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________________________ by Aziara Esham ________________________ THIS year's Cross Country may have been postponed, but in recent interviews with house captains from the school's four different sports houses, Hulubalang, Panglima, Laksamana and Pahlawan, our leaders are still eager to bag the gold medals for a head start this year. Cross Country is one of the first major interhouse competitions every year and plays a vital role in the overall house points at the end of the year. Hulubalang
The first house to speak their mind was Hulubalang. “We'll win,” said a confident Nurazurin. “If everyone's making an effort then I'm sure we can win.” Nurazurin believes Hulubalang is the house that stands out because they “have the athletes, the ability, the drive, the passion.” When asked of her contributions to the school, she had quite an impressive list to offer. “I guess you could call me MS's runner. I've joined Fun Run before, when I was in Form 3. I think that was back in 2005 or 2006. And when I was in Form 4, I joined Mini Marathon. This is all interschool. And then, last year I was supposed to run in Pesta Sukan Remaja, but it was cancelled because of H1N1.” Dk. Nurazurin Pg. Haji Mulek is the assistant house captain of Hulubalang and is one of the school's leading athletes. She is aiming to be one of the top three runners for this year's Cross Country. In a separate interview, Hulubalang's house captain Zaim Aimuddin was just as confident. “There was once a time when Hulubalang had a six-year winning streak,” he told MS Minute. “I think Hulubalang is a sleeping dragon that needs to be awakened, and hopefully, I can be the one to do just that.” “It has always been a dream of mine, ever since I was in Form One, to one day be house captain of Hulubalang. Thankfully that day has come, and although some people do disagree, I'm going to try to be the best captain I can be,” Zaim said. Zaim was the Sports Star of the Year in 2008, having won three gold medals on Sports Day. “It will be challenging to win the title again this year as the competition has gotten better. But since this is my last year, hopefully I can win it again.” On top of his outstanding athletic performances, Zaim has also managed to kill two dinosaurs with his bare hands. He has climbed Mount Everest twice in his sleep, and he discovered America. Last year, it was rumoured that Zaim turned an elephant into an enormous pile of chocolate by dancing wildly like a spasmic chimp. Although he denied these reports, an epic amount of chocolate still remains in the middle of the African Savannah. Panglima
Panglima, on the other hand, were somewhat modest but were still confident about how they will turn out this year. “I think we're going to win this year for sure,” said an excited Fatin Zaini, who chose to have a joint interview with fellow house captain Zul-Fikar Ikram. To Fatin's statement, Zul-Fikar coolly added, “I'm sure we will win as long as we cooperate with each other. [With] teamwork, we can do anything.” The rather enthusiastic house captains of Panglima believed that team cooperation is the most important quality that their house needs in order to win their competitions this year. Interestingly, they rely solely on team unity and chose not to make any other plans to help boost their house. “We don't need a plan,” Fatin told MS Minute, “We go with the flow.” Fatin and Zul-Fikar stated that it was “very surprising” that they were elected house captains, but they would try their best “to be good leaders.” For years, Panglima is considered to be one of the strongest houses and the most competitive, particularly to their rival Hulubalang. Although the Reds have been quite silent in the Cross Country run in recent years, this year's house captains have faith that with team unity and good cooperation among the house members, Panglima will surely win. Pahlawan
Another bold and very determined house is Pahlawan. Representing the award-winning house was house captain Muhd. Haziq bin Husaini. “There's no reason why we can't win,” he said confidently. “We won last year. Unfortunately we didn't manage to win Cross Country, but hopefully we'll win it this year, and we'll try our best to also win medals on Sports Day.” Like the house captains of Panglima, Haziq believed in unity and cooperation. “I like to think of us as a family,” he said. “If you lose, we all lose. We don't consider each other as individuals, we're a group.” Haziq was not actually elected house captain of Pahlawan until the original house captain Azlan Shah stepped down and let Haziq fill his shoes. Still, he was quick to play his part and portray the image of a leader. When asked of his qualities that qualify him as house captain, he said, “Leadership is one thing. The other thing is, when your members are down, you have to be with them, try to keep their hopes up and let them take everything as a challenge.” Personally, Haziq is aiming to be one of this year's top five medalists in Cross Country. Pahlawan's female captain, Izzatul Hazirah Haji Hussin, did not show as much confidence. She was quite hesitant when asked if Pahlawan would see gold this year. “I don't think we have that many athletic people, but optimistically speaking, I think we will do okay.” Still, Hazirah hopes that she can help Pahlawan be this year's leading house team. On top of verbally motivating and encouraging her house members, she wishes to win medals to set an example for them. With Hazirah's good history in sports, this would definitely not come as a difficult task for her. Hazirah thinks of herself as an easy-going and approachable leader who is open to the ideas and suggestions of others. “If you have ideas, I'm not going to just say, 'No, we're not going to accept that. What I say is my rule.' I'm not that type of person.” She also keeps herself this way to avoid any unwanted drama within the house team and any dissatisfaction or misunderstanding. Hazirah hopes to at least be one of this year's top twenty in Cross Country. Over the years, it seems that Pahlawan has gained a reputation for being one of the top houses, having won numerous awards in events like Cross Country and Sports Day. It would definitely not come as a surprise if Pahlawan were to turn out as this year's winning house team, given their dedicated athletes and strong background. Laksamana
Lastly, we managed to get a hold of Laksamana to hear their side of things. In a joint interview with fellow house captain Sofian, Hadi Iqbal showed his trust in the younger members of Laksamana to win the medals this years. “It's not that we don't believe in the seniors,” he said. “It's just that we're lacking in preparations [such as training].” Sofian and Iqbal said they've been very busy preparing for their exams this year, but they hope to be ready by Sports Day. They also believe that the role of the seniors is to motivate the younger athletes. Like all the other house captains, Sofian and Iqbal were elected based on votes by their house members. But personally, they said that a leader is usually someone friendly and happy-go-lucky, but very committed and able to accept his responsibilities at the same time. Md. Sofian bin Haji Bini has won quite an impressive number of medals and was once one of the school's most competitive athletes in all sports. Although he thinks that there may only be a 50-50 chance of victory for Laksamana, to him, the most important thing is to have fun. Md. Hassanul Hadi Iqbal bin Hj. Dayang is the assistant house captain of Laksamana. When asked why he thought his house team stands out, his very interesting reply was, “Laksamana is blue, and blue stands for the sky, and the sky is the limit.” Although normally viewed as underdogs, Laksamana made history with their very shocking win on Sports Day and their unexpected victory overall back in 2008. This has raised bars for all Laksamana members and they have gotten stronger since. Labels: Sports and CCA ★ |