May 15, 2009 (press republic); Kota Kinabalu – The Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman, today witnessed a donation of RM56,576 raised by Killerbatch, the third batch alumni of Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) Kulim to Datuk Vincent YK Pung, General Manager of the Sabah Credit Corporation for the construction of a dormitory at SMK Tun Fuad Stephens in Kiulu, Sabah.
The 10-man delegation from the MRSM Kulim alumni was led by representative, Raja Ali Raja Othman and former MRSM Kulim teacher, En. Teh Sharifudin Abdullah.
Later during the day, the delegation was introduced to The Tuan Yang Terutama Yang diPertua Negeri of Sabah, Tun Ahmadshah bin Abdullah where the TYT was briefed of Killerbatch’s intention to assist the children in Kiulu.
The cheque signified the first instalment of the approximately RM200,000 that is needed to build a dormitory for the school that will house 100 students. According to another representative of Killerbatch, Hasnan Jamaludin who was also present at the ceremony, the dormitory will be named “Asrama Donni”, in remembrance of the late Donni John Duin, the former Year-5 SK Kinarut student who tragically took his own life in March 2007 to ease his family’s financial burden. “We were all greatly saddened by the heartbreaking event when it came to our knowledge and decided that we must not let it past unnoticed. This hostel is our way to remember that what happened to Donni must not happen again”
Hasnan said as students who had themselves benefited from the boarding school experience, the “Killerbatch”, as the group calls itself, felt that it was timely that they did something in return for the benefit of society. This charity drive is to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Killerbatch who attended MRSM Kulim from 1979 to 1983.
According to a recent New Straits Times article, some 5,000 teenagers in Sabah drop out of school before sitting for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination. Raja Ali said that part of the problem is the long distances the students have to travel to and from school each day. The dormitory will allow for students to stay on the school premises and thus allow the students to better concentrate on their studies.
Datuk Vincent Pung when interviewed said that Sabah Credit Corporation has always engaged in assisting the rural people by engaging in one major project a year and this collaboration with Killerbatch is one of them. He added “I see this project with Killerbatch, as a bridge between Malaysians from Kulim to Kiulu, Sabah and Kedah, Muslim to non-Muslims, between those who have received assistance by the government to the future generations of Malaysians”.
Raja Ali added that the remainder of the funds will be collected through various fundraising activities. One such activity will be the re-staging of a play titled “Ghazal Party Queen,” (GPQ) scheduled for 12 December 2009. “Ghazal Party Queen” was first run in 2004 by Angkatan Karyawan Aktif Kuala Lumpur (Angka) and was staged at the Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman, MTC (formerly known as Matic), Kuala Lumpur. GPQ was written by another member of Killerbatch Mohd Rodzi Abdullah and won the Cameronian Awards for Best Original Script in 2004. Raja Ali said, “This is a unique opportunity for Killerbatch as GPQ was written by one of its members and on 12 December, 2009 will be produced, directed and acted by Killerbatch themselves. This way we believe that this re-staging will bring Killerbatch closer to each other as part of our 30th Anniversary celebration and at the same time we will raise funds to build Asrama Donnie”. Sale of tickets will be through our network of friends of the same batch in other MRSMs and other boarding schools. “This effort is unique as it will be a night where those of the same batch will unite regardless of which school they came from. I am sure they will support such a good cause while having fun watching their friends acting on stage”
Another fundraising project is an art auction which Killerbatch is working in conjunction with Galeri Chandan. The silent auction of arts from renowned artists will be conducted from 1 to 17th August, 2009 at Galeri Chandan’s premise in Damansara Heights. “When Raja Ali spoke with me about this project, I did not hesitate for one second as I think this is an effort well overdue. We are taking this opportunity to have the art auction in August as it is the month we celebrate Merdeka. I think what Killerbatch from Kulim is doing for Kiulu signifies about being One Malaysia. It is appropriate we conduct the auction to signify One Malaysia in the month of Merdeka” said En Nazli, co-owner of the gallery, when contacted for comments.
Raja Ali added that the presence of En. Teh Sharifudin was especially meaningful as it was his efforts in organising Drama Fest during English Week in MRSM Kulim 30 years ago that brought about this idea. According to Teh Sharifudin, “I am pleased that my efforts are remembered by my ex-students 30 years later on and they remember it by staging a play for charity to build Asrama Donni. Most of these guys have not been on stage since I last force them in 1983! I am proud of Killerbatch”.
The group will spend the whole of Saturday 16 May visiting Kiulu, which all of them are visiting for the first time, and they visited the school in Kiulu to meet with students and distributed schoolbooks and 300 schoolbags donated by another Alumni and Jukebox Shoes, a shoe distributor. There, they witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony marking the site for the Hostel.
The group hopes to raise the remainder of the funds by the end of 2009, so it may be ready for use of the students at the beginning of the 2010 school year.
SMK Tun Fuad Stephens is located in Kiulu, 40 kilometres west of Kota Kinabalu. It currently has 1,400 students. There is already a state-run dormitory, Asrama Desa, located in the school, but there is high demand from students to be placed in the dormitory which is currently suffering from a shortage of beds
The project is being supported by Social Care Foundation, Asia Works Foundation, Galeri Chandan, Air Asia and Jukebox Shoes.
The “Killerbatch” are comprised of students who attended MRSM Kulim from 1979 until 1983. Their website address is at : http://www.killerbatch.org
For further information, please contact:
Raja Ali Raja Othman
HP: 019-2279977
Email: rajaaliothman@yahoo.com
Hasnan Jamaluddin
HP: 019-4733519
Email: hasnan6666@gmail.com
Abdul Rahman Mohd. Ghazali
HP: 013-3320778
Email: armg2020@yahoo.com
