SDARians 94'8: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
During the week when the Standard Chartered Run was postponed, I actually had bought the 2-way bus tickets to KL for the run. Online purchasing does make thing easier, but we might do a lot less consideration during the transaction. If I were to wait a few days for the haze to take effect & wait for the decision regarding it, I might be able to save some bucks.
I'm not a person that like to waste, so I packed my bags in the weekend & off to my brother's home in KL.
Alang-alang menyeluk pekasam, biar sampai ke pangkal lengan.
The first thing that I want to do during the weekend is meet up with my high school acquaintance - Azim. From 1994 up until 1998, I was a student at Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak in Seremban. At that time the school was located at Jalan Sikamat. The school have been relocated to Sungai Gadut since 2002.
Well to tell the truth, I have been MIA from my high school friends since 2003 - after I had graduated from the varsity. Most of the faults lies with me, since I need to establish my career at the moment, and it was a very tough period. Even though I never changed my cell phone number, it didn't helped much when I don't even have a FB account at that time plus I'm living far at the south.
So meeting with Azim during the weekend gave me an opportunity to catch up with the news of my high school batch. We met somewhere in Uptown Damansara at a food court named Steven's Corner. It sells western food, so I ordered a chicken chop. I was halfway with my food when Azim arrived.
He was as jovial as before. It seems he does lost some weight though. He is currently an IT (specialist?) for an oil & gas company in Malaysia. He even got himself a MBA after working for 5 years.
Puffing some cigarette (Azim not me), we started with the good news of the 94'8 batch. Unsurprisingly, most of them have found success in life.
Working in the oil & gas industries does pay you with good reward. Jepun & Shukur are some of them. And there are the doctors. Apek, Sharip & Nazli are in the list. Some of them even found successful life overseas. Daniel & Cha are working in the Middle East, Sochos is at Japan, Endran (or is it Endrian? I'm always confused with the twins) is at the US.
That was the gist of it. I'm sure there are more to that list. Some of them even have a 5-figure monthly salary, which is awesome.
Then I shared with Azim my accident encounter with Gedebuk at my company.
Back in 2011, my company planned to buy an engineering software for my department's usage. We called some of the suppliers to do their product's presentation to us. So, one day a reputable company came to our factory to do their presentation. I was doing my job at the production floor when they already started & came late with sweats over my face after rushing to the meeting room. I quickly took my seat & try to focus to the presentation.
Naturally, the sales executive in front of me passed me his card.
I took a quick look at the card, smiled at him & get back to the presentation.
Suddenly he passed me another card.
This is weird. I thought by myself. Bukan dia dah bagi kad dia ke?
He wrote SDAR on the top left of the card.
This is weirder. How does he knew that I came from that school? That was my initial reaction.
Then I look to the name on the card. Kemarul Zamani - with some Japanese inscription beside his name. That name is familiar. This is Gedebuk's real name.
Then I raised my head & actually look at the executive's face. That face looks familiar but the I don't have any recollection of the overall figure of the person.
Then I realized something. It clicked in my head. SAY WHAAAT?????!!!
He was in my class start from Form 1 (Ungku Omar) & continued until Form 5 (Ibnu Khaldun) when we chose the same 10th subject for SPM. Gedebuk was beyond recognition. He had gained so much weight that I barely recognized him. The only features that I could relate was his eyes & his smile.
The meeting was a big surprise for me since I never expected to encounter any of my high school colleague in Pasir Gudang. Let alone in my working place. It seems that after he graduated from a Japan varsity, he got the job with the reputable company in KL.
We also managed to talked about the few weird ones in our batch.
What is the deal with Syamsul? I knew that previously he worked for a Petronas subsidiary company. His office was at KLCC. But when I checked at his FB postings, it seems that he is switching to another career - as a photographer. He even listed Jakarta, Indonesia as his working location, which deepens the mystery. Unfortunately, Azim also don't have any idea regarding him.
Then Arip came into the picture. According to Azim, he went to Egypt in the last few years to continue learning about religion. That was a bold decision to make, considering that when our age already passed 30 the last thing that anyone should be considering is having a doubt in his career path. Coincidentally, Egypt is currently facing a political turmoil. Their leader, Mursi is being toppled by the army general. I hope he is OK out there.
Then Azim informed me that the next day he will go to the SDARA annual meeting. SDARA is the Alumni for the ex-students of SDAR. During last time there was a form that need to be filled when we received our SPM result plus a fee of RM30 that need to be paid for us to be a SDARA member. I didn't do that which I regret because currently I'm clueless on how to be one.
According to Azim, there area 2 type of SDARA membership - lifetime or annual. Since I think an annual membership is too cumbersome, I asked about the lifetime membership fee.
RM300. SAY WHAAAT???!!!
Then I argued with him that if my memory serves me right, the fee should be much more lower. When Azim explained to me that the RM30 fee that we had previously knew is only the annual membership fee, everything clears.
Then the most obvious question popped out.
What is the benefit to be a SDARA member? RM300 is a large considering currently the effect of SDARA is next to nothing to me even though I'm not a member. Azim will check it out tomorrow.
Then I go through the difficult question regarding one of our colleague - Kuchek.
Is it true that Kuchek had passed away last year?
The dreaded answer is yes.
I happened almost exactly 1 year ago. I got the news during the last year's 1st day of Hari Raya. There was a phone call from one of the SDARians in my batch informing me of the news. I'm not sure who it was because I didn't save the number & I didn't recognized his voice. I never changed my cell phone number, so contacting me will pose no problem for them.
According to Azim, Kucheck was suffering from a very, very, very rare medical syndrome called POEMS syndrome. The extract from Wiki about the syndrome:
POEMS syndrome (also known as Crow–Fukase syndrome, Takatsuki disease, or PEP syndrome) is a rare medical syndrome. It is defined as the combination of a plasma-cell proliferative disorder (typically myeloma), polyneuropathy, and effects on many other organ systems. It begins in middle age – the average age at onset is 50 – and affects up to twice as many men as women.[1] If untreated it is progressive and often fatal, with only 60% of sufferers remaining alive five years after onset.[1] However, the symptoms can improve if the blood disorder is successfully treated.
The name 'POEMS syndrome', now the most prevalent, was coined in 1980 by Bardwick et al.[2] The name is an acronym deriving from some of the main features: Polyneuropathy (peripheral nerve damage), Organomegaly (abnormal enlargement of organs), Endocrinopathy (damage to hormone-producing glands) or Edema, M-protein (an abnormal immunoglobulin) and Skin abnormalities (including hyperpigmentation and hypertrichosis).[3] However, these features are neither an exhaustive list nor seen in all individuals with the condition.
Dispenzieri et al.[5] list numerous treatments, the effect of many of which is almost anecdotal. Prednisolone and alkylating agents are the most commonly used. The Mayo Clinic group attempted hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in sixteen patients; one patient died during the treatment, and in several others respiratory problems were unmasked in the course of the procedure. The outcome of the treatment, though, was good.
Given that VEGF plays a central role in the symptoms of POEMS syndrome, some have tried bevacizumab (Avastin), a monoclonal antibody directed against VEGF. While some reports were positive, others have reported capillary leak syndrome suspected to be the result of overly rapid lowering of VEGF levels. It therefore remains doubtful as to whether this will become part of standard treatment for POEMS syndrome.[7]
At the time that Kuchek was diagnosed with the disease, there were only TWO people in the WORLD that having the syndrome INCLUDING him. The other one was an elderly man in the 50s in Europe. He was the only one that following an experiment treatment in UM, while the other man refused the treatment.
During our Form 4 year, I always lepak in Azim's classroom. We chat & play all night during the study-prep hours. Studying was the last thing in our mind that year. They didn't called it the 'honeymoon year' for nothing.
One of the topic that we love to banter among ourselves was the EPL. Not surprisingly, most of them supported MU. There were also some that supported Chelsea & Liverpool. The one that influenced me into being a Gunners was none other than Kuchek. So yes, during that time I'm quite close to him.
Al-fatihah.
Talking to Azim after all these years was worth while. I didn't even realized that we had been talking for two straight hours. When Iqbal been nudging me, pointed out that it was already 11pm, I knew it was time. Until next we meet again. Hopefully not another 10 years.
I'm not a person that like to waste, so I packed my bags in the weekend & off to my brother's home in KL.
Alang-alang menyeluk pekasam, biar sampai ke pangkal lengan.
The first thing that I want to do during the weekend is meet up with my high school acquaintance - Azim. From 1994 up until 1998, I was a student at Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak in Seremban. At that time the school was located at Jalan Sikamat. The school have been relocated to Sungai Gadut since 2002.
Well to tell the truth, I have been MIA from my high school friends since 2003 - after I had graduated from the varsity. Most of the faults lies with me, since I need to establish my career at the moment, and it was a very tough period. Even though I never changed my cell phone number, it didn't helped much when I don't even have a FB account at that time plus I'm living far at the south.
So meeting with Azim during the weekend gave me an opportunity to catch up with the news of my high school batch. We met somewhere in Uptown Damansara at a food court named Steven's Corner. It sells western food, so I ordered a chicken chop. I was halfway with my food when Azim arrived.
He was as jovial as before. It seems he does lost some weight though. He is currently an IT (specialist?) for an oil & gas company in Malaysia. He even got himself a MBA after working for 5 years.
Puffing some cigarette (Azim not me), we started with the good news of the 94'8 batch. Unsurprisingly, most of them have found success in life.
Working in the oil & gas industries does pay you with good reward. Jepun & Shukur are some of them. And there are the doctors. Apek, Sharip & Nazli are in the list. Some of them even found successful life overseas. Daniel & Cha are working in the Middle East, Sochos is at Japan, Endran (or is it Endrian? I'm always confused with the twins) is at the US.
That was the gist of it. I'm sure there are more to that list. Some of them even have a 5-figure monthly salary, which is awesome.
Then I shared with Azim my accident encounter with Gedebuk at my company.
Back in 2011, my company planned to buy an engineering software for my department's usage. We called some of the suppliers to do their product's presentation to us. So, one day a reputable company came to our factory to do their presentation. I was doing my job at the production floor when they already started & came late with sweats over my face after rushing to the meeting room. I quickly took my seat & try to focus to the presentation.
Naturally, the sales executive in front of me passed me his card.
I took a quick look at the card, smiled at him & get back to the presentation.
Suddenly he passed me another card.
This is weird. I thought by myself. Bukan dia dah bagi kad dia ke?
He wrote SDAR on the top left of the card.
This is weirder. How does he knew that I came from that school? That was my initial reaction.
Then I look to the name on the card. Kemarul Zamani - with some Japanese inscription beside his name. That name is familiar. This is Gedebuk's real name.
Then I raised my head & actually look at the executive's face. That face looks familiar but the I don't have any recollection of the overall figure of the person.
Then I realized something. It clicked in my head. SAY WHAAAT?????!!!
He was in my class start from Form 1 (Ungku Omar) & continued until Form 5 (Ibnu Khaldun) when we chose the same 10th subject for SPM. Gedebuk was beyond recognition. He had gained so much weight that I barely recognized him. The only features that I could relate was his eyes & his smile.
 |
| Budak-budak 4K plus Arippo |
The meeting was a big surprise for me since I never expected to encounter any of my high school colleague in Pasir Gudang. Let alone in my working place. It seems that after he graduated from a Japan varsity, he got the job with the reputable company in KL.
 |
| Current: Azim & Gedebuk in the last SDARA futsal match |
We also managed to talked about the few weird ones in our batch.
What is the deal with Syamsul? I knew that previously he worked for a Petronas subsidiary company. His office was at KLCC. But when I checked at his FB postings, it seems that he is switching to another career - as a photographer. He even listed Jakarta, Indonesia as his working location, which deepens the mystery. Unfortunately, Azim also don't have any idea regarding him.
 |
| Apparently Syamsul was also there at the Bukit Jalil for AFF Suzuki Cup 1st leg in 2010 |
Then Arip came into the picture. According to Azim, he went to Egypt in the last few years to continue learning about religion. That was a bold decision to make, considering that when our age already passed 30 the last thing that anyone should be considering is having a doubt in his career path. Coincidentally, Egypt is currently facing a political turmoil. Their leader, Mursi is being toppled by the army general. I hope he is OK out there.
 |
| Arippo in black & white |
Then Azim informed me that the next day he will go to the SDARA annual meeting. SDARA is the Alumni for the ex-students of SDAR. During last time there was a form that need to be filled when we received our SPM result plus a fee of RM30 that need to be paid for us to be a SDARA member. I didn't do that which I regret because currently I'm clueless on how to be one.
According to Azim, there area 2 type of SDARA membership - lifetime or annual. Since I think an annual membership is too cumbersome, I asked about the lifetime membership fee.
RM300. SAY WHAAAT???!!!
Then I argued with him that if my memory serves me right, the fee should be much more lower. When Azim explained to me that the RM30 fee that we had previously knew is only the annual membership fee, everything clears.
Then the most obvious question popped out.
What is the benefit to be a SDARA member? RM300 is a large considering currently the effect of SDARA is next to nothing to me even though I'm not a member. Azim will check it out tomorrow.
Then I go through the difficult question regarding one of our colleague - Kuchek.
Is it true that Kuchek had passed away last year?
The dreaded answer is yes.
I happened almost exactly 1 year ago. I got the news during the last year's 1st day of Hari Raya. There was a phone call from one of the SDARians in my batch informing me of the news. I'm not sure who it was because I didn't save the number & I didn't recognized his voice. I never changed my cell phone number, so contacting me will pose no problem for them.
According to Azim, Kucheck was suffering from a very, very, very rare medical syndrome called POEMS syndrome. The extract from Wiki about the syndrome:
POEMS syndrome (also known as Crow–Fukase syndrome, Takatsuki disease, or PEP syndrome) is a rare medical syndrome. It is defined as the combination of a plasma-cell proliferative disorder (typically myeloma), polyneuropathy, and effects on many other organ systems. It begins in middle age – the average age at onset is 50 – and affects up to twice as many men as women.[1] If untreated it is progressive and often fatal, with only 60% of sufferers remaining alive five years after onset.[1] However, the symptoms can improve if the blood disorder is successfully treated.
The name 'POEMS syndrome', now the most prevalent, was coined in 1980 by Bardwick et al.[2] The name is an acronym deriving from some of the main features: Polyneuropathy (peripheral nerve damage), Organomegaly (abnormal enlargement of organs), Endocrinopathy (damage to hormone-producing glands) or Edema, M-protein (an abnormal immunoglobulin) and Skin abnormalities (including hyperpigmentation and hypertrichosis).[3] However, these features are neither an exhaustive list nor seen in all individuals with the condition.
Treatment
There are no randomised controlled trials of treatment in POEMS syndrome, owing to its rarity.[6] Conventional treatments for demyelinating neuropathy, such as steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma exchange, are ineffective; treatment must be aimed at the haematological disorder.Dispenzieri et al.[5] list numerous treatments, the effect of many of which is almost anecdotal. Prednisolone and alkylating agents are the most commonly used. The Mayo Clinic group attempted hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in sixteen patients; one patient died during the treatment, and in several others respiratory problems were unmasked in the course of the procedure. The outcome of the treatment, though, was good.
Given that VEGF plays a central role in the symptoms of POEMS syndrome, some have tried bevacizumab (Avastin), a monoclonal antibody directed against VEGF. While some reports were positive, others have reported capillary leak syndrome suspected to be the result of overly rapid lowering of VEGF levels. It therefore remains doubtful as to whether this will become part of standard treatment for POEMS syndrome.[7]
At the time that Kuchek was diagnosed with the disease, there were only TWO people in the WORLD that having the syndrome INCLUDING him. The other one was an elderly man in the 50s in Europe. He was the only one that following an experiment treatment in UM, while the other man refused the treatment.
During our Form 4 year, I always lepak in Azim's classroom. We chat & play all night during the study-prep hours. Studying was the last thing in our mind that year. They didn't called it the 'honeymoon year' for nothing.
One of the topic that we love to banter among ourselves was the EPL. Not surprisingly, most of them supported MU. There were also some that supported Chelsea & Liverpool. The one that influenced me into being a Gunners was none other than Kuchek. So yes, during that time I'm quite close to him.
 |
| Gunner 4 eva |
Al-fatihah.
Talking to Azim after all these years was worth while. I didn't even realized that we had been talking for two straight hours. When Iqbal been nudging me, pointed out that it was already 11pm, I knew it was time. Until next we meet again. Hopefully not another 10 years.
Ilmu Untuk Berjasa
Tujuan SDAR utama
Sama menuntut ilmu
Hingga kita jaya maju
Tujuan SDAR utama
Sama menuntut ilmu
Hingga kita jaya maju
Berilmu Untuk Berjasa
Kepada nusa dan bangsa
Tata tertib patuhi nyata
Tutur bahasa sama serta
Kepada nusa dan bangsa
Tata tertib patuhi nyata
Tutur bahasa sama serta
Panduan hidup untuk diri
SDAR kekal abadi
SDAR kekal abadi
Berilmu Untuk Berjasa
Kita tetapkan berjaya
Kita tetapkan berjaya
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