It was like a miniature reunion on a miniscule level (dahla miniature...miniscule lak lagi!). A few weeks earlier, I met Halim Yankee & Radzi Manap kat Masjid Shah Alam. Just a few hours ago, me and Azri (aka Banat) had dinner together. We talked about old times and of mutual friends and of former teachers. The bond of friendship and sort of kinship is still present. I explained to Banat that of course I could still remember 
all the details. The explanation was easy - in all the years that I spent in MRSM, the system was totally different. Maahad really pale in comparison to MRSM as different from night and day in terms of facilities - for instance the teaching syllabus. When you guys in Maahad were enjoying your cuti penggal, I was really stuck with the MRSM's semester system! While you guys start to study the first chapter of a particular book, we started from chapter 11 instead. Even our holidays were different! So macam mana la nak datang tengok or melawat korang semua. If there was news from friends, it would either be from the trusted Amyr AlFatakh, Fahrul Zaman (suka hantar poskad from London) and lastly, a sweet girl that I know (name witheld), (alah ... kami bertukar soalan exams Maahad & MRSM je...since her mother was quite garang). Dora Ahmad, years later when we were studying in UIA's law school would be having a field day teasing me that the girl referred to above as my school sweetheart.
Anyway, of the many friends that I had, the 6 of us (me included) were exceptionally close i.e Ariff, Shahazwan, Ainal, Wan Hilal and Fadhil. It was firstly all because of the common interest that we share i.e computers and a lousy computer game by today's standard, by the name of Phantasie 1, Gemstone Warrior & Aztec . Other than that, we used to study, eat & had congegational prayers together. I guess that that was just a part of the usual boarding school bonding process, especially if one were to study in a religious institution such as Maahad Hamidiah. (mana boleh lupa.. belajar bahasa arab yg mengajornya memang org arab/iraq... sepatah haram pun aku tak tahu... pakat angguk "fahimna" aje yg lebih!) Anyway, aku masih ingat lagi tasrif feel madhi, mudariq & amr tu... and apa Ustazah Kalthom tu ajar camamana nak bezakan isim muzakkar & muannas tau and all those nonsense on alamatul i'rab (whatever that means)! korang yg stay on sampai habis tu macam mana?
all the details. The explanation was easy - in all the years that I spent in MRSM, the system was totally different. Maahad really pale in comparison to MRSM as different from night and day in terms of facilities - for instance the teaching syllabus. When you guys in Maahad were enjoying your cuti penggal, I was really stuck with the MRSM's semester system! While you guys start to study the first chapter of a particular book, we started from chapter 11 instead. Even our holidays were different! So macam mana la nak datang tengok or melawat korang semua. If there was news from friends, it would either be from the trusted Amyr AlFatakh, Fahrul Zaman (suka hantar poskad from London) and lastly, a sweet girl that I know (name witheld), (alah ... kami bertukar soalan exams Maahad & MRSM je...since her mother was quite garang). Dora Ahmad, years later when we were studying in UIA's law school would be having a field day teasing me that the girl referred to above as my school sweetheart.Anyway, of the many friends that I had, the 6 of us (me included) were exceptionally close i.e Ariff, Shahazwan, Ainal, Wan Hilal and Fadhil. It was firstly all because of the common interest that we share i.e computers and a lousy computer game by today's standard, by the name of Phantasie 1, Gemstone Warrior & Aztec . Other than that, we used to study, eat & had congegational prayers together. I guess that that was just a part of the usual boarding school bonding process, especially if one were to study in a religious institution such as Maahad Hamidiah. (mana boleh lupa.. belajar bahasa arab yg mengajornya memang org arab/iraq... sepatah haram pun aku tak tahu... pakat angguk "fahimna" aje yg lebih!) Anyway, aku masih ingat lagi tasrif feel madhi, mudariq & amr tu... and apa Ustazah Kalthom tu ajar camamana nak bezakan isim muzakkar & muannas tau and all those nonsense on alamatul i'rab (whatever that means)! korang yg stay on sampai habis tu macam mana?
In contrast, when I was in MRSM, I could not get rid of the label being put on me as "budak maahad". I was shoved around to lead congretional prayers, asked to give usrah & tazkirah, kalau bab doa-doa ni tolak kat kita (thank God, ada a few friends that can do it). Kalau kat Maahad dulu, setakat jadi imam or baca doa, hanya teman rapat sahaja yg akan ikut. Else, ikut org lain je. But here, they gave me the task of Unit Penerangan Biro Agama for Badan Wakil Pelajar (bukan pengawas or "Onchong" kat Maahad tau, supposed to be some sort of body representing kepentinghan students)... and to learn new things, be a leader that leads people, expect the unexpected etc. And this was the time I really learned to be independant. And kalau ada pun sumber inspirasi from Maahad yg luar biasa, I would gradly attribute it to none other than our beloved Ustaz Ghazali Hamzah.
So to friends from Maahad yg membaca blog saya ini, tak kira lelaki or perempuan, I would really like to hear from you guys. I may not remember all, but kawan tetap kawan. So I would leave it to Banat or others to set up a date. And yes I know, I missed the recent reunion. Takpe. There will be next time. Ilal li-qak fi istrerihah (sounds really funny kalau tulis arab in rumi). Auf weidersehen.
-zaws-
