Bukit Mertajam

BUKIT MERTAJAM: It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he visited his alma mater, the Bukit Mertajam High School, yesterday. Visiting his Form 5A classroom on the first floor of Block A, the Prime Minister turned to look at the spot where his desk was. “This is where I used to sit when I was in Form 5A,” he revealed before opening the school’s 82-year-old Block C and 80-year old hall which were recently restored at the cost of RM4.16mil.

Back to school: Ong (right) giving English Literature lesson to Abdullah (in blue shirt next to the door) and old classmates at the Bukit Mertajam High School yesterday.

To relive the old times, nine classmates of Abdullah’s class of 1955 attended a special English Literature session with their former teacher Ong Poh Kee, now 85. Ong gave a five-minute lesson on R.D. Blackmore’s popular novel Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor, briefly touching on its synopsis, main characters, venue and historical background. In his speech, Abdullah said Ong picked the particular lesson as he recalled that he did not manage to completely teaching it while he was his student. He said the novel was about courage, determination and perseverance. “And it is also my advice to students of this school if they want to do well in life,” he said. He said he hoped the school would regain its reputation as one of the better schools in Penang excelling in sports and academic performance. Abdullah recalled having to travel 21km by bus from his home in Kepala Batas to school daily. After school, he would rush home to attend religious classes.

“This is where I first made friends with non-Malay students. It is here that I first learnt English. At home, nobody could guide me in my English lessons and I relied on my teachers here,” he said. In 2007, Abdullah announced a RM20mil development fund for the school under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for the construction of a hostel, teachers’ quarters, sports pavilion and laboratory. He also approved a further grant of RM3.5mil for repairwork on the 82-year-old school.