A dear old friend

guess who i bumped into while exercising at park.my ex colleague and old friend Al Mahdi who now works in University Tun Abdul Razak.The uni is fortunate to hire this inspiring and positive lecturer.our students love him as he has great rapport with youths.he used to organize camps with adventure and teamwork for students.i used to assist him with carrying out teamwork games to boost morale.he was lecturing MPU subjects but now is into psychology and counselling.He is the progressive Malay lecturer our nation needs,forward thinker and encourages interracial interaction for a plural society.the students call him Mr AL.The last time i saw him,he was very fit and wearing skinny jeans n tight T shirts.after not exercising in covid lockdown,he had put on a lot of weight.i encouraged him to exercise more consistently to gain back fitness.i feel so happy to reconnect with my old friend and caught up with our lives.He and I are known for LO L in the office as we were basically happy go lucky and live for laughs and i remembered him as a dopelgamgger of our actor P.Ramlee and we love his old black and white movies.His son used to tag along with our students to trips.such fun times.he showcases the malaysian who practises his faith in being fun,kind,compassionate,inclusive and tolerant and treats everyone equally.so respect is a two way street.if you expect to be respected,start by respecting others. i recall how open minded and fun he was by renting a costume as Elvis Presley complete with hairdo and winning the best dressed impersonator at our company annual dinner.he organized the best Hari Raya staff gathering with fantastic Malay cuisine.