THE CENDOL SESSION WITH THE PRINCIPAL

24th JUNE 2026 ~ A  date was set with an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar, Mr. Amirulhakim, who is now the Principal of SMK Tun Syed Nasir Ismail, the school which is near my house. The chosen venue was Sofie Cendol at Taman Suria which was also nearby.

Cendol is a beloved, traditional Southeast Asian iced dessert. It is sweet, creamy, and incredibly refreshing, making it a staple treat in tropical countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.

SOURCE: Google

It was just a short Cendol session as he was on his lunch break period and had to get back to school by 2:00 p.m. Hopefully there will be other opportunity to meet up as he has a very busy schedule.

THE GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE WITH THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

The original plan was to go for lunch at this place called Kopi Tenggek. We only realized the restaurant closed on Tuesday so we rerouted to Selera Johor.

We arrived at the food court during lunch hour and all the seats were occupied. We managed to find a empty table but I had to clear all the plates and utensils by sending them to the counter. There was only one person who was in-charge cleaning the place at that moment and she must have had a very hard time carrying out her duty at that very hour.

We just settled for the Asam Pedas Clay Pot Rice set.

Thanks to my ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar, Mr. Amirulhakim, who is now the Principal of SMK Tasek Utara 2, for the time spent. He will get busier by next week when school reopens for the new session. Nevertheless, we still need to make the gastronomic adventure to Kopi Tenggek happen. Where there is a will, there is a way.

CHILDREN'S, DISABLE'S AND SENIOR CITIZEN'S DAY CELEBRATION FOR JOHOR STATE LEVEL

I went to attend another programme organized by Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat [TRANSLATE: Welfare Department. This time it was Children's, Disable's and Senior Citizen's Day - some kind of 3-in-1 event, which in a way could save a lot of cost. The activity was held at Persada Johor International Convention Centre and the guest of honour was the Crown Princess, Che' Puan Mahkota Khaleeda Johor.

As usual, there were stalls and booths outside the main hall, at the foyer of the building. However, I just went to see the animals at the Mini Zoo, which was the main attraction.

There were not many people that I knew who were present.

catching a glimpse of the
Crown Princess

Even the people at the dining table were those I was not familiar of so there was not much conversation taking place.

Surprisingly, I got to attend this kind of event more frequently after I have retired.

There were also a number of musical performances presented on stage. Unfortunately, I did not get a clear view from my seats as everything was blocked especially by people standing in front.

the ex-Principal of
SMK Dato' Jaafar, now the
State Education Director

It was an afternoon well spent at Persada Johor. It was good to attend a formal event once in a while as I got the chance to wear my long sleeve Batik shirt.

VISITING THE FIFTH PRINCIPAL OF SMK TAMAN UNIVERSITI

After missing the chance to meet Puan Hajah Nilam Othman at the two wedding receptions before this, I decided to pay her a visit after finding out she is at her home in Taman Suria [which is just near my house]. Puan Hajah Nilam is the fifth Principal of SMK Taman Universiti and she is currently residing in Batu Pahat. I could not stay long as she and her husband would be going back to Batu Pahat right after. Glad I managed to finally pass to her my [already one year old retirement] souvenir. Hope to get to see her again some other time soon.

 

A FAREWELL GATHERING FOR THE PRINCIPAL

16th MARCH 2023 ~ A farewell gathering was organized for Mr. Kharuddin Abd. Rauf, the Principal of SMK Dato' Jaafar who was transferred to SMK Dato' Abdul Rahman Yassin. The event was held at our favourite eating place, Infusion Cafe at KSL Hotel.

Not many people could make it this time but we still went on with our plan as the fasting month was approaching.

Wishing Mr. Kharuddin the very best of luck at the new school. I am sure I will be seeing him again after this.