Cikgu Gilbert (left) with two SAHC Collegians
by Dr Rahim Said
In every school, there’s a teacher whose name time refuses to erase — whose spirit lingers in the memories of those who ran on the fields, marched on Sports Day, or endured the drills under the blazing sun.
For generations of Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid (SAHC) students in Alor Setar, that name is CikGu Gilbert Jeremiah Abdullah.
As he recently celebrated his 88th birthday, former Collegians from near and far quietly remembered the man who not only taught them to run faster, jump higher, and stand straighter — but also to live with discipline, pride, and heart.
From the moment he arrived at SAHC in 1960, Gilbert Jeremiah Abdullah — then a young, fit, and sharp-eyed PE teacher — left an indelible mark on the school. He wasn’t just a teacher; he was a mentor, a role model, and to many, a father figure away from home.
On the field and the courts, he moulded not only athletes but character.
Cikgu Gilbert was never one for idle chatter. His was a voice that carried across the school field, commanding attention, respect, and a sense of duty. His Sports Days were legendary. March-pasts were expected to be sharp, drills immaculate, and team spirit unshakeable.
Yet behind that firm exterior was a man with an enormous heart. He celebrated our victories and stood by us in defeat. He saw promise where others saw only indifference and turned many a reluctant schoolboy into a proud sportsman.
It was on those same school grounds that another chapter of his life quietly unfolded.
Many among us fondly remember witnessing his courtship with Rokiah (later Datin), the spirited young lady who would become his wife.
Theirs was a romance played out on the tennis courts and corridors of SAHC — a love story known to many, culminating in a marriage that lasted 56 wonderful years. When Tunku Abdul Malik Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, at one time the Raja Muda of Kedah and a good friend of Gilbert gave our dear teacher 48 hours to decide his intentions, it was as though fate, Kolej spirit, and community conspired to bless the union.
Though his days of pacing the school field have long passed, his presence endures. His recent heartfelt words, spoken amidst the sorrow of losing his beloved Rokiah, reminded us why he remains so dear.
Even in grief, his grace and gratitude radiated, thanking those who had once been his students, now grown men, for standing by him in his darkest hours.
To have been a student of Dato’ Malek Gilbert Jeremiah Abdullah was to learn more than physical education. It was to learn discipline, loyalty, teamwork, and perseverance. It was to be part of a brotherhood shaped by his firm hand and kind heart. It was to carry a piece of his teaching into every chapter of our lives.
As he marks his 88th year, we honour not just a teacher, but a man whose life’s work lives on in every Collegian who ever stood tall on the school field, who proudly wore school colours, and who learned that life, like sport, demands effort, courage, and heart.
Happy 88th Birthday, dear Cikgu Dato’ Malek Gilbert Jeremiah Abdullah.
You will forever be one of Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid’s greatest treasures.
WE
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