Taught us Surveying in our 2nd BE. He enforced a seating plan starting with Roll Number One at the back of the class. Since I could read his notes on the Blackboard, I became Four Eyes.
Founding member of BARB
Member of Myanmar Pyeikkadein Ah Phwe
Saya jokingly said that he was assigned as the Last Speaker to prevent overrun of the SPZP-2000 program.
Wrote several articles for RIT Alumni International.
Donation of Saya Allen’s BooksSPZP-2000 Organizers
And many weekends spent away from your family as well? If you can then you probably are a member of the RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe organizing committee.
It all began one day several months ago when we met over lunch at Benny Tan’s home in Hillsborough. Ko Hla Min and Ko Khin Maung Zaw among the lunch party had started the RIT Alumni website and were receiving enthusiastic responses. Hearing that the duo were carrying on the project all by themselves we decided to throw in our moral and financial support to assure its survival, realizing that it was providing a needed service for the RIT alumni to locate and communicate with each other. Every one present, ten of us at that time, took out our checkbooks and wrote out one hundred dollars each, with promises of more as needed. We informally called ourselves the RIT Alumni Bay Area Group. I was asked to be the group leader.
After that fateful event we continue to have regular meetings, hosted in turn at the homes of some among group members: Ko Hla Min, Maurice Chee, Ko Myat Htoo, Ko Thein Aung, and most recently Dr Nyo Win. Did I leave out any one? Ah yes! Ko Myint Swe and San San Swe. All the while the membership continues to grow and our objective keeps on changing from support of the website to some vague dream of a future RIT alumni organization on a global scale and finally settled on a plan for RIT Alumni Grand Reunion at the beginning of the 21st Century. Ko Hla Min broached the idea to include Saya Pu Zaw Pwe as part of the Grand Reunion in keeping with the Myanmar custom of honoring one’s teachers. As our plan jelled we got carried away by our own excitement and started talking about holding the reunion before the end of the Year 2000. After all, ending one millennium successfully augers well for success in the next millennium.
Before we fully realized what we were up to we have found an ideal site, the Embassy Suites Hotel conference hall near the San Francisco International Airport, and found ourselves making a commitment for a definite date, 28 October 2000 and a attendance fee of fifty dollars, a modest amount to encourage maximum number of Alumni to participate. The minimum capacity of the conference hall is 200 seats and we were required to make down payment and sign a rental and service agreement based on 200 seatings. Our most optimistic estimate at the time was 100 attendees. If the attendance is low that means the Bay Area Group, as the Organizing Committee was not in force at the time, will have to make up the short fall. Which could amount to as much as five thousand dollars, or five hundred dollar from each group member. We hesitated a moment to reflect on what that means to us individually in terms of diminished spending power. But, in the end our attachment to RIT and the engineering profession, our sincere desire to meet the Sayas and class mates from whom we were separated for long over came us. We will accept the risks.
Thus was born the preparations in full swing for the Grand RIT Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe. Others must tell the rest of the story – of struggles, compromises, and elations along the way and from participants themselves what it means to be present at the defining moment in the history of RIT Alumni.
Allen Htay, RIT Alumni International – Bay Area Group RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe Organizing Committee
Editor’s Note :
Saya Allen is a founding member of RIT Alumni International and served as its President. In Memory of Saya Allen, Daw Mu Mu Khin has donated Saya’s books to the YTU Library and has sponsored scholarships to eligible YTU students.
He wanted to make sure that every engineering student know most students who are senior or junior.
Sayagyi earlier served as Professor of Civil Engineering and Principal of GTI.
Sayagyi proposed the Twinning Program between RU and prestigious US universities.
Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun, U Maung Maung Than, U Aung Khin, U Khin Aung Kyi, U Thit were some of the engineering students who benefited from the Twinning Program.
U Sein Hlaing, U Tin Swe and several sayas also benefited from the Twinning Program.
For the commemorative issue of RIT Alumni International Newsletter for SPZP-2000, Saya U Aung Khin requested Saya Dr. Freddie Ba Hli to write about Sayagyi.
Saya U Aung Khin wrote a preface to the article.
Saya Bilal Raschid (A) studied Civil Engineering at RU before pursuing Architecture in UK.
Co-founder of Myit Ma Kha International Trading Co. with her beloved spouse U Htein Win (M66, GBNF)
The following are sampling of her donations.
Donated twice (100 and 50 Lakhs) for YTU Library Modernization Project.
Major donor (along with Ivan Lee and U Sein Myint) for the 69er Health Care Fund.
Sponsored / Hosted several 69er Gatherings. Monthly Breakfast Gathering at Taw Win Hnin Si (e.g. for her birthday) Ad hoc Lunch Gathering (e.g. Welcoming Nyunt Nyunt Wai (Millie, T69) at Western Park Several tables at the Annual Dinner & Entertainment Gathering
Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt is a day older than Saya Allen Htay (GBNF). Their birthdays are December 30th and December 31st.
They would share their experiences with the younger people over lunch.
The two sayas bonded on the long return journey by sea from USA where they did their graduate studies in Agricultural Engineering and Civil Engineering. There were three other Burmese — including U Soe Paing and U Ko Ko Lay — on that ship. They played Bridge (a card game for four players).
The journey was lengthened by a strike at a port in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). It gave the sayas an opportunity to visit Kandy.
Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt (M60)
He worked briefly for a JVC (Joint Venture Corporation) run by his relative. He applied for States Scholar after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper.
Upon his return, he was assigned to Yezin Agricultural College. Before reporting for duty, he visited RIT to pay respect to Saya U Ba Than who asked Saya U Tin Maung Nyunt if he would like to join the Agricultural Engineering (Sub-department of Mechanical Engineering).
He moved to Thailand and then USA.
Saya feels blessed for three occasions. They involve the simple joys of life.
Food was scarce during the war time. Saya’s mother had a small jar of oil to cook. Occasionally, she would give “See nei Sar” (oil and salt) to eat rice. Saya remembers that as a “Nutt Thokedar” (delicacies of the deities).
After the Japanese evacuated, the Allied planes still strafe suspect targets. Since there was no available transport, Saya and his did had to trek a long time to the nearest “safe haven”. Saya had “htamin chauk and a tomato”. He had to ration his food to survive the journey. The small bites brought a lot of joy — that cannot be equaled by later all-you-can-eat buffet.
Saya lives in California, USA. One year, he went to Myanmar to participate in a meditation retreat outside Yangon. Probably due to side effects of taking some medicine, there was swfor elling in the body and the face. It was “Kan So” (bad luck). Two dhamma friends took him to a nearby hospital where the doctor and the staff treated him well. It was “Kan Kaung” (good luck). The services were good and the costs were reasonable.
Saya stayed fit by doing exercises (hiking, stationary bike) and by practicing meditation.
He had an operation a couple of years back. He has recovered fully.
Saya donated for the Training Component of the YTU Library Project and also to the General Fund of Cal RIT Alumni Association.
Saya Allen Htay (C58)
He joined the Civil Engineering Department as Assistant Lecturer. He received his MS from Harvard University. Upon his return to Burma, he was promoted to Lecturer.
He moved to USA.
Saya Allen Htay was special in his own ways.
He would take different routes (going out and then coming back) to enjoy nature and the scenery. (
He took me to a BAPS picnic. After he told me that it was time to leave, it took an hour (or so) to reach his car. It was a typical “Burmese Good Bye” greeting his colleagues, friends and former students along the way.
He would often arrive late and stay late at gatherings.
Saya remembered that his mother would take the food (which a child refused to eat) and put in the fridge. There was no concession. When the child felt really hungry, he or she will devour the food.
Saya was the de facto leader of the San Francisco Bay Area RIT Alumni Group. He served as President of “RIT Alumni International” which organized the First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe in Northern California, USA in October. His article “Brother, can you afford US 500 dollars?” resulted in having five Golden Sponsors for SPZP-2000.
He attended SPZPs in Singapore and Myanmar, and took photographs at the SF Bay Area Gatherings.
During a visit to Las Vegas for the MEHS Reunion (along with his spouse who matriculated from MEHS in 1957), Saya had a stroke. He briefly recovered, but finally succumbed to his illness.
He retired twice in the USA, but his former students offered him jobs to “un-retire”.
Two of his grandsons have Allen in their names : one as a first name, and another as a middle name.
HlaMin 