Kepupusan ASAS81

ASAS81 includes all former students from Sekolah Alam Shah, Kuala Lumpur who took SPM ( O level equivalent) in 1981 and thus qualifying them as ASAS81 members. And why did I use the word "Kepupusan" which is literally translated as extinction? Please read on...

The boys of Alam Shah School are considered privilege kids who excel in their primary school education/examinations and come from all over the country to pursue their tertiary education here in one of the premier boarding schools in the country. The school used to occupy a beautiful site in Bandar Tun Abdul Razak@Cheras  which is next to few other educational institutions before some high level decision to move the school to another location in Putra Jaya with a pristine new facilities and brand new identity called Sekolah Menengah Sultan Alam Shah.

With the transfer of SASKL to Putra Jaya and the change of name, many of the SASKL Alumni are in the opinion that the spirit of the old school has faded away as it can be seen in the low turn out of certain batches  during ASAS annual dinner. What's left from the old SASKL are only the school badge and certain memorabilias inside the new school galleria.

For the SASKL puritans, the memories of the old SASKL are still fresh in their mind. The gymnasium cum masjid for Jumaat prayer, the Tembusu Camp, the murals on the wall, the isolated Block C, the dining halls, the library, the MPIK track and swimming pool ( not ours but part of our so called heritage) and few others. I could vividly remember the smell, the sound and the atmosphere of the old school at any time of the day.

To understand the Alumni's dilemma, let's look at the initiative to modernize the native people ( orang asli) and to assimilate them into the mainstream population. The native people would be relocated and given brand new houses in a housing scheme with all the modern amenities as a trade off for their ancestral land which could be developed for various reasons. It sounds like a win win situation for everybody, the natives get their dough and the developers get their pie. Buy why complaining?


The new generations of the native people would surely benefit from this re location scheme but these benefits are at the expense of their own cultural heritage. The new generations would slowly abandon their cultural root and the old ones would find it difficult to practice and continue their old life style and cultures. Even the "bomohs" among them find it hard to get the materials to practice the craft when the resources are no longer around them. The young ones would be roaming around with kapcais and jeans but the old ones would be left hanging in the blues ...sounds familiar?

So, when the steadfast SASKL decided to move on with her new life and new identity, the ASAS81 members became more  disillusion and to add salt to the wounds, their old home has been occupied by the brothers from 


different  mother  hopefully the same father. The ASAS81 members were nothing short of achievement during the 1977-81 tenure. Their achievement in the SPM examination 1981 was only second in the nation losing to SSP with far less candidates than SAS.  ASAS81 members were not only synonym with the academic achievements but also excels in sports and other activities during the period of 1977-81. There were achievements in soccer, volleyball, tennis, softball and track & fields in the district and state level. The same year in 1981, we won the PM's trophy for inter boarding school English debate defeating MCKK in the final.


With all the achievements and accolades, ASAS81 started heading their own separate ways. Majority of them ( more than 75% ) went to pursue their studies overseas, leaving only a handful to stay back in Malaysia either to do matriculation courses, continued with lower six or went straight to further their studies in local institutions. They were our only hope to continue the ASAS81 flag in Malaysia. As perfect the plan might be, the ASAS81 members kept on failing to show up and regroup after their tertiary studies. Even a good number of of them in one building ( the tallest twin towers in the world) but none showed up in our last ASAS annual dinner. Perhaps they have changed allegiance to their spouses former schools. If you look at the below picture of 5 sc 2, there is only one  person who did not pursue his overseas education right after the SPM 1981 and  i think you can tell who..

Hence,  I must say with regret that the spirit of ASAS81 can only be seen with only a handful of hardcore loyalists  (less than 15% of the population)  who keep the camaradarie among us alive, the ASAS81 by showing up in the ASAS annual dinner or impromptu gatherings ie: golf or eating outs. Kudos to you guys and al fatihah to two of the ASAS81 loyalists who passed away in recent years, saudara Syed Azis Hashim and Saudara Saifuddin Jabbar. Amin!