Arrived in Singapore 15 minutes later than the ETA.
Ko Nyan Win Shwe, Saya U Aung, Ko San Win, Ko Khin Latt, Ko Zaw Win Htut and Ko Tin Aung Win (TAW) were waiting for the “Three Musketeers” — Saya Allen Htay, Ko Benny Tan, and me.
Saya and Ko Benny were taken to the Bay View Hotel, which is close to the three hotels where the sayas and sayamas from Myanmar who had arrived earlier on April 4, 2007.
Thanks to Ko TAW (C81, UCC) for giving me his younger son’s room and his laptop, for proving me home-cooked food, and for driving me to the various gatherings and the main events.
Electrical Engg Gathering
Attended EE gathering. Organizers include Ma San San Mya (’72), Ko Kyaw Swa (’96, emcee), Ko Aung Mon (’96), …
Sayas led by U Myo Kyi, Dr. Christopher Lee (L. Tin Tun), U Soe Paing, U Moe Aung, Dr. Win Tin, U Ba Myint, U Khine Oo, U Tin Maung Thein, U Tin Shwe, U Kyaw Lwin, Daw Mya Mya Than, U Than Lwin … attended the gathering.
Many sayas gave speeches: brief self-intro, walks down memory lane, and thanks to the organizers.
April 6, 2007
Civil Engg Gathering
Attended as “Ah htoo ei the daw” [အထူးဧည့်သည်တော် guest] the Civil Engg gathering organized by Saya U Aung, Saya Dr.Soe Thein, …, Ko Aung Kyaw Myint (’96, “Ko Ba Kyaw” of Swe Daw Yeik fame, emcee), …
Sayas led by Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun, Dr. Win Thein, Dr. Aung Soe, U Allen Htay, U Thein Tan, U Khin Maung Phone Ko, Saw Christopher Maung, U Tin Maung, U Nyi Hla Nge, Dr. Htin Aung, Dr, Khin Maung Win, U Hla Myint Thein, U Khin Maung Tint, Dr. Myo Khin, U Khin Maung Maung, Dr. Soe Thein, Daw Swan Tee, ….
Welcome Dinner
Attended the “welcome dinner” at Yunan corner. Food was provided by a local Myanmar restaurant and some imported specialties: Kauk hnyin kyi tauk.
Almost all the visiting sayas, sayamas and their families attended. Saya U Ba Toke, 87 years young led the sayas.
Met the core organizers of SPZP 2007. Had a meeting with the sayas and the representatives from the alumni groups to decide on the time and venue for the next SPZP.
April 7, 2007
The two main events of the Fourth RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP took place.
Morning event at BBT
Three rounds of Saya Ga Daw Pwe at the Burmese Buddhist Temple (BBT) :
senior sayas who graduated before ’65
sayas who graduated before ’75
sayas who graduated after ’75
Saya U Ba Toke, Saya U Min Wun, and Saya U Thar Hlaing gave “ovadha ဩဝါဒ and blessings for the attendees.
Ko Tin Maung Win (EP71) posted Part 1 of the event on “YouTube” and requested us (me and the various webmasters and/or moderators of the RIT-related web sites) to announce the link so that the sayas, sayamas, alums and well-wishers who could not attend SPZP 2007 can share the experiences.
Three Tin Maung Wins worked for the same company in Singapore. They are formally differentiated by using their major/discipline and/or year of graduation. Two of them are known as “Ah Phyu အဖြူ TMW” and “Ah Me အမဲ TMW” (who prefers to be called instead “Ah Nyo အညို TMW” or as the hubby of “Model” (Mai Daw မယ်တော် singer and dancer Moe Moe Yi.
Evening event at OCC
Orchid Country Club (OCC) is one of the few places in Singapore that can host events with 800+ attendees. According to Ko Nyan Win Shwe, 840 attended the Reunion dinner.
There were long queues at the registration table. Young volunteers gave out badges, “Swe Daw Yeik Sar Saung စွယ်တော်ရိပ်စာစောင်” and a door gift to every attendee. The invited sayas and sayamas were given additional gifts.
Some scheduled speeches were canceled or shortened (from 5 to 3 minutes). There was ample entertainment from the Singapore and Myanmar groups while the 10-course dinner was being served.
There were two rounds of “appreciation to the Golden Sponsors” (for a complete list see the SPZP 2007 web site). Ko Benny and I were requested to accept the “appreciation awards” on behalf of the sponsors who could not attend SPZP 2007.
Ko Myint San (“Tet Lu တက်လူ”) showed his expertise with the dobat, pattala, and “Chit Dukkha” song, Ko Yu Swan entertained with “Don min” and Shwe Zin Ma played the saung and also played in the pyazat directed by Ko Aung Kyaw Myint (“Ba Kyaw ဘကျော်”).
Yu Swan & Emma
Ko Tet Lu and Ko Ba Kyaw had complete confidence in the next generation of “Lu shwin daws လူရွှင်တော်များ led by Ko Awba ဩဘာ
The Swel Daw Yeik Ah Nyeint စွယ်တော်ရိပ်အငြိမ့် also featured Khine Nay Nwe Lwin, Aye Thaw Kyawt, Awba, Pulley, Chainthee, and Diode.
The program, originally scheduled to end at 11:45 p.m., ended almost an hour later. This was due in part to pay back to the people who had shown appreciation by “rewarding” them.
The program ended with a special song written by Ko Ba Kyaw and with a big crowd on the podium.
Started school at an early age. I was not enthusiastic.
My mother said something magical happened one day She thanked Teacher Kywe, a Karen Christian with a warm soul & the skill to transform a normal kid like me into a life long learner.
For several years, my mother asked me to visit Teacher Kywe and pay respect to her. It was an early Micro-SPZP. Her eyes were filled with pride as she introduced her former student to her current students.
SPZP
Saya Pu Zaw Pwe (SPZP) transcends religion.
Some said that RIT was a dying breed, but there were several who wanted to keep the RIT Spirit alive & well. They wanted to have sayas & alumni get reconnected electronically via Internet, and physically via Pu Zaw Pwes.
SF Bay Area Alumni Group
RIT Alumni International was formed by the San Francisco Bay Area Group (and KMZ) with the objective to host the First RIT Alumni Reunion & SPZP in San Francisco, California, USA in October 2000.
The term SPZP was chosen over Saya Gadaw Pwe — which had religious connotation — to allow sponsors & alumni who profess different religions to pay back to their mentors for their metta and cetana.
I am honored to be a member of the team that organized SPZP-2000, and SPZPs in Singapore (2002, 2007 & 2010) and Myanmar (2004, 2012 & 2016).
Singapore has a large number of alumni. Its proximity to Myanmar eased the task of inviting sayas to attend SPZPs.
SPZP-2012 was the first true Home Coming. Thanks to U Aye Myint (EP72), who did not forget his alma mater.
U Aye Myint
SPZP-2016 was the first to have a full day event at the Gyogone Campus. RITAA, Sponsors and Donors provided free food & entertainment.
RITAA
The smiles from our beloved sayas and sayamas, and occasional “slap on my back” from my former colleagues, classmates and give me “second wind” even after being a volunteer messenger for 26 years.
KMZ (Right)
U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76) wrote :
The official name of these “Reunions” was one of the many discussions at the very early days of first Reunion committee members under the leadership of Saya Allen Htay. All of us were aware that the “Saya Gadaw Pwe” could somehow be restrictive where you would have many intakes and graduation classes spanning several decades not to mention people transcending various religions.
SPZP, Saya Pu Zaw Pwe, was officially adopted. It turned out well, and was adopted by the consecutive Reunions.
SAYA PU ZAW PWE (Poem)
Poem in Newsletter
S eems like it was only yesterday A t our alma mater in a land far away Y ou taught us to work, play, laugh, even cry A nd coaxed us, forced us to aim for the sky
P roblems in real life, lab, computation, survey U nderstand concepts, design, display, …
Z eal, zest, ardor, grit, passion to make it “our day” A rchitects, engineers, we’ve come here to say W e honor your metta, your cetana — we fully can’t repay
P resently we meet, alum from five decades we greet W ith memories true, fond, sweet E cstatic yet sad that the GBNF could not join this memorable fete
My poem was published on the front page of the commemorative issue of RIT Alumni Newsletter for SPZP-2000.
Saya U Moe Aung & team reprinted my poem on the back cover of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung for SPZP-2002 hosted by Singapore alumni.
SPZP-2000 in the USA
SPZP-2000 Organizers
Organizers
Ko Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76, web master) copied the names/tags from the very first posting from his album.
Sitting L-R: Saya U Mya Htoo (Civil 68), U Benny Tan (Mech 70), Saya KC Chiu (Chem 63), U Hla Min (EC 69) Editor Extraordinaire, Saya U Allen Htay (Civil 58) GNBF, Saya U Nyo Win (Mech 65), Saya U Tin Htut (Mech 60), Saya George Maung Maung (Chem 66), Daw San San Nyunt @ Mrs. Thein Aung (Mech 76)
Standing L-R: U Soe Aung (Mech 75), U Gordon Kaung (Mech 83), , U Myint Swe (EP 74), U Anthony Ng (Mech 76), U Phillip Mya Thwin (EP 75), U Maurice Chee (Mech 75), U Thura Thant Zin (Mech 76), Sayalay U Thein Aung (Met 72), U Myint Lwin @ Henry Chee (Civil 63), Ko Khin Maung Zaw (EC76), Daw Yi Yi Khaing @ Audrey Wong (Civil 84), Daw San San @ Mrs Myint Swe (EC74)
All of them, except KMZ, live in cities across Northern & Southern California. KMZ lives in a city near Seattle, Washington State.
Golden Sponsors
We appreciate the cetana of the following alumni who felt that the RIT Alumni International should have activities beyond the First ever RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe.
They are honored as “Golden Sponsors” of SPZP-2000.
Steeve Kay (U Thaung Sein, EC70, Southern California) : Donated $1000 initially and later gave an additional $1800.
Ivan Lee (U Khin Maung Oo, M69, New Jersey) : Donated $1200 for the General Fund of RIT Alumni International and for SPZP-2000. Earlier donated $360 for one year’s operating expense of the ex-rit.or web site
David Ko (U Tin Myint, M67, Northern California) : Donated $1000 for SPZP-2000
Benny Tan (Tan Eu Beng, M70, Northern California) : Donated in cash and kind. Designed the memorabilia (Banner, Mug, Calculator/Clock & Tee-shirt). Since he had gift shops, he obtained most memorabilia from his vendors at discount prices.
U Maung Maung Than (M79, Texas) : Donated a Round-trip ticket to Myanmar. By popular acclaim, the ticket was given to Sayagyi U Ba Toke.
Updates
Steeve Kay
Steeve 1Steeve 2
Multiple Golden Sponsor for SPZPs.
Established the “Steeve and Helen Kay Health Care Fund for RIT Sayas and Sayamas. In 2019, the balance of the Fund was handed over to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.
Founded Kay Family Foundation. KFF sponsored a delegation from Myanmar to visit Universities & Research Institutions in California. KFF provided a matching fund of $30000 for 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles.
LA 2015
Donated $200,000+ over the years to RIT-related activities.
Sponsored the Centennial Publication of Hwa Kyone School.
He is now GBNF
Ivan Lee
Ivan‘s house in NJWith Saya Dr. Aung GyiWith Saya U Aung Khin
Hosted the annual RIT-UCC Gathering in New Jersey
Sayas at NJ Gathering
Golden Sponsor for SPZP-2007 Sponsored Naw Mu Mu Aye to attend the SPZP
Co-founded MASTAA. Was CEO
David Ko
David
Donated US $3000 to SPZP-2012
DonationAppreciation
Sponsored Dinner Tables at NorCal RITAA Dinner
He is now GBNF
Benny Tan
Benny 1Benny 2Mug
Multiple Golden Sponsor for SPZPs
For SPZP-2000, he used Steeve’s donation as seed money to raise funds. He designed memorabilia to give to sayas, sayamas and selected organizers / volunteers. Some memorabilia were put on sale for attendees at SPZP-2000.
U Maung Maung Than
Could not attend SPZP-2000, but he comunicated with Saya Allen Htay
Supported Saya Dr. Tin Win’s “Run LA Marathon to raise fund for SPZP-2007”
Sponsors for Sayagyi U Ba Toke
U Ba Toke
U Maung Maung Than donated the round trip ticket
U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70) hosted Sayagyi and son U Ye Myint (EP72) at his new house in Hayward, California.
Saya Allen Htay, Saya U Tin Htut, Saya Mao Toon Siong and several sayas and alumni took care of Sayagyi’s stay.
SPZP-2000 : By The Numbers
One
SPZP-2000 : First RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP
One round-trip ticket for a saya from Myanmar to attend SPZP-2000. By popular acclaim, Sayagyi U Ba Toke was invited.
Two
Sayas of our sayas
U Num Kok
U Ba Toke
Former RIT Rectors
Dr. Aung Gyi
U Khin Aung Kyi
Major events
Dinner/meeting on Oct 28, 2000
Lunch/picnic on Oct 29, 2000
Organizing Committees
Working Committee : Chaired by Benny Tan and Maurice Chee
Steering Committee (Mostly Sayas)
Three
Outstanding Member Awards
Ko Hla Min (EC69) for the pioneering work of RIT Alumni International website & Editor of RIT Alumni Newsletter
Ko Khin Maung Zaw (EC76) for the design, implementation, maintenance & enhancements to http://www.ex-rit.org
Ko Hla Myint Thein (Maurice Chee, M75) Treasurer, Financial Controller & Publisher of RIT Alumni Newsletter
Four
Four intensive months of preparation by the Organizing Committee
Five
Golden Sponsors for SPZP-2000
Steeve Kay (Ko Thaung Sein, EC 70)
Benny Tan (Tan Yu Beng, M70)
Ivan Lee (Ko Khin Maung Oo, M69)
Ko Maung Maung Than (M79, Texas)
David Ko (Ko Tin Myint, M67)
Six
Number of years spent at the engineering colleges & institutes by most attendees
Seven
Seven unforgettable hours (5 – 12 pm) at the Reunion and SPZP
Seven sleepless nights per week by Maurice, Benny, …
Eight
Countries represented by the attendees
United States
Canada
Myanmar
Thailand
Singapore
Japan
Australia
New Zealand
Major disciplines at RIT
Civil
Mechanical
Electrical
Mining
Textile
Chemical
Metallurgy
Architecture
36
Number of “Post-Reunion” articles written by Hla Min for SPZP-2000
64
Number of “Count down to the Reunion” articles written by Hla Min for SPZP-2000
100
Number of articles written by Hla Min for SPZP-2000
Singapore SPZPs
SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 & SPZP-2012 hosted by the Singapore alums were grander with a huge turn out at main events, publication of the commemorative Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saungs by Saya U Moe Aung & teams, first-rate entertainment by the famous Swel Daw Yiek Ah Nyeint and the young-at-heart (“never grow old”) singers and dancers.
SPZP-2002
Saya Moe
Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) was Chair. He was also Chief Editor of the Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung.
Websites
Saya Dr. Soe Thein (C75) was a core organizer. He & his team maintained two web sites
One for alumni in Singapore
One for Civil Engineers in Singapore
Singapore Alumni web site contained info for SPZP-2002.
SINGAPORE-2002 Ex-RIT Reunion Dinner Program
7 December 2002 (Saturday)
The second web site contains info for resident and visiting Civil Engineering sayas. Some sayas would stay at the hotels provided by the SPZP-2000 Organizers. Some sayas might stay with their former colleagues or students. The contact info is helpful for arranging gatherings and tours.
Civil Sayas’ Address & Contact Number in Singapore
Organizers
The Second RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was hosted by the sayas and alums in Singapore.
Saya U Moe Aung (Chair), Saya Dr. Tin Hlaing, Sayama Daw “Emma” Tin Tin Myint, Saya U Aung, Saya U Tin Lin, and Saya Dr. Dr. Soe Thein are some core members of SPZP-2002.
The RIT gathering at the Thingyan festival and musical gala at NTU helped with the planning and implementation of SPZP-2002.
Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung
SWEL DAW YEIK SAR SAUNG for SPZP-2002 (Singapore).
Saya U Moe Aung (Tekkatho Moe War) & team published the commemorative issue.
They reprinted my poem (first published in the web pages of http://www.ex-rit and the commemorative newsletter). Thanks.
“Don Min” U Yu Swan, U Moe Myint, Daw Moh Moh Han, U Myint San (“Tet Lu”), U Aung Kyaw Myint (“ko Ba Kyaw”) and many other talented Geeta Ah Nu Pyinnar Shins helped with the entertainment for SPZP-2002.
SPZP-2007
U Nyan Win Shwe (Chair)
Saya U Moe Aung (Chief Editor of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung)
See “SPZP-2007 Diary”
SPZP-2010
Saya U Moe Aung (Chair; Chief Editor of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung)
Yangon SPZPs
SPZP-2004 was held in Yangon, but not at the Gyogone campus. The Tsuanami-related tremors did not deter the sayas and alums from attending SPZP-2004.
SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016 were held at the Gyogone Campus.
SPZP-2012 was the first True Home Coming
SPZP-2016 was the Free All Day Event
SPZP-2004 in Yangon
The following appeared in the ReUnion 2004 Home Page
RIT Reunion & Saya Pu Zaw Pwe – 2004 Yangon, Myanmar 26th December 2004
Morning : Saya Pu Zaw Pwe
Date : Sunday, December 26, 2004 Time : 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 am Place : Myanmar Convention Center (MCC)
Evening : Dinner & Entertainment
Date : Sunday, December 26, 2004 Time : 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Place : Dusit Inya Lake Hotel
Pu Zaw Pwe Office & Contact
Office : United Engineering Co Ltd Corner of Wayzayantar Road & Yadana Road Thingangyun Township 11071 Yangon MYANMAR
Contact : U Zaw Min (Mechanical 1975) U Hla Win (Mechanical 1975)
The Third RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was hosted by the sayas and alums in Myanmar. U Win Khaing (M 75) & his team (U Zaw Min, U Hla Win) formed the core of the Yangon-2004 SPZP Organizers. An earthquake that morning did not deter the attendees.
SPZP-2012
Tears of Joy
SPZP-2012Attendees
When alums learned that SPZP-2012 will be held at their alma mater (which had been largely neglected and turned into dilapidated building with bushes around), tears of joy fell.
When alums learned that the Stage-3 cancer survivor “Seik Kyi” (Cartoon Myint Pe) and his fellow cartoonists will revive the Cartoon Box, and also publish a collection of “RIT cartoons” (at a modest price of K1500), they was laughter and echoes of “walking down memory lane”.
When alums learned that the multiple ICU visitor Ko Saw Lin (C71) would head not only the main preparation committee of SPZP-2012, but also publish the 350+ page commemorative SWEL DAW YEIK MAGAZINE, reprint limited copies of the 23 vintage RIT Annual magazines, their spirits became high.
When alums learned that Sayagyi U Ba Than, Saya U Soe Paing, Saya U Aung Hla Tun and team would take the first (scoped but important) step to compile the “History of University Engineering Education in Burma / Myanmar”, the importance and uniqueness of SPZP-2012 became evident.
Homage at SPZP-2012
December 30, 2012 saw several Union ministers and deputy ministers sitting on the lawn alongside the alums and paying respect to the sayas and sayamas for their “Arcariya” virtues (irrespective of age and experience). That day saw sayas, sayamas, and alums endure the hot sun to bask in the glory and memories of the hey days. That day saw the re-emergence of RIT glory and the close bond of alums spanning five or more decades.
SPZP-2012 will go down in engineering history as one of the historic and memorable events (which many had feared would not see in their life time).
Thanks to the unsung heroes for carrying on the noble tradition.
SPZP-2016
SPZP-2016U LinBag for attendees
All-Day Free Event was held at the Gyogone Campus.
Free food for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Saya Pu Zaw Pwe was held in the morning.
Reunion Dinner & Entertainment took place in the evening.
Updates
Effects of Jara, Byadi & Marana are noticable
Several sayas — U Ba Toke, U Num Kok, U Ba Than, U Khin Aung Kyi, U Min Wun — are now GBNF
Some sponsors — Steeve Kay, David Ko — are now GBNF
Some organizers — Saya Allen Htay, U Win Khaing, U Saw Lin — are now GBNF
SPZP-2020 was canceled due to the pandemic
Some PZPs are conducted online
At some PZPs, attendees pay homage while standing. Sayas remain seated at their tables (do not have to go on stage).
Among the newspapers in Myanmar, Yangon Times proudly covered SPZP-2012 reminding the readers that it was the first time in four decades or so that the higher authorities permitted the RIT SPZP to be held at the Gyogone Campus.
Pictures speak louder than words.
Thanks to Sayagyi U Ba Than and U Ohn Khine (M70) for providing me copies of the Yangon Times.
Capacity crowd at SPZP-2012 Sayas (including Speakers)Aging sayas with indomitable spiritH.E. U Aye Myint never forgot his alma materH.E. U Aye Myint was transferred to another Ministry before he could pay back fully to the Alma Mater and the Engineering Community
Updates
SPZP-2016 was held at the Gyogone Campus. Free breakfast, lunch & dinner.
I wrote an article for the Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” for SPZP-2010 held in Singapore.
Tekkatho Moe War (Saya U Moe Aung) was Chief Editor & Publisher of the Sar Saung. He suggested the title “A Short and Sad Clip : EE Sayas”.
GBNF
In 2010, seven sayas — U Kyaw Tun, U Sein Hlaing, U Tin Swe, U Sein Win, U San Tint, U Soe Min & U Chin Way in the EE Group photo — had passed away.
Two more — U Thein Lwin & U Nyi Nyi — are now GBNF.
Not in picture
U Myo Kyi, U Ba Lwin & U Tin Maung Thein were on Deputation
U Khine Oo missed the photo shoot
U Kyaw Tun graduated in 1948-49 and joined the EE Department. He is the most senior among the EE Sayas.
U Kyaw Tun recruited C Ping Lee, father of Dr. Win Aung (M62), to join the EE Department. Per request from H.E. U Than Aung, father of Saya U Aung, C Ping Lee transferred to head the Directorate of Technical Education and Vocational Training.
U Sein Hlaing matriculated in 1946 and finished Top in his class of 52. He joined the EE Department as Assistant Lecturer. He studied MS at MIT. Upon his return, he was promoted to Lecturer & Head of the EE Department. He served as Professor until his retirement.
U Tin Swe matriculated in 1947. He was a member of the Prome Hall Soccer team which won the Inter-Hall Trophy for three consecutive years. He joined the EE Department in 1953 as Assistant Lecturer. He studied MS at the University of Michigan. Upon his return, he was promoted to Lecturer. He played good tennis. He was an early Power User at the Universities’ Computer Center (UCC).
U Sein Win studied his BSEE and MSEE at the University of Michigan. He served as President of RIT Swimming Club, President of RIT Rowing Club, Line Judge at RUBC Regattas, and Technical Advisor for UCC. He retired as Professor of EP Department at YTU.
Dr. San Tint joined the EE Faculty in 1961. He played soccer for the RIT Saya team. He served as External Examiner for UCC. Hevretired as Professor of EC Department at YTU. His former students performed Pyinnya Dana in Saya’s memory.
U Chin Way was active in SPARK. He migrated to the USA.
U Soe Min transferred to DCA.
U Thein Lwin retired from Singapore Polytechnic, but he was active helping students desiring to study in Singapore. He was President of the RIT Badminton Club. He managed the RIT team comprising of Sai Kham Pan (EP69), which won the Inter-Institute Trophy. He and Sayagadaw Daw May Than Nwe (RIT Physics) are now GBNF.
U Soe Paing was my mentor at RIT & UCC. He retired from UN after managing IT projects at various countries. He wrote about his experiences as a States Scholar, as Systems Manager at UCC and as UN Technical Advisor. He spends his retirement visiting UK and USA, playing golf and practicing vipassana meditation at Kaba Aye Sunlun Gu Kyaung where his younger brother U Wara (U Win Paing, ChE70) is the Sayadaw. Saya had some operations for his heart and his back problems, but he is still active.
Dr. Win Tin was active in SPARK and as entrepreneur. He served as Associate Dean of Engineering at Assumption University.
Note: Scan of Page 23 is missing in the post.
U Ba Myint retired as Pro-Rector of YTU.
U Sein Maung taught at Assumption University. He attended SPZP-2000 at the invitation of Daw Lily Win (T72, spouse of Saya Dr. Tin Win M62).
U Myo Kyi (EE59) & Dr. Ba Lwin (EE59) are the two most seniors among the EE sayas. I met U Myo Kyi at the meetings (Alumni Association, SPZP, MES). I met Dr. Ba Lwin during his visit to the USA to see his daughter Thiri Lwin.
U Moe Aung chaired SPZP-2002 and SPZP-2010. He and his team published the commemorative issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” for SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007 and SPZP-2010. After retirement, hevmoved back to Yangon. He is Patron of SDYF and several RIT-related activities. He is a Laureate Poet. He is active writing poems (often “Let Tann”) and articles (mostly on EE). Hevpublished two books and co-authored several books.
U Khine Oo was absent in the group photo taken around mid-1966. He took some computer courses before going abroad as states scholar.
U Nyi Nyi moved to UK. He is now GBNF.
U Tin Maung Thein was studying in the UK. He later taught in Thailand.
U Tin Shwe (EP66) joined EE Department after graduation. He taught and RIT and ABAC. He wrote an article about his final year days in the commemorative issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” for SPZP-2010. He became a monk, and served as Dhamma Librarian. Sady, he passed away.
U Moe Aung wrote “To the Shwe Duo” in the memory of U Tin Shwe and U Hla Shwe (T69). I translated the poem and published in my RIT Alumni International Newsletter and Updates.
During one of visits to Yangon, U Myo Kyi provided two lists of EE sayas. One lists the senior sayas and the other lists the junior sayas.
EE 68 – 74
Daw Mya Mya Than (EP68) is now GBNF.
U Than Lwin (Henry, EC69) was my classmate. He became an EE saya.
U Kyaw Naing (EC70, GBNF), U Tin Win (EC71), U Ko Ko Kyi (EC72), Daw Nyunt Nyunt Yee (EP72, GBNF) & Daw Khin Swe Oo (EC74) are some of my juniors. They became EE sayas.
In April and May of 1999, I received a series of e-mails from Saya U Soe Paing, my mentor at RIT & UCC, and Sayagadaw Alice (Saw Yu Tint, T69) about the mini-reunions in Yangon and Singapore.
U Soe Paing & Alice
Newsletter
I created an e-mail newsletter and passed on the news to several ex-faculty and alumni. They, in turn, forwarded the newsletter to their sayas, friends, and colleagues. The mailing list soon numbered 200+.
My Dreams
In my e-mails, I recounted my dreams: • to have the sayas, alumni and associates connected • to have mini-reunions, reunions, and eventually a Grand Union
Reach Out
KMZ
Thanks to Ko Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76), our web master, we were able to reach out to faculty, alumni & associates in 30+ countries. They number 800+. The Guest Book entries express surprise, delight, nostalgia, pride, camaraderie, etc. One of my dreams has been fulfilled.
Photo Gallery
Several mini-reunions and reunions have taken place. Some are documented in the “Photo Gallery” section. • ’69 Grads • ’64 Intakes • Alumni in Australia • Alumni in New Zealand • Alumni in UK • Alumni in Singapore • Alumni in Canada • Dinners in honor of Sayas U Num Kock, Dr. Aung Gyi, U Aung Khin, etc.
Grand Reunion
The idea was accepted from the start, but the question of logistics was a crucial factor.
Have we reached a critical mass?
How easily can we reach out to faculty, alumni and associates from all over the world about such an event?
How can we raise enough money to sponsor the event?
The idea was discussed in detail during Saya U Aung Khin’s visit to the Bay Area. October 28-29 weekend was tentatively chosen to have a “Reunion and Homage”.
Later, during the discussion between the Northern California alumni and Southern California alumni, the term “Saya Pu Zaw Pwe ဆရာပူဇော်ပွဲ” meaning “honoring all sayas” was chosen over “Saya Ga Daw Pwe ဆရာကန်တော့ပွဲ” which has religious connotations. “Saya Ga Daw Pwe” remains an optional event.
In the subsequent meetings, the Steering Committee, Working (aka Executive) Committee, and subcommittees were formed.
Finally, several members showed commitment by purchasing tickets. The money was used as non-refundable deposit for reserving “Embassy Suites Hotel” rooms for the main event.
Several alumni and associates have also donated money and presents to the “Saya Pu Zaw Pwe” fund. Amounts, big or small, are welcome.
We sincerely hope that the forthcoming “Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe” will be a resounding success.
Mr. Chairman, my Sayas, my former colleagues, friends, RIT graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before I begin to say anything, I would like to request you to take the word “RIT” as to stand not only for Rangoon Institute of Technology but also BOC College of Engineering and Faculty of Engineering, Rangoon University. I am using RIT only, just for convenience sake.
Having said that, it is with a chestful of emotions that I am standing before you, trying to say a few words appropriate and befitting to this important and joyful occasion. My overwhelming emotion is, needless to say, happiness – happiness which results from seeing my Sayas, my friends, my former colleagues, and RIT graduates alive and well, after so many years. My happiness is also mingled with a certain amount of pride: pride arising from the knowledge that we have fond memories and a sense of belonging and attachment to the good old institution as well as to one another.
We are fortunate that we could all gather here to exchange our life experiences, both good and bad, and to reminisce about our past when we were at RIT. While we are doing that, we all must have noticed that all of us have changed quite a bit since we last saw one another, at least physically, some more so than other. We all now have a few gray and also less hair, we have a few wrinkles on our face; maybe we also lost a few teeth and cannot see or hear as well as we did before. Some of us also lost the memory a bit and become forgetful about lots of things such as forgetting names for example. This, as we all know, is life and nature of things. Everything changes and nothing is permanent. Bur fortunately we still have our values. Our values such as respect and gratitude for the elders and teachers, caring of our respective children and family members, helping our friends, and attachment, and gratitude to the institution which nurtured us to meet the challenges of life, are still with us. They have not changed. This Saya Pu Zaw Pwe and reunion is a testimony to those values.
I must now pause and thank and congratulate the Organizing Committee for their untiring and selfless efforts to make this event possible and successful. This Saya Pu Zaw Pwe and RIT Alumni reunion is, as far as I know, once-in-a-life-time event. As far as I am concerned it is already a resounding success with the cooperation and great enthusiasm that I have seen. I hope this will be the beginning and not the last of our get-togethers. When my wife and I paid visits to Myanmar in 1996, 1997 and 1999 we had mini get-togethers with RIT Alumni. When I was here a few years ago we also got together with a few RIT Alumni. I understood that Saya U Aung Khin also had one mini get-together here some years ago. But these get-togethers were not on a grand scale as the one that we are having here now. However the spirit of camaraderie and friendliness among RIT Alumni mini get-togethers, was the same as the one that we find here now. If you look around you, you will find that all of us came here from different parts of the world, indicating the great attachment and respect that we all have for our old institution and also for one another.
While I was preparing for this speech, fond memories of the years that I spent as a student, as a teacher and later as Rector at RIT came flashing through my mind. Without going into details, I remember that all my teachers, including Saya Num Kock and Saya U Ba Toke who are here with us, were good inspiring teachers with kind hearts. When I became a teacher and later the Rector at RIT, I noticed that my colleagues were good and dedicated people who tried their best to teach what they had learnt from good Universities and Institutions abroad.
They made conscious efforts to raise the level of education at RIT so much that the students were fully occupied with classes, studies, projects, and homework. I have to mention here that my Sayas and my former colleagues were, and still are honest, compassionate, gentle and kind people. Within this context I would now like to take this opportunity to offer my humble apologies to my Sayas and colleagues for the wrong things that I may have done or said which might have hurt them in any way in the past.
As for the students, I remember that they were good, intelligent, and energetic students in general. Since I was also involved in extracurricular activities of the students, I had more interaction and gained more understanding of their needs and feelings. Like most of the other teachers I tried my best to be helpful to them not only in their studies but also in any other problems that they needed my help. Because of the compassion that I had shown for them they became more communicative, and listened to what I had to say most of the time. Like a breath of fresh air, the first batch of female engineering students were among us, I believe in 1958. So far as I remember they did as well as or some even better than the male students in their studies. I remember that as a teacher I felt very good and satisfied whenever some students did well in their studies or did well in their careers after they left school. These are fond memories that I still have with me about the students at RIT.
As you probably know, I left RIT and Myanmar in 1977 to join UNESCO. I then migrated to Canada to join International Development Research Centre (IRDC) in 1981. For your information, IRDC is a Canadian Agency which funds research projects for development in the developing countries. I retired from IRDC in 1997. Looking back to the past, I must say that I spent the best years of my life at RIT, challenging and troubling at times, but on the whole happy and satisfied with the job that I was doing.
Now please let me take a few minutes of your time to share with you my thoughts, which I believe are some important elements of life. You might not agree with me to what I am going to say. At least, in that case, you might take them as food for your thoughts. If I sound like lecturing to you now, you must remember that the habit of a former teacher dies hard. When I was young and immature. I had great admiration for people with high I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient). I also tended to think in those days that I was quite intelligent. After going through life experiences with ups and downs I became to realize that high Emotional Quotient (E.Q.) or emotional mastery is more important in life than high I.Q., to cope with adversities, disappointments, failures and sometimes even tragedies. No one that I know of, escapes the negative impacts of life in one form or another. If you have emotional mastery you can deal with and overcome these negative impacts and still get ahead in life and be relatively happy. One thing that can help us is to have optimism, hope and courage in life and to minimize the negative thoughts and creeping pessimism. It will be wrong to classify anything in life in opposites either in black or white. One can neither be fully optimistic nor fully pessimistic all the time. There is a gray area which is neither black nor white, and so long as the dominant part of this gray area is optimism, things will turn alright in the end. I read in one of the books long time ago that the Chinese word for “crisis” denotes both risk and chance (opportunity). A pessimistic person would tend to look at the crisis as the big risk and will despair and do nothing, whereas an optimistic person will look at it as a challenge and opportunity and will do something with courage and determination and overcome the crisis. He or she might fail in doing something. But without failures one will not know success. In short, although we will not be able to master the circumstances, and situations in life, we sure can try to master our thoughts and emotions to meet the challenges of life. Here are the spiritual sides of us or our respective religions might be helpful.
Now that I am getting old and getting inflicted with aches and pains here and there, especially when I get up in the morning, I begin to realize that the important part of my life is to keep myself in good health. There are lots of books and doctors telling us how to keep ourselves in good health. The simple gist of the whole message is to have some form of physical exercise or activity to keep our weights down; and to eat nutritious food and avoid or cut down fatty, sweet, salty and high cholesterol food which are harmful to our health. As you know, it is easier said than done. What I know is we do need to make conscious efforts to keep ourselves in good health by taking physical exercises and by eating nutritious and non-fattening food. One thing is for sure, if we are not in food health we will not be able to enjoy our success or good things in life, and we will be, relatively speaking, unhappy.
When I was young, my grandmother used to tell me to get ahead in life I would need luck, brain, and industriousness. She was right of course. But one important element in life that she missed telling me was to develop and have good social relationships will all the people that I would come across in life, including family members. No one can live and get ahead in life alone. Each one of us at some stages of our respective lives needed and got help from someone to move on with our lives. From my personal experience, I noted that one must be non-egoistic, not too aggressive, be polite, be helpful, and tries to understand and respect other person’s points of view, needs and feeling, to develop good social relationships. Here I would like to add that each of us can judge who is good, who is bad, who is untrustworthy, etc. and avoid bad people and associate with good people to the extent that each of us can.
Each one of us had twenty four hours a day and the one who can budget and manage his/her time day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year according to his priorities and short term and long term goals will get ahead in life better. One should use the time and even manipulate it and not waste it to achieve one’s short term and long term goals. One must also be patient if the short term and long term goals are not achieved in budgeted time. So long as the time is used and not wasted, one will reach his/her goads in due course.
I hope everyone present here will agree with me the importance of financial management at the personal or family level as well as at the business level. At the business level there are of course financial plans and budgets for the present as well as for the future. One should likewise have financial plans and budgets at personal/family level for the present and future, to spend, save and invest within one’s available means. As you know money is neutral. If you are wise, money will treat you well; and if you are foolish it will not stay with you for long. Like time, one’s hard-earned money should be used and not wasted.
The last thing that I would like to point out to you is the danger of complacency. If you own a business and if you are complacent after a certain level of success, your business will suffer, simply because you fail to keep up with the changes in the market conditions and because of the intense competition one faces nowadays. Likewise at the personal level we should be wary of complacency. We should try not to be complacent by improving ourselves and keeping ourselves busy mentally and physically. Life thrives on activity and activity is the proof of our existence. No one is perfect and there is always something that each of us can improve upon. If we do that, at least we will not be bored, and may achieve some fulfillment in life.
With these remarks I now conclude my speech. May you all be successful and happy in life. May you have a pleasant stay in SF.
HlaMin 