Date: Fri, Mar 12, 2010, 1600Hrs
Venue: Republic Polytechnic sports complex

Lee Eng Bok – presently Asst Auditor-General, Auditor-General’s Office

Jita Singh – thought he was from St Andrew’s School

This is Victor. I will contact you soon via your email address given above.

Dollah Kassim, the affable “Gelek King” of Singapore football, is reported to have been discharged from the hospital and is now at home. Yes, VS paid dearly for not taking in Dollah for the latter was the key player, together with Jita Singh (who later became a national coach)in the Serangoon English School team that dethroned VS from the Serangoon District Soccer Championhsip in 65-66. Until then, VS was the kingpin of the district in the game. Remember we had Eric Paine and the great sprinter Giang Toh Chye, and the all round sportsman Bahrom Salleh in our team in 1965 and yet Serangoon English School got the better of us, largely through the contributions of the talented Dollah. Besides these names, that era produced many star schoolboy soccer players such as Rajagopal and Samad Alapitchay of Monk Hill’s Sec School nad Serangoon Garden Tech School respectively. who later went to become Malaysia Cup stalwarts for Singapore.

Btw, Alwi, VS has continued on its fine tradition of being a school soccer powerhousee up to today. Our former school’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ boys were runners up to the “professional” Singapore Sports School last year.

Regards.

Do I know you Tyrwhitt by your real name, and you also Victor? If you wish to remain confidential, please email me ssaadull@bigpond.net.au I would very much like to know your real identity.

Kenn Sunn must be after my days in 1968. Gives me the impression that Victorians didn’t like the PAP!!

There was also a Lee Eng Bok, my junior, who is(?) in the Auditor General’s (?) office holding a very senior position. Looking back, I realise how wrong he is today. When he was in the Uni, the Pyramid Club (of which Ong Chit Chung was a member), approached him to join the PAP. He told them that when he turned 45 he would be interested in politics but the PAP wouldn’t be there. So declined the offer. That could have been early 1970s. Lee Eng Bok used to play chess with me prior to school hours. He must have moved his chess pieces quite well, as the last I heard he was in charge of the audit of the Defence Dept!

Talking about Ong Chit Chung and Kum Teng Hock. Chit Chung told me that he was to look into the OVA as it was getting active. Kum Teng Hock was then president, and Chit Chung was there to keep a watchful eye on our activities. Subsequently I dropped out of the OVA.

One of my old classmates that meet me occasionally (at least once a year) in Sydney is Dr Lim Poh Heng and his wife Dr Lee Yip Mui (also old Victorian in 1968). They are both very successful, and when they come here I enjoy having dinner with them. This has been going on for more than 10 years now. The two doctors are two most generous persons who donate quite a bit to charity. I wonder how many old Victorians know them. Dr Lim and I have been friends since Primary school days at Rangoon Road School. I think Chung Chee Kit was also from Rangoon Road School (or at least he was living in a street close to the school then – can still picture the unit/flat he was living in).

Chung Chee Kit was a brilliant scholar. I wonder where he is today. He did tell me that he opted for Victoria School rather than RI as he wanted to prove that any student could do as well as a person in a privilege school like RI. When he came back from scholarship in UK, he told me that it was so easy to top in the University there as the other students did not study!

Not an old Victorian, Dollah Kassim the footballer was in my class for many years in Rangoon Road School. He tried to get into VS for Sec 1 but couldn’t make it and ended up at Serangoon English School (?). Dollah used to dribble the ball all the way from midfield into the goal post past the goal keeper. He was in incredible footballer. Pity he was not a Victorian. Read about him on the internet. Is he still in coma?

If you remember Irene Khan, the biology teacher, Dr Lim is still in contact with her.

Then there was a Lam Chuan Leong who topped the HSC in 1967 or 1966. Wonder where he is too today.

One of my chess friends Tang Kum Foo (Chee Kit’s year – and Chee Kit’s competitor for academic prize), is active in the Singapore Chess Federation. I found this out on the internet.

Amongst the “Red Guards”, those HSC girls in maroon skirts, what’s happened to them? Have they all “disappeared”?

We still cherish those old days, and this is an avenue where we can share news. Am hopeful that more Victorians will participate in this blog.

Alwi, is the person you referring to call Kum Teng Hock? I believe he moved from the PAP to the Workers’ Party.

The founding secretary-general of the National Solidarity Party, Ken Sunn, is an Old Victorian too.

This is the first time I’ve been here, and it really refreshes my mind with all things Victorian in 1960s.

Tyrwhittdays has mentioned me in one of his posts as Alwi Said Abdullah. My real name is Alwi Sa’adullah. If tyrwhittdays could give me his real name, perhaps I could connect with him. I still have a copy of VICSON that he mentioned.

In 1967/68 our Pre U 2P built immediately to the left of the gate from Tyrwhitt Road, a garden with the school badge (NIL SINE LABORE)on the ground. I think I still have a black and white (of course) photo of it.

One of my interests in 1960s was photography. I may still have some photos of the school at that time, including perhaps the “White House” – the temporary toilet when the school was being extended.

Ong Chit Chung’s name was mentioned. He was in in my class in Sec 1 and possibly Sec 2. It is no surprise to me that he turned out to be a politician.

Rajoo Gopal was also my classmate prior Pre-U days. He was a decent boy. Alagirisamy was an asthmatic, and if I remember correctly he collapsed in one long distance runs, after(?) he left school.

When I was in the OVA, the President of the OVA was also a prominent member of the Workers Party – I think he started it. He was close to LKY during the days before he came to power. Can’t remember his name today, but he owned a printing company.

One other thing that I remember is that we sacrificed all of our year end holidays (1967) to catalogue all the books in the library to the DEWEY decimal system. That was the time when the library moved to the new location (formerly the school hall, which was converted to two storey for the library).

I am now in Sydney. I remember Chit Chung asking me to remain in Singapore as I could contribute a lot there. But I had to go.

I still love the school and all OVA, where I served for some years after my school days. We organised the Annual Dinner for the OVA (can’t remember the year). I remember vividly that Othman Wok stepped out of the dinner when the fashion/beauty show was on, as it was not right (not food for his eyes) for him!

It is also refreshing to read about Mok Khoon Yam and other teachers. I recall that at one of the soccer games, I thought our group should go up the school terrace and cheer the school. So we climbed up the vertical stairs (hardly) and started cheering. Mr Mok then called us down and I still remember him telling me, “So, it’s you.” He let me off, as he was just as loyal to the school.

Then there was Mr Soocelaraj the Hockey Master. During one school holidays (I used to go back to school just for the sake of being with the school!)he chased out some boys who illegally entered the school premises. The next days, when I was there the boys brought their gangster friends and looked for him. I think he was then away overseas playing cricket! Lucky for him. He was fearless. There was a rumour that when he represented Singapore in hockey, he was banned from the game because he used the hockey stick to hit a player on his neck.

One other thing just crossed my mind. The National Library has a microfiche of the Kg Glam School, Vicoria School diary from 1890s. I used to go there to copy the diary and type them out – hoping to have a copy for the library. I guess during those days it was not possible to print them – or we did not have the money to copy them any other way. I guess the school should have a copy of this diary today?

Thank you for reading.