My daughter, Amalina, received a letter from IPS, UM on 15th. December inviting her for a session to-day with the new VC regarding postgraduate studies available in the university. Apparently her named was, as was later confirmed, picked from the UiTM list.
My wife and I offered to drive her there, although she insisted she could go by herself. I said your mother would like the outing anyway, and so we went in my car.. As we drove into the campus I said this was where I studied in 1965 to 1968, and later two brothers, and where our No. 3 Son enrolled in the "Look East Policy" Programme 8 years ago. Once we left our daughter at the IPS the original plan was for us to hang around the campus somewhere and to come back and fetch her at around 12 noon as indicated in the programme. But while waiting in the lobby for the cleaning lady to finish at the gent's, a member of the IPS staff came and inquired about our presence there and when we told her she said parents were welcome to join the session. That was how we ended attending the whole session, and it was a useful.
Apparently the brand new VC has been a very busy man, and this session with about 70 First Class Honours university graduates is one of the many new programmes he's undertaking. He jokingly said that he has to do something meaningful for UM for King and Country.
The session started 30 minutes later than the scheduled 9.30 a.m. but ended on time at 12 noon. Refreshments were served in the foyer. Mainly it was the VC selling the idea that the graduates present seriously consider doing their postgraduate studies at the university, one of only 4 Research Universities in the country, he said, and that there is no shortage of funding, referring to several sources , from research grants and postgraduate scholarships available within the university, to tutorships and postings as research assisstants, and graduate study schemes of the Ministry of Higher Education. All the faculty deans or the representatives also each briefly added to their VC's comments. But I thought the best and the most moving statement, came from one of the parents. The VC picked him out probably because he was directly in front of him, and probably also because he somewhat stood out because he was the only one who was wearing a skull cap or "ketayap". He said "I'm not very good at this, but I hope the university's efforts would bear fruit, that the good students are given this wonderful opportunity to further their knowledge and learning so that they in turn can teach the next generation to also become better educated, and I pray God will bless us all."
As we broke up I approached a Professor Abu Bakar, from the Law Faculty, and introduced my daughter, saying she's not sure she wants to be an academician, that she's still in the final semester of her second Law degree, and what was his advice. He inquired about her CGPA, and then said the best option is to do her Masters first. During lunch later Dekna said she's not keen, that she's getting tired of studying.
We called up No.3 Son at his workplace in Shah Alam at about 1.15 and asked "what about lunch ?" He said "no problem, give me 15 minutes." So I told my wife "Give him half-an-hour."
He took 45 minutes.
The lunch took another 45 minutes.
Then we decided to go to No. 2 Son's house in Subang Jaya and see the two grandsons left with the maid. The parents were at work. I took a nap, and we left for home at 5.
The eldest grandson, Acad, all 3 1/2, was very upset the grandmother was leaving. Lately he has come to be a bit attached to her. There was a lot of crying on his part, and the 10-dollar note couldn't appease him, although he took it. As we waved goodbye from the car window his crying got worse, but we drove on anyway, and it was the grandmother's turn to cry in the car.
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