Memang Ini Jalanku: KNO’s Farewell

We (the Mighty Ducks madness – fathers, mothers, babies and including staunch supporters like Pejal and Aini) had a simple gathering to say good bye to KNO since he was leaving the country for at least a few years to a posting in Southern Asia.

I could not join in the planning from the beginning because the last few weeks had been very hectic; but we ended up in a restaurant in Subang.

In a way, the farewell dinner was a lot more meaningful than just a farewell for KNO.

Most of the Bapak and Mak Itiks were there – Mpro came all the way from Melaka. I can’t remember the last time we had had such a gathering, it has been really busy since the beginning of 2009 that we hardly had the time to catch up in spite of the time we spent together looking after the team.

So to see everyone including the wives was so good. I wanted to organise one during Ramadhan on my treat but never get around to doing it (so I guess they must have factored that in when they only brought only half the cash to pay for the food ha ha; leaving the rest to be topped up by a credit card!)

KNO’s departure also marks the first of the many after this.

We drew a very specific timeline for Mighty Ducks and 2010 stands prominently in the timeline and the many versions of exit strategies that we had. KNO has been instrumental from day one and there would not have been Mighty Ducks Project without KNO. In a way, Mighty Ducks without KNO will not be the same.

Personally, it is a series of pieces that are falling into places to mark our gradual withdrawal from MCKK.

We have done our time – no MCKK products before or after can question whether we had given back.

There are still some loose ends to tie for Mighty Ducks. After that, all of you can sleep well knowing I will not bug you for money or time or anything.

The boys are beyond us in the near future, it’s time that they pursue their own fate while we only watch from afar.

I hope – knowing this, KNO will not feel too bad not being around because a gradual withdrawal is not as exciting as pushing for acceptance in the early phase.

Good luck KNO and come back in one piece – rain or shine, we still need someone to print the certificates for future Mighty Ducks Cup.

FOOTNOTE

I selected the songs because some of the words bear crucial meaning, if only the boys care to decipher them.

“Memang ini jalanku, Ku kan tetap menyayangimu

Tapi cinta tak sekadar, Kata-kata indah”

The clip recounts the journey from 2007 – most of the kids had left the school since. History will judge them whether they will honour their promises. Ben (Class of 08) was the only beneficiary of the project who joined the farewell dinner last week.