An Update on Asrama Donni

Remember Donni John Duin? Donni was 11 when he took his own life in March 2007 so that he could ease the suffering of his mother and replace his mother’s weak heart with his. It was during our 30th Killerbatch reunion at Taman Equestrian Putrajaya on the 7th February 2009 that this idea of Kulim to Kiulu (K2K) for Asrama Donni was tabled out. At that time, I was somehow skeptical.. Eh..boleh ke ni... so many things to do la.. how to get RM250K etc.... but who’d ever thought that it would become a reality!

K2K project initiated by us – the ex-students of MRSM Kulim (1979-1983) aka Killerbatch is actually a fun raising project to build a dormitory for the underprivileged high school students of SMK Tun Fuad Stephens in Kiulu, Tamparuli, Sabah who have to walk miles across the rivers and jungles for hours before they can reach their school. With the dormitory, these students will no longer have to endure those exhausting long walks anymore.

The journey that Killerbatch took to realize not only their dream, but the dream of hundreds of students back in Kiulu Sabah was full of adventures and lively of colors. Along the way, new friendships were made and new paths were taken. Everything was indeed remarkable... and at the end of the road, countless huggings, hand-shakings, phone calls, emails, teh-tarik dos, brain-storming sessions, smiles, laughters, sweat and tears could fill the ocean spread between Kulim to Kiulu.

Such precious experience. Priceless.

How did we get the fund? Apart from the generous donors (companies, families, friends and even strangers), Killerbatch participated in 3 major events through out the 12 months - Tune Talk, I Miss Him So Much and Ghazal Party Queen.

Kulim to Kiulu charity series started off with us participating in the Tune Talk competition which was on from June to August 2009, with K2K as its cause. It wasn’t easy doubling up the votes, but with the help of our family and friends, especially those from Sabah Credit Corporation, we managed to win the first prize of RM50K! Not bad for a beginner :)

The second was I Miss Him So Much art charity where we teamed up with our good friend Galeri Chandan, held at Galeri Chandan from 30th September to 12th October 2009. Around 40 generous local artists participated in the exhibition, and more than RM200K worth of artworks were sold. It was a huge success!

Datuk Mukhriz - officiated IMHSM and attended GPQ, such a great person!

The final part of the charity drive series was Ghazal Party Queen (which I'll elaborate more here) held at Taman Budaya from 5th to 8th February 2010. GPQ was a restaging of an award winning play with 8 Killerbatch and ANGKA (Angkatan Karyawan Aktif Kuala Lumpur) as its cast. It was based on a true story of one Pak Teh Nan, a famous former Ghazal Party Queen in Sungai Bakat. During the day, he worked as a paddy farmer and at night, a graceful belly dancer in Ghazal Party.

Pak Teh was in love with Kamariah and nobody knew of their love affair. He was broken apart when Kamariah was married off to his own bestfriend, Pak Din. Indeed it was a sad night for Pak Teh, when he had to perform his Ghazal dance during their wedding kenduri. To further crush him to pieces, Pak Teh was accused of something he didn’t do. That was the last dance he’d ever done. The hurtful dance.

I loved the play.. especially that Munah character – so entertaining!

GPQ - some of the cast which include Aishah, the big-hearted singer. Munah is the one in the short black kebaya

Hmmhh... the project is now at the end of the road. Looking back at the road we've taken, I would say that Alhamdulillah, Kulim to Kiulu is a success! Despite some criticisms made by certain quarters regarding the project, Killerbatch stood tall to endure the sour remarks and other challenges. With wonderful people-with-visions in the team, giving their best in everything they did, and those not in the team but giving everything their support and encouragement, Asrama Donni is now complete! Yeap, the official opening will be on 17th April 2010. Insyaallah TYT Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Ahmadshah Abdullah and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir among others will be attending the ceremony... as well as Killerbatch families and friends.

It is such a great honor for me to be an iota part of the project.

We are very much thankful to so many people, especially K2K partners - Sabah Credit Corporation, Galeri Chandan, CIMB Foundation and Tun Ahmadshah Foundation, friends from Ansara, Galeri Chandan, Tune Talk and ANGKA, our teachers from MRSM Kulim, Killerbatch families and friends, and those who supported the project by helping in so many ways - THANK YOU. Let’s hope that more “Asrama Donnis” will be built to help other kids around Tanah Tumpah Darah kita ini...

Missing my Flight

January’s gone... and now it’s already February. That first month of the year passed me by ever so quickly like a blink of an eye! I’ve been trying to write for quite some time but there were many things that got in the way...errr... a lame excuse huh?

January has been an easy month to begin with, with the kids starting schools, especially my Hanna who is now in a secondary school. I didn’t apply the SBP for her, but I did fill out the MRSM forms and sent them to MARA and ANSARA after her UPSR results was out. Hanna didn’t say anything to me regarding MRSM. We both thought the same thing – just wait and see.

When the result was out online on Feb 1st, I was somehow happy. Happy that she didn’t get accepted! How selfish of me was that? Being an ex-MRSM student myself, I know all the good things and all the benefits that MRSMs have to offer.. but... I just couldn’t shake this relief feeling off me. Well, I could sense that she felt the same way too.

Anyway, something happened to me on Saturday that affirmed “There’s Always a First Time for Everything” saying. I missed my flight home to Alor Setar! Dear Hubby and I were supposed to attend a cousin’s wedding in Kodiang, so the plan was to catch the earliest flight out, and the night flight in. I took my shower at 4:50am that morning and left home before 6am to catch the 7:15am flight. It’d usually take us around 30-35mins to reach LCCT but we were rather ignorant of these issues:
1) Parking at LCCT... uuurghhh.. If you’re not chauffeur-driven there, remember that it takes more than 5mins to find the parking space, get your bags out and lock your car.

2) Park to the nearest entrance to “Pelepasan”, and not “Ketibaan”, ok? When you're in a hurry, remember that every minute counts.

3) The check-in counters with flight destinations displayed are not meant for the above-forty people... like me. You either have to be sharp enough to scan which counter to go (when in a hurry), or use the binoculars while pulling your bag... and oh, remember not to trample on other passengers’ legs/bags while doing so.

So yeah, we couldn’t get on that flight. Although the plane was still there on the tarmac waiting for another 20mins before take-off, we were too late since the doors had been closed – according to the non-smiling PR guy who was supposed to be dealing with ‘public’ like us (I guess these people are trained to be void of emotions, or else they won’t last long in that profession).

And yeah, we didn’t take another flight out. I called up my cousin and apologized profusely for not being able to attend her son’s wedding. I also called my Mak, and was overcome by chagrin when Mak told me that she had cooked a sumptuous breakfast for us and was readying some special meal for us for lunch. Alahaaii.. frustnya.... Next time na Mak?

Whatever it is, I try to look at this episode positively. I believe that Dear Hubby and I were not meant to be on that plane that day. Maybe our seats were destined to be given to other poor souls on the waiting list who had more important things to do back in Alor Setar. Or perhaps I was supposed to attend to other matters that day which include :
1) Hanna’s sports day
2) Hanna’s Anugerah cemerlang UPSR
3) Hasya/Haifa school PIBG
4) Ghazal Party Queen play at Taman Budaya... (another charity event by Killerbatch...remember the Donni story? I’ll blog about this later)

So I'm good. Mesti ada hikmah dari setiap kejadian, right?

Segalanya Kerana Donni

Kosmo - August 12, 2009

Oleh SUBASHINI RAJANDRA
subashini.rajandra@kosmo.com.my

Sekumpulan bekas pelajar Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Kulim, Kedah terus gigih berjuang mengumpul dana sebanyak RM250,000 demi kepentingan ‘anak-anak tersayang’ di Kiulu, Sabah.

Begini bermulanya cerita yang ingin disampaikan. Pada 20 Mac 2007, akhbar Daily Express News di Sabah memaparkan sebuah artikel yang cukup menyayat hati. Sesiapa sahaja yang membacanya dapat membayangkan kedaifan hidup sebuah keluarga yang terpaksa kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang untuk terus bernyawa.

Kisah itu menceritakan bagaimana enam orang adik-beradik dan ibu mereka sekadar 'kenyang' dengan menjamah bubur nasi dan sayur kangkung. Menyingkap kisah hidup mendiang Donni John Duin, 11, dia ialah seorang anak yang pendiam dan tidak bermasalah. Penderitaan yang terpaksa dilalui sejak bapanya disumbat masuk ke penjara akibat dadah begitu menyentuh hati.

Menurut ibunya, Hina Joloni, 39, setiap kali pulang dari sekolah, wajah Donni begitu murung kerana tertekan dengan ejekan dan cemuhan rakan sekelas. Menyarung pakaian yang kusam dan hanya mampu menikmati sajian ringkas, Donni merasai keperitan yang teramat pedih.

Seorang kanak-kanak di Kiulu, Sabah merenung masa depan yang tidak pasti ekoran kesukaran datang ke sekolah.

Kali pertama, dia cuba membunuh diri tetapi gagal. Namun dalam percubaan kedua, Hina menemui anaknya yang sudah tidak bernyawa. "Apabila saya menegur perbuatannya yang cuba membunuh diri pada kali pertama, Donni memberitahu bahawa dia sanggup berbuat demikian bagi meringankan beban keluarga."

"Setidak-tidaknya, kurang seorang anak untuk diberi makan dan bahagian makanannya boleh dibahagi kepada adik-beradik lain," luah Hina mengenangkan kata-kata anak kesayangannya dengan penuh hiba.

Sebaik sahaja membaca kisah itu, entah berapa ramai daripada kita mampu mengimbau kembali kisah pilu tersebut. Mungkin ia sudah lenyap daripada ingatan kita ketika ini tetapi bukan bagi Raja Ali Raja Othman, Hamidi Baharuddin, Kamaruddin Yusop, Noor Bakri Ahmad, Mashitah Puteh, AR. Meor Wazir Zul'Aidin dan rakan-rakan mereka yang lain.

Raja Ali berada di bumi Sabah semasa kejadian pilu yang menimpa Donni berlaku. Selepas mengadakan perjumpaan dengan Sabah Credit Corporation (SCC) atas dasar kerja, beliau berbual dengan Pengurus Besar SCC, Datuk Vincent YK Pung. Ketika itu jugalah, isu Donni dibincangkan.

Hina Joloni manakala Donni (gambar kecil).

Di Sabah, hampir 5,000 remaja dilaporkan terpaksa berhenti sekolah sebelum sempat menduduki peperiksaan Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR). Bukan kerana tidak berminat tetapi dibelenggu kemiskinan dari generasi demi generasi. Selain itu, mereka juga menghadapi kesukaran perjalanan berulang-alik dari sekolah yang terletak jauh dari rumah.

SCC menerusi kelab sukannya sentiasa menjalankan aktiviti tanggungjawab sosial korporat seperti mendirikan asrama sekolah dan surau di Sabah. "Pada tahun 2007, saya difahamkan sebanyak lapan buah sekolah masih menunggu mendapatkan bantuan membina asrama," kata Raja Ali ketika ditemui Kosmo! di Kuala Lumpur.

"Sebagai seorang bekas pelajar yang pernah menikmati faedah kemudahan asrama, saya meminta Vincent supaya menyediakan asrama di sekolah yang benar-benar memerlukan di Sabah. Sekolah itu akan menjadi projek 'kami' yang diusahakan secara bersatu padu," ujarnya sambil merujuk 'kami' adalah rakan-rakan sekolahnya yang popular dengan gelaran Killerbatch.

Killerbatch merupakan sekumpulan pelajar Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Kulim, Kedah yang pernah tinggal di asrama maktab tersebut dari tahun 1979 sehingga 1983. Mujur disediakan sebuah tempat tinggal yang berdekatan dengan tempat pembelajaran, mereka tidak perlu risau tentang cuaca panas atau hujan sekali gus berpeluang belajar dalam suasana selesa dan tenang. Berdasarkan pengalaman manis itu, Killerbatch memahami betapa susahnya kehidupan bagi sesetengah kanak-kanak di Sabah tanpa asrama.

Jika musim banjir, sebahagian jambatan gantung ini hanyut dibawa arus sungai.

Pada hujung tahun 2008, SMK Tun Fuad Stephens di Kiulu, Sabah muncul dalam senarai sekolah yang menantikan pembinaan asrama. Sebanyak 100 daripada 1,400 pelajar di sekolah itu memerlukan asrama dengan kadar segera.

Sebahagian besar para pelajar ini berjalan kaki selama dua hingga tiga jam merentasi hutan dan sungai menuju ke sekolah. Menurut ahli Killerbatch, Megat Zulkarnain Mohd Nazri, dia pernah terserempak dengan seorang pelajar tingkatan lima, Jefri di jambatan Poturidong, Kiulu yang bangun seawal pukul 4 pagi agar tidak terlambat ke sekolah.

"Apabila dilanda banjir besar, sebahagian jambatan gantung ini hanyut," katanya.

SMK Tun Fuad Stephens mempunyai sebuah asrama desa tetapi ia telahpun dihuni oleh 100 pelajar. Dengan 16 orang ditempatkan dalam sebuah bilik, ia menyukarkan Guru Besar, Marsha Anthony Bongkok dan wakil Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru (PIBG), Joisin Rumut mencari ruang kosong. Ada juga yang terpaksa berkongsi katil dengan adik sendiri meskipun sempit.

DARI kiri: Hamidi, Kamaruddin, Bakri, Meor dan Raja Ali. Duduk di hadapan ialah Mashitah.

Mengetahui keadaan genting yang dialami di sekolah ini sejak bertahun-tahun, Raja Ali, Hamidi, Kamaruddin, Bakri, Mashitah dan Meor sepakat meminta ahli-ahli Killerbatch lain mengutip derma yang disasarkan berjumlah RM250,000.

Secara kebetulan, tahun ini menyaksikan sambutan ulang tahun Killerbatch yang ke-30. Pada majlis keraian yang diadakan pada 4 Februari 2009 di Taman Ekuestrian Putrajaya, ramai hadirin termakan pujukan mereka. "Bagi menjadikan acara ini lebih bermakna selain bersuka-ria, sesi kutipan derma dilakukan pada hari itu juga."

"Proses itu diteruskan sehingga bulan Mei lalu apabila kami berjaya mengumpul sebanyak RM57,426," ujar Bakri yang kerap mengadakan pertemuan dengan ahli-ahli jawatankuasa projek Asrama Donni.

Sebagai ibu bapa, mereka semua amat memahami kesegeraan bagi membina Asrama Donni sebelum bermulanya sesi persekolahan tahun 2010.

"Walaupun kami sibuk dengan kerjaya masing-masing, berulang-alik ke luar negara dan menyediakan yang terbaik buat keluarga sendiri, kami komited untuk menjayakan projek sulung ini dalam apa juga cara sekalipun," kata Bakri lagi sambil disokong oleh Mashitah.

Usaha murni yang diperjuangkan oleh Killerbatch ini mampu mengubah nasib pelajar-pelajar di Kiulu, Sabah.

Pada 16 Mei 2009, satu sejarah manis terpahat apabila majlis penyerahan cek bernilai RM57,426 kepada pihak SCC diadakan. Kutipan itu digunakan sepenuhnya untuk kerja-kerja pembinaan Asrama Donni di SMK Tun Fuad Stephens, Kiulu, Sabah. Seramai 10 delegasi yang terdiri daripada Raja Ali dan rakan-rakannya datang ke Kiulu bagi menyaksikan majlis pecah tanah pada keesokan harinya.

Turut dijemput hadir ialah seorang guru yang mengajar pada era Killerbatch iaitu Teh Sharifudin Abdullah. "Dahulu mereka terkenal dengan kenakalan yang memeningkan kepala guru. Sekarang, mereka sudah berjaya dalam bidang masing-masing dan saya bangga dengan anak-anak didikan saya yang menyahut konsep 1Malaysia yang dilaungkan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak," kata Teh menerusi perbualan telefon dengan Kosmo!.

"Killerbatch, rata-ratanya terdiri daripada mereka yang beragama Islam manakala SMK Tun Fuad Stephens mengisi hampir 70 peratus pelajar beragama Kristian. Inilah yang dikatakan keikhlasan yang lahir merentasi agama, bangsa dan sempadan geografi," tambahnya.

*************************************************************

My heart goes out to the children of the remote areas such as Kiulu, who spend hours just to get to their schools every day. So sad... to keep even one child in school before he could be a drop-out is an important milestone indeed.

And here we are.... with our children in their cozy rides to school and lunchboxes full of nutritious food.

Sedihkan?

It’s great that my wonderful friends from Killerbatch embarked on this Kulim to Kiulu project. Although I’m not actively involved, I’m always here giving them the support. So far, insyaallah we’ll get another RM50K from TuneTalk Chief Talker Contest in which a Killerbatch rep constested and won. Next will be the Charity Art Exhibition with IMissHimSoMuch. Later will be Ghazal Party Queen (theater) in December 2009. And I guess it doesn't stop there!

Let’s just hope and pray that we’ll get enough donations to complete the building of Asrama Donni.

A Hostel in Memory of Donni

..... I'm so proud to be part of this :)

NST Online » Local News
2009/05/15

A HOSTEL IN MEMORY OF DONNI
By : Joniston Bangkuai

TUARAN: Soon, about 100 students from far-flung villages in Kiulu, about 20km from here, will no longer have to endure a tiring long walk to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Fuad Stephens.

Thanks to the alumni of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Kulim in Kedah, who call themselves Killerbatch, and the Sabah Credit Corporation, a hostel is being built for the students.

The ground-breaking for the project, which is estimated to cost RM200,000, will be held today in the presence of the students and their parents.

To kick-start the project Killerbatch, which was represented by Raja Ali Raja Othman, presented a donation of RM56,567 to SCC general manager Datuk Vincent Pung yesterday.

He said the rest of the funds would be collected through more fund-raising initiatives such as the staging of a play entitled "Ghazal Party Queen" which is scheduled for Dec 12.

Raja Ali said the heart-wrenching story of Donni John Duin, an 11-year-old school boy who committed suicide two years ago to ease the burden of his poverty-stricken family, prompted Killerbatch to embark on the project.

"The dormitory will be named Asrama Donni in remembrance of the boy," he said.

Donni, a Year Five pupil of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kinarut in Papar, had apparently taken his own life as he could no longer take the teasing from his schoolmates who likened his food, which was packed by his mother, to dog vomit.

"We were all greatly saddened by the heartbreaking event when we heard about it and decided that we must not let it pass unnoticed.

"The hostel is our way to ensure that what Donni went through does not happen again," another representative of Killerbatch, Hasnan Jamaludin, said.

Killerbatch also noted that a recent article in the New Straits Times had stated that about 5,000 teenagers in Sabah had dropped out of school before sitting the Penilaian Menengah Rendah examination.

This was largely because of the long distances the students had to travel to and from school each day.

Describing the project as a bridge between Malaysians in Kulim and Kiulu, Raja Ali said it was in line with the 1Malaysia concept espoused by the government.

The 30th Anniversary Reunion

The date was 4th February 1979. That was the day I registered myself as a Form One student in MRSM Kulim. That was 30 years and 6 days ago. To commemorate the day, we’ve decided to do a Reunion - 30th Anniversary Reunion of the never-ending friendship of our 1979 batch - The Killerbatch. I’ve no idea how or why this name was given to us in the first place - us 177 altogether, with the ratio of 1girl:2boys.

The last time I’ve seen most of them was like 25 years ago. That was when we left high school for good after the 1983 SPM. Now after more than 20 years, I was going to meet them again.

When I reached TEP with Hanna (my chaperone!) – there they were ... the girls and boys. My God, I realized how much we’ve changed. And how much friendship was left unattended all these while. My voice suddenly became hoarse for I just couldn’t contain the joy and excitement I felt inside while hugging the girls I knew who now had become beautiful women, and saying hi to the boys who had now become great men.

Although all of us have changed – the wrinkles, the extra ‘tires’, the pot bellies, the receding hairlines, the gray hair and all – they remained as 17 year-olds in my eyes. These are the people I actually grew up with. These are the boys and girls that had given me my five years of learning, exploring, making friends, getting new experiences and satisfying those curiosities.

It was a wonderful feeling I had that night. It felt tremendously good to meet up with old friends and realized that the 30 years of friendship has been brought up to a higher level -

... That these boys and girls are now my Brothers and Sisters...