COLOURS OF KMPh

My first meeting with these two students was more of a coincidence. The time was 5 pm. I was all ready to go home. It was just a matter of  pushing in my chair and putting everything back into places. That was when I heard voices behind me saying, “Teacher, are you going home ?” I turned around and said, “ Yes dear, it's already 6 .” Then, I noticed the worried look on their faces. I toned down and asked, gently this time, “ Yes, how can I help you ?” That was like giving them green lights! They went on and on telling me about their problems. To cut it short, I said yes, I would help them and the next hour was spent on  providing solutions to their problems. Since that day, we became close “friends” as they would often come for consultation. 

Well, like in any other colleges, other than teaching, the lecturers are also involved in the activities organized by the college. Therefore, you should always prepare yourself for  unexpected tasks! “Lucky me”, I was appointed as the coordinator of the Musical Sketch Competition and in charged  of preparing the students to represent the college at the Division Level! To make it worse, it was the first time the Division  held such a competition! Mummy Help! At this age, creativity seemed like an obsolete word! I desperately needed help! So, I asked for the help from another three colleagues; Ize, Nana and Ling Ling. Together we stayed with the students and  made improvisations where necessary.

Now, let’s talk about the actors. My  my, guess who was in the list. One of them was the Indian student,  who was seeking for help the other day! Talking about what goes around comes around!It was me who needed help this time ! With him were 4 other students who really added  colours to the whole scene! These students were no ‘ordinary’ people on stage. They did not only have the right attitude  but each possessed the traits of a good actor. They were very determined and talented, had lots of patience and loved challenges as well ! In other words, they could be described as true professional pretenders in their own way ! 

The competition was held from 1 March to 3 March at Glory Beach resort in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan. On the day of the competition, only one word could describe these students, Nervous ! Actually to tell you the truth I was nervous too ! These were the last few words said to them before they went into the auditorium, quoting Nana, “ Ok, this is d Day. This is the time to show them what you got. So, don’t try your best BUT Do Your Best !

Later that day, I was informed of the results. Alhamdulillah, we were second out of fifteen colleges ! However, I did not share the good news with the students as it was supposed to be announced officially the next day. They did ask about the results and  I had a very hard time pretending not to know. Phew ! Before going to sleep that night, I sent them the following message :

Hi there! REMEMBER 2 get a good night sleep 2night. Do not worry about 2morrow as everything happens for a reason. 2 win or 2 lose, that’s not the question. 2 me, all of you are still number one !

Seenu, you are one in a million !

Rebecca, you’re awesome !

Cynthia, you’re full of surprises !

Tung, you are electrifying And

Kai Shi, I will always REMEMBERH you !

Thank you so much 2 all of you from the bottom of my   Heart ! 
Love, Mdm Anis.
 

Little did they know that I was actually trying to give them hints about the placing! The next day when they were announced as the second place winners, bundles of joy were written all over their faces! Only then, the message became clear ! Gothca ! Now, who is the best pretender among them ? Ha! Ha ! Congratulations Seenu, Becca, Cynthia, Tung and Kai Shi ! It was  a great pleasure working with all of you! All of  You Are Indeed Beautiful Colours Of KMPh ! 

KAMPUNG MEMORIES

       This is another childhood memory which I would never forget. Years back, when I was still very young, my parents often took us back to our village in Temerloh. It was a time to look forward to because kampung life was always full of excitement. At the kampung, we would put up at our grandmother's house, usually for a few days. You should see the house! It was a large and long wooden house with  no electricity supply. Hmmm.. Now you can imagine how things were at night. The house was lit by only a few pelita and we had to carry them with us around the house. Therefore, certain parts of the house were kept in the dark when we shifted from one part of the house to another. 

God, I remember sleeping alone in a room, totally in the dark! My mom took out the pelita thinking that I was already fast asleep! I was too scared to move an inch and kept to just one position! I recited all the duas that I knew until I finally fell asleep. I also remember how we would gather in the living hall and mom would relate some stories about the house. One which I could never forget was about the visit by an uninvited guest. She came late in the night , landed herself on the roof and let out eerie laughs. Then, she flew around the house and scratched the walls loudly....eee scary....Not just that, sometimes the roar of a tiger could be heard since the house was near to  a jungle.

       Another interesting thing about my grandmother's house was the toilet. It was neither inside nor near the house. Aaaa....You had to do your 'business' at this one spot in a rubber estate next to her house. Ha Ha! No walls, no water supply; just you and rows of rubber trees! It was like enjoying nature while business was being done! To clean up yourself, you had to walk back to the house which was actually a few metres away! Eee, I remember walking like a monkey back to the house! What an experience! Ha! Ha! I was lucky because there were no naughty eyes around. However, lack of facilities was never a reason to stop us from balik kampung. There were so many other fun and interesting things to do than to worry about it. For example running up and down the doorsteps like almost thousands of times, swimming in the river, climbing up trees, picking fruits like rambutan, duku, langsat and manggis fresh from the trees, taking evening strolls in the rubber estates, chasing after chickens and ducks around the house and also listening to the jungle sounds at night. How I miss those days...

        Years passed and we seldom go back except for special occasions. Ever since grandma passed away, things have never been the same again. My grandmother's house has been rented out and we do not visit the place anymore. What 's left  now are just memories.