Daripada menjadi target para pensyarah dan dilabel sebagai budak nakal, anugerah emas Graduan Terbaik Universiti Malaya pada majlis konvokesyen 2004 yang diberikan oleh Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman adalah dedikasi khas kepada ibu bapa, guru-guru, kakitangan fakulti dan rakan-rakan di Kolej Dayasari serta fakulti.
Berikut adalah teks ucapan saya selaku wakil pelajar semasa hari graduasi Fakulti Pergigian, Universiti Malaya pada tahun 2004. Cukup untuk merumuskan perjalanan penuh berliku pelajarpelajar jurusan pergigian dan tanda terima kasih kami kepada mereka yang membantu kami semua.
To all my dental friends out there, if you are reading this, wherever you are, take care, enjoy life and thanks for the memories!!!
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Throughout our days in the faculty, Im sure a number of things happened to us that we would never have forgotten. And as for me, each and every one of these things are significant in its own way and made such a tremendous impression on me that I have never been able to get them out of my mind. Each of them Im sure, even after a lapse of 20 to 30 years, will always remained seared in my memory.
Some were good, some were funny, some were painful, some were unpleasant... but all are true and of course... memorable. And as for this speech, there wasnt any need for me to dig deep inside myself or do any soul searching. All I needed to do was skimmed them off the top of my consciousness and share it with all of you today.
The pre-clinical years which consist of year 1 and year 2 was rather a packed, tedious, highly-pressured moments for us. Im sure every single one of us still remembers how Prof.Subra used to scream at us, If you dont know this, go and sell kuey teow! And that remarks alone, coming from the most feared lecturer was enough to kick or put a foot on our butt to study hard.
Second year definitely gave us a clearer view on what dentistry is really all about. When we thought the Prof.Subra Experience was over, there were more to come. Our days in second year were filled with practical demonstrations and those lengthy prosthetics video demonstrations that were enough to make Franklin and Junaidi fell asleep. Remarks like I want you to redo, Redo this or the softer version of such remarks like Im sorry, I think you need to find another tooth and please redo came from the likes of Prof. Aziz, Prof. Thong, Dr. Mat Ibrahim and Dr. Hayaty, like bullet buried straight into the depth of our heart and God knows how frustrating that moment was.
And yes! Clinical years were definitely a period where we started to change. Mentally, emotionally, and of course... physically, and by that I mean appearances. From a simple pair of jeans and rock t-shirts to well-mannered working gentlemen; black shiny pair of shoes, well ironed pants and shirt, the professional look completed by a smart pair of neck tie. And as for the ladies, from a simple plain baju kurung to the glamorous style of blouse, long skirts, and even a number of tudung styles.... And to wear that white lab coat after years of waiting was really, really something I tell you! We even wore it for lunch at the canteen or the dining hall and some while crossing the road in front of University Hospital.
As for me, to be paired with the naughtiest but rather smart looking boy, Faiz, was the icing on the cake. And as you can see today, he has grown to become a most handsome, welldisciplined young army officer, Captain Dr. Faiz Khaleed!
Boy! Those 3 clinical years really did test our nerve and state of mind. From the first experience of giving the inferior dental nerve block to each partner, to our first extraction on patients. From our first scaling on each partner to our first class I cavity that took 3 hours. And in prosthetics, memory of reading a poem in front of our beloved Dr. Zakiah for not attending classes and to issue 12 dentures in 3 years (except Mah Eng Ching, he did 25!). Final year was even greater, with major projects to be completed. I still remember how Faiz really needed a single pin amalgam and ended up drilling the pin deep into the patients pulp.
And look at all of us now! We were posted to all over Malaysia. From the heart of Kuala Lumpur to upper north of Kedah or east cost of Kelantan... and far, far away in east Malaysia of Sarawak and Sabah... with 6 to 8 primary impression to take in one evening, with 40 to 50 extractions done per day, a class II MOD which only took us 10 to 15 minutes (with caries free, sublining and lining ya!).
And to whom do we owe our thanks for such expertise My friends... to these few good men and women at this very front rows, to these few nurses and also other staff do we owe them our heartfelt thanks and appreciation... in preparing and guiding us, for scolding and advising us, for being our number one enemy at one time, for becoming our second parents at most time and for being our friends at all time.
Beloved friends, 5 years together has brought us closer. We were in fact like brothers and sisters and know each other quite well. From the quiet and shy Sie Wei to the loud and outspoken Ai Yong. From the cool and always at ease Satesh to the always frantic and chaotic Junaidi. And from the naughty devilish Faiz to the angel-like Henny and Malina.
But no matter how different each individual is, character, race nor religion was never to be an excuse for us not to always help another whether in good times or bad times. And from a normal boy and girl conversation which later lead to a crush and later developing to a serious boy and girl relationship and in the end... love was in the air! Yew Hock and Chew Yen, a collision of 2 different culture Satesh and Shirleen and some other couples... and im sure you guys has started planning for the big day right! And even some has already registered and tied the knot.
No matter how hard life was in those years, not even one of the activities held or organized by the faculty was a waste. We would like to thank the dean, the former dean and the faculty in general for supporting us in handling activities from the glamorous annual dinner, the inter year games, the memorable community service Baktisiswa project in Terengganu to the educational and fun rural posting, the scientific conference and even the mentormentee programme.
We will definitely miss all the lecturers, our prolific and charismatic vice chancellor Dato Hashim, Prof. Zainal with his bow tie, the ever friendly Dr. Firdaus Hanafiah and Prof .Lui, the tireless Prof. Dasan and Dr. Zamri and their wife, the warm Dr. Zakiah, the graceful dance from Dr. Chew, Dr. Chai and Dr. Hayaty, the versatile Dr. Shan (and God knows what else this guy can do!), the athletic Dr. Sabree and the so called boy band quartet of Dato Ishak, Prof. Aziz, Dr. Mat, Dr. Wan singing, in their suits and dark glasses.
However far we are, as in me myself settling down in Kuching with Sathesh or Soon Tek and Jaclyn all alone in Tawau and even to the nearest Nina in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, our hearts will always be with this beloved faculty. We will always be proud of our root, our alma mater. And to all the lecturers, please dont switch off your handsets because we still need you in time of emergency especially during our on calls.
And as for tomorrow my friends, when our names are called, when we march up the stage to receive our scroll, let us each take a few minutes to reflect on the swirl of memories we have accumulated over the years, the good times, the bad times, the hard works, the sweat and blood, the tears, and the laughter from those people around us, especially from our parents, who without them, none of these would have been possible. Thank you, from the very bottom of our hearts, for your support, dedication, prayers and sacrifices that you have made in ensuring that we, your sons and daughters, will always have the best that life can offer. We would not have made it this far without your prayers and motivation.
And when we walk down the stage with our scroll firmly in our hands, let us not forget what the scroll symbolizes. For with that scroll, simple as it looks, comes with it the responsibility of serving the public, be it the poor or the rich, in rural or urban areas. To serve, to strive and not to yield, to our country and those who need our help. That simple scroll, my friends, comes with it the hopes and aspiration of every one in this room, our parents, our families and our lecturers. It symbolizes a new generation, a new hope for the future. So let us remember and reflect on that moment, and plant it firmly in our hearts, so that we can each be the best that we can be.
Saya selaku wakil pelajar ingin mengambil peluang ini untuk mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih kepada Yang Berbahagia Dekan, Prof. Dr. Rahimah dan ahli jawatankuasa serta staf-staf yang terlibat kerana sudi mengadakan majlis ini untuk meraikan kami semua. Kami sesungguhnya akan berkhidmat dengan penuh dedikasi dan sentiasa akan menjaga nama baik fakulti dan universiti yang kami cintai ini.
Kami juga ingin merakamkan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan khusus kepada ayahanda Dato Prof. Dr. Hashim Yaacob, Naib Canselor Universiti Malaya, di atas segala pengorbanan, tunjuk ajar, teguran dan usaha yang telah beliau curahkan kepada fakulti ini dan kepada kami dalam mempersiapkan diri untuk menempuh alam baru yang lebih mencabar.
Sebelum saya mengakhiri ucapan ini, saya mewakili pelajarpelajar Batch of 2003/2004 ingin memohon maaf terhadap segala kesilapan yang telah kami lakukan sepanjang kami berada di fakulti ini. Sekali lagi kepada semua ibu bapa, pensyarahpensyarah, jururawat-jururawat dan seluruh kakitangan fakulti... terima kasih.
To my beloved friends, brothers and sisters, A journey to a friends house is never far. It seems only yesterday that we were all rushing for the never ending requirements, calling up patients to fix appointments, burning the midnight oil studying, holding group discussions in preparation for exams and attending lectures together.
Thanks for all the memories and do keep in touch.
Kalau ada sumur di ladang, boleh kita menumpang mandi, kalau ada umur yang panjang, boleh kita berjumpa lagi.
