Really? 200 years of Tamil education?

Will the Penang Free School Bicentenary Committee or the Penang Free School Foundation be doing anything to refute this outrageous claim? Will they permit the Deputy Education Minister to get away with this? Will they allow our bicentenary celebrations to be hijacked on 21 October 2016?

The above report on "Celebrating 200 years of Tamil education", which appeared in The Star newspaper on 19 May 2016, is factually wrong. Like always, there's not been enough evidence to back up the claims of politicians when they start alluding to events that happened a very long time ago.

The Deputy Education Minister, P. Kamalanathan, said this milestone could "trace its roots to Penang Free School, which hosted the first Tamil language class on Oct 21, 1816." Does he have the evidence to support his statement?

As far as I am aware, Penang Free School never had a Tamil language school until 1821 which was five years after the main school was established in 1816. Although the Tamil school was forced to close in 1823 from lack of support and attendance, nevertheless it was still encouraging to know that there was even Tamil vernacular education in those days.

When Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings submitted his Original Plan to set up the Prince of Wales' Island Free School (the original name of Penang Free School) to the Government in Council for approval on 6 Jan 1816, two of the objectives were:

10th. That the Children of Malay Parents who are not desirous that they should learn English, be instructed by a Malay Teacher to read and write their own Language.
11th. That the same Plan be adopted as far as circumstances will permit, with regard to the Children of Chuliah and Hindustanee Parents.

Unfortunately, some of Hutchings' original objectives could not be realised. One year after the school's establishment, the School Committee conceded to the subscribers at its first annual meeting in October 1817 that: "It was also intended, to Educate in their own national languages, a certain number of Day Scholars, the Children of Malay, Chinese, Hindoo, and Chuliah Parents, for whom Native Teachers, were to be provided. Neither of these objectives have yet to be attained, nor indeed put into progress; the Committee have found it most advisable to limit its first measures to the Introduction of a system of Education in the English Language..."

Therefore, unless Kamalanathan can assert positively that there was indeed a Tamil vernacular school or class at Penang Free School in 1816, all I can say is, definitely there was none. Indeed, circumstances did not permit the Free School to open any vernacular school until 1821. In that year, two Malay schools and the singular Tamil school were opened, while none was ever started for Chinese vernacular education. The Tamil school closed in 1823 while the Malay schools ran a bit longer till 1826.

This was the research of Marcus Langdon in his book "Penang the Fourth Presidency of India 1805-1830, Volume Two" published by the George Town World Heritage Incorporated in 2015. Langdon is the leading authority on Penang's early history under the East India Company, and his works are widely cited by heritage advocates, conservationists and historians.

Having said all this, if Kamalanathan has irrefutable evidence to the contrary that there were indeed Tamil language schools elsewhere in Penang in 1816, do let me know. I shall welcome any new evidence that can re-write the history of education in Penang.

To Perth again and back: Serpentine (Part one)

It's been about six weeks since Saw See and I took a short holiday to de-stress after I had completed about 90 percent of the manuscript for the Penang Free School Bicentenary Book project.

For the second time in seven years, we went to Perth but this time, it was only for five days at the end of March, much shorter than the eight days we spent there in 2009. Actually, Perth did not come into our reckoning at all but we got carried away when Malindo Air launched their new flights to Western Australia last November. We found the price appealing enough and decided to go Down Under again.

So there we were, on 25th March morning, waiting for the ETS electric train service to arrive at the Bukit Mertajam station, which it did at about 7.10 a.m. promptly. As we've done the train journey so many times before, this trip wasn't out of the extraordinary. We arrived at the KL Sentral at about 11 o'clock and were picked up by our daughter. There would be about 12 hours to kill in Kuala Lumpur before the Malindo Air flight took off at 11 p.m.

We arrived at the Perth International Airport after five o'clock in the morning of 26th March, duly went through Australian Immigration and Customs control, and found ourselves queuing up at the Optus counter to buy a pre-paid SIM card for my mobile. Quite cheap, actually, because I paid only AUD10 for five days of usage which included 500MB of data daily. The Optus counter can be easily seen once you leave the arrival hall. Just turn left and you are there.

We next went to the car rental counter to pick up our vehicle from Thrifty. I had expected that they would allocate us the Nissan Tilda but was surprised to be given the Toyota Corolla, a bigger car. Suited us fine, actually, because of our big bags.

Because the holidays were short, we decided on only a few destinations in our itinerary. One of them, however, would have to be a visit to the Bodhinyana Monastery at Serpentine. When Ajahn Brahm visited Penang last December, I had asked him casually whether he would be in Perth during the Easter weekend and he had said yes. As such, not visiting the monastery would be totally out of the question for me as I had really wanted to catch the monk in his liar.

It was a rather quiet drive to Serpentine but for a brief flurry of excitement with my old GPS unit that I had brought along from home. I still had my old Western Australia navigation map installed but I had been unable to find my updated map of the place. Consequently, for much of my driving around the airport, the poor GPS unit kept telling me that I was driving on some undiscovered road in the middle of nowhere although I was definitely on the highway to somewhere. But soon I saw the sign board that said Armadale, and I remembered from long ago that Serpentine was in the same direction.

Pretty soon, the GPS took over and I found myself at the Bodhinyana about an hour later: just in time, actually, to catch the tail-end of Ajahn Brahm's morning prayers. We quickly offered him a dana of robes before joining the other people there for lunch.

I must say that the lunch served at this monastery was quite an eye opener. It was so much unlike the food that we get here in Penang, which is wholly Chinese fare. Here at Serpentine, we have devotees bringing in lasagna, chocolate, salad, biscuits and a cheese bar, assorted bread and yoghurt, among many other types of food. It was quite an experience.

Inevitably, we met a couple from Malaysia when we arrived at Bodhinyana. From Alor Star, they told us, and they had been in Perth for three weeks already. They showed us around the grounds after lunch was over. We went over to the meditation hall and submerged ourselves in the immense silence of the place, which was helped by a fully carpeted floor that completely muffled any sound from people walking around. We also met an elderly lady from Thailand who claimed to be both a Catholic and a Buddhist, if such a thing was ever possible. Anyhow, we couldn't stay too long at the monastery as we had to drive back to Perth. Fremantle beckoned next.

People lining up for food at the Bodhinyana in Australia is no different from people lining up back in Penang, except that they are more multi-racial

Enjoying our first full meal in Western Australia 

The silence of the well-carpeted meditation hall at the Bodhinyana Monastery

Our new-found friends at the monastery

"abok-abok, pang sai boh cheh bok"

An old memory just came to my mind. Remember the rhyming childhood ditty that one used to recite, "abok-abok, pang sai boh cheh bok"?

Back in the 1960s, I would always be hearing a man intoning out loudly, "abok-abok...." as he rode along Seang Tek Road in the evenings to hawk his delectable sweet desserts. As I would remember, whenever someone wanted to buy from this burly and dark-looking old man, he would stop and open up the rattan basket at the back of his bicycle.

The abok-abok was his main dessert - basically a mixture of small sago balls coloured with green pandan extract and steamed with gula malacca and grated coconut in a conical wrap of banana leaf  - but if my memory serves me right, there was also kueh kochi santan too.

On the rare days that my mother agreed to buy me the dessert, which wasn't often, I would gently hold the abok-abok, wrapped in a banana leaf, in my hands but I could never bring them into the house because I would have already finished it even before I stepped through the door!

The abok-abok man went everywhere on his bicycle. I was told that not only had he been seen around the Dato Kramat Road and Perak Road areas but people around the Bridge Street and even Beach Street areas have recalled seeing him through.

Love your trees

The tecoma tree outside my house is blooming again and for the second time this year, the ground is coated with a layer of pink flowers. It's been so for the past week but thankfully, the blooms have not been as intense as the last flowering season. Still, I'm able to refill my compost pail with fresh flowers and thus have a fresh pile of compost heap.

I was outside the house yesterday morning picking up the flowers from around the tree when a "helpful" neighbour from the end of the road sauntered up to me and remarked that I should perhaps do what she did, which was to cut down the tecoma tree.

I was horrified. What, cut down the tree? Typically, a selfish Malaysian who would rather contribute to warming the earth than greening it. And that was what I told her. We shouldn't be so selfish only to think of ourselves and our own convenience. Besides the shade, we need the trees to provide us with the oxygen and to help cut down on the emissions. If everybody were to cut down the trees around them, we shall be denying ourselves the nature around us. Don't ever think that your neighbour's tree is enough to provide both him and you with replenishment and rejuvenation. Play your part too. Plant your trees, nuture your trees and love your trees. For that, I shall endure the yearly tecoma blooms. I shall continue to be grateful for the tree outside my house.

The bicentenary book

I suppose it is time for me to put some closure to my writing of the long history of the Penang Free School. I have spent something like eight months on this project for the School's Bicentenary Celebrations this October 2016 and I still have one last chapter to complete, which is on some of the illustrious deceased alumni who had shone prominently on the national or world stage. But for that, I can write the chapter separately without affecting much of the book's main contents. 

It had been an interesting journey to trace the School's history as much of the pre-Second World War records had been lost due to the Occupation years. Thankfully, the National Library in Singapore, the rare books section of the Penang State Library and the School Archives did provide me with a lot of resources to work on, not to mention too some individuals who helped with information to fill in some gaps.

Khalil Gibran on Giving

You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, the thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have -- and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights, is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers... and you are all receivers... assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be over-mindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the freehearted earth for mother, and God for father.

Goon Fatt Chee: A top mind among headmasters

I was reading the 1975 edition of the Penang Free School Magazine and came across this lengthy interview which the Editorial Board had carried out with the Headmaster of the day, Goon Fatt Chee. The editors posed some wonderful questions to their headmaster and he, in turn, presented some very fascinating answers. Goon was of a top mind, a quality not often seen in most headmasters today. Two pertinent questions that were asked of him:

Q. How do you define the roles of the headmaster, the teachers and the pupils in the school?

A. The role of the pupil is to learn and to gather knowledge or experience so that he can develop himself physically, morally, spiritually and intellectually for the battle of life after school. He is to learn not only subjects in the curriculum but also how to live and to adapt himself in society, for the school itself is a miniature society. So such human virtues as love, loyalty, charity, goodwill, understanding, respect for elders, temperance, tolerance and courage are to be cultivated while he is in school. He is also to learn that humility and character are important, that academic brilliance is no compensation or substitute for poverty of character and that a man without any qualms of conscience is like a body without a soul.

The role of the teacher is to teach and to guide the pupil towards the achievement of the student's goals. The teacher "walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, and gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind."

The headmaster's role is that of the captain of a ship. He is expected to know everything about the school. He organises, directs and supervises. He is a motivator and an administrator. He sees to the smooth running of the school and steers it as the captain steers his ship. And like the captain, he is responsible for everything and everybody on board.

Q. Why does the government pay so much attention to the students?

A. People say "Upon the students depends the quality of society and upon society the quality of the nation." The significance of this statement is obvious. Besides it is common knowledge that the students of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. They can make or break the nation. They have shown that they are capable of toppling governments, bringing down dictators and even restructuring society. I think it is this political potential in students that has caused the government to pay special attention to them and their activities, right up to University level.

On the role of the headmaster, Goon was to expand on his thoughts later when he published his book, The Role of the Principal in Malaysia, in 1980. Sadly, this book is now out of print.

Faiz Subri's wonder goal

When the name of Roberto Carlos is mentioned, the one thing that comes to mind is his notorious free kick in the Brazil versus France game at the Le Tournoi 1997. It was notorious because the once-in-a-lifetime banana strike curled into goal in a seemingly impossible way. It was a uniquely wonderful moment in football history, except that it is no longer unique. Mohd Faiz Subri, an attacking mid-fielder of the Penang football team, has just scored a wonderful screamer of a free-kick against Pahang in the second round of the Malaysia Super League that may actually out-bend Carlos' banana. I hear his goal is now in contention for FIFA's Puskas Award for 2016 but then, he will have to wait until next January to know the results. In the meanwhile, congratulations to Faiz Subri.

Warmest greetings

Two views of Jupiter

My latest interest is, of course, taking photographs of Jupiter with my camera. I'm fascinated by the orbits of the four visible Galilean moons around this planet. At different times of the month, the moons would align differently on the two sides of the planet and no two photographs are ever the same. The two pictures below were taken just two days apart at approximately the same time in the morning, that is, around 6.30 a.m.

Of course, there are various limitations to my ability to take a clear picture of Jupiter. First, the zoom lens on the camera itself. I'm using an Olympus EPL-7 which although a decent micro four-thirds camera for everyday use, it is not enough for sky photography. However, the longest focal length on my zoom lens is only 150mm (equivalent to 300mm on an SLR camera) but this is not a very big issue by itself since I tend to process my pictures with computer software. Second, the aperture is also an issue because the widest on my lens is f5.6 after zooming out to the maximum. Relatively inadequate. Third, because of the night sky that I have to work with, my shutter speed has to slow down to one-quarter of a second which makes camera shake a big challenge. So I've to resort to bracing myself against my gate. I've used a camera tripod too but it is quite cumbersome because I have to adjust and readjust the tripod legs just to point the camera in the correct direction and place the planet in the right centre of the view. And constantly I would have to make adjustments to compensate for the Earth's rotation. But challenges aside, it is a fascinating hobby indeed.

Mercury, at last!

It's an over-hyped story. This often referred story from the National Geographic recently about seeing five planets aligned in the morning sky.

Firstly, the illustration is misleading. Don't ever expect to see the planets in their full splendour. No, they are all pin pricks of light in the dark sky. The illustration also show the planets lined up low down in the sky, almost hugging the horizon, and within our normal field of vision, which is wrong because from our point of view in the tropics, they are all directly overhead and you will have to turn your head from one end of the sky to the other.

Secondly, except for Venus and Jupiter, the other planets are very dim. It is almost impossible to see Mercury. Thirdly, unless you attempt to sky-watch from a completely dark and open area, the ambient light will interfere with the experience. As I say, an over-hyped story.

Having said all that, I wish to say that finally, I've managed to catch a glimpse of Mercury. I've been grumbling ever so long because from the front of my house, it has been impossible for me to see this planet. My house, and my neighbours' houses, block the view and moreover, the street lights and the porch lights all interfere with my view.

When I happened to wake up early this morning, something made me pick up my camera when I decided to walk around the neighbourhood. And suddenly when I turned into a dark back alley some distance away, lo and behold, both Venus and Mercury came into view. There it was, very low in the still dark sky but unmistakably Mercury. Finally, after more than 10 years of peering skywards from my house, I have seen this elusive planet. What a sight, indeed!

Li Chun (立春), 2016

Today being the fourth of January, there is just one month to go before the start of Li Chun (立春) on 4 February 2016. 

The significance of Li Chun (or Lip Chun which was how my grandmother and mother used to say it) is that to the Chinese all around the globe, this is the day for the Coming of Spring. The day, which I had explained last year, when the sun is deemed to have crossed the 315° longitude in the sky.

This year, Li Chun coincides with the 26th day of the Chinese lunar calendar, which means the Chinese New Year celebrations would only be four days away. According to the Joey Yap book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar, which I consult at about this time every year, Li Chun will occur at 5.48 p.m. on 4 February 2016.

At this time, if you are like me, you will get ready to stick a new piece of decorative red paper with the Chinese character 春 (Chun) on the family rice bucket. I will also be filling up my rice bucket to the brim with uncooked rice to signify abundance. Happy Li Chun, everyone!

Meantime, here are my past blog entries on this Chinese festival:
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007

Half a cup of coffee

Every time I drink my kopi-o at this particular stall at the Kampong Baru market in Bukit Mertajam and I reach this level of coffee in my cup, I am reminded of my aunt who, when she was still alive some two or three years back, had a knack of ordering "half a cup of kopi-o" from the stall-owner, and getting it. She had lots of friends among the stall-owners and could get what she wanted from them! Not me, though. Although the stall-owner knows me too, I am too shy to attempt what she did.

Venus and Jupiter

Stepped out of the house this morning and happened to look upwards. An automatic reaction with me. And immediately noticed two of the brightest spots of light in the still deep blue sky. Quickly grabbed the camera and aimed upwards. Handheld, no time to mount the camera on a tripod. Venus was no problem; it was bright enough to capture it juxtaposed with the mini-satellite dish. Jupiter posed a challenge, though, because it was so much dimmer. Despite steadying myself against a wall, I could sense a slight camera shake. But okay, lah, still caught the essence on the planet on the camera. Was immediately blown away by the discovery of tiny pricks of light on the image which I couldn't see with my naked eyes. Plus, the bonus of seeing two of Jupiter's brightest Gallilean moons. What a start to a day!

Eye drops and eye gels

I was supposed to go down to Kuala Lumpur in September but had to cancel my trip owing to conjunctivitis. Then after me, it was my wife's turn to come down with this eye ailment. Our bouts with conjunctivitis took a toll on us. We have lost count of the number of times that we had gone to the Penang General Hospital and the Bukit Mertajam Hospital to seek treatment. And in my wife's case, the Lohguanlye Specialist Hospital too.

The ophthalmologists there scraped our eyelids to remove the pseudo-membrane which were preventing the eye medication from being absorbed effectively. After each scraping, our eyelids would be so sore that we couldn't open our eyes. Luckily, we were affected at different times. After I had recovered, only then did my wife get infected. So we became drivers for one another.

Today, after almost two months, it is time for us to discard all the old eye-drops and eye gels. There are so many of them: bottles and tubes but they all have to go. Go, be gone! Don't need you any more! But thank you all the same.

Wonderfully fine day

Fire, spice and edifice: Penang's early history

The E&O Hotel in Farquhar Street was the perfect colonial-type setting for the launch of Marcus Langdon's latest book -- Penang, the Fourth Presidency of India 1805-1830 Volume Two: Fire, Spice and Edifice -- which, appropriately enough, was all about Penang's early history. This was at a time just about 20 years after Captain Francis Light landed at the Esplanade and proclaimed the island as a British settlement.

Langdon's Volume Two (Volume One was published in 2013) is divided in seven chapters, or Books as he called them, with each chapter devoted to a different subject. Thus, his Book One was all about the Fort Cornwallis, Book Two all about the Fires in George Town, and so on and so forth. There are Books on the St George's Church, the Spice and Botanic Gardens, the Library and Battling the Sea. Oh yes, I've omitted mentioning one very important section: in Book Three, Langdon wrote about the early years of the Penang Free School, a subject now very close to my heart.

But I'm not going to disclose much about the topics covered; anyone wishing to delve into Penang's history should get a copy of this book from the bookstores. I can assure you that it is money well spent as it is a very good read.

All I want to say is that I had bought Langdon's Volume One back in 2014 at a time when I was already very interested in Penang's heritage. While reading it, I came across several references he made to the Penang Free School and in a footnote, he mentioned that a whole chapter would be written on the school in his Volume Two. Unfortunately, there was no knowing when it would be published because when I met him for the first time in late 2014 and posed the question to him, even he wasn't sure of its publication! But at least, I had established contact with him, a contact which I was certain would come in useful later.

Then in January this year I invited Langdon down to The Old Frees' Association and had a good chat with him. I told him that I was going to start a project on the Penang Free School and was sure that whatever information he had with him would be very helpful to me. Thus he agreed to give me a copy of his manuscript, the section that dealt with the Penang Free School, which turned out to be a goldmine indeed. It filled in a lot of blanks in the school's history. Of course, I was duty bound not to say anything about it to anybody then because Volume Two still had not seen the light of day, although he hoped that it would be available by June or July.

And now that Volume Two has been published and officially launched by the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, on 7 November 2015, I will publicly thank Marcus Langdon here for sharing that pertinent, all-important chapter with me.

A birthday concern

It was quite chilling this morning when I turned on the computer and the web browser loaded up the Google start page automatically. There, in front of my eyes was a graphic of birthday cakes. I so happened, accidentally, to move the pointer over the graphic and was surprised to find my name popping up on the monitor. Google was wishing me a happy birthday! It set me thinking what other personal information have I exposed on the Internet? If Google can pick up my birthday so easily, can other search engines do so too? And if search engines can find me, what more all those illegal Internet bots? Can my personal information be truly safe? Can your personal information be safe too? And what can we do to safeguard ourselves online?

Next year's bicentenary dinner

It has been 13 days since I celebrated the 199th anniversary of our Alma Mater with some of my old schoolmates in Penang, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. I can't say much about the dinner occasions in KL or Singapore because I wasn't there, but I can certainly confirm that there was a huge buzz of excitement at the Penang dinner. For the first time, the Class of 7072 was able to fill 16 seats at two tables. Some of us brought our spouses while some others chose to be bachelors for the night. But we all had a good time and we are now all looking forward to 21 October 2016 when Penang Free School will be 200 years old! Will you be there for the grand celebration? I know that I will, and I hope to see as many of my mates as possible. 

From what I know, the Old Boys associations in Penang, KL and Singapore have been asked to forego their own annual dinners next year and come back to their roots, the Old School, for the bicentenary dinner which shall be arranged in the school field. Many of the Classes have already made concrete arrangements with the dinner's organising committee and booked or reserved multiple tables for the occasion. And here, I have some good news and some bad news.

Despite all the growing excitement among the Old Boys around the world, our own Class of 7072 has, so far, given lukewarm response to be part of next year's celebration. But I know that without anyone taking the initiative to round up the gang, a reunion will never happen. After seeking out the views of a few friends in Penang, KL and Singapore, we decided that there must be a reunion, come what may. 

Last week, I emailed the OFA office in Penang to ask them to reserve five tables for the Class of 7072. By the way, the OFA office was appointed by the Bicentenary Committee to coordinate next year's dinner. Yesterday, I spoke to the personnel in charge of bookings and she informed me that my reservations were confirmed. So that's the good news. We have five tables to share out among the Class of 7072. Casually, I asked her whether I could increase the reservations to eight tables. My contention was that if we could not fill all 80 seats, we could still surrender the unfilled tables back to the organisers. Bad news. All of the RM1,500 tables have been taken up. Reserved. Booked. Our five tables were among the last batches to be accepted. But she was very helpful. If we want, the RM3,000 and RM5,000 tables are still available. However, I don't think that will be what we want. The Class of 7072 will want to be together; no point separating us all up at a reunion. It defeats the purpose. 

So to my schoolmates in the Class of 7072, I wish to say again that because we have only five tables, our seats are very limited. There are only 50 places available and technically, there are a few hundreds of us. Even if all of us want to attend the bicentenary dinner, it is impossible. I have to offer them the seats at the five tables on a "first come, first served" basis. If anyone in the Class of 7072 is keen on coming to the bicentenary dinner, they should drop me a private email at ssquah-at-yahoo.com. I'm sure you know how to substitute the -at- with the @ sign. I shall then add him into the list until all the seats are taken up. However, if anyone prefers to register through the OFA KL-Selangor or OFA Singapore groups, this is quite okay with me. It is not a compulsion for my classmates to join the Penang gang. Email me and we shall talk further, okay?

Remembering Robert Sparke Hutchings, 2015

About a week ago I had sent an appeal through the Old Frees' Association facebook group for more Old Frees to remember the founder of the Penang Free School by turning up at the Protestant Cemetery for the Reverend Robert Sparke Hutchings commemorative service.

I was very encouraged when I arrived at Northam Road to find bustling activity outside the cemetery's gate at 6.45a.m. Not only were there a busload of Penang Free School boys and their teachers - possibly about 20 to 25 of them - but also a group of about 10 to 15 representatives from the nearby Hutchings School.

But more than anything else, for the first time in four years since I started coming to witness the annual commemorative services, there were about 15 Old Frees (and two parishioners from the St George's Church) who had made it a point to join the schoolboys and their teachers at this time of the morning. The pervasive haze made the occasion very ethereal as we gathered before Hutchings' grave in the cemetery.

The presence of Billy Yeoh, president of The Old Frees' Association, was very welcomed. For once, we have representatives of the Management Committee present. But there is a strong message in Billy's presence too. As the School moves towards its 200th Anniversary in 2016, the Bicentenary, I hope that I am not wrong to say that we can be assured of The Old Frees' Association's commitment to uphold the School's many old traditions. The annual visit to Hutchings' grave is one of most important among them.

I'm saying this because Christianity is not my religion. I'm a confirmed Buddhist. Yet, there shall be little that will prevent me from visiting a church or this Protestant cemetery and remembering this great man who through his efforts in 1816 pushed through his plans to establish a school that has lasted till today.

For that effort, I shall remember Robert Sparke Hutchings and I hope that many more Old Frees will honour that man too by turning up at the annual service. That is the least that we can do for the man and the institution we call our Alma Mater, the Penang Free School.

Revd Ho Kong Eng addressing the Penang Fee School students and teachers

Old Frees among the people at the cemetery

The teacher and boys from Hutchings School

Some of the Old Boys from Free School