HlaMin

Month: May 2025

  • Activities at RU

    Fresher Welcome

    • Pat Tin-Win had the courage to request Sayagyi Dr. Ba Than (who was Medical Superintendent of the Japan Khit Say Yone Gyi, Rector of IM(1) and founder of the Zwe Ah Nyeint) to play Myamangiri on the harp, and allow the recording to be used for her friend Rosie to dance at the 1964 Chemistry Fresher Welcome.
      Sayagyi complied.
    • Related posts
      Gatherings

    Extracurricular Activities

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    Saing Waing
    • Those who chose to stay in hostels have fond memories of the various functions (e.g. by Thahaya and Sar Phutt Ah Thinn — Social and Reading Clubs), the Inter-Hall and Inter-Institute Sporting Events (e.g. at Aung San Stadium).
    • Per Daw Nyunt Nyunt Tin, she was a Day Scholar, but she spent a lot of time at Marlar Hall (known not just for beauties but for the excellent sports teams).
    • Some tried Rowing at the Rangoon University Boat Club (RUBC).
      The pioneer female rowers were from the Institute of Economics and RASU (partly because they are close to RUBC). They were later joined from other Institutes (e.g. RIT, IM(1), Education).
      RUBC was founded by Sir Arthur Eggar (Law Professor) in 1923. Details of RUBC can be found in the 90th Anniversary Issue (published in 2013). RUBC allowed female members in the mid 1960s. Pioneer female members were mostly from Institute of Economics (e.g. Ma Khin Mya), RASU (e.g. Jill Gaudoin /Aye) and some from other institutes.
    • Some remember the musical evenings and nights by Pho So Chins.
      Tekkatho Tun Naung (then a Dental College Student, Luyechun for the Summer Camp of 1965 at Inlay) would play mandolin in front of the Ladies’ Halls (e.g. Inya Hall). He would later co-found the Stereo Khit.
    • Related posts
      Ah Nu Pyinnya Shins
      RUBC
      Social and Reading Club

  • A Triumphant Return

    by Daw May Saw Lwin

    Much water has passed under the bridge and there were the usual as well as the unusual ups and downs! We were in Pyay during the turbulent times of 1988, which was under Section 144 and therefore relatively quiet while the rest of our country was undergoing the trials and tribulations of the “four eights…. 8-8-88 ” ! We were very fortunate, our family, as well as the staff and students of Pyay College as we all managed to get by unscathed by the turn of events which had caused so much turmoil and heartbreak throughout much of our beloved country!

    Our return could be termed triumphant. … our elder son Aung had done well in Pyay in the Matriculation Exam of 1988, the younger son, Nyi, would soon be attending high school in Yangon, having lost one year of study as had all the other students in Myanmar! And to top it all, personally, after many mishaps ( perhaps to be expanded on later), after what definitely was an extremely lengthy twenty seven years as an Assistant Lecturer, I was returning in high spirits as I had been promoted to be a Lecturer in Chemistry at the prestigious University of Yangon!

    We were back in Yangon by the beginning of the month of May 1990 and we stayed for a short while at a place nearby the University. To work again at a place which I could call my second home was really special, but to get to live there, on Campus, was to propel me to seventh heaven! (As all Buddhists know, there are only six levels in the abode of the Nats in the thirty one planes of existence!) And that was what really happened! My better half and the head of our household (actually ‘ head of the family ‘ has a better ring to it) had applied for accommodation / quarters on Campus and Number 4, Short Road, just a few steps from the famed Judson Church, was assigned to be our home.

    And so it was, we moved there on the 7th of July 1990, (mindful of the seventh of July, that unforgettable day in 1962), thirty years ago today, and we lived there happily, not ever after, as in the fairy tales, but for fifteen long fruitful years, each member of our family enjoying the shelter, shade and comfort that happy and (for us,) huge house gave us and in return contributing to society as best as we knew how .

  • RU 15

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    Some posts

    Thann Htutt Aung wrote some posts (e.g. landmarks including buildings and roads) and shared several posts (including the Hostels and their notable occupants, victorious RU soccer team from the prewar days, memories of former Soccer Selection U Aung Khin, logo from the RU Golden Jubilee).

    Some remembered their classmates who were denied admission to the professional institutes because of the 3-NRC rule.

    Several took three more years to complete their studies. The schools were closed following the 8-8-88. There were no convocations for 1988, 1989 and 1990.

    Some remembered attending Thabawa Theikpan (Natural Science) Campus in Thamaing. The name fell out of use. It was later known as RC(2), one of the three Regional Colleges in Yangon.

    The admission procedures change with the several “New Education System”. The controversial ILA (Intelligence Level Aggregate) was used to admit matriculates in 1964. The three year performance (Matriculation and Two years in Regional College) was used to decide the study of the students.

    “Special” Honors courses took five years (Intermediate followed by three years of specialization in a subject).

    “General” Honors courses took four years (Intermediate followed by two years of specialization in a subject).

    General Honors (Options : Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics)

    Physics Honors

    Saya Mehm Than Thoung was top in 1960 – 61.

    Sayama Daw May Than Nwe was top in 1961 – 62. Her classmates include Sayama Daw Khin Swe Aye, Sayama Daw Khin Than Nwe, Saya Dr. Sein Tun and Robert Sein.

    Dr. Hla Ngwe Tin (Frankie Ohn, First in Burma in the Matriculation of 1959), Dr. Tun Than, Dr. Soe Yin and U Kyaw Kyaw Shein were from the final batch 1962 – 63.

    Mathematics Honors

    Need info for 1960 – 61.

    Saya Dr. Kyaw Thein was top in 1961 – 62.

    Sayama Daw Myint Myint Khaing (daughter of Arzani Mahn Ba Khaing), Sayama Daw Kyi Kyi Aung, Saya Dr. Sein Win and U Oo Tha were from the final batch 1962 – 63.

    Chemistry Honors

    Need info for 1960 – 61.

    Saya Dr. Soe Win was top in 1961 – 62.

    Need info for 1962 – 63.

    Sein YaDu (Diamond Jubilee in 1995)

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    Aung Mon, Saya Dr. Soe Win, Sayama May Saw Lwin, Nyi Thet Lwin

    At that time, the four family members were affiliated with different Universities and Institutes.

    • Saya Dr. Soe Win (YUFL)
    • Sayama Daw May Saw Lwin (Chemistry, RASU)
    • Ko Aung Mon (EC, YTU)
    • Ko Nyi Thet Lwin (IM 1)

    At present, Saya and Sayama are retired. They will celebrate their Golden Jubilee soon. Ko Aung Mon did graduate studies in IT and works in Singapore. Ko Nyi Thet Lwin is a surgeon in UK.

  • Architects

    • Saya U Khin Maung Thint (Jimmy Tin) taught the early batches.
      
    • The first batch of Architects including Saya U Myo Myint Sein graduated in 1958.
      Saya did Masters postgraduate studies in the US.
      U Myo Myint Sein (Raymond) succeeded Saya U Tha Tun as Head of the Architecture Department.
      After retirement from RIT as Professor, he moved to the USA.
    • The second batch including Saya Dr. Lwin Aung and U Bo Gyi graduated in 1959.
      Dr. Lwin Aung worked in the industry for several years before joining the Faculty.       Saya Dr. Lwin Aung (A59) served as Professor of Architecture, and Pro-Rector of YTU (Yangon Technological University). After retirement, he became a monk.
      
    • The third batch including Koon Yin Chu (Phillip), U Tin Htoon, U Aung Kyee Myint and U Kin Maung Yin graduated in 1960.
      
    • Koon Yin Chu (Phillip Chu, SPHS54) stood First in Burma in the Matriculation of 1954. He stood First again in the graduating class of Architects in 1960.
      
    • U Bo Gyi (A59), U Tin Htoon (A60) and U Aung Kyee Myint (A60) founded Architects Incorporated.
      
    • U Bo Gyi was an accomplished pianist and modeller (e.g. sculpture) and was the senior of the three partners.
      He designed the Daw Khin Kyi Mausoleum., and was “set aside” by higher authorities for his work.
      After retirement, he become a monk.
      
    • U Tin Htoon (Past Captain and Gold of RUBC) is an ARAE Champion. He and Dr. Harry Saing won the Venables Bowl for coxless pairs at the 1958 ARAE Regatta in Calcutta. He, Dr. Harry Saing, Victor Htun Shein, Sunny Teng and U Sein Htoon won the Willingdon Trophy for coxed fours at the 1960 ARAE Regatta in Colombo. He and U Hla Khin (Navy / Defense) won Silver medal for Yatching at the SEAP Games.
      U Tin Htoon retired after working in Myanmar, Singapore and USA.
      
    • A few years later, the company was folded. The three Amigos joined PWD (Public Works Department).
      
    • U Aung Kyee Myint retired as Chief Architect of PWD.
      
    • U Kin Maung Yin (Modern Art, Director of “Hna Ma Let Shor Nay Lay Dawt”), Paw Oo Thet, Director Win Pe and several artists frequented Architects Incorporated.
      
    • U Kin Maung Yin used Black and White imagery, Classical Music and minimal dialog in his movie “Hna Ma Let Shawt Ney Lay Dawt” (which attracted some Westerners), but it was the first occurrence where the “First Day First Show” did not sell out.
      

    Cartoonists

    Table Tennis

    • Badminton
    • Botany
    • Burmese / Myanmar Sar
    • Cartoonists
    • Chancellor
    • Chemistry
    • Engineering
    • Graduation
    • Landmarks and Symbols
    • Library
    • Literary Clubs and RU Magazines
    • Ma Chit Swe’s Autograph
    • Mathematics
    • Physics
    • Poems
    • Rangoon University Boat Club / RUBC
    • Rectors and Registrars
    • SEAP Games
    • Table Tennis
    • UCC, DCS, ICST
    • Zoology

  • U Win Latt

    • Win Latt was one of my students at UCC.
    • Under the supervision of U Myint Sein (BARB, GBNF) and me, he implemented Win Horo.
    • He [co]founded CCC and SysMagic.
    • He worked in Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore and Thailand.

  • Business Application Division

    • U Mya Thein (GBNF)
    • U Thein Oo
    • U Soe Thein (GBNF)
    • U Aung Hlaing
    • Daw Nwe Nwe Win / Judy
    • Daw Nge Ma Ma Than / Ma Nge (GBNF)

    U Mya Thein

    Grapevine says that U Mya Thein (GBNF) earned the nickname “Bo Shoke” at the Institute of Economics (IE). His first nickname was supposedly “Bo Gyoke” because he had his hair cut like Bogyoke Aung San. He was a brilliant and talented student. He would “explain” the lectures in a room to his fellow students. Grapevine says that the turn out to his “free tuition” was larger than that at the regular classes given by the sayas.

    He had a vast array of General Knowledge. He read books on religion, medicine, and engineering. He would get involved in lots of activities thereby earning the name “Bo Shoke” (One who gets his hands wet in things that are of no concern to him).

    He joined the Commerce Department at the IE as a tutor. When UCC was formed, it needed people with diverse skills. Bo Shoke, Ah Thay Lay (U Thein Oo), Htaw Kyin (U Htin Kyaw) and Saya Maung (U Tun Shwe) transferred to UCC from IE. The first two majored in Commerce. The last two majored in Statistics. They all became Application Programmers, and went for further studies to the United Kingdom.

    Bo Shoke was outspoken. During a visit to UCC, VIPs (ministers and deputy ministers) were standing and waiting for U San Yu. Bo Shoke entered the room and shouted, “Sit down”. All complied. (What a surprise!)

    Bo Shoke not only taught at UCC, but he also lectured to the monks at ITBMU (International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University).

    Like Father, Like Son

    One day Bo Shoke’s father came to UCC. He carried a bunch of bananas to UCC. He asked U Tun Kywe, an army veteran serving as security, the office of Saya Myo (Bo Shoke’s manager). When he found out Saya Myo was not much older than Bo Shoke, he went downstairs and then handed the bunch of bananas to the elderly U Tun Kywe. Like father, like son.

    Remarks

    • I succeeded Saya Myo (U Myo Min) as Business Applications Manager. 
    • Bo Shoke succeeded me.
    • Fortunately or unfortunately, one who could “contest” Bo Shoke appeared. It was his sister-in-law.

    U Thein Oo

    U Thein Oo was an entrepreneur in his school days. He supposedly paid his school fees from his winnings from “Ta Chut Hmok” (and similar games). With great control and having excellent strategies, he was never victimized like other over-emotional card players.

    He was also good in sports : as a “lifter” in volleyball and as a “smasher” in table tennis.

    He joined the Department of Commerce and later transferred to UCC. His mentors include Saya Dr. Khin Mg Kyi (who attended the University as a monk and is known for his debating style). He is equally good as his mentor and may be even better.

    He found his soul mate Daw Than Than Tint at UCC. They and their family members (son, daughter-in-law) operate ACE and its subsidiaries.

    He co-founded MCI (training and services) company with a fellow alumni/saya U Tin Win Aung from the Institute of Economics.

    He has served in various capacities (e.g. President) in MCF and similar organizations.

    He is fondly known as “Ah Thay Lay”. He is a nice example of the saying “Great men are short”.

    U Soe Thein

    U Soe Thein (also known as Joe Thein) had a disability, but that did not prevent him to have a good life and career. He completed training courses from ICL (including COBOL programming).

    He joined UCC as an “off-line” operator. He transferred to the Application Division. He became one of the COBOL teachers.

    U Aung Hlaing

    U Aung Hlaing is fondly known as Japan Sayagyi. His wife worked for the Foreign Ministry and was assigned to Japan. JS accompanied her and worked as a COBOL programmer.

    Saya Paing met him during his training (sponsored by JICA [Japan International Cooperating Agency] and implemented by Fujitsu and other Japanese computer companies. Saya Paing asked him if he would like to join UCC upon his return to Burma.

    He became one of the COBOL teachers.

    Daw Nwe Nwe Win

    Daw Nwe Nwe Win is fondly known as Judy.

    She was a star athlete at RASU. She also played volley with the males (UCC employees and students).

    She used to hang around a lot with Ma Nge (Daw Nge Ma Ma Than).

    One day, some one approached Judy and Ma Nge with two envelopes. He said, “It’s for both of you”. Guess what? Inside each envelope was a “Yee Zar Sar”.

    They remained “twins” until U Myint Swe managed to get the favor of Ma Nge.

    It would take some more time before Judy would tie the knot.

    Daw Nge Ma Ma Than (Ma Nge)

    See other posts about Ma Nge (GBNF).

  • In Memory of U Aung Zaw

    The family of Saya U Aung Zaw (Sydney, Australia) — Daw Kyawt, San Tint Tint Zaw, Ant Bwe Zaw, Nyan Htet Zaw, Grandchildren — thanks all those around the world who sent messages and donations during the recent bereavement.

    In Saya Zaw’s memory, the family donated AUD5000 to the Metta Foundation (which provides health care to the elderly and the needy).

    The family also offered requisites to the Sangha in Sydney.

    The dhamma friends at the Yennora Burmese Monastery helped with the Soon Kwyay.

    U Myint Lwin (Charles) coordinated the three Ah Hlu in Thanatpin, Myanmar :

    • Two nights offering Lights
    • Two days offering drinking water
    • Soon Kyway

    Daw Pyone Yee (Saya Zaw’s older sister in Myanmar) and family performed dana for Saya Zaw.

    U Zaw Tun (UCC), family and friends in Singapore hosted Soon Kyway for Saya Zaw.

    U Ngwe Soe (UCC, Singapore) earlier donated Saya Zaw’s books to a library (in a monastery) for public access.

    Due to relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, Saya Zaw’s last journey was allowed 45 minutes (instead of 15 minutes) and 60 attendees.

  • U Aung Zaw

    Sad News

    Saya U Aung Zaw (Aung Daing, Yebaw Gyi, AZ, Saya Zaw) passed away in Sydney, Australia on November 16, 2021.

    Three Books

    He wrote about his life and philosophy in two books “Dhamma and Bawa” and “Cetana thi thar Kan”.

    I had the honor and privilege to edit the books, and to contribute a section “Advice to Grandchildren” (based on his draft writing).

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    Both books were published by his elder sister Daw Pyone Yee in Yangon. They were mailed to Saya Zaw’s friends, colleagues and former students (in Myanmar, Singapore, USA …) by Saya’s niece Cho Zin Win.

    A third book did not get published in time (partly due to pandemic).

    Life Long Teacher

    Saya Zaw joined the Department of Mathematics at RASU.

    He transferred to UCC as Systems Programmer.

    He received M.Sc. (Computer Science) from Southampton University.

    He also had training at UCSC (University of California at Santa Cruz).

    Saya Zaw and his mentor Saya U Soe Paing (UCC co-founder) studied at Southampton University in the UK. The Chair of the Computer Science Department (Professor D. W. Barron) earlier worked at Cambridge University Mathematical Laboratory under Computer Pioneer Maurice V. Wilkes who built EDSAC and also wrote about Microprogramming.

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    He taught Computer courses at UCC and later at CSO, Assumption University (in Bangkok) and at a University (in Sydney).

    Saya U Soe Paing (co-founder of UCC) allowed Saya Zaw and me to co-author User Manuals & Guides and Texts (on Programming and Computers).

    Multiple Talents

    Saya Zaw wrote Kabyars, articles and Thingyan Sar. A sample of his witty writings can be found in my web site hlamin.com

    Saya Zaw completed the Thingyo (Abhidhamma) examination. He organized Dhamma discussions with Saya Chit (Dr. Chit Swe) and selected seniors. Some of the discussions can be found in his book (which was published by his elder sister and mailed to us by his niece).

    True Love

    True Love Story saw Ma Kywat donating her Kidney to Saya Zaw several years back. The donated kidney was still strong and healthy at the time of demise.

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    Three Children and Four Grandchildren

    Saya Zaw’s children are fondly known as

    • Mi San (San Tint Tint Zaw)
    • Ant Bwe Zaw
    • Nyan Htet Zaw (Steven).
    • Mi San and her children moved to Saya Zaw’s house.
    • Ant Bwe moved to Mi San’s former house (adjoining to Saya Zaw’s house).
    • Nyan Htet and family would occasionally visit the parents and siblings.

    Saya Zaw was an early sponsor / supporter of

    • Panditarama Sydney Meditation Center
    • Yenora Monastery
    • Metta Foundation

    He helped conduct retreats at the monasteries / meditation centers.

    The Metta Foundation in Sydney aids needy people with sickness and disabilities. The Foundation also sent volunteers to help Saya Zaw (during his medical treatment).

    Saya Zaw also participated in the Community events by Burmese Doctors (e.g Dr. Kyaw Myint Malia), Engineers (MEAA members — mostly RIT Alumni) and Seniors.

    UCC Gatherings

    He organized several UCC Gatherings at his house with delicious food provided by Ma Kyawt.

    In 2006, I attended a gathering (organized by Saya Zaw) to pay respect to Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe (UCC Founder) and Sayagyi Dr. Freddie Ba Hli (UCC Advisor).

    Sad to note that they are GBNF.

    Last Journey

    Saya Zaw was cool and calm to the very end. He told Mi San not to play dhamma CDs, and that he can concentrate / meditate better with silence.

    He wrote his Obituary.

    In lieu of wreaths, donations should be made to Organizations offering support to the needy, sick and disabled.

    The monasteries / meditation centers plan to perform kusala and share merits for Saya Zaw.

    Memories

    Visit by Ma Ma Mi and Dr. Kyaw Myint

    Ma Ma Mi (Daw Khin Khin Latt, spouse of Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe) visited Saya Zaw the day before his demise. Dr. Kyaw Myint (one of Saya Zaw’s physicians) was also present at the time.

    Obituary

    Saya Zaw typed his Obituary and handed it to his family. Mi San posted it in her Facebook Page.

    Saya Zaw — Then and Now

    Last Journey

    Per Saya Zaw’s request, only a short service (about 45 minutes) was held.

    There were also restrictions due to the pandemic.

    Ma San posted a streaming of the service for those who could not attend the service in person.

    Dana in Thanatpin

    Soon Kyway

    Water Ah Hlu / Dana

    Up to date 23 – 11 – 2021ကျောက်ပန်းတောင်းမြို့နယ် 🌿 သနပ်ပင်ကျေးရွာအများပြည်သူအတွက်သောက်ရေများကို အလှူရှင်များက နေ့စဉ်ပေးလှူလျက်ရှိရာ ယနေ့အတွက်တစ်နေ့တာ သောက်ရေများကို 🙏 ရတနာမြတ်သုံးပါးကိုဦးထိပ်ထား၍👉 2021 ခုှနှစ်၊ November ၊ (16)ရက်နေ့တွင် ကွယ်လွန်သွားသော👉 ဘိုကလေးမြို့ (ဦးလှဖေ + ဒေါ်ခင်စိန်) တုိ့၏သား👉#ဦးအောင်ဇော် အသက်(၇၅)နှစ်အားရည်စူး၍👉 ကျန်ရစ်သူ Australia,Sidney နေဇနီး ဒေါ်နန်းကြော့(ခ)ဒေါ်တင့်တင့်ဝေနှင့်👉 မိတ်ဆွေ ဦးထွန်းအောင်ကျော်နှင့် မခင်မော် ၊ CHARLES နှင့် ANN MARIEမိသားစုများ က ရေလှူရသည့်အကျိုးရေအကျိုး (၁၀)ပါး ရရှိပါစေခြင်းအကျိုးငှာ သောက်ရေများ ပေးလှူပါသည်။

    ရေအကျိုး(၁၀)ပါးပြည့်ဝပါစေ။ကျန်းမာချမ်းသာပါကြပါစေ။

    Wishing you all the best.

    #မတောင်းပဲပြည့်သောဆု ( သို့ )#ရေလှူရသောအကျိုးတရား(၁၀)ပါး

    ( ၁ ) သန့်ရှင်းကြည်လင်ခြင်း( ၂ ) ကျော်စောထင်ရှားခြင်း( ၃ ) အခြံအရံ ပေါများခြင်း( ၄ ) လျင်မြန်ဖျတ်လတ် သွက်လက်ပေါ့ပါးခြင်း( ၅ ) ရေငတ်မွတ်သိပ်မှု ကင်းဝေးခြင်း( ၆ ) အသက်ရှည်ခြင်း( ၇ ) အဆင်းလှခြင်း( ၈ ) ကြီးပွားချမ်းသာခြင်း( ၉ ) ခွန်အားကြီးမားခြင်း( ၁၀ ) ပညာဥာဏ်ကြီးမားခြင်း

    #ရေလှူဆုတောင်း

    ကြည်လင်အေးမြ ရေလှူရ၍ ဘဝတိုင်းဝယ် အသိဥာဏ်ပညာကြွယ်လျက်ကိုယ်ဝယ်တွင်းပြင် ညစ်ကြေးစင်ကြည်လင်အေးမြလို၏ အရှင်ဘုရား။

  • UCC Alumni

    1. U Win Hlaing
    2. Mr. Henry Maung Maung (Census, GBNF)
    3. Daw Kyu Kyu Lwin (GBNF)
    4. Daw Khin Si Thoung (USA)
    5. Daw Khin Khin Win (Five Star Line – USA)
    6. Daw Phyu Phyu Win (Singapore)
    7. Daw Win May Thaung (GBNF)
    8. Daw Tin Tin Yi (Port Authority)
    9. Daw Hla Hla Win (GBNF)
    10. U Aung Myint
    11. U Soe Myint (Sunlun, M72, GBNF)

    Five of the eleven in the photo are GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten)

    Annotation by U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ), U Aung Myint (AM), Daw Nwe Nwe Win (Judy) and Daw Tin Moe We (Sweety)

    Dr. Soe Thein (C75) wrote :

    • I can say that I am also Part of UCC.
    • I attended MSc (Computer) at UCC for 3 months from Dec 1975 to Mar 1976 until Hmaing Yar Pyae Demonstration.
    • U Shwe Hlaing started my FORTRAN in 5th Year RIT and U TAG (U Tun Aung Gyaw) completed it in my first 3 months in MSc (Computer).
    • I used FORTRAN in both my MEng Thesis at AIT and PhD Thesis at National University of Singapore.
    • Without mastering FORTRAN, I cannot complete my thesis.
    • Thanks to Sayar U Shwe Hlaing, U TAG and other UCC Lecturers and Staff who helped me during my study and usage at UCC from 1977 to 1982.

  • Systems Division

    • U Aung Zaw
    • Dr. Maung Maung Htay
    • Dr. Rafil Ahad
    • U Soe Myint
    • U Than Lwin

    U Aung Zaw

    U Aung Zaw was born in Bogale. He is also known as Yebaw Gyi and Saya Zaw.

    He is a nephew of Bogale U Kywe (a renowned palmist, GBNF), who both predicted the successful careers of Saya Chit (Dr. Chit Swe), and Bo Htay (Dr. Maung Maung Htay).

    He met his soul mate Daw Nan Tint Tint We (Ma Kyawt) at Pathein [Bassein] College. He joined the Department of Mathematics, RASU.

    One day, Saya Chit asked him if he would like to join UCC. If Saya Zaw remained in the Mathematics Department, he would have a chance to do Ph.D. As for UCC, Saya Zaw would learn new technology, but a Ph.D is not guaranteed.

    Saya Zaw studied Masters in Computer Science at Southampton University along with Saya Paing (U Soe Paing) who would do double-duty as a mentor. The Department Head was Professor D. W. Barron, who worked for the Computer Pioneer Maurice V. Wilkes at CUML (Cambridge University Mathematical Laboratory, later CU Computing Lab) and also wrote a CS monograph.

    Upon return to Burma, Saya Zaw taught M.Sc . and DAC courses. He is one of the “sayas of UCC sayas”.

    He led the Systems Programming team (managed by Saya Paing).

    He had training at UCSC to have an in-depth knowledge of Unix.

    Saya Paing, Saya Zaw and I wrote several Guide books and Publications used at UCC.

    Life After UCC

    He transferred to CSO Department (which had installed an IBM computer). He went for IBM Training in Thailand.

    After retirement from CSO, he tried to find a new career and life overseas. He cared a lot about his children and their future.

    He was met in Bangkok by U Myint Oo (DAC, Co-op), who took him to ABAC (also known as Assumption University). U Myint Oo requested the Brother Director (Principal) and his staff to interview Saya Zaw. To Saya Zaw’s surprise, he was offered a job to start that very day.

    His first assignment was to teach Pascal (a language designed by Nicklaus Wirth ). He mentioned that he used the “Pascal Programming Guide” prepared by me at UCC.

    His next stop was Sydney, Australia. He continued teaching at a University until his health conditions “worsened”.

    True Love Story

    Saya Zaw experienced a “True Love Story” about five years ago. He found out that both his kidneys were not good, but one was bad enough to need a transplant.

    Saya tried to get a donor for kidney. His beloved spouse offered to donate her kidney as a sign of unwavering love, companionship and trust. Tears of joy fell from Saya’s eyes.

    The kidney transplant was successful, but he still have to face some side effects

    The details are provide in his first book “Bawa and Dhamma”.

    Knowledge Sharing

    Saya Zaw wrote two books. He wanted to share his life experience, poems, satires & articles, and the Dhamma discussions (weekly discussions with seniors including Saya Chit). He compiled them into a book called ” Bawa And Dhamma “.

    Another book was written for his grandchildren and covers the culture and religious teachings. Saya said, “It does not matter if they choose to profess another religion or belief. It matters that they should know their heritage and culture before making life decisions”. The book contains some chapters written by me based on Saya Zaw’s ideas. It also contains poems and articles that were not printed in the first book, or written after Saya Zaw’s operation.

    Saya has also done DHAMMA DANA and donated several books.

    Smiles Despite Intense Pain

    Saya Zaw’s smiles, jokes and his THINGYAN SAR covered up the “physical” pain. In 2006, during my visit to Sydney, Saya said solemnly, “Only 30% of my kidney is working.”

    Saya Zaw has a noble nature

    I had first hand experience when I decided to move from “Hardware” to “Software”. Saya Zaw told the management that he would happily let me become the Senior Systems Programmer, even though it would be “blocking” his career advancement. I salute you, Saya Zaw.

    Dr. Maung Maung Htay

    • Bo Htay (Maung Maung Htay) studied at Imperial College in the United Kingdom and received his Ph.D from LSU (Louisiana State University), Baton Rouge in the United States.
    • He worked at VMI (Virginia Military Institute).
    • He is currently working at Radford University in Virginia.
    • He served as Chair of the Regional ACM Programming Contest.
    • He offered his expertise (for curriculum development …) at UCSY (University of Computer Science Yangon) for three months each in 2018 and 2019.

    Dr. Rafiul Ahad

    • Rafi (Rafiul Ahad) studied at UCC, AIT (Asian Institute of Technology) in Thailand and USC (University of Southern California) in the United States.
    • He worked at University of Maryland, Hewlett Packard, Ingres and Oracle USA.
    • He is currently Vice President managing Oracle Cloud Computing Project.
    • He gave Key Note speech at an AIT Commencement Ceremony.

    U Soe Myint

    Dr. Maung Thein (Professor, Geology) advised U Soe Myint to study M.Sc. (Computer Science) at UCC.

    He volunteered during his study days and joined UCC after graduation.

    He is known as KSM (short for Ko Soe Myint) to differentiate from U Soe Myint (Operator, also known as Sunlun Soe Myint or Soe Myint Gyi).

    After UCC, he was assigned to various UN projects. He retired from UNOPS.

    He is presently in New York, USA.

    U Than Lwin

    U Than Lwin has two Masters : one in Mathematics from RASU and one in Computer Science from the UK.

    He moved to CSO.

    After retirement, he and his spouse Daw Khin Swe Oo (EC74) relocated to Singapore.