Malay College Class of 2004

Day & Date:      Saturday, 2 December 2006
Time:                7.30 pm

Venue:              Istana Besar Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan

MCOBA Golf will organize a tournament earlier of the day till evening. 

Check with Sdr Kassim Aris/Sdr Wan Katak on details of the golf event.

WHEN?

The date 2-Dec was picked because October is Puasa month, followed by Raya in November.  Also in November, the UMNO General Assembly will be held, hence all big hotels have been fully booked throughout the month.  Most of December, people take time off from work to go on vacation, plus the holiday seasons towards end of the month.  One available date at Istana Hotel falls on a Friday—a bad day for Dinner due to heavy traffic!

WHERE?

Since the only hotel available was Istana Hotel but the date was unsuitable, we had to look for other options. We put on our MCOBA thinking cap and voila…why not a real Istana?  Perhaps the Istana Negara, before the change of Agong in mid-December.  But the snag was we need to get the approval of the PM’s Department.  No answer for 2 weeks.

Again we put on our MCOBA cap.  Aha, the next option is the Istana Besar Seri Menanti, which has a big banquet hall able to accommodate 1,500 guests, a stage for performance, and a High Table for the Royals and VVIPs.

WHY NOT?

DYMM Yang Di Pertuan Besar NS Tuanku Jaafar has always been a staunch supporter of MCOBA and MCKK activities, and at 85 years old is the most senior and oldest surviving Malay Ruler.  It seems appropriate to bring the Annual Dinner this year to Seri Menanti as a gesture of thank you to DYMM YDPB NS Tuanku Jaafar.  And also a gesture of thank you and due recognition to our beloved Honorary Life President, ex-President YM Tunku Dato’ Seri Adnan.

Tuanku Jaafar gave his blessing; Tunku Adnan expressed his excitement; and MCOBA Negeri Sembilan chapter is throwing their weight to make the event memorable.  State Secretary, Dato’ Abdullah Sani, promised to provide full assistance to MCOBA.

WHAT’RE IN STORE?

The Dinner & Concert Committee 2006 is headed by Sdr. Hisham Badrul HASHIM, (taking over from Dato’ Salehudin HASHIM, who previously took over from Dato’ HASHIM Yusoff), and ably advised by Dato’ Mokhtar HASHIM.  Viva bani HASHIM!

The Committee checked out the place in mid-September and found the banquet hall has the resemblance of good ol’ MCKK—the High Table, the dining tables arranged as in the Big School dining hall, while the stage looked almost exactly like the one at Hargreaves Hall!  Ample, free parking spaces.  And how often do you get to dine at the Palace Banquet Hall?

The Bargreaves Ballerz are now cracking their heads to come up with a stage performance better than last year; the MCOBand is auditioning singers and tuning their equipments; the MCKK Wind Orchestra boys will show off their talents; and the NS State Cultural troupe will add splendour to the night.

HOW MUCH?

Not exceeding RM 1,500 per 10 pax.  That’s only RM 150 per person.

HOW TO GET THERE?

Seri Menanti, the Royal town of NS, is just 30 minutes east of Seremban. Seremban is 1 hour south through the NS Expressway. Enter Senawamg toll, go straight ill you meet the junction to Kuala Pilah or Tanjung Ipoh (ample signages), drive through 4 km of scenic, winding Bukit Putus, Ulu Bendul Forest Reserve, see big Kuala Pilah sign on boulders, see replica of a tengkolok, pass Dragon fruit farms, see Pusat Kesenian on left, big arch on right, go through right, pass a lot of lembus, kambings and their droppings, go uphill a bit, see sign .." beware of golfers crossing”…there you are already in Seri Menanti. 

The whole of Seri Menanti is actually the palace grounds. The first structure to the left after the palace gate is the Banquet Hall, which looks like the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.  Inside, it’s like Hargreaves Hall and Dining Hall combine--with long tables like our good ol’ dining hall with raised high table and stage on each ends. Majestic indeed, yet nostalgic!

Bookings for tables will be open soon.  Watch out for further details.  In the meantime, you may start planning, blocking the date 2-Dec-2006, saving your money, pooling with friends, etc etc.

Quoted by, from (www.mcoba.org)
Jak Li, cucu Hashim

MCOBA Secretariat

Penthouse

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