3 days ago
Tales of success from PJ hostel
(From left) Ravindran, Prof Agamutu and Marimuthu at the book launch at Royal Lake Club. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
A FORMER resident of a hostel called PP Narayanan (PPN) has chronicled the stories of students and staff in a book, The Legacy of PPN Students' Hostel.
The hostel, established in 1965 by the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW), was once a second home to generations of students.
It provided a home for students, primarily children of estate workers, who secured admission to Universiti Malaya (UM) or nearby institutions of higher education in Kuala Lumpur.
The author Ravindran Raghavan, who is a business consultant, said he was inspired by the stories of fellow former hostel residents he met during a PPN reunion.
'It was truly amazing to witness the heights that these people had climbed to from where they were,' Ravindran said during the book launch held at Royal Lake Club in Kuala Lumpur.
'I instantly knew then that I had to somehow capture all of this success,' he added.
Educationist and former UM lecturer Tan Sri Dr T. Marimuthu also echoed Ravindran's sentiment.
'The hostel was a sanctuary for people from various backgrounds, but it was also a refuge for students who didn't know where to go.
'It was a welcoming community,' said the former deputy agriculture minister who also served as the hostel's management committee vice-chairman in 1972.
After 30 years of serving the community, the hostel which was located in Jalan Barat in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, officially closed its doors in 1996 due to lack of funds.
Prof Datuk Dr P. Agamutu, who was also a former resident at the hostel, said the building had since been demolished and a condominium now stands in its place.
Despite this, he said the former residents shared a strong bond.
'You can remove us from PPN, but you can't remove PPN from us,' added the academic from Sunway University's Jeffrey Sachs Centre on Sustainable Development.
