Blog

Myat Htoo (C68)
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Uni Days

U Myat Htoo
- Attended I.Sc at Mandalay University
- Graduated with Civil Engineering in 1968
- Joined Faculty
- Moved to the USA
- Spouse : Daw Hnin Maung Maung / Ma Ku
Activities

SF Bay Area Alumni Group
- Founding member of RIT Alumni International
SPZP-2000
- Master of Ceremonies for SPZP-2000
- Wrote about the SPZP-2000 experience in the Post Reunion series.
U Myat Htoo (Right)

NorCal RITAA
- Founding member of NorCal RITAA.
- Chair of BOD (Board of Directors).
- One of the hosts for NorCal RITAA meetings. He would invite the attendees to take a boat ride on the nearby man-made lake. Would also arrange a karaoke session.
- Past President of Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA)
- President of Theravada Buddhist Society of America (TBSA) for a decade. Led the procession for the scattering of ashes of Sayadaw U Silananda into the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lost Neikan RIT
- Wrote a parody on “Pyauk Sone Nay Thaw Neikban Bon” (the song by Sai Kham Leik and Sai Htee Saing).
LA Reunion
- Played the Ukelele and sang the song described above at the 2015 Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles.
Ukelele

Donation
- Donated Life Vests to 20 teachers in the town of Paletwa in Chin Special Division, Myanmar.
- The teachers risked their lives daily crossing Kaladan river to teach children on the other side of the town.
- One teacher was killed in a boat mishap in surging waters during heavy rains. A life jacket would have saved her life.
Golden Jubilee

On May 20, 2018, the BOD (Board of Directors) and EC (Executive Committee) members of NorCal RITAA threw a surprise party to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of U Myat Htoo (C68, Chair of BOD) and Daw Hnin Maung Maung (Ma Ku, “Nyima Lay”).

According to Saya, he was the youngest in his family and wanted a younger sibling (preferably a sister).

He found an innocent 9 year old neighbor (and family friend).

Ten years later, they tied the knot.

Memories

Meeting

Pon Tu

Gathering

Lunch meeting

Library

Vocalist
June 19, 2025
2017
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Breakfast Gathering at Crystal Jade

At Crystal Jade

Welcome
- Some 69ers hosted a breakfast gathering at “Crystal Jade” to welcome Ko Sein Myint (EP69, Singapore) and me.
Farewell
- They bade farewell to Ko Tint Lwin (M69), who had to go back to Singapore to take care of his elder brother Saya U Thein Lwin (EE) and Sayama Daw May Than Nwe (Joyce).
Transportation
- Ko Ohn Khine (M70 took me to the breakfast gathering.
- During my visits, he also took me to meetings for SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016 & “History of Myanmar Engineering Education (HMEE)” Project.
Attendees
- Ko Shwe
- Ko Tint Lwin (Daniel)
- Ko Sein Tun
- Ko Ohn Khine
- Ko Myat Soe Lwin (Sai Hwet)
- Ko Aung Min
- Ko Myint Thein (Kabar)
- Ko Sein Myint
- Ko Win Maung (“Lake”)
- Ko Aung Min — Chair of the 69er HCF and a core organizer for 69er gatherings.
Breakfast at Taw Win Hnin Si
- 69ers hold a monthly breakfast gathering at “Royal Rose Restaurant (Taw Win Hnin Si တော်ဝင်နှင်းဆီ)”.
- Ko Aung Min (M69) & team gave me two mementos: a sports jacket and a Tee shirt with the 69er Logo.
- Major donors to the 69er HCF (Health Care Fund) and the 69er Annual Dinner were also given commemorative Tee shirts.
- Orders for the sports jacket and Tee shirt were taken from interested 69ers.
- The group photo shows
At Taw Win Hnin Si

L to R : Ko Tin Aung Win (Oscar), Ko Ngwe Soe (Walter), Ko Myint Thein (Kabar), Ko Hla Min, Ko Tin Maung Aye, Ko Win Lwin, Ko Tin Tun

EE69er breakfast gathering

EE69er Gathering

The group photo shows :
- Standing : Ko Maung Maung, Ko Thein Swe, Ko Shwe
- Seated : Ko Hla Min, Ko Than Hla (Cyril)
- Ko Shwe is Treasurer for the 69er HCF and the EE 69er HCF.
- Ko Maung Maung played volleyball at RIT. He is Joint Treasurer of the EE 69er HCF.
At Winner Inn

Winner Inn
- The photo was taken at Winner Inn.
- Saya Dr. San Hla Aung (C58) came to pay respect to Sayagyi U Ba Than.
Sayagyi U Ba Toke

U Ba Toke
- The photo was taken at Sayagyi U Ba Toke’s house.
- Daw Thynn Thynn (Pansy, ChE74, daughter of Sayagyi) sent a car to Winner Inn to pick up Saya U Ba Than, Saya U Tin Htut (M60) and me.
- U Ba Than pays respect to Sayagyi U Ba Toke at least once every year.
- Sayagyi U Ba Toke is a “Phwa Bet” of Rangoon University and the First RU Students’ Strike in December 1920.
- Sayagyi has eight children (of which two passed away), many grandchildren and some great grand children.
At Dhammananda Vihara

Half Moon Bay
- Ko Sein Myint’s daughter and son-in-law offered soon to the resident monks of the Dhammanda Vihara, Half Moon Bay (in Northern California, USA) for the first birthday of their daughter.
- Ko Sein Myint has five children and four grand children.
- Attendees include Ko Tin Myint (John Lee, M69) and Ma Lyo Kyin Sein (Mabel Lee, T69).
Updates

U Ba Toke, U Ba Than, U Thein Lwin, Daw May Than Nwe, Kabar, Ko Thein Swe & Ko Tin Myint are now GBNF.
June 18, 2025
Senior Writers
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

2016 စာဆိုတော်နေ့ — သက်ကြီးပညာရှင်များ

On Sar So Daw Nay (Writers’ Day) in 2016, senior writers who are 80 or older were honored.

အသက် 80 နဲ့ အထက်

W 1

W 2

W 3

U Tin Htut (Harry, M69)

Credit : မွန်ယု / Harry တင်ထွဋ် (M69)

U Tin Htut (M69)
- Matriculated from Sacred Heart
- Graduated with Mechanical Engineering in 1969
- Wrote articles for various magazines
- Pen name : Mon Yu
- As a senior member of the Writers’ Association, he was honored at the Thet Kyee Pu Zaw Pwe သက်ကြီးပူဇော်ပွဲ
Posts
- Associations
- Noble Tradition
- Pu Zaw Pwe
June 18, 2025
Daw Emma Gyi
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

January 2013

Birthday Party

U Wai Lwin hosted a surprise birthday party for Daw Emma Gyi. It was a few days after SPZP-2012.

Attendees
- Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi
- Saya U Tin Htut
- Saya Dr. Aung Soe
- Saya U Thein Tan,
- Saya U Myo Myint
- Steeve Kay (U Thaung Sein)
- Benny Tan
- U Ohn Khine
- U Soe Aung,
- Rosie Tin Maung
- Rosie Gyi (Mai Khin Nyunt)
- Daw Kyi Kyi Sein (Bei Oo)
- Daw Lei Lei Chit
- Several more from the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65
New Jersey (2015)

NJ
- In July 2015, Ivan Lee (M69) hosted us along with Saya Dr. Aung Gyi & Daw Emma.
- We joined the RIT-UCC party at Ivan’s house.
On the way to NY
- Ivan showed us around New Jersey and New York.
Trip to Napean (2015)

Daw Emma Gyi

Ivan organized a whirlwind trip to Canada & East Coast of USA.

He provided his car & gas. He drove part of the trip.

Fred Thetgyi (M69) drove most of the trip.

In the second leg, we visited Saya Dr. Aung Gyi & Daw Emma.

Saya took us to Thousand Islands.

Posts
- Dr. Aung Gyi
- Gatherings
- RIT-UCC Party in New Jersey
- Trips
June 18, 2025
RUBC Magazines

by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

RUBC

Sir Arthur Eggar

Rangoon University Boat Club was founded by Law Professor Sir Arthur Eggar in 1923.

He provided a third of the salary for the operation of RUBC.

1963

I joined RUBC in 1963 along with my SPHS classmates : Maung Maung Kyi, Kyaw Wynn and Willie Soe Maung (Myint Soe).

For security reasons, the Annual Regatta for the 40th Anniversary of the founding of RUBC was cancelled.

Sithu U Tin, President of RUBC, gave the go-ahead to celebrate the 40th Anniversary with a dinner gathering at a hotel in Kandawgyi.

Sithu U Tin, U Po Zon & U Tin Htoon compiled the Souvenir Issue for the 40th Anniversary.

2013

Magazine

Committee

I served as a Contributing Editor of the Souvenir Issue for the 90th Anniversary of RUBC.

U Tin Htoon (Chair), U Myo Myint (Vice-Chair), U Htaik San (Henry Kao, Secretary) and the members are shown in the Group Photo.

I wrote Preludes for the sections, and three articles.

June 18, 2025
Uniform
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Meaning & Usage
- It may mean “one form”.
- One may study Uniform Distribution in Probability & Statistics.
- Some schools may mandate their students to wear uniform on specified days (and may be every day).
- Bogyoke Aung San and U Thant had a debate on Uniform during their University days.
SPHS

SPHS Uniform

During our younger days, we had to perform drill at the School Sports and at the Aung San Stadium for specified events (e.g. Education Day Celebration). We had to dress up in uniform.

The full uniform consisted of
- Kakki pants
- Long sleeved white shirt
- Necktie
- Badge
- Coat
SPHS Blazer & Badge

Burmese Dress for Males
- Pasoe ပုဆိုး (or Longyi လုံခြည်)
- Taik Pon တိုက်ပုံ
- Gaung Baung ခေါင်းပေါင်း
The formal dress may be worn at functions (e.g. Award Presentation Ceremony).

U Nu

PPBRS Concert

Sailor
- Aung Myint (later Thamankyar Ko Myint) & Toe Nyunt were wearing Sailor uniform
Engineering College

C58

Sayagyi U Ba Hli is seen in photos wearing a uniform.

U Ba Hli

UTC

Those joining UTC (Universities’ Training Corps) were two sets of old uniforms. Most prefer to buy or order their own.

UTC

RUBC

Rangoon University Boat Club (RUBC) awards Half Green, Full Green and Gold. RUBC specifies Dress Code for the award winners.

RUBC 1

RUBC 2

Graduation

The Admin, Staff and graduates dress up in specified uniforms (e.g gown & cap)

USA Sports

In the USA, sports team have at least two sets of uniforms: one for playing at Home, and another for playing away.
June 18, 2025
Speech
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Sayings

There is a saying, “Speech is silver. Silence golden.”

It does not mean that we should stay silent all the time.

If one does not have meaningful things to say, it is better to remain silent rather than rambling or engaging in frivolous talk.

Duration of speech
- The length of a speech varies.
- President Abraham Lincoln was requested to give a “few appropriate remarks” at Gettysburg. His address consisted of ten sentences. It was delivered in less than two minutes (which was not long enough for the official photographer to record the historic moment).
- Typically, Elevator speeches last 30 – 45 seconds, Impromptu Speech (e.g. Table Topics) last 1 – 2 minutes, Prepared Speeches last 5 – 7 minutes, TED talks lastless than 18 minutes), Keynote speeches last 45 – 60 minutes with Q&A.
Message
- It is usually more important than the messenger.
- The speaker should provide a “take away” or an “action item”.
Training / Aids
- I had a book of the 40+ speeches given by notable people (e.g. Winston Churchill).
- Rotary Club, Kiwani’s Club and Toastmasters International provide guidance and training for communication (Public Speaking and Leadership).
- I am a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
Hla Min (DTM) 1 ko

Hla Min (DTM) 2

Toastmaster 1

Toastmaster 2

Speeches
- Inaugural address by Abraham Lincoln
- John F Kennedy’s speech about Moon Mission
- Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is known for “The Last Lecture”, where a Professor presents to an audience (e.g. those present for his forthcoming Retirement). Randy Pausch, who was diagnosed with Cancer, gave an up-lifting “The Last Lecture”. It can be viewed on You Tube. It has also been made into a book.
- Steve Jobs gave a Commencement Speech at Stanford University. It can be viewed on the Internet. In three parts, he connected the dots (e.g. taking a Calligraphy course to the aesthetic Font designs on Apple Computers.
Posts
- 5th Irrawaddy Literary Festival
- My Educational Videos
- Public Speaking
- Toastmaster’s Journey
- YMCA
June 18, 2025
Old Movie Poster
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

ရှေးခေတ် — ရုပ်ရှင် ကြော်ငြာ

လူထုအောင်သံ — ရုပ်ရှင်

ပြဇာတ် — ဦးနု

ရုပ်ရှင်ရုံ (တချို့)
- ရန်ကုန်
  New Excelsior (ဝဇီရာ)
  Carlton (ယုဇန)
- မန္တလေး
  Golden Cinema (ရွှေ)
- မော်လမြိုင်
  King Cinema (ဘရင့်ရုံ)
- ပုသိမ်
  Raphael Cinema
- စစ်တွေ
  Sittway Cinema (စစ်တွေ)
Notes
- U Nu wrote the play.
- It was prescribed as a text.
- Bo Ba Ko and Maung Maung Tar became famous actors.
Posts
- Actors & Directors
- Cinemas
June 18, 2025
Apostle of Non-violence
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Gandhi

Gandhi
- Mohandas K Gandhi was fondly called Gandhiji.
- His non-violence movement was partly responsible for gaining India’s Independence.
Poem

Poem
- Written for the Centenary of the birth of “The Apostle of Non-violence”.
- Published in the Working People’s Daily on October 1, 1969.
- U Ko Lay (RUBC Gold) was the Chief Editor of WPD.
- Daw Khin Swe Hla was Editor.
Posts
- Celebrations
- Newspapers & Magazines
- Poetry
- Rhyme
June 18, 2025
Ohn Khine
by Hla Min

Updated : June 2025

Highlights

Ohn Khine
- Offered me rides during my visits to Yangon especially to attend meetings for SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016, HMEE-2012, and to selected 69er Breakfast Gatherings.
- Spouse is Sayama Daw Khin Swe Aye (Winnie, ChE70)
- Younger sister is Sayama Dr. Khin Swe Myint (Physics).
- Other Names : Ohn Gaing & Gaing Gyi
- Matriculated in 1964 from St. Peter’s High School, Mandalay.
- Admitted to 1st BE in November 1964.
- Graduated with Mechanical Engineering in 1970.
- Founder & moderator of the Google Group “Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65”.
- Maintains the GBNF list for the Class of 70.
- Joined HIC (Heavy Industries Corporation).
- Volunteer for SPZP-2012, SPZP-2016, SDYF, Shwe YaDu & HMEE, Reunion &Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe for the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65
Publication
- U Ohn Khine and I compiled the CD Supplement for HMEE-2012.
- Translated Section One of HMEE-2012 into English.
- Summarized Section Two of HMEE-2012.
- Co-authored “RIT Days” article with U Zaw Min Nawaday (EP70).
- I edited their joint long article and published in “RIT Alumni International Newsletter”.
- It was also reprinted in the Golden Jubilee magazine by the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65.
Memories

U Ba Than’s Soon Kyway

OK 1

OK 2

SPZP-2012

OK 3

HMEE

OK 4

OK 5

OK 6

Posts
- Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65
- HMEE
- RIT Days (1964 – 70)
- SPZP
June 18, 2025