My Recent Takes

The date fixed for the event was 12 December 2022, which was a Monday. The venue was Sandakan. The number of classmates responding was 14, or about 35% of the number in the Form V class in 1962. Only 4 tables were required to seat all the classmates and accompanying spouses/relatives as well as the invited guests during the main dinner. With most classmates now at the advanced age of 80+, the vastly reduced number of participating classmates and the higher proportion of supporting relatives were expected. Because many of us were facing major challenges in walking long distances, the activities connected with this reunion gathering were trimmed down greatly as compared to past reunions..

1. Summary Posted to FaceBook

The following short articles/images have been posted to Facebook earlier. (They are included here for the benefit of classmates who do not have Facebook account.)

(Click to enlarge photos)

2. Early-Bird Activities

As stated earlier, the reunion committee did not plan any extra activities apart from those on 12th December. As such, there were no special events for "Early-Birds". However a few of us did get to Sandakan a bit early, and there were some private interactions.

9 December 2022 (Breakfast Session with Alex Koh)

We went to a less crowded sea-food restaurant at D72, Bridge No. 5 for breakfast. Joining us was sister-in-law Virginia. I had not been to this outlet before. The food quality and service were a bit below par. Nevertheless, the relatively quiet atmosphere due to the low patronage was ideal for social chatting.

Restaurant D72, Bridge No.5

(L-R:) Stella, Virginia, Nuk Sam. Alex and me

Taking a group photo before leaving the restaurant

10 Dec 2022 (Breakfast with Nyo)

Classmate Nyo, based in KK, had been on work assignment to Sandakan for a while. (He is one of the classmates who is still working beyond the age 80!) Since I was planning to have some walking exercises this morning at Bandar Hing Loong off M4, North Road, I scheduled a breakfast session with him at my favourite corner coffee shop there (Bie Bu Tong/别不同 ). This outlet served reasonably good sea food noodles.

A selfie shot with Nyo (red T-shirt)

11 December 2022 (Chanced Meeting with Kan)

Another early bird was Peter Kan Siew Kwai. It must be quite a feat for Peter to get to Sandakan. He flew in from Singapore to KK a few days earlier and then drove solo to Sandakan on 10 December. He had not touched a vehicle for the past few years, and he wasn't even sure of the status of repairs of the KK-Sandakan Highway, not to mention the complexities of navigating the many roundabouts approaching Sandakan Town. Peter also had the honour of being the only overseas classmate returning for the occasion.

It so happened that this morning I had the urge to drop by the "new" market near Bandar Nam Tung for breakfast with my wife. (This market, replaced the one at Tanah Merah). By 6:45 a.m., we arrived at the hawker's stall section where we had our favourite "springy mee" and other goodies. The sea food there was reasonably fresh and the charges were much lower than elsewhere. After breakfast, my wife and I explored the fish market next door to see if we could get some fresh fish and prawns. We had just completed our mission and was walking back to our car when I spotted Peter alighting from his 4WD. We met briefly, chatted and had our photo taken (selfie, of course). Regrettably, I could not join him for a "second breakfast".

Peter Kan (R)

3. Main Activities on 12/12/2022

(a) Breakfast Session

By the time my wife and I arrived at the venue of this morning's function, I was surprised that most of the classmates were ahead of us. It was 8:04 a.m. (only 4 minutes past the scheduled time). Even Lee Kok Chee and his wife, who flew in from KK that same morning, were there already. What a punctual group of "old" classmates!

The venue for this event was the Seafood Restaurant No. 82, Sim-Sim, located between Bridges 7 and 8. A total of 27 participants (classmates/wife and supporting relatives) took part in this event.

I had never been to this outlet before. The quality of the food was average. The services provided was rather poor. Even orders were hand-recorded by the servers, the breakfast items were always delivered wrongly or not delivered at all. Some of us had to make several requests before the correct items were served. It was not surprising that apart from our 4 tables, there were hardly any other customers. Still, I must say this was a blessing in disguise, as we could have the run of the whole restaurant to ourselves!

(N.B. Some of the photos in this section were gleaned from those posted on our classmate Whatsapp chat group. Click images to enlarge the view.)

Restaurant D82, Sim-Sim

The 4 tables (2 large & 2 small) taken up

Table A (My table)

Another view of Table A

Table D

Table B: (Clockwise from L) Fung YL, Chin KK, Lee KC, Chin WM, Phua KN, FYL Jr.. Kan SK & Fung KW

(L-R) Chin WM, Phua KN, Fung YL Jr.,, Fung KW & Chin KK

Table B and C (background)

(Clockwise from L) Mrs F Chu, Lam YF & wife, Nyo CT, W Koh & wife

Video Clip

(b) Return Visit to St. Mary's Primary's School

Leaving Restaurant 82, Sim-Sim after 9:40 a.m., we proceeded to our second destination for the day. We dropped by the primary School where most of us spent 3 to 4 years between 1954-57. Those who taught us there were still fresh in our memories.... Fr. Mulders (Principal), Master Lagan (Pr. 2), Master Kwan (Pr. 3), Master Lai, and Master Liew (Pr. 4A & B), Master Lee and Mrs. Smith (Pr. 5A & B), Master Ho and Fr. Hiew (Pr. 6A & B), amongst others.

Group photo taken in front of the old Pr. School completed by Fr. Mulders in 1953

This outdoor alter set against the Santa Maria Hill was not there during our school days

Waiting for the rest of the participants to join in the photo shoot....

Finally, everyone had taken up their position for the Group Photo

(c) Visiting a Chinese Temple

Next, we drove to the Bu Jih Syh Temple atop a hill in Tanah Merah with a commanding view of the Sandakan Harbour. This was one of the few popular spots for visitors to Sandakan. Our group arrived there just before 11:00 a.m. (This temple was built long after we ended our school days in Sandakan.)

Arriving at Bu Jih Syh Temple

View 1 from Bu Jih Syh

View 2: Bandar Nam Tong & Market (Red Arrow)

Stella and Nyuk Sam

Two similar group photos with me (Top Pic) and Peter Kan (Next Pic) as alternative camera man.

(d) Lunch at "Good Taste" Restaurant at Bandar Nam Tong

It took us some 10 minutes to descend from the location of Bu Jih Syh Temple via the hair-pin curves of the Tanah Merah-Sibuga Road to our luncheon venue. We arrived at the Good Taste Restaurant around 11:40 a.m.

Our classmate group had a long association with this outlet which served as one of our luncheon spots during most of the past re-unions and other occasional classmate gatherings. This restaurant served the traditional Bak Kut Teh with sea-food dishes thrown in. The most note-worthy dish was the Lai Mang Fish cooked in Bak Kut Teh soup. For this function, reunion committee chairman Fung Ket Wing had earlier reserved a sufficient number of Lai Mang fish to ensure that each of us could enjoy at least one palm-sized Lai Mang fsh.

Arriving at the Good-Taste Eatery

(L-R) Fung YL, Nyo CT & Mrs Lee KC

(L-R) Stella Koh, Alex Koh & Wife

(L-R) Fung KW, P Kan and S. Koh

(L-R) Mrs Khoo GS, Lam YF & Wife

(L-R) Mrs Chan FL, Khoo GS & Family

(L-R) F Chu, Chan FL, Chin WM's Grandson, Chan FL's Daughter & Wife, Khoo GS

Lai Mang Fish

(L-R) W. Koh & Wife, Mrs. A. Koh

The wall was plastered with pix of past notable patrons. Our group's pix had yet to make it!

(L-R) Chin WM, Fung KW, P Kan and W .Koh

(e) Back to St. Mary's Secondary School

At 12:55 p.m., it was time for us to depart for our penultimate destination for the day. It was 60 years ago on 7 December 1962 that we went back to the school to collect our school leaving certificates before embarking on our next step in life. By then, some had already started working. Most were still looking for a job. A few would continue their education in tertiary institutions.

It was a beautiful day and Rev. Fr. L. M. Parson was dishing out the Leaving Certificates to us on behalf of the principal Rev. Fr. Van Dan Schoor who was on leave. There were 36 of us there.

😞Only 12 of us made it back for this group photograph today.😞

💢💢💢💢

The school was on end-of-year break and we were lucky to meet up with the current principal, Puan Myrene Gidung. She graciously accepted our invitation to pose with us for the group photo below.

Group photo taken with the current Principal Puan Myrene Gidup (arrowed)

(f) Main Dinner Function at Equatorial Restaurant

It had been a tiring day for those classmates who had taken part in all the activities so far. After disbanding around 2 p.m., we would have only time for a short rest before getting ready for the night's main dinner event.

Our Diamond Jubilee Dinner was scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Equatorial Seafood Restaurant, Bandar Ramai-Ramai. This same restaurant had served as our main dinner venue for most of the past reunions, starting with the 20th Anniversary reunion in 1982.

Most classmates arrived on time. Compared to past reunions, the atmosphere of this gathering was much more subdued. The main reason was that the number of participants was very much less than those in past functions and the programmes were simplified. The organizing committee opted not to have an MC. The usual addresses were dispensed with. Even traditional group singing of "The End of the Road" was not executed. Another reason for the calm environment was perhaps the result of aging: most of us had lost our normal "booming" volume in speaking. Those noisy beer drinkers who used to break into songs were now drinking less and had little drive to sing. Nevertheless, many thanks to classmate Chan Fook Loong for delivering a few Chinese oldies unaccompanied.