Killerbatch visits the TYT at Istana Negeri

Visiting the palace was one of the most anticipated itineraries during our 2-day visit to Sabah. I don’t know about the others, but this is the first time that I have been to the istana – or to any istana for that matter – to have an audience with the Head of State.
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Later that evening, The Killerbatch delegation arrived at the Istana Negeri Kota Kinabalu. I think the time was about 2.45PM. We first entered the reception area and was told to write our name in the guest book where we wrote our name and the organization we came from. All of us proudly wrote “Killerbatch MRSM Kulim” in that column, all 7 in a row. I am not sure what Cikgu Teh wrote though, perhaps Killerbatch’s Sifu? Also accompanying Killerbatch in the meeting were representatives from Sabah Credit headed by its GM Datuk Vincent, a couple of his management staffs and Salina.

Visiting the palace was one of the most anticipated itineraries during our 2-day visit to Sabah. I don’t know about the others, but this is the first time that I have been to the istana – or to any istana for that matter – to have an audience with the head of state. So naturally I was feeling a bit apprehensive but nonetheless really looking forward for the meeting to start. As we stepped into the Balai Mengadap where the meeting is to take place, a television crew from RTM started to interview Raja Ali on the purpose of the visit while Hasnan quickly took a strategic position by standing right beside Raja Ali, ready to assist if the leader is loss for words! But that did not happen, although Raja Ali did appear to dig deep inside his vocabulary bag to find the right words in Bahasa Malaysia to describe our visit.

An officer of the Istana then gave us instructions as to how to greet the TYT and what we can and cannot do while in audience. Shortly after, the TYT started to make his entrance and was greeted by both Datuk Vincent and Raja Ali. We were then introduced individually to the TYT and took our seats when signaled. Raja Ali sat closest to the TYT on the left while Datuk Vincent on the right. I chose the last seat on the right, quite a distance from the TYT as the seats are positioned far apart. But I thought that’s fine, since I have no intention of cracking jokes with the TYT in that formal settings anyway.

The ambience was initially rather calm and quiet as Datuk Vincent explained the reasons for our visit while the TYT just sit there listening. And it was quite a long introduction before he let Raja Ali explain how the project was first inspired, starting with the story of Donni.

It was then back and forth between Datuk Vincent and Raja Ali while the TYT just listened to their stories. I think it was when Raja Ali mentioned about the difficulty of the rural students in Sabah who had to walk for hours to go to school when the mood of the moment inspired the TYT to share his own experiences. That was when the conversation started to pick up momentum and became interesting as the TYT relates how he too had to go through tough time walking long distances to get to school, drinking raw water and skipping meals. He gave his full support to this initiative just as he attempted to do the same when he formed his own foundation (Yayasan Tun Ahmadshah) with the objective of helping the poor and needy in Sabah.

It took quite a while into the conversation before the TYT offered us to drink the tea that had earlier been served together with some kuih including karipap and kuih koci. The tea had actually turned cold by then. I knew it would be a real challenge to eat the kuih koci, especially when taken in a setting where you have to be proper. Its sticky and elastic dough can really be messy if one is not careful. It took me a good few minutes to chew the rubbery dumpling, while at the same time trying to stay handsome and composed. Well, who cares, but I noticed that the rest gave it a pass. Poor Raja Ali, as the one who lead the conversation, he only sipped his tea when Tun did his. And Tun did not finish his tea, and hardly touched the kuih. So he did not. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure the audience with the TYT has given him enough satisfaction to compensate for anything.

The meeting ended with Datuk Vincent seeking permission from the TYT to have a photo with the delegation. All of us then moved to a special corner pre-arranged for the photo session. Before we parted the istana, Raja Ali handed over the Killerbatch 30th anniversary keychain as a memorabilia to the TYT and expressed appreciation for the meeting which the Killerbatch will surely remember for years to come.