hospitals after leaving school to work as nurses.
He reminisced that the most memorable moment was when they were taught how to sing by their English language cum music teacher Rose Yew who is in her 80s.
Yew came to the school in 1968 after graduating from a university in Taiwan majoring in English language.
Another teacher that they were fond of was their physical education teacher Pius Jokinol.
Both teachers were invited to the reunion dinner and performed a song each to bring back the good old days, he said.
He said all the ex-students live around Penampang area and some of them do meet up for coffee.
Moris, who hails from Kampung Tuovon, proposed their next reunion would be an outdoor picnic so that more family members can join.
On the school environment, he said there were the first batch that started the coeducation for boys and girls.
“During our time, school discipline was very strict, those who misbehave would be caned.
“But times have changed because today’s parents are too protective and we’re partially to be blamed.
“Unlike our time ‘you spare the rod and spoil the child’, I don’t think it is applicable now,” said Moris.
Among the notable alumni for the class of 1972 were Datuk Gregory Joitol who retired as Deputy State Secretary, besides holding various senior positions in the civil service, Blasius Binjua, an editor of Kadazan dictionary and history as well as Alicia Gomes who is Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Sabah Chapter Honorary Secretary.
