The Class
of 1978 of Sekolah Datuk Jaffar (SDJ) threw a surprise 80th birthday
party for former principal, B. Harbhajan Singh, at their recent class reunion
in Johor Baru.
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| Students from SDJ Class of 1978 singing the birthday song to former principal, B Harbhajan Singh |
Organising
committee chairman and former head prefect, Mohamad Taib Abbas, said they
wanted to honour the former principal for changing the negative image of the
school and turning out students who were now high achievers in various fields,
locally and abroad.
Taib, a
senior assistant manager with Public Bank Berhad, Kuala Lumpur, was at the
event with 90 of his former schoolmates and 18 teachers came from various parts
of the country including East Malaysia, and Brunei and New Zealand.
 |
| Former SDJ principal at his surprise birthday party! |
He said
Harbhajan was their school principal for 18 years, from 1973 to 1991, making
him the secondary school headmaster who served the second longest term in the
history of Johor education.
Harbhajan,
a Kirkby College trained educationist, hails from Kuala Kangsar. He was formerly with Segamat High School
before he was posted to SDJ, where he remained until his retirement.
“We would
not be here today if not for Mr Harbhajan and our teachers,” said Taib, voicing
a sentiment shared by his former schoolmates, who proudly call themselves the
Jaffarians.
 |
| Harbhajan spoke with wit and humour |
They
fondly recalled how Harbhajan firmly believed in not sparing the rod and
spoiling the child, the way he would hide a cane up his sleeve and how he would
wield it to discipline wayward boys!
“My
father was a strict disciplinarian, firm in his principles and who seldom gave
in to compromise,” said Kuldip Singh, Harbhajan’s son who was also of the Class
of ’78.
Kuldip
enjoyed no favoritism as a student. In
fact, if he received three strokes of the cane in school, he could count on receiving
twice the number of strokes when he got home!
When he
was invited to say a few words, Harbhajan addressed the audience with wit and
humour and had to stop himself from being long-winded because he felt as
comfortable as when he was speaking at a school assembly.
"School
principals need the support of parents because the elders’ good values will set
an example to children and teachers would not have to struggle with the problem
of instilling discipline,” said Harbhajan.
 |
| Old school annual magazines, named Sri Pelangi, were bound into a hardcover volume in a precious collection belonging to Harbhajan |
Harbhajan
remembered some of their notorious students and recalled how he and the discipline
master, Encik Yunus, met the families of these students and how, through counselling
and guidance, the students went on to excel in not only their studies but also
in sports.
During
his tenure as principal, the school turned out a number of sports personalities
including national cricket players, Mohd Sham Jalil and Idris Abdul Rahman, and
national footballers Muhidin Hussein and Amran Hassan.
The
school scored an 84% pass in the 1978 SPM examinations. The Best Student, Pow Chun Wei, went on to qualify
as a doctor and now runs a private practice in aesthetic medicine in Singapore.
Other
Jaffarians of repute from the Class of 1978, are Datuk Mahfar Ali, Group Editor
of Berita Harian newspaper and Aznor Mahat who is with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and was involved with handling the MH17 tragedy while he was a diplomat
based in Ukraine.
Celebrated with a sumptuous high tea and
birthday cake for Harbhajan, the event ended with gift and memento presentations
to the former principal and teachers.
A version of this was published in The Malaysian Insider on 6 March 2016
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