Almost a week has passed since I began my journey to attend the 30th-anniversary reunion of MRSM Kuala Terengganu, Batch 95/96.
My journey started from Dumai, crossing the Straits of Malacca by ferry towards the Port Dickson International Port. My wife, who had arrived earlier, was already waiting for me in the car before we continued our journey home.
Upon reaching home, I immediately opened my laptop because I had an online meeting that afternoon. Meanwhile, my wife went to pick up two of our children from school.
The following day, after Friday prayers, I picked up our third child from the boarding school. The three of us—my wife, our youngest child and I—then continued our journey towards Kuala Terengganu via the East Coast Expressway.
The traffic was smooth from the Gombak Toll Plaza until Genting Sempah. Originally, our fourth child was also on the list to attend the reunion. However, my second daughter eventually chose to stay home with her eldest sister and brother.
As we travelled along the highway, I also managed to complete an online interview for a position at my workplace. We left at almost 3:00 p.m. and finally arrived in Kuala Terengganu at around 9:30 p.m.
After such a long drive, I was quite exhausted. My wife and youngest child decided to rest in the hotel room. At the same time, the men's WhatsApp group was already flooded with messages. Our old schoolmates had started gathering at a restaurant for dinner.
I did not want to miss the opportunity to meet them. After performing my Maghrib and Isyak prayers by combining and shortening them, I made my way to the restaurant.
The following morning, I rushed out of the hotel room because there was a breakfast programme followed by a motivation session with the Form Four students at MRSM Kuala Terengganu.
When I arrived at the college, I met several friends who had arrived early, and we gathered at the college dining hall.
The moment we saw one another, the atmosphere immediately became cheerful.
Smiles. Laughter. Hugs. Handshakes. Questions about life after almost 30 years apart.
Faces that had not been seen since we left the college suddenly appeared before us again.
The dining hall became increasingly noisy as more and more schoolmates arrived. We were so caught up in the excitement that we hardly noticed the MRSM students watching us—their “uncles and aunties” happily meeting their old friends after decades apart.
Many started taking photographs and selfies with one another. Some were enthusiastically recording videos, trying to capture the happiness of seeing old friends again and preserving memories that nobody knew when they would have the chance to recreate.
As for me, I had been hungry for quite some time.
Without hesitation, I opened the food container and started enjoying my breakfast. The Terengganu keropok lekor, one of my favourite foods, immediately caught my attention. I took some to the table and enjoyed it together with my friends.
Meanwhile, the ladies seemed to be much more focused on talking among themselves.
Apparently, they had far more stories to share.
After breakfast, we gathered in front of the Academic and Administration Building for our batch photograph. Some friends brought drones, while others used Insta360 cameras to record videos of our reunion.
Then everyone moved into the Academic Building to revisit our old classrooms.
I walked towards our former classroom together with five other classmates.
As we passed several classrooms filled with today's MRSM students, something felt strangely familiar.
We saw the students sitting in their classrooms, studying and growing up in the same environment where we had once done exactly the same thing.
Thirty years ago, we were the ones sitting there.
We were the ones studying.
We were the ones dreaming about the future.
And somehow, without us realising it, thirty years had passed.
Before noon, we completed the motivation session with the Form Four students at the college surau. After that, everyone returned to their respective hotel rooms to prepare for the main event—the Hi-Tea at Duyong Marina & Resort on Pulau Duyong.
The afternoon programme brought another beautiful sight.
Some friends came alone. Others came with their spouses and children, making the occasion even more meaningful. Some arrived dressed elegantly according to the theme of the event.
And, of course, we could not forget the teachers who had once guided us and contributed so much to our lives. Many of them attended, some alone and some together with their spouses.
The programme began in grand style.
The schedule ran smoothly, with the MRSM song, lucky draws, speeches from representatives of the teachers and students, and various other activities.
Watching our friends organise such a successful event made me proud.
Many of them were former student leaders—members of the Badan Wakil Pelajar (BWP) and Lembaga Disiplin Pelajar. Their leadership qualities from school were still visible today. The confidence in their faces, the way they communicated and the way they managed the programme reminded me that leadership, once nurtured, can remain part of a person for decades.
I spent most of my time with a few close friends. From time to time, I also stopped by the teachers' tables to have a conversation with them.
The programme continued from around 2:00 p.m. until almost 6:00 p.m.
To be honest, I could not remember the names of many of the students who attended, nor all the teachers who were there.
Perhaps that is simply part of who I am.
I remember my classmates.
I remember my Nasyid group.
I remember a few teachers who were very close to me and with whom I have continued to keep in touch until today.
Beyond that, my memories become somewhat blurry. Sometimes, I could not even remember the names.
That probably says something about me.
I am an introvert.
If I socialise, I usually do so with people who are genuinely close to me. With others, I may be friendly, but I do not necessarily build a deep connection or retain strong memories of them.
And I am beginning to understand myself better because of that.
At the same time, I felt incredibly proud seeing some of our friends who have retained their leadership qualities from school until today.
Perhaps this is one of the greatest reflections from our reunion.
The MRSM system, through its academic environment, discipline, teamwork and student leadership programmes, has shaped generations of young people. Some of those students went on to become leaders in their careers and communities.
Thirty years later, the leadership spirit that once existed in the college was still shining through many of our friends.
As the reunion came to an end, the happy mood remained.
Dozens of photographs were shared in our WhatsApp groups. I kept scrolling through them, looking at one face after another.
I started thinking about how quickly time had passed.
Thirty years.
Yet the memories of MRSM somehow felt as if they had happened only yesterday.
The classrooms.
The dining hall.
The surau.
The friends.
The teachers.
The laughter.
The youthful dreams.
Everything suddenly felt so close again.
But this reunion was not only about remembering the past.
It also made me look deeper into myself.
I realised that as we grow older, we begin to understand that life is not simply about how many people we know, but about the people and memories that truly remain in our hearts.
Sadly, not everyone who was once part of our journey was there.
Some of our friends and teachers have already returned to Allah.
Their absence was a quiet reminder to all of us.
We are getting older.
One day, we too will follow the same path.
Perhaps that is why a reunion like this becomes more meaningful as the years pass.
We are not simply meeting old friends.
We are meeting the younger versions of ourselves.
We are looking back at where we came from, appreciating how far we have travelled, and reminding ourselves that whatever success we have achieved today was once only a dream in the minds of those young students sitting together thirty years ago.
So, my friends…
When will we meet again?
I do not know.
Perhaps another five years.
Perhaps ten.
Or perhaps there will be no next reunion for some of us.
That is why I am grateful for this moment.
Thank you to everyone who made the journey.
Thank you to the organising committee.
Thank you to our teachers.
And thank you to every friend who came and brought a piece of our youth back to life.
Jangan jemu jejaki jaya.
Jadi Jay.
Jadi juara.
And above all, may every step we take from here lead us closer to Allah.
That is my story today.
