KUALA LUMPUR: One became a prime minister (PM), another, a deputy PM, one more a foreign ministry secretary-general and the fourth a fighter pilot.
This is among the illustrious line-up of the High School Bukit Mertajam (HSBM) alumni from Penang.
Former prime minister and HSBM Alumni patron Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Parti KeAdilan Rakyat (PKR) president, former Foreign Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak and former MiG-29N 19th Squadron commanding officer Lt Col Sebastian ‘Arrow’ William, from the famed ‘Smokey Bandits’ aerobatics team, are the mentioned alumni.
Other prominent alumni include former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Izzudin Dali, Sri Murugan Centre founder and academic Tan Sri Dr Thambirajah Muniandy, alumni president Datuk S. Kulasegaran, its vice-president and reunion organising chairman Shahar Noor and chartered accountant Kesavan Kutty ‘Harry’ Panicker.
Although Abdullah and Anwar were unable to attend, the HSBM alumni’s annual reunion dinner at the Royal Selangor Club at Dataran Merdeka was a rousing one nevertheless.
In his speech, Kulasegaran, who is a prominent Rotarian, called on the alumni to keep the 92-year-old school’s motto ‘Aut Coepisse Noli Aut Confice’ (Accomplish or Do Not Begin), flying high.
Kulasegaran, who also served as the Federation of Malaysian Sri Lankan Organisations (FOMSO) president, hoped the reunion fervour will continue to burn in the coming years.
The reunion was also attended by schoolboys, schoolgirls and teachers from HSBM, with entertainment provided by The Hot Shoe Show and Company and five-piece band Valled Blank-2.
Proceeds from the reunion dinner went to the HSBM Alumni Malaysia Students’ Welfare Fund.