OBW'09: What Others Say...

STAR OBW'09 is over.

After all is said & done, I think it's best if STAR OBW'09 is reported by some one else rather than by the Eightyniners themselves.

So I've decided to compile comments, like this very comprehensive observation by Encik Said Ismail.

I also downloaded photos from a few old boys' facebooks

(Shamsul Safuan, Nuar Hassan, el bodent, etc) for all to enjoy.

I've taken the liberty to add captions beneath the photos.

Everything else is as how they originally appeared.

So, here it goes:

(COPY AND PASTE FROM STAROBA YAHOOGROUP EMAIL WRITTEN BY EN. SAID ISMAIL)

Assalamualaikum Starobs.

I've been a passive subscriber of this e-mail group for quite some time now, but today I'm going to break my silence, maybe just this once, to salute Batch 1989 (the Eighty-Niners) for their superb organization of the 2009 OBW. Everything, from the registration to the dinner and entertainment, bore the hallmarks of a well-coordinated group in action. This, without any doubt, was OBW par excellence!! !!!

For those of you who were not there, here is my brief impression of the 2009 OBW:

Registration (Friday afternoon and Saturday morning) - very smoothly and efficiently carried out. As Asri of Ipoh Mali had remarked earlier, the registration fee of RM50 that included dinner for the whole family as well was indeed a pleasant surprise. It transpired later that this apparently had something to do with the fact that our Dato' STAROBA President had managed to get someone under the purview of his ministry to sponsor the dinner etc.

Registration counter yang sibuk

Eightyniners' main man Shahlan Shukor (a.k.a Tolib) bersama VIPs.

Antara super seniors batch awal2 yang hadir

Van Milo yang berjasa menghilangkan dahaga

Career Talk (Friday evening) - very well presented, witty in addition to being informative. The star of the show was one Orthopaedic Specialist (can't recall his name) [Dr Azaidin Akasah]who, throughout his talk, kept our boys in stitches with his witty anecdotes!!!

Colobque the auditor talking to the Fith Formers during the Career Talk Session

The boys listening attentively to Dr Agok's lawak stim

Kerjaya by Kementerian Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi (Saturday morning) - I missed this event, but from what I gathered, it was well conducted and very well received by our boys.

Saturday morning Games: Starobs vs STAR Teachers volleyball; Inter-Batch Futsal; and Inter-House 7-A-Side Under-15 and Under-18 Football - all were very well coordinated. It's a pity that one was spoilt for choice between the futsal and the 7-A-Side football matches. (As it happened, I chose to watch the 7-A-Side football and was rewarded with the pleasure of watching White House winning the Under-18 championship! !!!)

Volley ball STAROBA vs STAR

Interhouse 7-A-side football

Inter Batch Futsal

AGM (Saturday afternoon) - the liveliest ever, according the our Dato' STAROBA President!!! !!!!

Under-15 Rugby (Saturday afternoon): STAR vs McKK (pronounced McKeKek, courtesy of our Dato' STAROBA President) - it was exhilirating to watch our boys using their clever strategy of collecting as many points as possible from free-kicks to beat their speedier and heavier McKK opponents 9-5!!!!!

Dinner and Entertainment (Saturday evening): The food was more than OK and the entertainment..... well, you have to be there to really appreciate our boys in their elements!!! To start with, the Eighty-Niners had two strokes of genius - one was to have the entertainment performed as a pre-auditioned talent show aptly themed "STAR Got Talent" among the prebs (present boys), which ensured that only the best and most innovative talents were on show that evening, and the other was to allow the prebs to attend the function as well at a cut-rate cost of only RM20, which made for a lively and boisterous atmosphere (like having spectators in a match!!!).

Opening Act - Class of 89 singing the school song.

Awet: ... as we take you down Tiger Lane!

The Audience: ?????? (tak de respon)
Bob : Hmmmm.... lawak best student!
The Audience: HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Awet: (Siut, Bob, kena aku seround!)

As for the entertainment, the MC was articulate and witty, and the talent show, by any standard, was simply superb. Altogether the boys put up three songs ( a rendition each of Jonas Brothers' "Burnin' Up"; Sweet Charity's "Kamelia", and Kenny, Remy & Martin's "Suratan Atau Kebetulan "), and three performances (a Black and White dance; a Sponge Box/Michael Jackson show; and a rock dance by a group by the name of "Geli" in black spectacles dancing to the tune of a ....wait for it.... Tamil rock song!!!!

The Rockaholics

Spongebob pun ada!

In the song category, the "Kamelia" singer emerged as the winner, but it's a pity that somene had to win, for any of the other two could have won as well, for they were all that good. And in the performance category, although Geli was the runaway winner, the other two groups were no less commendable either.

The Geli Boys - the crowd simply loved their moves!

It's rare to see an audience in an amateur show completely spellbound like this one was, for besides the vibrant singers and the well choreographed performances, all the other ingredients of a good show like efficient logistics, a good PA system, well-coordinated lighting effects, and good in-between acts continuity were all in place. The evening ended with a performance by an imported lady singer, who, on hindsight, was perhaps out of place since the theme of the evening was "STAR Got Talent". Furthermore, if her inclusion was merely to augment the show, it was unnecessary as our boys were quite capable of holding their own. The prebs might not agree with me on this point though, since many of them, with the slighted invitation from the lady singer, ended up dancing with her on stage for the most part of her performance.

All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and I'm glad that I had my whole family with me that evening 'cause I'm sure we're going to keep talking about this show for a long time to come. Well done Eighty-Niners! !!!!!!!!

STAR's new rugby jersey, courtesy of the eightyniners

IIt's proven, boys, that we are the best!

Starobs vs Starprebs Rugby (Sunday Morning) - the fact that the prebs made short work of their seniors was a reassuring sign that all is well with the STAR rugby tradition.

Pakai jersey baru, the school team won! Bravo STAR!!

Sunday Farewell lunch at the dining hall - well attended. The baton was passed on to Batch 1990.

Good luck Batch '90 ~ we expect next year to be better!

Well, Batch 1990, your seniors have set you a very high standard, but I've no doubt that in the tradition of STAR you'll be able to match it, if not beat it. Insya Allah, I'll be there at your 2010 OBW. Good luck!!!!! Salam to all. ILMU PANDUAN HIDUP!!!!!!