Pot-bellied, balding and opinionated

Syed Nazri, NST

The comment about the old teachers was brief but very sentimental at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) Old Boys' reunion dinner on Saturday.

It came from Datuk Seri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas, the old boys' association president, who in his speech paid tribute to those who had taught at the school, a few of whom were fit enough to be present at the annual function.

"To you and all our teachers, there's no way we can repay you. Look at what you've made us become -- pot-bellied, balding and very opinionated. But underneath all that, you made us believe in ourselves to achieve our dreams and ambitions."

More than 1,000 people attended the dinner at Hotel Istana in Kuala Lumpur, including Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah, Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Jaafar Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, who is also chairman of the MCKK board of governors.

Megat Najmuddin was absolutely right about the old boys being too opinionated because discussions at the dinner table that night centred on nothing but current affairs -- the impending general election, the just-concluded Umno assembly, a street demonstration earlier in the day in Kuala Lumpur, etc.

Even the play staged by the old boys took a cynical look at the latest events as they did a spoof of Malaysia's first man in space and the national angkasawan project as well as news on the controversial video clip that has allegedly implicated the former chief justice.