The Spirit of the Bicentenary lives on

The Spirit of the Bicentenary lives on in those of us who attended the charity premiere of The School that Built a Nation at the GSC Queensbay Mall this morning at 11 o'clock. Not a full house, however, which must have been quite a disappointment for the co-organisers, The Old Frees' Association and the Yayasan Penang Free School. But for those of us who turned up for the screening, it was the Bicentenary all over again, although three years down the road.

The documentary film brought back many vivid memories for my wife and I because we were there in Dittisham in Sept 2016 to await the arrival of the convoy of 4WDs that had began a 15,000km overland journey from Penang three months earlier. Therefore, seeing images of the St George's Church in Dittisham as well as the stained glass windows bearing the name of Robert Sparke Hutchings really brought lumps to my throat. And to hear Helen Woodman interviewed brought back even more memories.

The documentary moved along at quite an even pace. Nary a dull moment. The interviews with Tan Boon Lin, Anwar Fazal and Marcus Langdon were absorbing, as also the interviews with John Hughes, the Saw brothers and others, which had been expertly crafted into the documentary to tell a very compelling story of Penang Free School. Tan talked about his experience while a pupil during the war years, Anwar spoke of his spectacles and more importantly, gave a brief background on Wu Lien-Teh, and Langdon spoke of his connection to the Free School through George Porter who was the third head teacher of the school.

To those who had not seen this film for whatever personal reason, I can only wish that they had seen it. I think it was a missed opportunity. They would have enjoyed it immensely. Really!

But like I told some people, this film is not wholly about Penang Free School nor is it wholly about Robert Sparke Hutchings and his vision. No, this film is more than that. To me, this film documents the history of education not only of Penang but of the country. And how education had spearheaded the country's march towards Independence and beyond. This should be a film for everyone to see, not only the Old Frees and the present Frees.

I'm surrounded by the School Prefects. Hope it's not detention class in their minds!

Sitting practically in the front row.

Mahyidin Mustakim giving his "brief" opening remarks before the start of the screening. He's wearing two hats as the President of the Old Frees Association Kuala Lumpur & Selangor and the President of the Yayasan Penang Free School.

The audience of Old Frees, teachers, present Frees and invited guests.

After the show. A group picture of most of us who were present.