Home team send off

The Emptying of Nest Begins

And it came to pass that Irfan was accepted into a course at the nearby Polytechnic. For many weeks, we prepared for his going. Before long, we discovered that it was time for him to go. We drove him to the Polytechnic where he registered for his 2-week quarantine period. […]

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All done

The Parliament of Dreams

Once upon a time, I sent Irfan to school for the first time. It was more than a decade ago and hundreds of kilometres away from here. He had had two years of kindergarten experience beforehand. How trivial that day seem to be now. He is now a young man […]

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Irfan takes a hike

Photos from Irfan’s MFLS Week

Irfan was chosen to go to Malaysian Future Leaders School, a 10-day programme that was not unlike my own Outward Bound School programme back when I was his age. There were team-building events, kayaking (at Timah Tasoh), hillwalking (which is basically hiking through the jungle for a day up a […]

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Team Perlis

Irfan Camps Out at Timah Tasoh

From last Friday to last Sunday, Irfan attended a uniformed bodies co-curricular camp at the Timah Tasoh camp. Each uniformed body from his school sent 10 personnel to take part in the programme. He was one of ten Scouts from his troop to attend. After the camp, Irfan told me […]

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The PIBG committee

Marching Orders for Irfan

This might be Irfan’s final year at Semsira, his secondary school, and mine as the vice president of the PIBG (Parents Teachers Association). I was invited to attend the school’s Sports Day and I took some time to head there before a class. I was invited to sit up on […]

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Second day of Form Five

A Long Way Since Year One

The new year begins with a new form for Irfan. The fifth form! Irfan has come a long way since his first day of Primary School, nay, from the first day of kindergarten! He has been through ups and downs. He has had many unforgettable experiences in school, both in […]

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First day of school

Fourth Form Kid

I am amazed at how far this boy has come, from when he had difficulty in learning at primary school to being able to be liked by teachers at his new school here. Now passing the end of year school holidays into the fourth form, he has been accepted as […]

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Irfan and the rollerbot

Irfan’s Jaunt into Robotics

Some time last month I received an email notification of an Introduction to micro:bit Workshop for schoolchildren to be held at the Mechatronic school at the university, and so we enrolled Irfan. It was a full day’s programme. Ain and I decided to save our transport fuel by hanging around […]

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The lobby crowd

Boy Spells More Words

It has been more than a month since it last rained. The skies have been blue all day for weeks. I would gladly enjoy the view of the blue sky if it were not for the soaring heat. And it came to pass Irfan was selected to attend another Spell-It-Right […]

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Bike repairer

Lighting the Bike

Once upon a time, I marvelled at Irfan’s then-newfound abilities to reach a light switch. These days he’s repairing the bicycle Atok bought for him last year all on his own. Here we see him attempting to remove his bike’s forward and rear lights which he had purchased and installed […]

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International Irfan at the beach

Irfan Goes To An Exhibition

Irfan was selected to attend a school exhibition at a prestigious school in Satun, Thailand. With a group of 12 other students (all of which are fifth formers), he set out with his convoy from school early Wednesday morning. He participated in a spelling bee and helped man his school’s […]

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Irfan with Mom, redux

Boy Spells Words

Irfan told informed us that he was invited by a teacher to attend some spelling bee. Later he told us the event was to be held at a local hotel: the biggest hotel in town. He didn’t even tell is it was this prestigious contest: You can read about the […]

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Food consumption

Iftar at Irfan’s School

Irfan’s school raised enough money to build a dedicated surau not just for the students and staff, but is open for the public. We attended its opening ceremony which also had Maghrib, Isha’ and Tarawikh prayers. The school principle was on hand with the PTA president to commemorate the event […]

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