NST full page article 24 September, 2009

LIFE: To Kiulu, with love
2009/09/24

Article with photo at http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20090924094749/Article/i...

MEERA MURUGESAN

Touched by the plight of underprivileged children in Sabah, a group of MRSM Kulim alumni is raising funds for a hostel project so that the children have a conducive environment to study. MEERA MURUGESAN writes.

THEY never met him but his short, tragic life touched them profoundly.

When a group of successful professionals, all close friends and former students of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) in Kulim, Kedah, heard about the suicide of 11-year-old Donny John Dion from Sabah two years ago, they were shocked, but also deeply moved and determined to do something for underprivileged children like Donny.

Donny committed suicide because he couldn’t cope with the hardship of poverty and didn’t want to be an added burden to his mother who was already struggling to support the family.

To honour the boy’s memory, the friends, whose group was fondly known as “Killerbatch” during their MRSM days in Kulim, are raising funds to build a school hostel for children in Kiulu, Sabah.

Their project, aptly named “Kulim to Kiulu”, aims to raise RM250,000 for the construction of the hostel which is expected to be completed by January next year.

(From left) Meor, Dr Ho, Hamidi, Balakumar and Hasnan are best friends who are working together for a good cause.
Their efforts saw a boost recently when a Killerbatch member, Nur Hamidi Baharuddin landed a RM50,000 cash prize for the project after emerging as “Chief Talker” in Tune Talk Sdn Bhd’s pre-launch programme, Freedom2Talk, which ran for 10 weeks, between May and July.

Run on an election basis on the website www.freedom2talk.org, it sought to choose a Chief Talker who would be elected by registered members of the portal.

Just by naming a good cause and campaigning for it, the candidate with the highest votes would walk away with RM50,000 to support his project.

Hamidi, a businessman and father of three, said the decision to participate in the programme and win some money for the project is but one of various fund-raising efforts by Killerbatch to build the hostel for underprivileged children in Sabah. He said for most people, reunions with former schoolmates are a time to sit back, relax and catch up on old times.

But for members of Killerbatch, reunions have become a lot more meaningful as they group not just for fun and feasting but to think of ways to give back to society.

Among them, this group of former MRSM students can count successful doctors, architects, businessmen, lawyers and accountants.

Their schedules are busy to say the least but their friendship, formed during their formative years in boarding school, has stood the test of time over the last 30 years.

The idea to build the hostel came about after one of their friends, Raja Ali Raja Othman, went to Sabah on a business trip two years ago and read about Donny’s suicide in a local newspaper.

Raja Ali, who was shocked at the boy’s plight, narrated the incident during a Killerbatch reunion and a decision was made that the group would do something to benefit underprivileged children. By collaborating with the Sabah Credit Corporation, the friends came up with the idea to raise funds and build a hostel for children of SMK Tun Fuad Stephens in Kiulu as many students had to walk two to three hours everyday from their homes to reach school.

“They wake up at 4am and start walking and by the time they reach school, they are exhausted. It’s hard for any of us to imagine doing this every single day and yet, these children persevere,” said Hamidi.

The hostel, once completed, will allow children to board on weekdays at the school and have a conducive environment for study.

Thus far, RM69,000 (excluding the RM50,000 from Tune Talk) has been raised for the hostel which is almost 60 per cent completed. Killerbatch is also organising various other activities, such as a charity art fundraiser and a theatre production to raise more funds.

Hamidi said as young boys, coming from various small towns and kampungs in the country, he and his friends had the opportunity to be educated at MRSM Kulim and the experience changed their lives.

The discipline of hostel life, the camaraderie that comes from living, learning and eating together helped shape them into who they are today and they want the same experience for the children of Kiulu.

Hamidi added that Donny’s tragic story touched every member of their group and motivated them to start the project despite having no knowledge or experience in building a hostel.

“If that boy at his age, could sacrifice his life for his family, we, as adults, with the resources we have, should be ashamed if we don’t do anything.” Lawyer B. Balakumar, another member of Killerbatch, said people in Peninsular Malaysia take so much for granted, especially with the excellent infrastructure we have, but it can be a completely different picture for those in East Malaysia.

Originally, the group had thought that raising RM250,000 on their own would be a huge hurdle but have since realised that teamwork can do wonders and many people will donate generously once they believe in the nature of the project.

Balakumar said access to quality education during their formative years changed their lives and they feel a connection to the children from Kiulu who yearn for the same opportunities.

“For many, an alumni means an opportunity to network for career or business but our group prefers to network for charitable causes.” Meor Wazir Zul’aidin, an architect and another member of the project, concurs.

He said for Killerbatch, reunions are never about comparing each other’s social status or financial standing. They value their friendship and enjoy spending time together. The fact that they can also work together to benefit others is an added bonus.

Meor added that this project is their way of giving back to society and working together to achieve this common goal has strengthened their friendship and brought them closer together.

“We all have our own lives but this project is something we believe in and with it, we have found common ground again.” Hasnan Jamaluddin and Dr Ho Woon Ping, two more Killerbatch members, couldn’t agree more.

Dr Ho said the fact that they have been friends for 30 years and understand each other’s quirks means they share an open, comfortable relationship and working together becomes much easier.

“Most people lose touch even with friends from university but we’re still together from secondary school. In fact, when we’re together we’re still boys at heart,” he said with a smile.

Hasnan, a QA/QC manager, said the chance to work together has not only brought them closer but given them an insight into how they can make a difference in the lives of others.

And having been to Kiulu himself, Hasnan said it’s impossible not to be touched by the plight of the children there.

“We saw how they live. Even after we came back, our heart was there. We knew we had to help. There was no way we could just walk away from them.” The charity art fundraiser by Killerbatch will take place at Galeri Chandan in Bukit Damasara this Sept 30.

For details on the hostel project go to www.killerbatch.org