Message to the Killerbatch from a small town teacher

My dear Raja Ali et al

Last Saturday night, the corridors in SMK Tun Fuad Stephens must have been eerily quiet, dark and cold, the aftermath of the Killerbatch whirlwind tour (we came in a coach mah). But I believe that into the late hours of the night there must have been a warmth in the hearts of many, in the hearts of the alumni, the PIBG, the teachers, the people of Kiulu but what is most important is that all of you have lit in the hearts of the children there, a glow that they will carry with them till the day they die. I kid you not. I said in a speech at the dinner on Friday that I will not be surprised if in 30 years time, students of SMKTFS will continue to carry this torch and light up the lives of their children then.

I was seated with some VIP's during lunch and many of them did not know the story of Donni or remember it vaguely and when I retold the story of his sacrifice, ther was not one dry eye at the table and that reaffirms my belief that there is love in all our hearts. Inevitably the question would pop out why Kiulu? Why Killerbatch would take the trouble to build that asrama in that God forsaken place? And I tell them that is exactly why!! They are in a God forsaken place and they have been forgotten until the Kilers came.. I reaffirmand and salute your philosophy of a bridge that transcends all (race, religion, distance, etc) And there were even more tears.

Asrama Donni is a monument that the Killers under your leadership have built to instill into many that there are still people who care and there is still hope for mankind. Therefore I stand firm in my belief that there are many lessons we take from the project. For one, you have taught many the true meaning of being humble and of being charitable. You have touched many. One example was during the art auction in Damansara (which by the way is so worlds apart from Kulu), I remember your friend, Jason Lo so emotionally worked up and he suggested at that time that we should declare one day as ice cream day whereby on that day, if we were to see any kid, we should just stop and buy that kid an ice cream, no questions asked. I think that that is a brilliant, brilliant idea. As the saying goes, if we want our children to grow up to be loving and caring people, then we should show them love and care first. And at what cost? An ice cream for such a great return on the investment? Think about it. I did put foward Jason's idea to several people in Kiulu, and irrespective of who they were, everyone thought it was a great idea. Maybe, I will take it upon myself to start this ball rolling.

In schools, lessons are not just taught in the classroom. They are taught outside as well. (You guys should know) The children in Kiulu taught me a very valuable lesson that day. While we were sitting and waiting for the rain (courtesy of Hasnan and his lima ribu) to stop, a group of form three girls approached me and a few killers and started to talk to us. We talked for a while and it dawned on me that maybe nobody has ever tried to listen to these kids, nobody until you guys came and that is why they were able to open their hearts to us. I was perticularly impressed with one shy form three girl, Suzie, who was so focussed and so adapt at the Rubic Cube. Several times we challenged her and each time she managed to solve the cube. But what moved me most (and I am shedding tears as I write this) is when we were on board the bus to leave Kiulu, this little, sweet angel rushed foward and tried to give me her Rubic Cube (which must have been her dearest posession). I do not profess to know why but I guess we listened that day to her and her firends. Of course I did not take the cube but I was touched by the gesture. Because of this, I called Joisin this morning and told him that i am sponsoring the girl until she reaches form 5. People, maybe some of you may want to help out as well. RM50 or RM 100 a month to help one studebt is a small price to pay to help cement the fact that this world is worth living in after all, and the hope that there will never, never be another Donni case.

Even as I type my thoughts here, there are already people who are thinking of the next project. Yesterday while waiting for my flight out of KK, I was with Azhar (John) of the Pioneer batch and he was lamenting the fact that there were not many people who cared, and after witnessing the event at Kiulu (yes, he was there), he began to have new hope. He related to me his current project of helping kids in the sekolah sekolah daif in Sabah. I thought that was a noble effort. His only setback was he didnt have the people to help him, especially those who can go to the interior and talk to the kids. I told him it was difficult for us from Semenanjung to go there on a regular basis. He understood but he looked sad too. Then I had an idea. I asked him to drive me to the MRSM in Kinarut and we met up with a teacher ther and I requested that they help Azhar with his project. They were more than happy to help. So your event in Kiulu has given John new strength.

Those Killers who were ther for the first time must have felt what we felt when we were there in 2009 for the ground breaking. Their chests must be swelling with pride. For those of us who have been there before, the emotions were no less overwhelming. The journey has been long but the reward has been most fulfilling.

Dearest students (friends), please know that this teacher has no words to describe how proud I am of each and everyone of you. You have proven that you have learnt well. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me hitch on to your journey to legacy. You will forever be remembered in Kiulu and in more importantly by the children whose lifes you have touched. You may not know it but you have created such an impact and you can all be considered hero's in their eyes. Ultimately, you wre brave enough to stand up and be counted. May Allah bless alll of you always.

Tomorrow I am leaving for Turkey and I had to write this before I leave.

I love you all

Teh Sharifuddin Abdullah
Small town teacher

19/04/2010 08:04 GMT