Penang Free School: The war years

I've always been fascinated by what happened to Penang Free School during the Second World War. Unfortunately, I couldn't uncover much beyond what I had included in my 2016 book, Let the Aisles Proclaim. So, it's always exciting when a new narrative surfaces about the war years, especially when I'm able to connect it to Penang Free School. 

Recently, I was alerted by a friend, Roy Chai from The Old Frees' Association, to a story by Muskaan Ahmed in The Times of India, which I believe is a valuable addition to the limited knowledge we have about that dark period. The exclusive story, called The spy next door, can be read directly from The Times of India news portal (click here to read) but here is my own summary.

In 1942, during the Quit India movement, Penang Free School became an unexpected centre for covert training in a mission to overthrow British rule in India. When the Japanese occupied Malaya from December 1941, their military established an administrative base at the Free School by repurposing it from its original educational function to a strategic training ground for espionage. The Japanese saw the British presence in India as a threat to their ambitions in South-east Asia and sought to undermine it by converting disillusioned Indian soldiers in their cause. These soldiers were recruited into the Indian National Army (INA) by the founder, Mohan Singh, who persuaded them to join forces with the Japanese against the British.

Penang Free School played a pivotal role in this strategy. It was a training centre for the cadets who were prepared for guerrilla warfare and subversive activities. These cadets were trained in a range of espionage techniques, including deciphering coded messages, writing with invisible ink, identifying British aircraft and evading surveillance. The Japanese also provided training in reconnaissance missions, operating in hostile territories and propaganda to spread anti-British sentiment. Thus, the school became a vital base of operations for those seeking to weaken British influence in the region.

The Indian disillusionment with British colonial rule could be traced back to the First World War. Britain had promised dominion status for India in exchange for its support, prompting Indian leaders to encourage thousands of soldiers (jawans) to join the British forces. However, when Britain failed to honour its promise, many of these soldiers felt betrayed. Seeking new avenues to fight for Indian independence, they found themselves recruited for training at Penang Free School.

One such recruit was TP Kumaran Nair who had served with the Malabar Special Force, a British police unit established to suppress uprisings in India. Dissatisfied with British orders to disperse a group of women rallying for India’s freedom in Madras, Nair refused to comply and left for Singapore. There, he met KP Kesava Menon, a prominent activist who had led the Vaikom Satyagraha in 1924. Menon persuaded Nair to join the spy school where later, Nair became an instructor, passing on his paramilitary skills to the 34 cadets at the Free School.

The cadets, including 18-year-old Ramu Thevar from Ramanathapuram who was the youngest among them, were trained rigorously. According to Vijay Balan, Nair's grandnephew and author of Swaraj Spy, they were taught to navigate rubber boats to shorelines after submarine missions, handle firearms and endure the physical challenges of guerrilla warfare. The Japanese also trained them to cross British checkpoints on foot, using real-life scenarios to test their ability to evade detection. Out of the 34 cadets, only two, including Nair, managed to pass these tests successfully.

The training at Penang Free School also involved uncovering worker grievances in British-run factories in India and organising strikes to disrupt British economic interests and sow discontent. However, the mission faced significant setbacks. In 1942, Japanese Colonel Hideo Iwakuro deployed the cadets across India without consulting the INA, leading to operational failure. The Japanese had underestimated the complexity of India’s linguistic diversity: South Indian cadets were sent to the North and vice versa, which resulted in communication breakdowns. A double agent exposed the plan to the British, leading to the capture of all the cadets and a collapse in trust between the Japanese and their Indian allies.

Following this failure, the spy school at Penang Free School closed in 1942. Many of the cadets were arrested and executed under the Enemy Agent Act of 1943. Among them were Nair and young Ramu, who were hanged in 1944. Their sacrifice remained largely unrecognised until a recent commemoration event in Malaysia which was organised by the Death Railway Interest Group. This group had raised awareness of the contributions of these cadets who were buried in unmarked graves.

Penang Free School's transformation into a centre for espionage training highlights its unique role in the fight for Indian independence. While its cadets’ mission ultimately failed, the school remains a significant yet overlooked chapter in the complex history of wartime alliances in South-east Asia. The story of these cadets reflects both the global dimensions of India’s independence struggle and the little-known contributions of a colonial-era school in Penang to that cause.

Dr Ong Chong Keng

This 31st of August marks the 67th anniversary of the birth of our nation—well, technically, half the nation, as only the peninsula achieved its independence from the British in 1957. Full independence for Malaysia would come slightly over six years later. Nevertheless, the 31st of August will mark the 67th anniversary of the formation of the Federation of Malaya. I’d like to regress a further 10 years to 31 August 1948, exactly 10 years before Malaya’s Independence, when a most dastardly act of terrorism erupted on Penang Island.

In my 2016 book on Penang Free School, Let the Aisles Proclaim, I dedicated about three pages to discuss this event. Similarly, in my 2023 book on The Old Frees’ Association, Centenary, I repeated much of the same information to a slightly different audience. I wish to share the story again, not in print, but here on my blog, to reach a wider audience who may not have access to my books. In my writings, I described the event as "a murder most foul," and indeed it was.

The most shocking news to emerge in 1948 was the cold-blooded murder of Dr Ong Chong Keng at the hands of an unknown assailant on the night of 31st August. The news rocked the Federation and was carried on the front pages of the newspapers: 

Dr. Ong Chong Keng, a Federal Executive and Legislative Councillor, was murdered by an unknown gunman in a squatter area three miles from the centre of Penang. Police offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the murderer. A Chinese youth was detained. 

Dr. Ong had long been opposed to Communism and had not hesitated to state his views in the Federal Council. He was found dead with bullet wounds in his head at 7am in a lane in a squatter area at Trusan Road, a turning off Perak Road. He had been called out to a case and left his house on a motorcycle. Police were not prepared to state whether the call was real or a fake to get Dr Ong away from his house. He apparently left his motorcycle at Trusan Road and took one of the many footpaths in the kampong. He was found sprawled face downwards with his medical bag close by. 

An official police statement said that at 9pm a young Chinese youth, aged about 22, went to Dr Ong’s dispensary and told the manager that there was a sick man in Jelutong. The manager contacted Dr Ong, who went on his motorcycle to Jelutong with the young Chinese on the pillion. When Dr Ong had not returned by 11.30pm, the manager went out to look for him but could find no trace of him. He reported the matter to the police, who instructed patrols to make a search for him. Early the next morning, a Chinese man on his way to work saw a crowd of children gathered around a body. A police party identified the body as that of Dr Ong Chong Keng. 

At the time of his death, Dr Ong was also the President of The Old Frees’ Association. The Free School paid tribute to his memory by flying its flag at half-mast and was well represented by the Scouts at the funeral several days later. In an immediate Government response to the murder, the Commissioner-General, Malcolm MacDonald, said in appreciation, “Dr Ong Chong Keng was a man of rare distinction. He was more than a leader of the Chinese community. He was a leader of the peoples of Malaya. To the service of this country, he dedicated a brilliant array of gifts. He had the courageous heart of a soldier, the cultured mind of a scholar and the noble vision of a statesman. He was a memorable Malayan Patriot.” In a remarkable gesture, MacDonald himself attended Ong’s funeral. 

A public appreciation was also offered by Harold Cheeseman: “Ong Chong Keng, known to me always as OCK, first came under my notice as a precocious child in Standard II. I watched and indeed stimulated his progress through the school until I had him as a pupil for some years in the top classes. He was not a hard worker. There was no need for him to work hard, for he had exceptional ability. He took a full part, however, in the various school activities and societies. He was a keen scout, later a keen cadet officer, and in after years an enthusiastic volunteer officer. He made his first excursions into debate in the school debating society, and his articles, becoming more and more polished as the years passed, were a feature of the school magazine for many years. From early youth, he was an omnivorous reader, and in recent years there was nothing in which he had greater pride than his library. 

"Some pupils pass from the master’s ken after school days are over. Not so with Ong Chong Keng. He maintained regular contact with me throughout his career at the University of Hong Kong and in later years. After the liberation, he never visited Kuala Lumpur without calling on me or writing to express regret if he had been unable to do so. I think, therefore, that I may claim to have known him well. He was an able and forceful speaker. He was ambitious, but it was not merely personal ambition; it was also ambition to be a leader of his people and to work for them. He was proud of being Chinese, but as he used to say to me again and again, he was proud most of all of being a Malayan Chinese. 

"His service was not confined to his community. It was to the country. This was exemplified in many ways. He was a past president of the Penang Rotary Club, and he was an official in, and often the driving force of, many organisations that exist to render service. This true and able son of Malaya has been foully and prematurely cut down in the fullness of his powers, just when life seemed to be opening out for him in great promise. His life was not lived in vain. His service must be an inspiration to all who seek to work for the good of this country.” 

Police investigations later disclosed that Dr Ong was believed murdered as the result of a conspiracy between the Malayan Communist Party and the Ang Bin Hoay secret society. However, the man that pulled the trigger was never captured. At the inquest in November, an automatic pistol found on the dead body of a Kedah bandit was believed to have been the weapon that killed Dr Ong. A police witness testified that he found the pistol on a hilltop, attached to the body of the bandit, who was believed killed in an engagement with the police and military. One of the five bullets in the pistol’s magazine was sent for testing, and the Senior Chemist concluded he was strongly of the opinion that the bullet matched the one which killed the former Federal Councillor. 

In December, the Coroner returned a verdict of “murder by a person or persons unknown” but added that there was good reason to believe that the perpetrator of the crime had outlived his victim for a few weeks and “expired miserably in a place remote from civilisation at the hands of his fellow murderers, his body lying there to rot as would the body of a dead beast of prey.” 

The body of Dr Ong was brought to the Toi Shan Convalescent Home on Hutton Lane, where it remained until the fifth of September. After the traditional Chinese funeral rites were completed, a procession of 5,000 relatives and friends followed the hearse on its hour-long journey around George Town. Leading the procession was an armed police escort, accompanied by the Municipal Band, its drums draped in black cloth, playing funeral selections. Following a parade of scrolls and Chinese musical troupes was the hearse, carried by Ong clansmen and escorted by police armed with rifles and Sten guns. Mourners walked beside and behind the hearse, with a contingent of Boy Scouts from local schools bringing up the rear, followed by several thousand friends and relatives. Curious crowds estimated at 50,000 lined the streets, while armed police patrolled the town. Special constables on motorcycles and in loudspeaker vans directed the traffic. The procession dispersed at Macalister Road, after which the hearse proceeded to Mount Erskine for the burial.

Tan Teong Kooi (1937-2024)

I received word today about the passing of a former teacher at Penang Free School. After his training from the Malayan Teachers' College in Kirkby, England, and the Specialist Teachers' Training Institute in Kuala Lumpur, Tan Teong Kooi  eventually joined the teaching staff in the Free School in 1970 and remained until his retirement in 1994.

He never taught me, of course, because I was already in Form Five when he joined the school, but I remember him as one of the hippest teachers around. When not teaching Art and Craft to the boys and girls, he was usually found in the Teachers' Common Room, playing a decent enough game of chess with his teacher cronies, Toh Kok Aun, Tan Liang Joo and Chuah Soon Pheng. At the height of the world chess championship match in 1972, when the Chess Club initiated the PFS closed chess championship for a challenge cup donated by Fang Ewe Churh, the founder President of the Penang Chess Association, Teong Kooi worked his way past the competitors to play in the finals against... me! Yes, in those years, the PFS Chess Club allowed the teachers to join the tournament. I underestimated him in the first game and lost, but got my revenge quickly in the return game. We were declared joint champions. Having left the Free School at the end of that year, I don't know whether the teachers retained the same fervour for the game from 1973 onwards.

Teong Kooi's name is listed on the Penang Free School Roll of Honour for teachers who served more than 20 years. However, his real mark on the School was in 1978-79. As the Senior Art Teacher, he led a group of students to design the grand archway at the main entrance to the school grounds. For the inside story on the School Arch, this is what I wrote on pages 252-254 of Let the Aisles Proclaim, published in 2016 in conjunction with the School's Bicentenary celebrations

In the same year (1975), he (Goon Fatt Chee) mooted to the Board of Governors the necessity to build a main School Gate and four smaller gates at the other entrances, although real discussions on this ambitious project were only initiated in 1976. Based on his estimates, the cost of constructing the main gate would be about $40,000 while each of the smaller ones would cost less than $10,000. In 1977, Goon expressed confidence to the Board that funds could be raised for the gates’ construction from donations and the School would not have to bear the expenses. A disgruntled voice among the Governors questioned whether the gates were needed at all, but the Headmaster argued that the School deserved a front gate worthy of its stature and prestige. Further, he said, proper school gates would help considerably in tightening security of the school premises and keeping trespassers out. Another of the Governors spoke of adopting a less elaborate design but in the opinion of the Chairman of the Board of Governors, “nothing short of the best and most impressive was worthy of the School.” Eventually, a vote was taken of the Governors with seven in favour of the project and one against. In providing more information to the Board, the Headmaster said that the design shown to the Board had been drawn up by the pupils of the School under the supervision of the Senior Art Teacher. Much attention and care had been paid to ensure that the design retained the motifs of the main school building so that it would be in congruity with the architectural design of the parent building.

In 1977 Dato’ Ch’ng Eng Hye responded generously to the School’s appeal for donations to build the main School Gate. According to the School Magazine, three generations of the Choong family had studied at the School. Ch’ng was a pupil of the Free School from 1919 to 1923 – he was the Head Prefect in 1923 – and his sons, Eddy Choong Ewe Beng, Freddie Choong Ewe Eong, David Choong Ewe Leong and Louis Choong, were also educated here, as well as many of his grandchildren. The other Old Boys that donated to the cause were Loh Kah Kheng, Lim Seng Hock and Teh Choon Beng. The main gate, constructed at a cost of about $23,000, was modelled on similar arch patterns found in the School. The slanting roof, pillars, motifs of rings and criss-cross patterns were similar to those on the main school building. The project began in late 1978 and finished sometime near the end of the second term in 1979. The School Gate was declared open officially by Ch’ng on 29th September 1979. The Headmaster, in his school report at Speech Day 1978, paid tribute to the spirit of love and loyalty of the Old Frees who had rallied to the call of the Alma Mater. “The School required some gates that reflect the architectural grandeur of the main building,” he said, “and out spoke generous Dato’ Ch’ng Eng Hye, an Old Free. ‘I’ll donate the main gate to the Grand Old School,’ he had told the Board of Governors. We are proud of him. Other groups of Old Frees came forward too and said they too would donate for the two small gates."

The name's 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹

The founding of Penang Free School is a fascinating story, driven by Robert Sparke Hutchings in 1816. Hutchings, the Chaplain of the Anglican Church on the Prince of Wales' Island, was deeply committed to education and he recognised the dire lack of opportunities for the local population on the island. He felt compelled to act on this gap.

On 6 January 1816, during a Council meeting under the governorship of William Petrie, Hutchings proposed establishing the Native School of Prince of Wales' Island. His vision was to create a school "open to all children regardless of class or race," ensuring that even those who couldn’t afford the nominal fees would be supported by the institution. This proposal was about more than just education; it was about inclusivity and equal opportunity.

Initially, the school operated from rented premises in Love Lane. However, it soon relocated to its own buildings on a plot of land alongside the compound of the Anglican Church in Farquhar Street. Hutchings threw himself into this new role with enthusiasm, balancing his church duties with his passion for education.

The Prince of Wales Island Gazette on 17 February 1816 captured Hutchings’ sentiment perfectly: “It is an uncontroverted truth that the happiness of society results from the good conduct of the majority, and this good conduct results from early habits, or education. It is impossible that the rising generation should acquire good habits and inclinations if they are left in idleness – uncultivated ground must at least remain barren, or what is worse, produce noxious weeds.”

Hutchings' proposals were well-received, and the Governor in Council appointed a committee to implement them. This committee, chaired by Hutchings and including notable public figures such as Robert Ibbetson, Capt John Monckton Coombs, Capt John MacInnes, James Carnegy, David Brown and Richard Caunter, presented a detailed report on 13 January 1816 in which they proposed establishing two schools, one for boys and one for girls.

This marked the beginning of the Prince of Wales' Island Free School, named after the island itself and reflecting its colonial heritage. The school's name underscored its mission: to provide free education to all children, regardless of their background. This institution not only provided education but also embodied the spirit of inclusivity and equal opportunity for all children on the island.

I cannot find any confirmed sources that could tell me when the name of Prince of Wales' Island was changed to Pinang or Penang. The name change could have been gradual, but by 1867, the name Penang had started to gain permanent use and traction even in government documents, thus superseding the name Prince of Wales' Island, which was frankly quite a mouthful. Accordingly, the school's name was shortened to simply Penang Free School to reflect the changing times.

After the Independence of Malaya in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963, efforts were made to convert all English names into Bahasa Malaysia. Thus, Penang Free School suddenly became called Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Penang Free or SMK Penang Free. Of course for many of the Old Boys of the school, this was completely unacceptable. Horrors, it was like a big part of the school culture and tradition been chopped off and discarded. Unofficially, they continued to called it Penang Free School, despite the official documents.

In the 2010s, and possibly even earlier, a campaign was initiated by the Old Frees to petition the Ministry of Education to revert the school's name to its original form. By no means was this a precedent because in 2009, Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur had its ugly sounding name of SMK Victoria reverted to its original. The Bicentenary celebrations in 2016 provided a good platform for this effort, and the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamallulail, was fully supportive. During the Bicentenary dinner on 21 October 2016, he proclaimed, "I would like to announce that the school will retain its name. The school will not be called SMK Penang Free but will be called as Penang Free School until the end of time." 

It is never too late to reproduce this old Bernama story from 2016 in case people forgets about this momentous decision.

Penang Free School to keep its name

Bernama
Published:  Oct 22, 2016 9:02 AM
Updated: 9:24 AM

Penang Free School will retain its name as this has been approved by the Education Ministry.

The announcement was made by the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail, who is also an Old Frees Association member, in his speech during the bicentenary dinner of the school in George Town last night.

"I would like to announce that the school will retain its name. The school will not be called SMK Penang Free but will be called as Penang Free School until the end of time," Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said in his speech.

Penang Free School, the oldest English medium school in Malaysia and South-East Asia, celebrated its 200-year anniversary yesterday and more than 3,000 alumni and former teachers gathered at the school field for their grand gala dinner. 

The gathering had gained the National Book of Records as the largest alumni gathering in the country, with 3,130 registered attendees.

The bicentenary celebration was planned by its Bicentenary Committee chairperson, Abdul Rafique Abdul Karim, since 2011 and alumni from across the globe had come back to the school for the celebration.

In conjunction with the celebration, a stamp line with the image of the school, together with a time capsule that is to be opened in 50 years' time, has been launched.

Meanwhile, the 200-year-old school is also waiting to get the approval from the National Heritage Department on its heritage status.

- Bernama

#PenangFreeSchool #SchoolHistory #EducationHeritage #Penang #MalaysianHistory #HeritageSchool #OldFrees #SchoolBicentennial 

Indian National Army

Anwar Fazal is more than just the President of The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society. He is a renowned Malaysian activist, writer and leader in the field of social advocacy and public health. He asked me today about the Indian National Army (INA) in Penang, and I told him that I had covered it on page 167 of Let the Aisles Proclaim. To the best of my knowledge, there's not much info out there about the INA's activities in Penang. For my book, I mainly referenced Subhas Chandra Bose: The Man and His Times by Lt Gen Eric A Vas (published in 2005) and The Indian National Army and Japan by Joyce Chapman Lebra (published in 1971). I also spoke to an Old Free, JC Rajarao, who in his youth had been a leader of the Balak Sena movement. With a few tweaks to the original manuscript, here's what I wrote:

The Free School became a regional base for the Indian National Army (I.N.A.) which considered the impressive premises a god-send to them. The I.N.A. was an armed force formed in February 1942 by Indian nationalists in South-East Asia with the aim of securing Indian independence from British rule. The army was first formed under Mohan Singh and consisted of Indian Prisoners of War of the British Indian Army captured by Japan in Malaya and Singapore. However, differences between the leadership and the Japanese military caused the collapse of this original I.N.A. in December 1942. The army was revived in 1943 under the charismatic leadership of the Indian nationalist leader, Subhas Chandra Bose, after he arrived in Singapore. Declaring the I.N.A. to be the army of Bose's Azad Hind or the Provisional Government of Free India, the members were drawn from ex-prisoners and thousands of Indian civilian volunteers. 

Having established his Azad Hind Command Headquarters in Singapore, Bose’s first task was to build up morale in his troops. The reformed I.N.A. First Division was sent to Penang for rigorous training with the intention to create a fifth column and send them to India. The training structure for new entrants was supported by training schools for commissioned and non-commissioned officers. Other units that were also trained were the Osman group with Sikhs, the Gilani group with Muslims, a Buddhist group destined for Ceylon and finally a group with Gurkhas meant for infiltrating into Nepal. There was also the I.N.A. Boys Organisation known as the Balak Sena consisting of boys not older than 14 years. Along with revitalising the army, Bose revamped his intelligence organisation. Spy schools were set up in Rangoon and Penang, and the teams were given special training in espionage, propaganda, intelligence gathering, chemical warfare, incendiaries and explosives, photography, use of firearms and surveying.  

To accommodate the training of the I.N.A. recruits, the Free School was renamed as the Hind Swaraj Vidyalaya or Indian Swaraj Institute. The classrooms were converted into dormitories while the army supervisors and instructors stayed at the nearby teachers’ quarters with the Balak Sena youth. A typical day would start at 7 a.m. with breakfast, lunch would be at 1 p.m., tea with some snacks at 4 p.m. and a light dinner at 8 p.m. All meals were strictly vegetarian. “Lights off” was observed at 10.00 p.m. There were physical and drill training daily, followed by marching practices in the mornings and afternoons. As part of the physical training, a portion of the school field was left unattended. The grass and other plants were allowed to over-grow and remain unkempt; the intention was to simulate conditions for jungle warfare training. The former European masters’ quarters at the side of the school field opposite from the school buildings were used to house the espionage section, but the people in the spy school were generally kept apart from the rest of the I.N.A.

Talking about the Balak Sena, Rajarao was just 11 years old when he joined up. Like any young kid, it sounds like he had a whale of a time. When the Second World War ended in 1945, Rao resumed his formal education and two years later, he enrolled at Penang Free School. Here's what I wrote based on our chat:

Activities would include having to attend Hindi classes on weekdays – a few hours in the late mornings and again in the late afternoons – and sometimes listening to motivational speeches. “I was there for about six months and I finished my Theesri Kithab (a Standard III Hindi book) by the time I left. I could read, write and speak Hindi fluently and was awarded a prize for the best student,” he said. There were the same marching practices for the youth every morning and evening. They were also taught how to handle weapons like rifles, machine guns and hand grenades. “Yes, we knew all about the weapons and we were taught how to shoot or kill the enemy,” Rajarao continued, “Soon, I was appointed the leader of the 60-odd Balaks. My basic role was to help them to march well, sing the various patriotic songs with gusto, and encourage them to speak Hindi and take part in odd sketches that we were asked to participate in and become performers.” During the Sunday morning marches along the main roads, the youth would sing patriotic songs, carry the tri-colour flag of India, and handle light mock wooden rifles. From the Balak Sena campus, the route would follow Green Lane, Dato’  Kramat Road and then through Prangin Road into Beach Street before reaching Weld Quay, a distance of about 16 kilometres. At Weld Quay, waiting military trucks would bring them back to camp.

 

A 64-year-old puzzle

Did I say "a day well spent in Kuala Lumpur" yesterday? I most certainly did. Right after the conclusion of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh award ceremony at the University Malaya, my fellow travellers from Penang - Anwar Fazal and Hor Chee Peng - together with Ronald Quay who's from Kuala Lumpur, made our way to the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) to meet up with someone I had gotten to know about nine days earlier and whom the others in my group didn't know anything about him at all!

Almost 12 years ago when I got into The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society as a committee member, I saw two pictures on Wu Lien-Teh's funeral in January 1960. The first was of the hearse leaving his residence in Chor Sin Kheng Road. The vehicle was flanked on both sides by a group of Scouts from Penang Free School. Short of it being a State funeral, representatives of the PFS Scouts, Cadets, School Prefects, teachers and the Headmaster, the two Boards of Governors and Trustees had turned up in force to give the Grand Old Free a memorable final send-off. It was quite unprecedented and possibly, only Dr Lim Chong Eu's state funeral in 2010 could surpass the spectacle as the latter also had the PFS School Band turning up to lead the funeral procession.

The second picture from the funeral was supposed to show the grieving family members walking behind the hearse. This could well be the best angle for the photographer but alas, the mourners couldn't be seen clearly because just as the camera's shutter was pressed, one of the PFS Boy Scouts had moved into the frame in tandem with the hearse and almost entirely blocked off the grieving party. I can only imagine the photographer grinding his teeth and cursing his luck when he subsequently discovered that this was the best of his efforts! Despite this mishap, I suppose getting this picture of the partially blocked Wu family was still better than having no picture taken at all. But I'm surprised that no other picture of Wu Lien-Teh's funeral had surfaced publicly anywhere else. Surely the photographer had developed more than two pictures?

In the 12 years since knowing of the existence of these two pictures, I am even more surprised that everyone had simply accepted these pictures at their face value. Nobody I knew was curious enough to ask who was this PFS Scout in the picture! I must admit that it never crossed my mind either. Not until last month anyway. After I had met with a group of visitors from China, it struck me that, hey, who was this Boy Scout? On first May, I decided to pose this question in The Old Frees' Association's facebook page. I asked if anyone knew or recognised this young Scout from 64 years ago. This Scout looked like 16 years old in 1960. It was a long shot, of course, because the youngster could now be around 80 years old in 2024.

The results weren't immediate. It took six days before I received a positive reply from a lead. And in the natural course of my inquisitiveness, I was soon chatting through Whatsapp with John Wong Peng Chong. He hadn't seen this picture before but yes, he confirmed that the Boy Scout was him. And he was exactly 80 years old. He said Wu Lien-Teh was still a big name when he was at Penang Free School, and he considered it a big honour to have been one of the Scouts representing the School at the funeral. He recalled that from Chor Sin Kheng Road, the cortege turned right at the junction with Ayer Itam Road. Curious onlookers lined the route until the procession dispersed. But because this funeral was 64 years ago, John's memory of the rest of the occasion was hazy.  

As coincidence would have it, I had agreed back in February to join some of my fellow committee members from The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society at an award ceremony in Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday. The timing was just perfect. I quickly informed the Secretary-General and the President of my efforts to track down the PFS Boy Scout, and he had been located in Kuala Lumpur. Would they like to meet him? Everyone said yes. Would John Wong be agreeable to meet us? He said yes too. So we decided to meet at the KLGCC where almost two hours passed by only too quickly for John, Anwar Fazal, myself, Ronald and Peng. As we headed home from Kuala Lumpur later, the one thought that went through my mind was that, yes, this was another piece of the Wu Lien-Teh jigsaw puzzle found. Finally, we had resolved the identity of the Penang Free School Boy Scout at the funeral of Dr Wu Lien-Teh on 25 January 1960. Definitely, a day well spent in Kuala Lumpur!

Free School Guide launched

I applaud my alma mater, Penang Free School, for the launch of the Free School Guide at a special School Assembly this morning. By a quirk of fate, I was unable to be present for the launch despite having prepped myself up for days and looking forward to it but my co-convenor, Lim Siang Jin, was there to save the day together with Loh Lean Kang, Andrew Lim Tatt Keong (Executive Chairman of Gama Group), Andrew Lim Chong Huat (President of The Old Frees' Association) and Hoe Kek Fei. The Guest of Honour at the launch was Mohamad Zawawi bin Ahmad, the Penang North-East District Education Officer. The Parent-Teacher Association chairman was also around.

The School Captain, Nicholas Lew, led the Headmaster and his guests
into the Pinhorn Hall at the start of the School Assembly
(Photo by Teh Yun Zhern)

With the Free School Guide (FSG) formally accepted as a fabric of Penang Free School, everyone can now learn about the school's illustrious history which goes back more than 200 years. We, that is, Siang Jin and I, had been working on the FSG for almost two years and some months ago, we trained some students to be the first batch of FSG Ambassadors. They shall be the people who will explain the Free School to visitors and show them how to scan the QR codes and open up the Free School Guide wayfinding system. 

The Headmaster and his guests took centre stage before the start
of the morning's proceedings

I also extend a big shout-out to my friend and Old Free schoolmate, Cheah Cheng Hye (Co-Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Value Partners, Hong Kong), for his faith in us carrying this project through till its fitting conclusion. He assisted us with kind sponsorship of the wide range of collaterals which include posters, leaflets, buntings, portable display kits and other information and publicity materials.

The Headmaster, Syed Sultan bin Shaik Oothuman, regarded today as a special day. In his address to the Assembly, he said: "Today we are launching a one-of-a-kind system that would give easy access, for the first time, to the rich history and traditions of our illustrious institution. Called the Free School Guide, it is also described as a cyber museum."

The Headmaster, Syed Sultan bin Shaikh Oothuman, made an
excellent job to provide details about the Free School Guide
(Photo by Teh Yun Zhern)

Explaining the Free School Guide, he elaborated: "It is made up of two parts. First, a wayfinder that portrays our history, built heritage, traditions, people of importance and even stories. The second part comprises 10 videos on the history of the school from its founding in 1816 to the Bicentenary in 2016. The videos are based on the 352-page book, Let the Aisles Proclaim: The First Two Hundred Years of the Penang Free School (1816-2016)." 

Zawawi scanned the QR code to play the School Rally
from his mobile phone (Photo by Teh Yun Zhern)

He hoped to strengthen the school spirit by letting the stakeholders, especially the students, know how much the school has gone through to become what it is. "I am sure our school staff, Old Frees and the education fraternity will also find it useful and fascinating," he said, "The system will definitely underscore the uniqueness of Penang Free School and make knowledge about it far more widespread." 

The advantages of the system are many. It can be accessed at any time from anywhere through the Internet. With a hard copy like a leaflet or poster, one only need to scan the QR code. If it is a soft copy like a PDF, one just click on the headings to be taken to the Guide. 

...and the School Band marched in to continue playing the School
Rally and stirred everyone to sing (Photo by Teh Yun Zhern)

Moreover, its high portability means the FSG can be taken everywhere if the school needs to introduce itself to others. For example, at events and roadshows. On top of that, it is economical to reproduce and has little impact on the physical structure of the school — we don’t have to renovate any room to put the system in place.  

"The school did not spend a single cent to build the system," Syed Sultan emphasised to the assembled guests, teachers and students. "It is built and funded entirely by a group of Old Frees." 

A tribute was paid to Siang Jin for his conceptualisation and for putting everything together. 

The Headmaster also acknowledged my role in the project: "Another important contributor in terms of content is Mr Quah Seng Sun, author of the mammoth Let the Aisles Proclaim." Thank you, thank you very much. I am very happy to receive this personal recognition!  

Let us march on to fame, let the aisles proclaim 
(Photo by Teh Yun Zhern)

Moving on, the Headmaster said that both co-convenors did not want to leave the system as standalone physical additions to the walls of the school; that we wanted to make it part of the school’s living traditions. "To this end, they trained a group of student guides whose aim is to promote the system and the school. A one-day workshop was held in August to train about 15 students," he continued. "The school is committed to growing and strengthening the system. We appointed Cikgu Nur Zahidah binti Zainol to be the advisor. We also enlisted the help of our Senior Assistant, Leonard Selva."  

Certificates were awarded to the students who completed the Free
School Guide workshop (Photo by Teh Yun Zhern)

The final point that Syed Sultan made should serve the overall education community very well: "Finally, I hope other schools will emulate our footsteps to make information about their histories and traditions more readily available online, thus giving all Malaysians a greater appreciation of the wealth and diversity within our education system."

Siang Jin paid fitting tributes to Headmaster Syed Sultan, teacher
Nur Zahidah, Senior Assistant Leonard Selva and myself at a tea
reception after the FSG launch

FOOTNOTE: The Free School Guide is the culmination of a long process which began even before the Penang Free School Bicentenary celebrations in 2016. Its humble beginnings were the Board of Prefects' 150th anniversary celebrations the year before. From there, it snowballed to Lean Kang and Siang Jin devising the PFS Student Leadership Workshop: Developing a Pool of Talent from 2017 onwards, and a decision to produce 10 videos on the history of Penang Free School in the following year. The 10 videos were a labour of love by Siang Jin and myself, and we were ably supported by classmates from the Class of 1970/72, notably Jim Lim Teik Wah who provided the voiceovers on all 10 videos, Quah Chei Jin who sang the School Rally at the start of each video and Kumaravello Thangiah who was our film consultant. The Free School Guide, like the other projects mentioned here, is our paying back to Society and what better way is there than to contribute to our alma mater, Penang Free School, where everything began for us more than 50 years ago. Fortis atque Fidelis.

First reunion of the year

I was invited to join some friends from the PFS Class of 1971 for dinner last night on the island. Had a whale of a time renewing my acquaintance with the whole lot of them! Made some new friends too. Plus, there was the bonus of meeting up with a few former colleagues from my Straits Echo and Ban Hin Lee Bank days. Khoo Boo Teik and Balakrishnan gave interesting reminiscences about their time at Penang Free School but the spotlight belonged to Lim Guan Eng. Of course, he mentioned the recent General Election but he also talked about the setting up of the Penang Digital Library during his tenure as the Chief Minister here. To cap the occasion, I was asked by the host, Cheah Cheng Hye, to lead the Old Farts, I mean, the Old Frees through singing the School Rally. No decent Old Free would want to be seen with a copy of the lyrics and thankfully, none was required. I must have had led the singing with a lot of gusto because soon afterwards, someone suggested that I take up the microphone for a bit of karaoke session. Horrors! Not my cup-of-tea.

Incidentally during the after-dinner camaraderie session, Cheng Hye was mentioning Boo Kooi's point about we all belonging to the May 13th era. I reminded him not to forget that two years earlier in 1967, there was this hartal in Penang. He hadn't forgotten it, Cheng Hye said. In fact, he opened up to say that he was almost killed during the curfew period. At the tender age of 13, he was selling pineapples near the Sia Boey market after school hours. At the height of the hartal, he was rounded up and jailed for violating curfew. Seeing that he was a mere boy, he was released the next morning and given a curfew pass to allow him to return home. "I was terrified and kept holding up the pass above my head until I reached home," he recalled. 

In my opinion, the hartal shook Penang far greater than the May 13th incident. Initially meant to be a peaceful attempt, led by the Labour Party under Lim Kean Siew, to protest the devaluation of the old Malayan dollar and the rising inflation, thugs and gangsters emerged in great force to create havoc on the island. The City Council buses were singled out for stoning and mobs attempted to overturn them. The Police were unprepared for the violence and the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) were called in to maintain the curfew.  

Now, just a little explanation how I ended up with this bunch of fellas from the Class of 1971. Agewise, I should belong with most of them. We had started our Standard One in one of the various primary schools in 1961 - I was at Westlands Primary - but because I landed in an express class in Standard Two, meaning I jumped to Standard Four in 1963, I ended my education a year ahead of them. But as I said, we are all generally of the same age despite me being one year their senior in the Free School. The marvel of last night's dinner was that I met two persons who were with me in the same Standard 1E class and therefore they counted as among my oldest of friends. Can you imagine that?

Cheng Hye bought five copies of Let the Aisles Proclaim from me in 2016. I simply had to give him a copy of Ten Thousand Prosperities this time.

80th anniversary (2): The bombing of George Town

Previously, I had related how, in the morning of 08 December 1941, George Town awoke to the first sounds of Japanese enemy aircraft flying over the town. Here is a continuing 80th anniversary story. Three days later on 11 December 1941, terror rained down on the inhabitants of George Town. Terror in the shape of bullets and bombs. It was truly a rain of terror. Not yet a reign of terror, no, it had yet to begin, but a rain of terror. 

Remember that the island's air raid warning had sounded at seven o'clock on 08 December 1941 when eight planes flew over the town in a southerly direction. That was all that the Japanese did, there were no bombings or strafing then and thus, no casualties. On the following day, a bigger convoy of planes flew over the town and again they did nothing else to the town. 

These two seemingly innocuous air movements by the Japanese were actually part of their deadly plan to lure the inhabitants of George Town into a false state of comfort. Was that all that the Japanese was going to do: fly up and down the island to win the war? Of course not!

Shortly past nine o'clock on 11 December 1941 morning, their intent became very clear. Despite the air raid sirens sounding all over the town, the curious and now bolder people of George Town massed outside in the streets to watch the approaching enemy aircraft. Because nothing much had happened the first two occasions, they believed that nothing would happen again this time.

How wrong they were! Without warning, the Japanese aircraft dropped their bombs and trained their machineguns on the people who congregated in the Chinese quarter of the Beach Street area. (Note: The Chinese quarter was separated from the European quarter by the China Street-China Street Ghaut divide.) Bombs exploded all around causing heavy casualties. Hundreds, if not thousands, were either killed, maimed or received serious injuries. 

In Let the Aisles Proclaim, I had written something about that fateful morning which I'm reproducing here with some fresh edits for clarification:

In the days before 11th December, the town and its people had been left largely alone amidst the alerts, air raid sirens, strafing of air fields and bombing of ships in the harbour. But on this day, the town folks found themselves the targets. As the inhabitants collected in the streets and market place to watch the raid in the skies above, the Japanese aeroplanes dive-bombed the Chinese quarter and trained their machineguns at the people. A few thousand inhabitants of the town were estimated killed on the first day of the attack. A bomb fell on the compound of the St. George's Church and the vibration was so great that all doors and windows were damaged. At the nearby Hutchings School, that is, the former premises of Penang Free School in Farquhar Street, many Free School boys sitting for their Senior Cambridge examinations were killed in the explosion. Several more escaped with various degrees of injuries. As a result of the looting that followed, the Hutchings School suffered a very severe loss in furniture, equipment and records.  New text books and stationery ordered for 1942 and received in November 1941 were all looted.   

The destruction of the central fire station was perhaps the greatest disaster that day. Motor-cars in the streets were smashed, and drivers who had not taken shelter were killed beside their vehicles. Schoolboy Tan Boon Lin (later to become the first Malaysian headmaster of his alma mater, Penang Free School) who was on duty as a Scout volunteer at the fire station in Beach Street recalled, “I saw the planes approach from across the Channel and there were huge explosions all around us. The ground shook and buildings were catching fire. There I was, momentarily trapped in the tower and afraid to descend to the ground. When I eventually did, the carnage was everywhere: buildings were burning and there were bodies strewn all over. For a 14-year-old, this was a terrifying and unforgettable experience.”

My other book, Ten Thousand Prosperities, recounted a memory of the bombing by an old-time staff of Ban Hin Lee Bank. Ong Chin Seng had joined the bank in 1935 and was a mere 21-year-old at the start of the Japanese Occupation. In an interview he gave to the bank's newsletter team in 1980 on the occasion of his retirement, he recalled:

The (new Ban Hin Lee Bank) building was very strong due to the excellent piling work done by the contractors, a French firm. When the Japanese Air Force bombed Penang in December 1941, a bomb fell at the back of the bank. The blast was terrific, but the building stood as firm as a rock. All of us sheltered in the strongroom on the ground floor, and it was a terrible experience! When we came out in the open after the bombers flew away, we could see the devastation around Beach Street, and the many dead bodies of the people who were unfortunate to be caught in the air raid. The whole town was evacuated, and all the townsfolk ran to the countryside like Balik Pulau and Ayer Itam.

In the days that followed this infamous bombing horror, the Japanese planes returned on numerous other occasions. Their raids, however, did not inflict the same casualties as before because the people of George Town had begun their evacuation to the hills. I do remember my grandmother saying that this exodus to the countryside was known in the Hokkien-speaking community as chau huan, fleeing from war. My Standard Four class teacher also told me recently that she was seven years old when her family packed their bags from their home in the town and retreated to an attap house in Ayer Itam which her father had bought several months earlier in anticipation of this invasion.

The first detail of the bombing raid finally emerged two days later on 13 Dec 1941 when the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser carried a report. Despite the raid being officially described as heavy with considerable damage to civilian property, telephonic communication was not difficult to obtain by a Free Press reporter.

Penang residents said that the raid was heavy, that there were many casualties but that the population - both European and Asiatic - of Penang was bearing up well. The medical, fire fighting and A.R.P. services were described as behaving "splendidly." 

The exact number of casualties is as yet unknown. Bombs dropped were "high explosives containing an incendiary mixture" and damage was done by fires. Members of the M.A.S. (Medical Auxiliary Services), the A.R.P. (Air Raid Precautions) and fire services in Penang have worked continuously in shifts.

As far as is known, there are no Europeans among the casualties. Most of the bombs fell on congested areas and also on a business quarter. One store has been badly damaged, but as was announced in yesterday's communique, no military objective was hit.

Further information about yesterday's heavy air raid on Penang, received in Singapore, shows that the attack was concentrated on one area, according to an official statement.

About half a dozen planes are reported to have flown up and down this area several times, machine-gunning as well as bombing. Inevitably, the civilian casualties were heavy, but, so far as is known at the moment, it is believed that the fatalities do not exceed a hundred.

Eye-witnesses describe the behaviour of all members of the Passive Defence Services as magnificent.

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TO BE CONTINUED....

 

Penang in Cheng Ho's sights

A flashback to what I wrote in Let the Aisles Proclaim some five years ago. At the beginning of the second chapter where I was touching briefly on Penang's early history, I wrote:

Long before Captain Francis Light established Penang as a trading post and settlement for the East India Company, the island was already known to seafarers from the East and West who had sailed through the Straits of Malacca. 

The first geographical reference to the island of Penang was made by China’s most celebrated explorer, Admiral Cheng Ho, who had documented his various expeditions between 1405 and 1433 from China to Africa during the reign of the Yong-Lo and Hsuan-Te Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Cheng Ho’s surviving documents were later compiled into the 17th Century historical nautical map, The Nautical Charts of Cheng Ho.

During the research for the book, I had come across a portion of this nautical chart and was deciding whether or not to include it in the book. At the last moment, I felt that historical though the chart might be, it was only very remotely connected to the history of Penang Free School. So I left the chart out entirely although I still did make reference to it.

What's interesting about this chart is that Penang island is shown as a prominent landmark. It is that L-shaped island that is marked with the characters 梹榔嶼 or pin lang yu, meaning "palm island." In my opinion, there is uncertainty whether or not Cheng Ho had physically stepped onto the island but a local legend has it that his left footprint - actually, a large impression in the rock that looks like a giant footprint but that's what legends are made of - appears on a rock at the Sam Poh Tong, a seaside temple in Batu Maung village on the south-eastern part of Penang island. During my schooldays, there was also talk of a corresponding right footprint of his somewhere in Sumatra but I find no mention of this on the Internet. 

There were several named islands on the chart but I shall leave it to others to interpret their names. Not for me to do so. 

Regarding the footprint at the Sam Poh Tong, here is an image and a comment from the TripAdvisor website, but do note that they were written in November 2017 and not that quite recent:

This old Chinese Temple was built after a giant-sized footprint was found on a rock at Batu Maung, Penang. In my younger days I remembered the footprint was on a rock by the sea at this fishing village but with so much development around this area, the fishing village had disappeared and taken over by condominiums and houses. Besides the mushrooming accommodation in its place, there is also the newly constructed flyover and traffic is a real mess after Friday prayers at the mosque nearby.

In the old days devotees offered their prayers at a makeshift altar using joss sticks and a simple urn on the rock but in its place a shrine with a deity of Cheng Ho has been erected and this is where the footprint is displayed now. There was also a seafood restaurant on stilts in the middle of the bay and the hot seller was their famous satay grilled with peanut sauce. I was told by the caretaker at the temple that this eatery had been relocated to Teluk Kumbar several years ago.

Now the refurbished Temple has a pretty landscaped garden but still has the charm of the scenic view of the blue sea, horizon and fishing boats. The new addition is the second bridge which enhances it and makes it more picturesque. The sad thing is that the quaint fishing village has been taken over by various fish wholesale dealers on a plot adjacent to the temple grounds. They appear to dominate the place with sorting of fish and the grounds are stacked up with unsightly huge cooler boxes to contain their catch.

State Chinese (Penang) Association

Jack Ong had been my colleague in Ban Hin Lee Bank way back in the late 1990s. That was before the bank was swallowed up by Southern Bank at the start of the present millennium. Although so many years had passed by since the initial consolidation of the banking industry, we had on occasions bumped into one another. We generally kept in touch through social media but once in while, face-to-face until the pandemic brought all such latter activities to a near standstill.

Last night, I received a message from him urging me to look at a video he had produced in conjunction with the centenary celebrations of the State Chinese (Penang) Association. The intention to set up this association was voiced in 1920 and it was first mooted as the Penang branch of the Straits Chinese British Association of Singapore in November of that year. 

But in January 1921, the association in Penang declared itself to be independent of their Singapore counterparts. "It is stated on the best authority," reported the Malaya Tribune in their copy of 5 January 1921, "that it has now been definitely laid down that the Straits Chinese British Association is not....to be described or regarded as a branch of the Straits Chinese British Association of Singapore, but as a sister-association affiliated with that in Singapore, enjoying exactly the same status and rights, and in no way dependent upon Singapore." Blah, blah, blah, as can be ascertained from the first illustration on the right. (Note: This was originally a Straits Echo story, as can be seen from the "S.E." initials at the end of the news item.)

The Straits Chinese British Association (SCBA) was very influential politically and had a powerful voice in society. Its membership was made up of well-known members of the Chinese community in Penang. The first president was a prominent businessman, Lim Eu Toh, one of those rare breeds who had studied in both Penang Free School and St Xavier's Institution, and thus was eligible to join both The Old Frees' Association and Old Xavierians' Association when the two Old Boys associations were established. If I'm not mistaken, he could be a member of Penang Free School's management committee but that would need further investigation.

The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, in its copy of 26 June 1930, printed a story about an SCBA committee meeting. One item caught my eye: the association had decided to make representations to the Director of Education on the "subject of constant changes in the personnel of the senior staff of the Penang Free School." That the SCBA would interest itself in the affairs of the Free School was very interesting but understandably, it could be nothing unusual if the majority of the committee members were the Penang babas who had studied in this premier school.

This issue definitely alluded to the frequent movements of the school's headmasters. Ever since Ralph Henry Pinhorn retired as the headmaster in 1925, there had been no less than four persons appointed to this important role by the time this SCBA meeting was held: William Hamilton from 1925, David Swaine from 1927 and Leslie Arnold briefly in early 1929 until replaced by DW McLeod later in that year. Understandably, this was because the colonial British government had taken control over Penang Free School in January 1920. Pinhorn stood tall among his peers and was regarded as untouchable but once he was gone, the appointment of headmasters was left to the mercy of the British civil servants in control of Education. And there were many Directors of Education and Acting Directors of Education that came and went away.

Despite the SCBA's representations in 1930, the rapid transfers of Penang Free School's headmasters continued unabated until 1934. McLeod lasted as headmaster until 1931. Edgar Stowell crossed over from Bukit Mertajam High School temporarily for a few months in 1931, and then he was replaced by MR Holgate later in the year. J Bain came along in 1933 and finally, Arnold returned this time as a long-term headmaster in 1934 until the onset of the Japanese Occupation when the British community quietly evacuated to Singapore in the still of the night and left Penang as an open town. I won't elaborate more as this story about the headmasters' musical chairs was already detailed on Pages 132 and 133 of my book, Let the Aisles Proclaim.

On 14 January 1964, the SCBA formally changed its name to State Chinese (Penang) Association (SCPA) and threw its membership open to all Malaysian citizens of Chinese origin.

Meanwhile, back to my original intention of writing this story, which was to bring attention to this message from Jack Ong. In order to promote the SCPA centenary last year, the association had held an international colloquium earlier in 2021 with various online talks organised on the Penang baba nyonya community and culture. This first video has now been posted to YouTube. It is very informative and a way forward to lure every baba and nyonya with origins in Penang back to their roots. However, if you were to subscribe to their YouTube channel, there are more videos of similar nature to watch.