Law faculty gang celebrating K Ah's (Dato Rafiah Salim) appointment as VC.

My dearest gang,

With the recent appointment of Dato Rafiah Salim as VC of the University of Malaya (1st female VC), people who know her has celebrated her appointment with great pride and honour, and she certainly has been busy making special appearances around the city.

This morning I have a guest writer in Lutfiah Ismail (K Pi), who attended a special get together hosted by Dato Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (an RMC OP) and Datin Dr Suriana Hanur (another TKC OG – MCE 71).

Thanks K Pi. Here you are:

Dato Rafiah Salim’s appointment as the Vice Chancellor of the University Of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur effective on 1st May 2006 was welcomed with pride and optimism by the general public and most warmly lauded by Malaysian women in particular as she is the first woman to have achieved such an illustrious position in the country.




To the Old Girls (OG) of TKC, Dato Rafiah is also known as Kak Ah . She was also once a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya where many OGs graduated from and privileged to know and be taught by her. Needless to say, the “wanita terbilang” was celebrated at a gathering hosted by Dato Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (an RMC OP) and Datin Dr, Suriana Hanur (another OG – MCE 71) at their beautiful residence at Taman Duta, K.Lumpur on 9 June 2006.




There was a spectrum of guests – present and former academic staff and former students of the Law Faculty of the University of Malaya, colleagues and friends of Kak Ah (of course, dear husband too) that night. But special mention is the presence of many OGs from the Faculty of Law that was present like Dato Seri Shahrizhat Jalil,Datin Seri Mahani Hamid,Dr,Nik Ramlah Mahmood of the Securities Commission, Puan Ilani Dato Isahak (former TKC Head Girl – 1971) and Lutfiah Ismail. Dr.Suri was an excellent hostess serving exotic Lebanese cuisine and a spread of deserts,,,,miam miam!! Dato Seri Shahrizat added the spice and glamour and Dato Rafiah stimulated the intellectual excitement of the occasion!!!



It was a night of retrospective recollection, in particular the TKC classmates of HSC 1972 comprising of Sharizhat, Mahani and Lutfiah. We cannot brag of being the crème de la crème of the class but we were also smart enough to realize the importance of graduating with good honours to succeed in life. Ijat, Mah and I were good friends when we were in TKC and in the University and we shared some of the most hilarious times in both places! Our university days was one learning experience in every aspect and we are proud that Kak Ah was part of that past and contributed the success and what we have become /achieved today. I remember Dato Rafiah well, though I cannot say much about the subjects she taught (Family and Company Law).I am sure she remembers too well the distraction, lack of concentration and most often, the absence in lectures and tutorials of her students that came from TKC!!! We walked down memory lane with the new VC recalling the wonderful carefree lives of our student days and the pranks and escapades we got into and got away with...But notwithstandind our amazing escapades, we were taught courage, integrity and hardwork. We practiced what we were taught by doing and daring and our success today is due to these contribution by our teachers in our younger days.


Personally, I am honoured to share my growing up years in a school and university with these illustrious names and along the way became some of my best friends, like K.Ah, Shafee, Ijat, Mah (to name a few) and many others.


Once again, CONGRATULATIONS to Dato Rafiah Salim for her appointment as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Malaya and we wish you success and all the best in the job.


Lutfiah



Pix 1: Front, Chin seow Si, Dato Seri Shahrizat Jalil (k Ijat).
Back, Datin Seri Mahani Hamid (K Mah), Lutfiah Ismail (K Pi).
Pix 2: Dr Nik Ramlah, Datin Dr Suri (Hostess).
Pix 3: Dr Nik Ramlah, Puan Ilani Dato Ishak (K Ilani).
Pix 4: K Mah, Dato' Shafee Abdullah (Host), K Pi.
Pix 5: K Pi, Dato Rafiah Salim (K Ah).
Pix 6: The lovely spread.