Abdul Latif Bin Md Saleh

The first Mendaki Award ceremony was held on the 30th October 1982 at DBS auditorium in Shenton Way. It was in the evening of a Saturday and I remember preparing early for the occasion. My parents and I later took a ride in a taxi to the auditorium. Upon entering the auditorium, I suddenly felt out place as I was in full Baju Melayu Hari Raya outfit complete with a black velvet songkok and a matching kain-samping songket while the majority was either in office clothes or school uniforms. We were then ushered to our respective sitting locations; me in the award recipient sections while my parents were led to the guests section. While waiting for the ceremony to commence, we were entertained with a rather soothing Malay music medley (“Sekapur Sireh Seulas Pinang” was one of them). Then memories of the past four years as an undergraduate flashed through me; The struggle to keep up with a heavy workload, the sleepless nights revising lecture notes and tutorials making sure that I covered all potential exam questions, the anxiety felt each time examination approaches, the banter among fellow undergraduates to keep ourselves sane and motivated, the sharing of sweet candies and sour plum and other tit-bits among classmates to keep us awake especially during the evening lectures. Then, images of Yahya Ghani, Yusof Suleiman and me having lunch in Eva’s kitchen, Yusof Ishak House appeared vividly before me with the Bee Gees’ “Saturday Night Fever” blaring in the background. Also appearing then were images of the times when Jamil Abdullah (Jay) and I and the rest of the Clementi Hostel gang teased Ya’acob Ibrahim with envy as he showed off his brand new “Kickers” shoes. I only had a pair of a locally made, unbranded worn out leather strap sandals. Later on, both Jamil and Yaacob graduated with Bachelor of Engineering, Honours Degrees with Jamil obtaining a First Class and Ya’acob a very close Second. They had set a bench mark and it was up to us juniors to meet or better that standard. My turn came two years thereafter. The rest, as they say, is history. The following lyrics from Paul Anka’s “Times of your Life” summed up the moment:- “The laughter and the tears, The shadows of misty yesteryears, The good times and the bad you’ve seen, And all the others in between, Remember, do you remember the times of your Life.” Suddenly the music stopped and I snapped out of my momentary nostalgic trip as the Master of Ceremony announced the arrival of the VIP trough the PA system. I actually felt honored and humbled by the Mendaki Award Ceremony. Honored - because the award come from an entity representing the whole of Singapore Malay/Muslim community and knowing very well that the Malay/Muslim community leaders have worked tirelessly for years to turn Mendaki into fruition. Humbled – because my achievement is not possible without Allah Grace and Will. All the supports, encouragements and prayers from my family members, relatives and friends had helped me persevere when the going gets tough. To them, I am forever grateful and I can never thank them enough. Till today I still remember my late mother constant reminder to pray (dua’s) to Allah during good times and bad times and to refer to Him always on any matters. (My mother passed away in 2006 – May Allah bless her soul and place her among Ahli Solehah). Special mention also to LBKM (Lembaga Biasiswa Kenangan Maulud) whose bursary money I received has helped me pay for my books, stationeries and other necessary expenses during my undergraduate days. Achieving good results in my examinations were my way of saying ‘Thank You” The evening itinerary progressed with Quran recitations followed by speeches by the VIPs. Then it was the award presentation ceremony. When my name was called, I walked up to the stage and approached the waiting Dr. Ahmad Mattar. He looked like he has a lot of things in his mind at that moment, understandably so because Mendaki was at its early stage of infancy and the amount of work that still needs to be done can be worrisome. When I reached him, I shook his hand firmly as he handed me the award certificate, looked at him in the eyes, smiled politely and said thank you. He broke into a smile and nodded gently. I left the stage contented. After the award presentation ceremony, we were invited to the reception area for tea and some finger foods. I remember Cikgu Ma’arof Hj. Salleh coming to congratulate me and to catch-up lost times. The last time we met was maybe two years before on some joint projects between NUSMS and HBI. He brought along two pretty sweet looking Junior Colleges girls and introduced them to me. After exchanging pleasantries, the girls inquired about some tips on effective studying methods which I gladly obliged. I was at my best behavior then as my parents were observing from some corners of the reception area. My mother was probably doing a quick assessment on which of the two girls would potentially make a good daughter-in-law. I am grateful to Cikgu Ma’arof for his kind gestures. Later, Encik Mansor Hj. Sukaimi then a member of Singapore Parliament and a founder member of Mendaki, congratulated me and we exchanged the usual pleasantries. It was Gods Will that in the year 1990, Encik Mansor along with his Nury’s Institute of Family and Child Development Sdn Bhd founder partner, Dato’ Dr. Noor Laily binti Dato’ Abu Bakar, and I embarked on a major early child development project in the poor rural parts of Sarawak. The project initiated by Datuk Effendi Norwawi, then the Executive Chairman of the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation was and still is under the patronage of the Chief Minister of Sarawak. The main objective was to break the poverty cycle through education – the urban rural education attainment gap need to be reduced. The poor rural folks then did not place their children education as a priority preferring them to help out in the farms instead. We had to change their mindset. The project aptly called “SeDidik” was to give the rural children an early start in education and to make learning fun and enjoyable with whatever resources available within their surrounding. Children as young as 2 years old along with their minders (mother or grandmother or elder sisters) attended the learning session in local community hall or the common corridors of their long houses where basic reading, writing and simple maths were taught in both Malay and English in a fun way. Basic nutrition and hygiene practices were also taught. Both the child and minders benefitted from the sessions. When we first started there was only one rural centre in Buntal village and staffed by 11 facilitators. Then within a period of 1 ½ years, SeDidik expanded at a breakneck speed to end up operating a total of 33 rural centres spread throughout the whole of Sarawak and staffed by about 200 supervisors and facilitators. There was a time when a delegation of village elders led by the “Penghulu” came to SeDidik office requesting a rural centre to be set up at their village as they heard by words of mouth that children in the neighboring village were able to read and write at an early age. Today, almost 22 years later, SeDidik is still an on-going concern and has expanded to 64 rural and 12 urban centres throughout Sarawak. Tens of Thousands of children and families have benefitted from its programs. To me, it was a life changing experience and I am proud to me the pioneer and the first General Manager of SeDidik. I left SeDidik in 1992 to pursue other challenges. (Encik Mansor Hj. Sukaimi or fondly known as Uncle M by the children, his staff and friends passed away in 2008 – May Allah bless his soul and place him among Ahli Soleh). It was about 10.30 pm when we bade farewell to each other as the “majlis” came to a close. My parents and I returned home with fond memories. We hoped and prayed that more Singapore Malay/Muslims would benefit from Mendaki programs and that there would be more Mendaki Award recipients in the future. In conclusion, I sincerely wish Mendaki a very happy 30th Anniversary and may there be more prosperous and productive years ahead, Insya’ Allah. To the management and staff at Mendaki and to the Singapore Malay/Muslim community in general, my congratulations for your outstanding achievements! May Allah bless you all…...Ameen