To date, I have attended officially, 3 times reunion. Once at Hildy's place, then at our old hangouts at Dragon coffee shop in Donggongon and a third, at Shangri La's hotel to round up Michaelians from the Science and Arts stream.
I am still in very close contact with friends I befriended since high school. One is already a teacher at Kinarut, Papar and the other is an environmental engineer working in a Danish company for water and environment.
I was first interested in Science when I was 15 years old. I figured if it wasn’t because of cikgu Sybil I wouldn’t have gotten where I am now. There was a Science Camp which she gotten me to get involved. I was surprised considering that I got a C for that subject, but I didn’t want to skip that chance of going to Ranau and have the honour to represent my school. So I made a promise to myself that I shouldn’t let my friends and teacher down. So I studied hard and made sure also that I really understood and was interested as well. Bit of the chapter that got me psyche was especially the astronomy part, I found out what a cool guy must Isaac Newton have been. Anyways at the end, I couldn’t get to go to Ranau as how much hoped for. They found a replacement for me because instead I had to attend to a Science competition between Papar and Penampang, and I got a trophy for that one since I got all answers correct except for one question. And thus, St. Michael became a home-coming champion. The next year, because Maths and Science are perquisite to get accepted into the Science stream, I get to learn new things in detail i.e. Chemistry, Physics and Biology as well as Ad-maths. These subjects will become important as you enter university regardless of what class you took during high school. The reason is because these will be the knowledge you’ll see around you i.e. back labels of shampoo, as well to understand prescribed medicines, and getting acquainted to the world around you. Another year of Science took us to Kudat to experience the sun eclipse. It was beautiful! I brought my brother along and it was a trip that was arranged by us all. One of my class-mate took with him a binocular and he was smart enough to have figured the use of it instead of looking only at birds. By holding a piece of white paper underneath the eye piece of the bino with the condenser adjusted facing the sun, the image of the sun eclipse gets superimpose to the white paper. With this method, we’d able to watch the sun slowly shadowed by the moon. Soon after everywhere around us turns darker, birds began to chirp and some flew across the sky as if heading home. They were certainly noisy, looking confused about what time it was that moment. I was active also in sports but that was only at the end of my high school days. I played hockey for my school and district although there wasn’t much of a competition that time, also basketball for my school which I was really interested and good at and still now am. I tried doing walkathon and was selected to represent my school first and then to district level. We had to train everyday in Penampang stadium then the competition at Likas. I was very scared there were many people; I was disappointed in the end because that didn’t give me a good placing. Apart from that, I also got my trainings in Red Cross: doing volunteer works, stand-bys for sport days, active in marching competitions, as well trained as a march commandant.
After finishing form 5 which was in 1996, I was admitted for pre-university at AUSMAT (Australian Matriculation) in Pusat Persediaan ITM Shah Alam, taking Bioscience as my major in 1997. I received monetary support for my education from Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA). So subjects accounted for in this course were Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Computer C++, and English writing, reading as well as listening skills. It was interesting getting to study in the Peninsular although just for one year. I get to scout around malls nearby as well as in K.L. Visited a friend who is doing her matriculation at Kelana Jaya and I still remember how long we stayed up late at Sunway Pyramid trying out a popular video arcade there during the weekend. Movie-watching was very much the activity I had, as well as shopping for house hold products and for more food and, maybe a little bit of tit-bits for the family at home in Sabah. A favourite spot was at Carrefour, a French invested market. Students go to St. Francis Xavier to pray and Subang Parade to watch a movie by commuter. But we didn’t go out much often as we also need to save money to sustain us until the end of the month. Facilities at I.T.M. were fully equipped and we spent our lab times over here as well for literature work. I was amazed by the university computer system as our matric card provided us a registered number that allows us to chat with other students. I did two assignments as an introductory course to research. One is about the Kadazan funeral rites which requires me to do interviews back at Sabah and visit the Archive. The other was about the adverse effects of pollution. It was here that I had access to all the books I’d like to read especially on the environment. I played a little bit of basketball with newly acquainted friends but later gave up when I sprained my ankle. During the times of the depreciation ringgit in 1998, there was a call from the government to educate students supposed to go abroad within the country itself. However I never forgotten the skills I acquired from this institute as it had introduced me to research more of an integrative kind. Later as I was still interested in Bioscience, I applied for a place at the University Malaysia Sabah with the aim of taking Conservation Biology as my Degree. I was still supported by JPA but my scholarship was converted to loan upon my choice of subject. However the money spent on my education at AUSMAT was considered as an award. In order to find a placement in the University Malaysia Sabah, I had to undergo still a pre-university course assigned by the same institute. Because I had already spent a year in the Peninsular, there would be no use to spend another year. So a bit of exploration and a sense of adventure allowed me to survive in this perceived secluded environment. The school was literally surrounded by oil palms and the air had a particular smell. This was my first time staying in a boarding school and we had to still wear school uniforms as we did back in high school which was rather a bit embarrassing for some of us. On Thursday, we had to wear something in purple and we had prep class which means revising after the actual morning lessons. We spent the evening either cleaning this or that or doing recreation. I remembered how I used to jog every evening either that or play basketball by myself at the basketball court next to the dining hall. For those who had money, they can either spend money on buying kueh usually complemented with makcik’s special sambal which she had once forbidden me to sneak away although just a few for some unknown reasons or ice-cream at night before bed. We always have milo or donuts before bed, anyways for those that do not. Cross country event gave us the opportunity to rendezvous with the surrounding locale. We get to see small houses and even get acquainted with lembus as people were watching us pass by. The little drizzle made the event more memorable. What was difficult having to live in the hostel was the water problem. We had to each carry a bucket full of water from the wash room to our very own dormitory else, other people would steal it. We had to do this every evening. Washing would require us to queue up and take turns. Even the name of our school was spelt wrong, waiting near the school’s window as we had our first sight of the vehicle to transport this precious water resource, written on the blue truck as what we could make of it was something that spelled magrikurasi. The first semester of the same year we had our exams at UMS campus Tuaran, and we were lucky to have this opportunity as this quarter is no longer valid for use. This was also the same time when I dislocated my finger again when playing basketball but I came out lucky as I happened to turn out the best in my class. Looking at the record score of results, I was known among secondary students as kakak yang berbadan sasa as they remembered me as someone who used to jog circling the school compound everyday. The second semester also of the same year, I did not get through as ok as I expected. But the average for both semesters combined paved me a way to the real university. I manage to get by after just one year as required by JPA in order to oblige to full scholarship for 3 years of study. Next thing I knew I was already in Labuan for orientation week. Justifiable by my results I was suggested to take Information Technology not exactly as what I imagined. It was a beautiful place, right at the end of the island and secluded from noise of the city. Ideal for total concentration. The university for business and mass media, was fully equipped with facilities for higher learning including a room for music, and a cinematic auditorium for projections. Computers were complemented with microphones for communications through the web. For recreational purpose, there is also a big lawn to play games. The university was also located beside a beach. It was said that the building was meant for economic trade in Labuan but corporates probably thought that a university would bring more benefits or even profitable. As soon as my orientation ended, I decided to return to Sabah and re-apply for Conservation Biology, which was what I wanted and what I wanted to be. After writing letters and meeting both deans of the School for Science and Technology, and School for Information Technology I was finally accepted to undertake this course. There were not many universities offering this course that time. So far as I know, only UKM and probably University Putra had something similar. Sabah would also be a great place to start since we have the resource here. In fulfilment for a degree in Conservation Biology I had to take other courses as well including economics, foreign language (provided that SPM result for English is a distinction, you may also take Spanish, French, and Japanese for 2 years of study) and other electives i.e. political science, creative thinking, history and reformation in Malaysia and Sabah Dance (or in malay I think better described, Tarian Sabah). This assignment was pretty much meaningful to me as not only was I able to meet the Lundayeh for the very first time in my life, but also I was able to record music so ancient and also very rare played by one man who is a teacher as well which requires skills that only him possess (really, I’m not kidding!). As so told, this music was revived again when an old man fortunate that he is still living today was able to make the Sakapi, a wooden musical instrument played by the Lundayeh now at the Sabah’s Cultural Festival. You might be amazed also by what this village is named perhaps because of such rarity; as such kampong baru jumpa.
At the end of the day, I was grateful I took all of these subjects because I realised that I had turned out to be a thinking person rather than spoon fed. Everything made sense now and I could construct my own opinions as well in literacy. I enjoyed Mandarin because my teacher was dedicated and he really tried making us really interested. We get to go to a party at Rasa Ria at the same time graded for our contribution to the success of that party. It was grand and there were performances made, at the same time very important guests were present. At the end of my education, I think that I did pretty ok, I got second class upper and I had to experience myself the turmoil of everyday life i.e. finding out the next day that there had been a recent re-scheduling for SPSS and therefore had to repeat the same course the next semester, the unnecessary regulations of having to meet every one lecturer personally, of having to overcome fears of presenting to hundreds of students and also at the same time get them to participate as well to agree with your strong convicted opinion, lack of sleep (of course this is usually quite related to being last minute revisions), once jump from a bus when I overslept the second time (at least the first, I ended up in Telipok the second was a jump, I literally landed on both my knees and hands!) etc. There had been several field trips which I enjoyed very much to Kota Belud, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, and Beaufort. Having acquainted some friends had also given me the opportunity to visit their home towns in Sandakan, Labuan and Kota Marudu.
Because I had done a one month volunteer work in the Kinabatangan for the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project (KOCP), I decided that I liked the place and had a go with research on orang-utans. I was exploring on several aspects to affect orang-utan sociality, and at the same time get introduced to primatology that wasn’t included in my major. As usual I had to make several trips from Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu, and attend some work-shops for comprehension on the subject as well of the economy of the area.
Because of the subject’s relevance I was able to pursue to my Masters and because there was a fund made available by the Darwin Initiatives from the U.K. This fund is especially for the survivorship of the species as orang-utans are rare and they attract tourists for money as well as investors. I started my research in November 2002 soonest after graduating. It has been the 3rd year now since I haven’t finished quite yet. This course requires me to conduct field-work, lab works, literature work, field trips, training, publications and team work. My research gives particular interest as it combines molecular work as well as inference from behavioural observations. In the end I hope to do some publications made compulsory by the university and I’m expecting to discuss on the sociality of the orang-utans which is again interesting because orang-utans are naturally solitary and resemble close to humans in some ways. Did you know that orang-utans share 96.4% of its genes with humans? The rest is what makes an orang-utan an orang-utan a separate unique entity. Apart from that I propose also that orang-utans could perhaps act as indicators to habitat quality. Thus I need to know what actually really defines habitat quality. I get to drive boats, get to know the community better and how they are able to help build themselves, recognise individual orang-utans and catalogue what they eat, learn more about genetic as well computer applications. I especially like trekking in the forest especially when it rains although maybe a little bit. You can hear the storm coming when you hear something that sounds like a train from far then reaches your way in a sudden rush. The area records one of the most birds found in the State, 10 species of primates, and the longest river in Sabah just second after sg. Rajang. Standing below a large bridge in Bukit Garam, I just couldn’t believe that this is the same bridge I once cross 4 years ago when travelling by coach to Lahad Datu which once also became a routine in 1998/1999 when I was doing my pre-university. For my MSc. I had to cross a suspension bridge exactly at the occurrence of a big flood in order to get myself back to Kinabatangan for field-work!
Authored by Ms. Sheena James
December 2005/Christmas and New Year Season
I am still in very close contact with friends I befriended since high school. One is already a teacher at Kinarut, Papar and the other is an environmental engineer working in a Danish company for water and environment.
I was first interested in Science when I was 15 years old. I figured if it wasn’t because of cikgu Sybil I wouldn’t have gotten where I am now. There was a Science Camp which she gotten me to get involved. I was surprised considering that I got a C for that subject, but I didn’t want to skip that chance of going to Ranau and have the honour to represent my school. So I made a promise to myself that I shouldn’t let my friends and teacher down. So I studied hard and made sure also that I really understood and was interested as well. Bit of the chapter that got me psyche was especially the astronomy part, I found out what a cool guy must Isaac Newton have been. Anyways at the end, I couldn’t get to go to Ranau as how much hoped for. They found a replacement for me because instead I had to attend to a Science competition between Papar and Penampang, and I got a trophy for that one since I got all answers correct except for one question. And thus, St. Michael became a home-coming champion. The next year, because Maths and Science are perquisite to get accepted into the Science stream, I get to learn new things in detail i.e. Chemistry, Physics and Biology as well as Ad-maths. These subjects will become important as you enter university regardless of what class you took during high school. The reason is because these will be the knowledge you’ll see around you i.e. back labels of shampoo, as well to understand prescribed medicines, and getting acquainted to the world around you. Another year of Science took us to Kudat to experience the sun eclipse. It was beautiful! I brought my brother along and it was a trip that was arranged by us all. One of my class-mate took with him a binocular and he was smart enough to have figured the use of it instead of looking only at birds. By holding a piece of white paper underneath the eye piece of the bino with the condenser adjusted facing the sun, the image of the sun eclipse gets superimpose to the white paper. With this method, we’d able to watch the sun slowly shadowed by the moon. Soon after everywhere around us turns darker, birds began to chirp and some flew across the sky as if heading home. They were certainly noisy, looking confused about what time it was that moment. I was active also in sports but that was only at the end of my high school days. I played hockey for my school and district although there wasn’t much of a competition that time, also basketball for my school which I was really interested and good at and still now am. I tried doing walkathon and was selected to represent my school first and then to district level. We had to train everyday in Penampang stadium then the competition at Likas. I was very scared there were many people; I was disappointed in the end because that didn’t give me a good placing. Apart from that, I also got my trainings in Red Cross: doing volunteer works, stand-bys for sport days, active in marching competitions, as well trained as a march commandant.
After finishing form 5 which was in 1996, I was admitted for pre-university at AUSMAT (Australian Matriculation) in Pusat Persediaan ITM Shah Alam, taking Bioscience as my major in 1997. I received monetary support for my education from Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA). So subjects accounted for in this course were Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Computer C++, and English writing, reading as well as listening skills. It was interesting getting to study in the Peninsular although just for one year. I get to scout around malls nearby as well as in K.L. Visited a friend who is doing her matriculation at Kelana Jaya and I still remember how long we stayed up late at Sunway Pyramid trying out a popular video arcade there during the weekend. Movie-watching was very much the activity I had, as well as shopping for house hold products and for more food and, maybe a little bit of tit-bits for the family at home in Sabah. A favourite spot was at Carrefour, a French invested market. Students go to St. Francis Xavier to pray and Subang Parade to watch a movie by commuter. But we didn’t go out much often as we also need to save money to sustain us until the end of the month. Facilities at I.T.M. were fully equipped and we spent our lab times over here as well for literature work. I was amazed by the university computer system as our matric card provided us a registered number that allows us to chat with other students. I did two assignments as an introductory course to research. One is about the Kadazan funeral rites which requires me to do interviews back at Sabah and visit the Archive. The other was about the adverse effects of pollution. It was here that I had access to all the books I’d like to read especially on the environment. I played a little bit of basketball with newly acquainted friends but later gave up when I sprained my ankle. During the times of the depreciation ringgit in 1998, there was a call from the government to educate students supposed to go abroad within the country itself. However I never forgotten the skills I acquired from this institute as it had introduced me to research more of an integrative kind. Later as I was still interested in Bioscience, I applied for a place at the University Malaysia Sabah with the aim of taking Conservation Biology as my Degree. I was still supported by JPA but my scholarship was converted to loan upon my choice of subject. However the money spent on my education at AUSMAT was considered as an award. In order to find a placement in the University Malaysia Sabah, I had to undergo still a pre-university course assigned by the same institute. Because I had already spent a year in the Peninsular, there would be no use to spend another year. So a bit of exploration and a sense of adventure allowed me to survive in this perceived secluded environment. The school was literally surrounded by oil palms and the air had a particular smell. This was my first time staying in a boarding school and we had to still wear school uniforms as we did back in high school which was rather a bit embarrassing for some of us. On Thursday, we had to wear something in purple and we had prep class which means revising after the actual morning lessons. We spent the evening either cleaning this or that or doing recreation. I remembered how I used to jog every evening either that or play basketball by myself at the basketball court next to the dining hall. For those who had money, they can either spend money on buying kueh usually complemented with makcik’s special sambal which she had once forbidden me to sneak away although just a few for some unknown reasons or ice-cream at night before bed. We always have milo or donuts before bed, anyways for those that do not. Cross country event gave us the opportunity to rendezvous with the surrounding locale. We get to see small houses and even get acquainted with lembus as people were watching us pass by. The little drizzle made the event more memorable. What was difficult having to live in the hostel was the water problem. We had to each carry a bucket full of water from the wash room to our very own dormitory else, other people would steal it. We had to do this every evening. Washing would require us to queue up and take turns. Even the name of our school was spelt wrong, waiting near the school’s window as we had our first sight of the vehicle to transport this precious water resource, written on the blue truck as what we could make of it was something that spelled magrikurasi. The first semester of the same year we had our exams at UMS campus Tuaran, and we were lucky to have this opportunity as this quarter is no longer valid for use. This was also the same time when I dislocated my finger again when playing basketball but I came out lucky as I happened to turn out the best in my class. Looking at the record score of results, I was known among secondary students as kakak yang berbadan sasa as they remembered me as someone who used to jog circling the school compound everyday. The second semester also of the same year, I did not get through as ok as I expected. But the average for both semesters combined paved me a way to the real university. I manage to get by after just one year as required by JPA in order to oblige to full scholarship for 3 years of study. Next thing I knew I was already in Labuan for orientation week. Justifiable by my results I was suggested to take Information Technology not exactly as what I imagined. It was a beautiful place, right at the end of the island and secluded from noise of the city. Ideal for total concentration. The university for business and mass media, was fully equipped with facilities for higher learning including a room for music, and a cinematic auditorium for projections. Computers were complemented with microphones for communications through the web. For recreational purpose, there is also a big lawn to play games. The university was also located beside a beach. It was said that the building was meant for economic trade in Labuan but corporates probably thought that a university would bring more benefits or even profitable. As soon as my orientation ended, I decided to return to Sabah and re-apply for Conservation Biology, which was what I wanted and what I wanted to be. After writing letters and meeting both deans of the School for Science and Technology, and School for Information Technology I was finally accepted to undertake this course. There were not many universities offering this course that time. So far as I know, only UKM and probably University Putra had something similar. Sabah would also be a great place to start since we have the resource here. In fulfilment for a degree in Conservation Biology I had to take other courses as well including economics, foreign language (provided that SPM result for English is a distinction, you may also take Spanish, French, and Japanese for 2 years of study) and other electives i.e. political science, creative thinking, history and reformation in Malaysia and Sabah Dance (or in malay I think better described, Tarian Sabah). This assignment was pretty much meaningful to me as not only was I able to meet the Lundayeh for the very first time in my life, but also I was able to record music so ancient and also very rare played by one man who is a teacher as well which requires skills that only him possess (really, I’m not kidding!). As so told, this music was revived again when an old man fortunate that he is still living today was able to make the Sakapi, a wooden musical instrument played by the Lundayeh now at the Sabah’s Cultural Festival. You might be amazed also by what this village is named perhaps because of such rarity; as such kampong baru jumpa.
At the end of the day, I was grateful I took all of these subjects because I realised that I had turned out to be a thinking person rather than spoon fed. Everything made sense now and I could construct my own opinions as well in literacy. I enjoyed Mandarin because my teacher was dedicated and he really tried making us really interested. We get to go to a party at Rasa Ria at the same time graded for our contribution to the success of that party. It was grand and there were performances made, at the same time very important guests were present. At the end of my education, I think that I did pretty ok, I got second class upper and I had to experience myself the turmoil of everyday life i.e. finding out the next day that there had been a recent re-scheduling for SPSS and therefore had to repeat the same course the next semester, the unnecessary regulations of having to meet every one lecturer personally, of having to overcome fears of presenting to hundreds of students and also at the same time get them to participate as well to agree with your strong convicted opinion, lack of sleep (of course this is usually quite related to being last minute revisions), once jump from a bus when I overslept the second time (at least the first, I ended up in Telipok the second was a jump, I literally landed on both my knees and hands!) etc. There had been several field trips which I enjoyed very much to Kota Belud, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, and Beaufort. Having acquainted some friends had also given me the opportunity to visit their home towns in Sandakan, Labuan and Kota Marudu.
Because I had done a one month volunteer work in the Kinabatangan for the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project (KOCP), I decided that I liked the place and had a go with research on orang-utans. I was exploring on several aspects to affect orang-utan sociality, and at the same time get introduced to primatology that wasn’t included in my major. As usual I had to make several trips from Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu, and attend some work-shops for comprehension on the subject as well of the economy of the area.
Because of the subject’s relevance I was able to pursue to my Masters and because there was a fund made available by the Darwin Initiatives from the U.K. This fund is especially for the survivorship of the species as orang-utans are rare and they attract tourists for money as well as investors. I started my research in November 2002 soonest after graduating. It has been the 3rd year now since I haven’t finished quite yet. This course requires me to conduct field-work, lab works, literature work, field trips, training, publications and team work. My research gives particular interest as it combines molecular work as well as inference from behavioural observations. In the end I hope to do some publications made compulsory by the university and I’m expecting to discuss on the sociality of the orang-utans which is again interesting because orang-utans are naturally solitary and resemble close to humans in some ways. Did you know that orang-utans share 96.4% of its genes with humans? The rest is what makes an orang-utan an orang-utan a separate unique entity. Apart from that I propose also that orang-utans could perhaps act as indicators to habitat quality. Thus I need to know what actually really defines habitat quality. I get to drive boats, get to know the community better and how they are able to help build themselves, recognise individual orang-utans and catalogue what they eat, learn more about genetic as well computer applications. I especially like trekking in the forest especially when it rains although maybe a little bit. You can hear the storm coming when you hear something that sounds like a train from far then reaches your way in a sudden rush. The area records one of the most birds found in the State, 10 species of primates, and the longest river in Sabah just second after sg. Rajang. Standing below a large bridge in Bukit Garam, I just couldn’t believe that this is the same bridge I once cross 4 years ago when travelling by coach to Lahad Datu which once also became a routine in 1998/1999 when I was doing my pre-university. For my MSc. I had to cross a suspension bridge exactly at the occurrence of a big flood in order to get myself back to Kinabatangan for field-work!
Authored by Ms. Sheena James
December 2005/Christmas and New Year Season
