Last appeal for support for a reunion in 2009 for UM Alumni

Attention: All Alumni of Universlty of Malaya from the 1959 intake.

It is now less than a year before the 50th anniversay of our admission to the University of Malaya at the Pantai Valley campus in 1959. I have made several suggestions in may earlier postings on this Blog that we should take the opportunity of this anniversary to get together for reunion so that we can all meet again after such a long seperation. Undoubtedly many us still meet each other once in a while over the years. However if you reflect back to the many faces that we met and mingle in our residential colleges, lacture halls, library and cafetaria in the years that we were at the campus, I am sure many of them have become qiute faded in our memories. I am quite sure that if we meet again, some of them are perhaps unrecognisable due to biological changes and the stree of modern living.

If you think this idea of a reunion can be supported and feel that you and your spouse would be prepared to attend a function to celebrate the event, please respond to this blog or e-mail me at roslaini@streamyx.com.

MSAbdullah

PANTAI VALLEY CAMPUS IS IN DANGER OF OBLIVION

Dear Alumni,

I wonder how many of you read in the Biznews of the New Straits Times of today [12th June] that a proposal has been made by Guocoland a company controlled by Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan to relocate the University of Malaya from the present campus to Sepang. (Page 37).

If this is true it would mean that Malaysia's first University which started in the Pantai Valley Campus will also be another victim of Malayisa's "piratisation policy" wherein valuable assets owned by the Nation are given away for a song to enrich those who are already filthy rich. Examples of these are many and only those who are really dumb will not know what and where they are.

Since the Hon. Prime Minister is also an Alumni of the university, not to mention many more in the Cabinet and the civil service, I am very sure this will not be allowed to happen. However since we cannot depend on the alertness and sanity of those in positions of Authority, I hope all Alumni will rally around to prevent this from becoming a reality.

MSAbdullah.

Choice of the venue for the Golden Reunion

Two nights ago, I met one of our classmate who marticulated in the Arts Faculty in 1959 who is now a Tan Sri, at a bithday party of our common friend. I spoke to him about my proposal and he enthusiastically supported the idea. I told him about my problem of trying to locate the 250 or so students who must by now be scattered all over the world. To begin with I cannot even get the name list since the University of Malaya has, to this day not responded to my request.

Instead of helping with my immediate problem of tracing the whereabouts of the Alumni, my friend was very positive about getting sufficient support for the reunion and suggested that we should choose a suitable venue for the pupose. I think it would be best that this decision be left to a later stage when we can form an Organising Committe, once we can get a credible number of enthusiasts to support the
reunion.

MSAbdullah

Tun, Tan Sri, Dato', Professor, Dr. and Mr. & Mrs.

Among the surviving members of the freshies who were enrolled in the list of students in May 1959 at the Pantai Valley Campus, University of Malaya are people who now carry the above titles and more. Yet until today [May 1st. 2007] not one of them has even responded to my posting in this Blog.

Can we find a real reason to this? Is it because non of them has read this posting or is it because they just cannot be bothered to remember their humble beginning and do something positive towards bringing into focus what their Alma Mater has done for them.

We have just two more years to prepare for this reunion if there is enough support. Please tell me what you think of this idea of having our reunion to bring us together again after so long.

University of Malaya Alumni

In May 1959 some 250 freshies were admitted to the University of Malaya, the only University in this newly independent country. Of this number, the majority would have graduated and are now in their late 60s or early 70s. In May 2009, it would be 50 years from that day.

It would be interesting to know how many of the surviving 250 can still recognise each other except of course those who still keep in touch with each other. I am one of them and in trying to recollect their names I can only remember 30 names. I tried to get the list of their names and contact address from the university but my 2 e-mails did not even get a response. I checked the members list of the Persatuan Universty Malaya Alumni and found that mine is the only one from the graduating class of 1962.

I think it is a good idea if the University can take the initiative to organise a Golden Reunion in 2009 to bring together this batch of pioneers in the Pantai Valley campus. Besides enabling them to establish contacts amongst themselves, I am quite sure, the University can also garner some financial support from those who have done well in life as a result of their education at the University. Many top universities in the world depend to a certain extent on the endowment of their Alumni.

MSAbdullah.