Blog

RUESU
Rangoon University has a Students Union.

The engineering students had their own RUESU (Rangoon University Engineering Students Union).

RUESU published six Annual magazines.

RUESU Magazine

Two magazines are posted here.

The early magazine had photos of
- Sayagyi U Ba Hli, Dean of Engineering
- Selected sayas
- Class Photos (e.g. 3rd year B.Sc. Engg students — equivalent to 5th BE)
Another photo is the Cover of RUESU Annual Magazine for 1960 -61.

RU Literary Club

Planning for RU Centennial in 2020
May 16, 2025
RIT-related Activities
Paying respect

SPZP-2000
- Paying respect to Sayas is a tradition that is unique to Myanmar.
- The tradition is alive and well.
- There have been seven world wide SPZPs :
  SPZP-2000 (US)
  SPZP-2002, SPZP-2007, SPZP-2010 (Singapore)
  SPZP-2004, SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016 (Yangon)
- I was fortunate to be a Core Organizer for SPZP-2000 and a Coordinator for the remaining SPZPs.
Alumni

Many alumni are active in the following:
- SDYF (Swel Daw Yeik Foundation)
- RITAA (RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association)
- NorCal RITAA (in the US)
- MES
- MEC
- HMEE-2018
History
- “History of Myanmar Engineering Education” was published in 2012.
- The project’s initiators included Saya U Soe Paing, Sayagyi U Ba Than and several sayas and alumni (See Acknowledgement in the Book)
- Saya U Aung Hla Tun and team compiled the book.
- Ko Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD Supplement for the HMEE-2012 book
- The draft for the first two sections were prepared by Saya U Soe Paing and team.
- Ko Ohn Khine translated Section 1 and summarized Section 2. The translations have been revised by Saya U Soe Paing.
- Saya U Aung hla Tun gave the copyright to RITAA.
- HMEE-2018 project is headed by Saya U Aung Hla Tun.
  Project will revise / enhance the HMEE-2012 book.
  Will cover the History of Engineering and Industries.
YTU Library Modernization Project

A decent Library is a requirement of the accreditation of YTU by Asean (and beyond).

Donations — large and small — are coming in.
Thanks to U Wynn Htain Oo (M72), Ma Nan Khin Nwe (83 Intake) and team.

The donors include
- U Khin Maung Tun (T78)
- Dr. Myo Khin (C70) and Daw Mya Nwe (C73)
- Daw Myint Myint (C69)
- Saya U Tin Htut (M60)
- James Shwe (M76) and Annette Shwe (A75)
- NorCal RITAA
- Alumni from Singapore, Australia and New Zealand
Archive
- The Library could have a section to help remember our beloved alma mater, our sayas and alumni activities.
- Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi endorsed Ko Benny Tan’s proposal to archive the mementos.
- Requested class representatives to record gatherings / activities.
Health Care Funds
- “Steeve and Helen Kay Health Care Fund for RIT Sayas and Sayamas”
- “Eye examination and assistance Fund provided by U Khin Maung Tun”.
- Balance of both funds have been handed over to Swel Daw Yeik Foundation.
- Other funds include 69er HCF, EE69er HCF, and those administered by the classes and groups (e.g. Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65)
Resources
- RIT related Facebook pages
- RIT related Google groups
- hlamin.com
Saya Allen Htay (C58)
- Leader of the San Francisco Bay Area Alumni Group
- Co-founded “RIT Alumni International” which hosted SPZP-2000 and served as President.
- His article “Brother, can you spare US $500?” is a classic.
- Daw Mu Mu Khin hosted a lunch in memory of Saya on December 31, 2017.
- In memory of Saya Allen, Daw Mu Mu Kin donated Saya’s books to the YTU library.
  Also sponsored scholarships for eligible YTU students.
Golden Sponsors
- U Thaung Sein (Steeve, EC70)
- U Benny Tan (M70)
- U Khin Maung Oo (Ivan Lee, M69)
- U Tin Myint (David Ko, M67)
- U Maung Maung Than (M79)
  
  The five Golden sponsors and other donors made sure U Nyo Win’s Act (requiring the organizers to chip in if SPZP-2000 will not have the minimum number of attendees) will not be needed.
2019
- Completed two decades as Chief Editor of RIT Alumni International Newsletter
- Compiled posts for the Golden Jubilee of 69ers
  Attended both events on December 14, 2019
2020 – 2024
- Writing and revising posts in hlamin.com
- Request help to transform into digital and/or printed books for posterity
May 16, 2025
FEARA Nov 1959
Newspaper clipping provided by U Tin Htoon

RUBC

RUBC (Rangoon University Boat Club) took part in the FEARA (Far Eastern Amateur Rowing Association) Regatta held at Hong Kong in November 1959.

U Tun Shein (Past Secretary)

U Tun Shein (Willie Saing) is Ko Lin Tun’s father and U Tin Win’s brother. He represented RUBC mostly as Timing Stroke. He is also a Sculler like U San Maung (Gerald). Ko Willie won the Senior Novices in 1954 and became Gold that year. His Senior Novice crew include M. Hla Min (Mossaji, Gold), Than Nyun (George, Captain and Gold), Sao Hso Holm (Saw bwa lay, son of Arzani Sao San Tun) and Tin Htut (cox, multiple Novice winner, Captain and Gold). Four Golds out of Five members.

U Win Kyi

U Win Kyi is the son of Sayama Miss Hong Kong (Amelia Kyi, SPHS), the brother of U Min Kyi, and father of Ko Naymyo Thura. He usually rowed as 3 in 4+ (Coxed Fours) and 7 in 8+ (Coxed Eights).

U Tin Htoon (Past Captain)

U Tin Htoon rowed as 2 for Ko Jimmy Saw Lwin and Ko Willie Saing in the early days. He later rowed as Timing Stroke and won ARAE trophies :
- Venables Bowl for Coxless Pairs at Calcutta in 1958 with Ko Harry Saing
- Willingdon Trophy for Coxed Fours at Colombo in 1960 with Ko Harry Saing, Ko Victor Htun Shein, Ko Sunny Teng and Ko Sein Htoon.
- U Tin Htoon was Editor of the 40th Anniversary Issue and Chair of the 90th Anniversary Issue (where I wrote Prelude for each section, and three articles).
  
  His brothers include
- Saya U Tin U (Past Captain)
- Saya U Ba Than (Green)
- Dr. Myo Tint (Past Captain)
- Saya U Myo Min (Green)
- U Thaung Lwin (Past Captain)
Dr. Harry Saing (Past Captain)

Ko Harry Saing (Htut Saing) rowed mostly as Bow. In the RUBC Annual Regatta of 1962, he rowed as Timing Stroke with U Win Kyi as 7 to train seven brand new Golds : Myo Tin, Micky Tan (Thein Aung), Htain Lin, Oung Kyaing, Winston Tun Thoung (Mehm Myo Thoung), Myo Myint and Tin Aung (Victor Wu).

He is the elder brother of Dr. Victor Saing (Aye Kyaw).

In the 90th Anniversary Issue, I wrote a tribute to Ko Harry as a multi-sports athlete and scholar / professional.

U San Maung (Past Secretary)

Ko Gerald (San Maung) rowed on the Stroke side before specializing in Sculls.

He served as Club Coach along with Ko Harry.

He is the elder brother of Ko Hardy (Yan Shin).

Dr. Hla Min

Ko Eddie (Hla Min) was a Golden Cox.

He later coxed Defense crews.

He served BMH (Mingaladon Base Military Hospital) as Orthopedic Surgeon.
May 16, 2025
RIT Grand Reunion & SPZP
by Hla Min

Updated : May 2025

SPZP

SPZP-2000
- San Francisco, California, USA
- October 2000
- Commemorative Newsletter
  Chief Editor : U Hla Min
  Wrote “SAYA PU ZAW PWE” poem
SPZP-2002
- Singapore
- December 2002
- Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung
  Chief Editor : Tekkatho Moe War
  Reprint of “SAYA PU ZAW PWE” poem on Back Cover
SPZP-2004
- Yangon
- December 2004
SPZP-2007
- Singapore
- April 2007
- Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung
  Chief Editor : Tekkatho Moe War
  Wrote “SWE DAW YEIK” poem
SPZP-2010
- Singapore
- December 2010
- Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung
  Chief Editor : Tekkatho Moe War
  Wrote “A Sad and Short Clip : EE Sayas”
SPZP-2012
- Yangon
- December 2012
- Gyogone Campus : SPZP
- MICT Park : Reunion Dinner
- Swel Daw Yeik Magazine
  Chief Editor : U Saw Linn
- Reprint of 23 RIT Annual Magazines
- HMEE Book
  U Ohn Khine and I compiled the CD Supplement for the Book
- RIT Cartoons
SPZP-2016
- Yangon
- December 2016
- All day event at Gyogone Campus
- Free breakfast, lunch & dinner
- Swel Daw Yeik Magazine
  Chief Editor : Tekkatho Moe War
SPZP-2020 ?
- Scheduled for December 2020 in Yangon
- Canceled due to pandemic
May 16, 2025
U Ba Toke (1920 – 2020)
- Phwa Bet Taw of RU (Rangoon University) and the First RU Students’ Strike (which led to the amendment of RU Act, and the establishment of National Schools and National College.
- Studied at Mandalay University and Harvard University.
- Professor and Head of Mathematics at Rangoon University
- Rector, Mandalay Arts and Science University
- Voluntary transfer to Rangoon Institute of Technology as Professor and Head of Mathematics
- Associate Dean, Assumption University, Bangkok
- More information can be found in the Book by Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Tekkatho Maung Thin Char)
95th Birthday Celebration

Memories
- Sayagyi U Ba Toke passed away on Dec 2, 2020 (the day following RU Centennial, and a few days short of his Centennial Birthday).
- The photos (shown above) were taken on Sayagyi’s 95th birthday with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
- Sayagyi was pre-deceased by his beloved spouse, son (Soe Win) and daughter (Kitty).
- Ma Betty, Ye Myint, Nellie, Pansy, Tammy and Deborah have posted photos and articles about their loving father.
- Saya Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Tekkatho Maung Thin Char, GBNF) wrote a book about the “Life Journey of Sayagyi U Ba Toke” and published with the sponsorship of Tekkatho Thin Char Mi Thar Su.
- Sayagyi attended SPZP-2000, but skipped SPZP-2002 due to Sayagadaw’s health.
- He attended subsequent SPZPs in Yangon and Singapore.
- The attendees of SPZP-2007 appreciated Sayagyi’s anecdote about a 100+ year young Soviet guy quarreling with his 4th wife (and making amends soon after).
- Sayagyi played soccer in his younger days.
- Even in his 70s and 80s, he took weekly hikes to Shwe Dagon Pagoda with younger neighbors.
- Sayagyi served on the RU Sports Council and as Leader of the Burma Olympic Team to Tokyo Olympics.
- Sayagyi served as Commandant of the Tekkatho Luyechun Camp.
- During my early visits, Sayagyi gave me an autographed copy of the Book and also took us down memory lane.
- Sadly, aging caught up and Sayagyi lost mobility and his vision and hearing were impaired (as apparent on my later visits).
- Many were planning for his Centennial Birthday, but …
Garawa To & By Sayagyi
- On behalf of the Classes of 70 and 71 (also known as the 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65), Ko Khin Maung Myint (ChE71) offered Garawa money to Sayagyi.
- Sayagyi offered Soon to Sangha and listened to the dhamma talk
- Per invitation from his former students, Sayagyi attended the First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe (also known as SPZP-2000), San Francisco, California, USA in October 2000.
  On behalf of the sayas, Sayagyi gave blessings to the SPZP-2000 attendees.
  He was accompanied by Ko Ye Myint (eldest son) and spouse.
- Bagyee Myat Myo Myint (Ko Myo Myint, Retired Dy Chief Engineer, Burma Railways) drew a Pon Tu of Sayagyi.
- Pansy sent a car and driver to pick up Saya U Ba Than, Saya U Tin Htut and me at Winner Inn.
  Saya U Ba Than pays respect to Sayagyi at least once every year.
  Saya U Tin Htut also paid visit to Sayagyi during most of his visits to Yangon.
  I visited Sayagyi during my trips to Yangon. Ko Ye Myint, Pansy, Debbie and Ko Ohn Khine (M70) provided transport on different occasions.
May 16, 2025
Alumni and Friends
by Hla Min

Updated : May 2025

U Wynn Htain Oo (M72)
- Has several interesting nicknames : Shwe Gaung Byaung, WHO, Hmaw Sayagyi and Mg Mar Ga.
- Shown with his Life Savers / Bosses
- WHO is a Boss (outside his home, especially among his Hna Pyi)
- Had Four Bosses (at Home) and have to serve them with Delicious Dishes.
U Wynn Htain Oo
- The following photo is taken at the Birthday Celebration for Mg Mar Ga.
  He is an outstanding Organizer and Fundraiser.
  He is a Patron of RIT-YIT-YTU Alumni Association.
- Attendees include his fellow organizers and/or fundraisers.
- U Tin Latt (M85) served as General Secretary of Swel Daw Yeik Foundation (SDYF) and President of Alumni Association.
  He is a former Deputy Minister.
- Saya U Soe Myint (Min83) served as Joint Secretary of SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016.
- U Kyaw Hlaing (M86) served as Fundraiser for SPZP, SDYF and Alumni Association.
Ko Tin Latt and Mg Mar Ga

Gathering In Singapore

Gathering in Singapore
- Dr. Soe Thein and U Aung Thaik welcomed Dr. Myo Khin as Honored Guest in Singapore.
- Dr. Soe Thein served as Organizer and Webmaster of Singapore SPZPs and Singapore Civil Engineering gatherings.
- UAung Kyaw Thaik was a member of Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung Committee.
  He is a founding member of Singapore Chan Myei Yeik Tha.
Sayama Daw Tin Tin Myint (Emma)

Daw Tin Tin Myint (Emma)
- Model turned Mae Daw
- She was a Swimmer and a Minthamee.
- She is a co-founder of Dana Sri Lanka, Triple Gems Publications and Singapore Pon Chan Chan group.
U Maung Maung Kyi (SPHS63, ChE)

U Maung Maung Kyi
- Khin Thitsar posted a rare photo of her eldest Brother (eldest of 8 siblings) U Maung Maung Kyi (SPHS63, Chemical Engineer specializing in Pulp and Paper).
- He worked at Sittaung Paper Mill and PPIC.
- He was my crew mate at RUBC and a Best Man at my wedding.
- He is retired and lives in Wales.
- Spouse : Daw Khin May Than (ChE72) was a swimmer.
  She now spends time Painting and Hiking
- They lost their elder son Dr. Rimon Than (Squadron Leader, Mountaineer, Rescue Team Leader, Medical Doctor) to anavalanche.
- They gave their house to the second son (Medical Doctor who came back from Japan) and moved to Ogmore-by-the-sea).
- During my visit to UK, my cousin nephew Dr. Khin Tun (Peter, GBNF) and his spouse DawWinmar drove us to see U Maung Maung Kyi and Daw Khin May Than.
- Ko Maung Maung Kyi smiled for the first time after his sad loss of his son.
- Peter was the first Doctor in UK to succumb to Covid.
  He passed away on April 13, 2020. He received Awards posthumously.
—-
May 16, 2025
Experts for Burmese Movies

မြန်မာ့ရုပ်ရှင် ပညာရှင် (တချို့)

စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် RIT

* ဦးခင်မောင်ရင် (ကွယ်လွန်) — ပိသုကာ 1960

ဒါရိုက်တာ၊ ပန်းချီဆရာ

U Kin Maung Yin (GBNF)

* နောင်ထွန်းလွင် — စက်မှု 1975

ဒါရိုက်တာ

* ဦးအောင်မြင့် — သတ္တုတွင်း 1970

သမန်းကျား ကိုမြင့်

သရုပ်ဆောင်၊ Production, Composer,

Guitarist, Vocalist

Thamankyar Ko Myint

* ဦးသန်းဝင်း — ချည်ထည် 1970

ဇာတ်ညွှန်း — သမန်းကျား

* ဦးထင်လင်း (ကွယ်လွန်) — လျှပ်စစ်စွမ်းအား 1993

ဒွေး — သရုပ်ဆောင်

Dway (GBNF)

* ဦးအေးသိန်း — လျှပ်စစ်ဆက်သွယ်ရေး 1987

မင်းဦး — သရုပ်ဆောင်

Min Oo

—

ဒေသကောလိပ် Regional College

* ဦးမြတ်လှစိန် (ကွယ်လွန်) — PPBRS alumnus

ဌာနမှုး — ရုပ်ရှင် Technology

Myat Hla Sein (GBNF)

Credit: Photos 2, 3 — ကျော်ကျော် (စက်မှု)

May 16, 2025
Paying respect to U Ba Than
By U Aung Min (M69)

Dear RIT69ers

ဒီနေ့နံနက် (၂၅/၉/၂၂)တွင် ဆရာကြီး ဦးဘသန်း Mechanical Professor ထံသို့ အတန်းဖေါ်သူငယ်ချင်းနှင့် သွားရောက် ဂါရဝပြုလျက် စုပေါင်းကန်တောငွေ ကျပ်၁၄သိန်းအားဆက်ကပ် ခဲ့ပါတယ်။ဆေးရုံမှဆင်းတာမကြာသေးတာကြောင့် အနည်းငယ်ပိန်သွားတာမှလွဲလို့ ကျန်းမာနေကြောင်းတွေ့ခဲ့ရပါတယ်။

ဆရာကြီးက တပည့်များအားမှာကြားလိုက်သည်ကတော့ ” ယခုအသက် ၉၂ နှစ်ရှိပြီ၊ မကြာခင်အသက် ၁၀၀ ပြည့်မည်၊မကြာ မကြာ လာတွေ့ကြပါ၊အားလုံးကျန်းမာကြပါစေ။” ဟူ၍ဖြစ်ပါသည်။

“Representatives of RIT69ERS” paying respect to Sayar Gyi U Ba Than
- Khin Maung Tin
- Walter Ngwe Soe,
- Tin Aung Win
- Mehm Aye Chan,
- Aung Min
- Tin Mg Aye,
- Sein Tun.
Khin Maung Tin, Walter Ngwe Soe, Tin Aung Win, Mehm Aye Chan, Aung Min, Tin Mg Aye, Sein Tun

U Ba Than

U Ba Than

U Ba Than and 69ers

69ers paying respect

69ers paying respect
May 16, 2025
U Than Htay (MARB)
U Myint Sein (GBNF) attended PPBRS, SPHS and Institute of Economics.

He is a founding member of BARB and served as Principal of Veda courses.

He requested me to develop programs for Veda. I supervised U Win Latt to develop Win Horo and U Zaw Tun to develop အဟော program (in Prolog).

He later founded Idea Astrology.

He served as Visiting Professor at the School for Indigenous Medicine. His expertise included Medical Astrology.

** Notes

* U Myint Sein and Veda Sayas (e.g U Khin Aung Bo, U Myint Lwin and U Than Htay) taught classes at BARB. Sad to note that all four are GBNF.

* They would also hold discussions (and Live Readings) at some houses / places.

* Saya U Aye Win Kyaw (C70, GBNF) is a founding member and EC of BARB.

He taught Astronomy and Astronomy at BARB.
- Some Veda sayas (e.g. U Hla Win, Dr. Aung Myin Bo) would pick me up to visit MARB
May 16, 2025
U Than Win (M69)
- He was from Myaung Mya.
- He attended SPHS as a Boarder.
- He graduated from RIT.
- He and family donated K4 lakhs to Myaung Mya Wailuwadi monastery / meditation center.
Notes
- After the 69er monthly breakfast gathering, he took Ko Htay Aung and me to his house.
- After small talk, he took me to a restaurant in Yin Pyin, where Old Paulians offered Soon to Sayadaw Beatson (Physics saya & Scout Master).
Feedback
- Than Win wrote :
အလှူမှတ်တမ်းလေးတင်ပေးတဲ့သူငယ်ချင်းကို အထူးကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ်

U Tin Htut, U Htay Aung, U Than Win
May 16, 2025