cikgu ahmad of smk convent batu pahat

A friend posted on her Facebook that a teacher from our high school passed away this morning. Encik Ahmad Amir taught us Bahasa Malaysia and Sejarah in Form 1 and Form 2. It was a long time ago so I don’t remember the exact subject for the year.

I remember En. Ahmad for 3 reasons. The first was that he was always dressed immaculately – a crisp light-coloured, short-sleeve shirt tucked in a pair of black trousers held together with a belt. His shoes were always shiny, his beard nicely trimmed, basically a clean, sharp appearance.

The second was the way he walked. En. Ahmad did not just walk through the corridors of SMK Convent BP – he strutted. His chest would be puffed up and his head a little higher and he trotted confidently but not in any way arrogant. I often wondered how he could see what and where he was walking because his eyes were always straight ahead. Well he did slipped into a drain once so I suppose that didn’t work out too well. A few of us were near him when he fell – of course we sniggered but he took it in his stride.

The third and most memorable was a lesson that he taught me. I was the opposite of the perfect student, and such did not always… errr, complete my homework. I thought his method of making us memorise the history book redundant, plus I was lazy to write a lot. Naturally I would always try to escape from him until one fine day when he finally caught up with me.

“Why are you afraid? Just own up that you did not do your homework. If you are afraid of something, you will eventually be scared of it. Fear leads to hatred. I don’t want you to hate me. That is not what I am here for.”

A Malay version of a Jedi Master, eh? Rest in peace.