Lee (with guitar) leading the singing of an amusing song that summed up student life.
THE crowd erupted into laughter when a group of retired teachers shared nostalgic memories of college life through a cheeky song performed on stage during a reunion.
Titled Our Old College Song, it depicted the struggles of adapting to life at Temenggong Ibrahim Teachers’ Training Institute in Johor Baru (now called Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Temenggong Ibrahim (IPGKTI) and feeling homesick.
“They say that in college, life is mighty fine,” sang the group at the 60th reunion.
“They give you 40 dollars, but take back 39.
“Oh, I want none of college life.
“Mama, I want to go home. Papa, I want to go home. Soma, I want to go home.”
David Lee, 78, who played the guitar, said the song meant a lot to them and takes them back to student life.
“I’m not sure who wrote it, but I believe it has been around since before I joined in 1968.
“We really liked the song and sang it many times, especially in the first few months of being there, as it accurately expressed how we felt at that time.
“We were a bunch of young people experiencing life outside the comfort of our homes for the first time, and we were homesick.”
Lee, who hails from Penang, said the teaching institute was also where he met his wife, Chang Mei Fong, 76.
“The teaching institute is a very special place, and I have a lot of sweet memories.
“We are both from Penang and used to take the train together when we travelled home for the holidays.
“That was how we got to know each other better.”
Also reminiscing about the good old days were former classmates V. Ramachandran, 79, and P. Govindan, 78.
“The institute was very new back then.
“We didn’t have classrooms yet and had to borrow classrooms from a few nearby schools.
“I remember crossing to Singapore to buy oranges that cost only one dollar for 10.
“Back then, we didn’t need a passport to cross to the other side,” said Govindan.
Meanwhile, former lecturer, Rapiah Singah, 69, said she also learned a lot while at the institute and is happy her students are becoming good teachers.
“It is common for former students to drop by for a visit from time to time, a gesture that I truly appreciated and hope will continue,” she said of IPGKTI.
Datuk Khoo Soo Seang, from the reunion organising committee, said 99 graduates from 1965 to 1970 attended the reunion.
“I am one of the 144 members of the pioneer batch.
“In the first year (1965), the institute’s buildings, including the hostels, were still under construction.
“As a result, the male trainees stayed at Sultan Ismail Secondary School’s hostel, while the female trainees were housed in the lecturers’ quarters.
“What seemed like a shortcoming at first turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it fostered a closer relationship and friendship among us,” said Khoo, a former Tebrau MP.
