PETALING JAYA, 16 March 2014 - “I tried my best to attend the gathering this time around after having missed three previous reunions because of work commitments,” said the former President of AgroBank Malaysia, Dato’ Martini Osman, who is also a USM Social Sciences alumnus.

“There are faces that I recognise but could not remember their names, or vice versa,” said Martini who retired from Agrobank in 2009.

She was very happy to be able to attend this gathering and to meet friends most of whom she had known in USM since 1973. Martini started working with Bank Pertanian Malaysia, known as Agrobank after its corporatisation, after attending a short course at Universiti Teknologi Mara in 1975.

“Maybe it was my luck that I continued to work in Bank Pertanian Malaysia after graduation until my retirement from Agrobank; a loyal employee to the company," Martini related.

According to Rajen Moses, he would not miss the opportunity to join a programme such as this because, besides being able to meet up with old friends, such events serve as a platform to share stories of the student days of the 70s.

“Every time when an alumni reunion is being held, we gathered feedback from those who attended. There are many who felt more comfortable to attend a gathering that is informal or less formal,” said Rajen who is currently working as a Senior General Manager of the Sapura Group Public Relations.

“I have attended the Balikampus programme organised by USM before and I used to stay in the students hostels provided.

“Such programmes are very helpful in reviving the nostalgic 70’s of the university and should be held regularly to attract other alumni,” said Rajen who was the secretariat for Malam Sirih Pulang ke Gagang Dinner organised by the USM Alumni Association of the Federal Territory and Selangor. Although he graduated in 1976, he was much at ease with fellow seniors.

His wife, Pearl Moses who is also a USM Social Sciences alumnus and currently teaching at a private school in Kuala Lumpur, attested to this fact.

They were among those present in the USM Alumni of 1975 reunion where this year they celebrated 40 years together. A total of 37 alumni attended and many of them have touched the age of sixty but are still gushing with energy; in fact there are quite a number who are still working, either self-employed or salaried.

Meetings like this are not held for the first time or are held as an annual event. In fact, some of them meet each other quite often over a cup of tea in the afternoon.

All the alumni would like to thank the USM Alumni Liaison Office, notably its director, Mohamad Abdullah for helping to organise the programme successfully. - Translation: Yong Check Yoon/Text and Photos: Nor Rafizah Md Zain