Fifty seven prefects stand on the stage, yelling, screaming and clapping for all they are worth. Some are dressed in brightly coloured shirts and trousers; others are wearing work shirts and ties. In this myriad of colour, one thing is certain, they are held together by one voice, one belief, and one spirit.

A little beaded pot sits on my table. It is silver and gold, the colours of the moonbeams and early morning sunlight. Yes, it means a lot to me, but it is the little scroll of paper inside that means so much more. Yesterday, unfurling it, I broke into a huge grin as I read the song lyrics printed on an ordinary, rectangular sheet of white paper:

It’s the passion that comes from within…You just need some hope to see you through the night, Hope’s there…AB INTRA…Prefects’ Investiture 2005…

Every investiture is beautiful in its own right, magnificent in its own way, but just as every Board differs from the last; this investiture will be one that I hold dearly and closely to my heart. Don’t get me wrong now, every single Investiture I have ever participated in is special to me, and I remember clearly the feelings of joy and happiness that accompanied every single one of them. Just that this year will be the last year that I will be actively involved in it, so it seems even more beautiful than all the others.

What can I say that has not already been said? Everyone did their jobs wonderfully, whether it was the props, the acting, the costumes, the music, the directing or the presentation. It was all magnificently done.

Even though we all spent around about two months and a half labouring over this project, and even though many of us lost a good many hours of sleep and gained a few more white hairs, in the end, it was a labour of love by the prefects, for the prefects.

This is what I truly love and cherish about the Board at the end of the day. It is not about the fantastic props, or the excellent acting, but it is the knowledge that we, all fifty seven of us, have pulled through together, intact, and that we have all become better people because of all the preparation we have done for the investiture. To me, it is rather like a baptism of fire for the new prefects. And also, the fact that all of this effort and all of this hard work has truly come ‘from within’, from the bottom of our hearts.

It’s strange, isn’t it? At the start of the holidays in November, most of the Board probably felt resentment at the fact that we would be spending a large amount of time in school, rehearsing the play and writing the songs, and yet, at the end of it all, when the entire investiture is actually over, we realise that, hey, we will not need to stay back anymore. School will not end at 6pm almost daily for us anymore. We need not worry about when Mr. Ang or Ms. Heng are coming in to watch us rehearse and Eunice will not be baying for our blood when we forget to clean our shoes before entering the Prefects’ Room…and we wish that we could do it all over again. The human mind is strange, is it not?

I was lucky enough in Secondary One to have been elected as a prefect, and have stayed on the Board ever since. If there is one thing I have never forgotten, it is what Ms. Kim told the entire Board during my first Seminar in Malacca. She said, and I quote, “The longest you can serve the school as a prefect is four years, don’t let it be any less.” I have never forgotten those words, and am proud to say that I can and will serve the school for as long as I am in it, and even longer, in whatever way that I can.

These years I have spent as a prefect have been very fulfilling, and some of my best friends and closest acquaintances are the people who are currently on the Board. I suppose it is impossible not to build camaraderie with the very same people you see every morning and every afternoon for the month before investiture. And really, each and every one of you is special, and different. Yet, when we all come together, all the pieces fit, somehow, and the entire painting we create is the most beautiful painting in the world. It is not beautiful because of the technique or because it is painted using, say, the sfumato style of painting, but because of the many different colours that jump out at the view and seem to dance before his very eyes.

Every moment on the Board has been significant and exceptional; all the prefects, each and every one of you, is special. There have been the moments of despair when one feels as if one has reached the end of the road and have lost that delicate point of equilibrium we all need, to the more inspiring, happier moments when we all band together to pull each other out of the mud and trenches. And of course, not forgetting the hair-raising and wacky moments I have had and will continue having with the Executive Committee; from Lyn’s obsession with large, round fruits, to Michelle’s apparent innocence, to embarrassing Mr. Ang and laughing so hard we cried…

I could go on and on about the Prefectorial Board, but because I only have so much paper and only so many pens, I shall stop here.

Thank you for all those wonderful moments, and memories; may we make many more in this coming year!

Always remember, no matter what we do, or where we are, everything should come from the heart, ab intra.

I sit and watch the sky, the clouds go by,
And as the seasons pass,
The leaves turn brown and dry.

Children grow up, and people get old,
Evenings fall, new mornings unfold.

Everything around us is changing,
But in the end, what matters most is…

Chorus:
There’s something deep within,
That fire burns inside me,
There’s something I believe in,
A dream for me to fight for,
And through it all,
To the end of my days,
Inside I’m still the same, the same old me,
It’s the passion that comes from within…

We have the spirit of a thousand hearts,
We have the seed of hope that spurs us on and on,
It grows inside us, and gives us strength,
It starts from within…

There’s something deep within,
That fire burns inside me,
There’s something I believe in,
A dream for me to fight for,
And through it all,
To the end of my days,
Inside I’m still the same, the same old me,
It’s the passion that comes from within,
It’s the passion that comes from within…
---From Within, Investiture 2005.

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