Extracted from:
"A Concise History of
the Victoria Institution 1893-2002 by Chung Chee Min.~
edited and made precise by me (M.I.Ariffin)
1. Following the establishment of the British Protectorate in the Malay Peninsula in 1874, economic development in Selangor accelerated with the growth of the rubber and tin industries and the laying of a rail link from Kuala Lumpur to Klang in 1890. With demand rising for an English-educated work force to fill the ranks of the government service and the mercantile sector, the Capitan China of Kuala Lumpur, Yap Kwan Seng, together with Towkay Loke Yew and Thamboosamy Pillay were three prominent Kuala Lumpur residents who convened a public meeting calling for the establishment of an English school. They promised to give $1,000 each.
Sir William Hood Treacher, the British Resident in Selangor, was very supportive. However, the chief obstacle in the way of realising their aim was a lack of funds. As it happened, in March 1893, Sir William discovered a sum of $3,188 of unspent money in the Treasury which had been raised six years earlier by public subscription for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. He then suggested to the donors that the sum could be used to build a school. With their agreement, this amount became the nucleus of a building fund for a memorial school that would be named "The Victoria Institution". The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Abdul Samad, donated a sum of $1,100 and became one of the two patrons of the school – the other being Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, the Governor of the Straits Settlements. Soon, further public donations and the Selangor government’s contribution of $7,000 brought the total money available to $21,291, sufficient to begin building a government-aided institution "to be maintained primarily for the purpose of providing instruction in the English language to day scholars of all nationalities and classes resident in the State and for other educational purposes." [The various races were at that time referred to as "nationalities" and, until 1972, Kuala Lumpur was part of Selangor.
The First Board of Trustees of the Victoria Institution in 1893 consisted of Sir William Treacher (President), Raja Sulaiman (a grandson of Sultan Abdul Samad, he would later ascend the throne as Sultan Ala-iddin Sulaiman Shah), Capitan China Yap Kwan Seng, Loke Yew, Rev F W Haines (the Inspector of Schools), A R Venning, Dr E A O Travers, F G West, K Thamboosamy Pillay, Ong Chi Siu, Koh Mah Lek and Tambi Abdullah. On the 14th of August, 1893, Lady Treacher laid the foundation stone for the School in High Street. (The original foundation plate is today affixed to the front façade of the present VI building.) The first block of the Victoria Institution was completed in 1894 and Mr. G. W. Hepponstall was the acting Headmaster pending the arrival of Mr. Bennett Eyre Shaw from the Grammar School at Bishop's Stortford in England. Situated on an eight acre site in a loop of the Klang River, the School - with four staff - was officially opened by Mr Shaw on 30th July, 1894. Mr Hepponstall had originally been the Headmaster of one of the earlier English schools in Kuala Lumpur, a plank and attap building located at the junction of High Street and Foch Avenue (now Jalan Cheng Lock). His 96 pupils formed the nucleus of the initial enrolment at the V.I. which started with 115 boys from Primary One upwards. Mr Shaw was paid $2,400 a year and the assistant masters $780, $600 and $360. The government gave the school an annual grant of $3,000 and total expenditure was estimated at $7,425.
2. The growth and development of the VI was rapid. A total of 201 boys were registered in its second year of operations, including nine local Malay boys and a Sumatran Malay. By 1900 there were 423 pupils; two years later, the VI had 532 pupils and, by 1924, the number had ballooned to 950.
As the first Headmaster, Mr. Shaw initiated traditions and practices that would be emulated by other schools. He envisioned an education not merely for examinations but for life; his main aim was to produce good citizens. Without neglecting academic standards, Mr Shaw introduced and developed a variety of school activities designed to give a balanced education. He made drill and gymnastics an integral part of the education. He gave out prizes to those pupils with good attendance records and introduced a report card system to monitor the boys' progress and conduct. The first Prize Day was held on 21st December, 1894.
1894; this was also the year the Treacher Scholarship was founded in honour of Sir William Treacher to given to the best boy in Standard Eight (now Form Four) Junior Cambridge Examination. The Rodger Medal, awarded to the boy who had the best School Certificate results, was founded in 1895 in honour of Mr J P Rodger (later Sir John Pickersgill Rodger, the British Resident in Selangor and President of the VI Board of Trustees from 1896 to 1901).Another scholarship, the Nugent-Walsh Scholarship, was founded in 1909 as a memorial to a prominent Kuala Lumpur citizen to be awarded annually to the boy who stood second in the Junior Cambridge Examination. The first recipient in 1910 was Yong Shook Lin, who later became a noted lawyer and legislator.
Three years later another practice was initiated with the holding of the first VI Sports Day. In 1906, musical drill displays became part of Sports Day.
The VI Cadet Corps dates from 1900, when the St. Mary's Boys' Brigade was founded by a VI teacher, Mr. A.C.J. Towers. It became the VI Cadet Corps in 1901 and was the first of its kind in the country. The Corps had its first camp in Port Dickson in 1902 and, in 1909, its drum and fife band was formed. Mr. B.E. Shaw also founded the School Scout Troop - the First Selangor Troop - in 1910, the very first Scout Troop in the country.
On September 1st, 1925, the VI ceased to be a semi-private school and was taken over completely by the Government. From then on, future Headmasters would no longer recruited by the trustees of the School; instead, they would be officers from the Malayan Educational Service. Equally significant, the staff would no longer be personally recruited by the VI Headmaster but by the Education Service.
The School's first civil servant Headmaster was Mr G C Davies who helmed the School from 1926 to 1930. He had been in the armed forces during the First World War and was a strict disciplinarian who never allowed the scholastic activities of the school to play a subordinate part to extra-curricular activities.
Mr Davies oversaw the historic move from the High Street premises to the brand new building on Petaling Hill. On September 21st, 1927, the foundation stone for the new VI was laid by Sultan Ala'idin Sulaiman Shah, witnessed by the Director of Education, Dr R O Winstedt, and other dignitaries. After eighteen months of construction (the contractor was Low Yat), the building was ready and on March 26, 1929, in front of a large crowd of Kuala Lumpur dignitaries which included many Old Boys, Sir Hugh Clifford - the President of the VI Board of Trustees in 1901 and now the High Commissioner of Malaya - opened the new VI. The ceremony was also witnessed by the first VI Headmaster, Mr. B.E. Shaw, who had been invited back to Malaya by the many Old Boys who had been taught by him.
5. The new VI became a secondary school with 500 boys from Standards Six (Form Two today) to Senior Cambridge. Its old primary pupils in Standards Five and below remained in the High Street premises under the headmastership of A.W. Frisby and they later transferred to the newly-built Batu Road School in June, 1930. BRS and Pasar Road School, which was built in 1925, then became feeder schools to the VI.With brand new science labs, the VI was now able to introduce science as a subject, the first school in Malaya to do so.
In 1930, when Mr Edgar de la M. Stowell was the acting Headmaster in Mr Davies’ absence, the VI finally acquired a crest of its own, one that would serve as an instantly recognised identity over the years. It was designed by Mr G. Burgess, the Art Superintendent of Selangor, who incorporated in it elements of the Selangor flag. In his short stay of six months, Mr Stowell also introduced cross country running to the VI boys.
Mr Davies’ successor was another Mr Shaw - Frederick Lloyd Shaw - who guided the school from 1931 to 1936. Mr Shaw revised the Prefects Charter, particularly in respect of the specific duties of prefects. Boys entering the VI were now selected from Maxwell English School as well as BRS and PRS. The 1933 enrolment stood at 530.
The thirties were a particularly busy and typically successful period for the VICC which projected, through ceremonial parades on Empire Day and the King's Birthday, its very favourable reputation. In May 1935, for instance, the entire Corps and Band, 150 strong, took a leading part in the King George V Silver Jubilee Parade at the Selangor Club Padang.
When Mr B.E. Shaw retired in 1922, the V.I. Old Boys’ Association had made repeated appeals to the government to recognise his contributions. Finally, in 1938, Gaol Road, the stretch in front of the VI, was renamed Shaw Road in honour of the longest-serving VI Headmaster. (Shaw Road was renamed Jalan Hang Tuah after Merdeka).
6. Mr. Shaw was succeeded by Major J.B. Neilson, who was Headmaster for nearly a year. Mr. C.E. Gates assumed the headmastership of the VI in June 1937. During his tenure, an up-to-date swimming pool with springboards, steps for high diving, shower baths and circulating chlorinated water was opened in June 1938.From then on, VI pupils could now receive swimming instruction as part of the school curriculum. It was also used by most schools in Selangor which had weekly periods of swimming allocated to them.
During his reign, Mr Gates could point with justifiable pride to his three VI pupils who won Queen's Scholarships for degree courses in England – Ismail Mohd Ali (later Tun Ismail Mohd Ali), Yap Pow Meng and Rodney Lam.
In July of that year, the founder of the VICC, Mr. A. C. J. Towers, visited the VI on the occasion of the fortieth birthday of the V.I.C.C. and presented the band with a silver-mounted drum major's staff. The VICC had grown during the thirties: in 1930, the strength of the Corps was 145 Cadets (45 of whom were recruits); by 1941, there were over 300 V.I. Cadets organised as a battalion of three companies. In this final year of the Gates era, the school had 19 staff and 510 boys; there were 15 classes including one matriculation class.
With war clouds gathering, the School Hall was requisitioned by the War Taxation Department, military barracks sprouted around the school and many of the European VI masters were called for military training. Thirty Malay ex-Cadets volunteered to form an all-Malay platoon in the F.M.S. Volunteer Force and when the Selangor Local Defence Corps was formed and an appeal was made for Asian volunteers, the first forty men to be enrolled were ex-cadets of the VICC!
Mr Gates remained steadfastly at the School until the enemy was almost at the gates. With the British in full retreat and chaos and looting everywhere, the loyal School clerk, Mr Richard Pavee, bravely stood guard over the school premises with his cadet rifle to ward off looters before Kuala Lumpur finally fell and three and a half years of Japanese Occupation began
Many Old Boys contributed to the war effort serving in Europe, India, Burma, New Guinea, the Phillipines, Singapore and Malaysa. Amongst them were The Talalla brothers, Henry and Cyril, Peter Barraclough, Captains Gurbax Singh, Tharam Singh and Lieutenant H I S Kanwar, Sulong bin Hamzah and Salleh bin Hassan of the Malay Regiment, Yaacob bin Abdul Latiff (later Mayor of Kuala Lumpur), Bun Tsan Chuan and Captain Syed Shaidali, Ng Kum Heong ,Leong Hong Teck, Bun Pak San, Wong Ah Yam and Tan Sim Hong ,Chang Sow Khong ,Rajion and Harry Lau . Victorians even fought as guerillas - Mohamed Yakim bin Long was part of the Malayan Guerilla Force while Leong Chai Mun and G N Frank were in the famous Force 136 that harassed Japanese forces behind lines.
However, most of the expatriate VI teachers who took up arms were incarcerated as internees or prisoners of war. Those who survived the ordeal included F C Barraclough, E A H Ellis, C Forster, L I Lewis, W H W. Little, G G L McLeod, and D K Swan. Four former VI headmasters were also interned - the loyal C E Gates, H R Carey, J B Neilson, R J H Sidney - as were future Headmasters F Daniel, E M F Payne and G E D Lewis. (Of course, the venerable Mr B E Shaw was already retired by then in England but, despite his old age, he served as an air raid warden in London during the German blitz.)
The VI teachers who died in captivity were G C Tacchi, H D Grundy, E W Reeve, G Burgess, A C Strahan and T L White. The siege of Singapore in February 1942 claimed the lives of at least two Old Victorians; a former VI teacher and Member of the Singapore Legislative Assembly, Mr Tay Lian Teck, was killed when his ship was bombed by Japanese planes and the 1938 Cricket Captain Hera Singh (brother of Gorbex Singh) died in a Japanese bombardment at the Medical College where he was a student. The 1930 School Captain E R de Jong, R Seimund, Lee Pet Seong, Lim Siew Weng, Wong Tin Leong and H A Leembruggen were reported missing or died as prisoners of war.
7.
The VI’s commanding location on Petaling Hill made it an ideal choice as a Japanese headquarters.The VI was not a military but an administrative establishment of some sort.
The climax of the Pacific War came with the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th and 9th August 1945, respectively, after which Japan surrendered unconditionally. For Malaya, Wednesday, 12th September 1945, was Victory Day and an impressive ceremony was held in Singapore with Lord Louis Mountbatten accepting the formal, unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces in Southeast Asia.
A separate surrender ceremony took place in Kuala Lumpur the following day, 13th September, 1945 at 2 p.m. at the Victoria Institution Hall. In a twenty-minute ceremony, Lieutenant-General Teizo Ishiguro signed the surrender on behalf of the Japanese forces while Lieutenant-General O.L. Roberts was among Allied signatories. The VI was then commandeered by the British Military Administration which would run the country until late 1946. On 22nd February, 1946, another surrender ceremony was held in front of the VI porch when General Frank Messervy of Malaya Command, then headquartered at the VI, accepted the surrender of residual Japanese units holding out in scattered parts of Southeast Asia. Deprived of its premises, the VI resurrected itself through afternoon sessions at Batu Road School beginning 22nd October, 1945 and then moved to the defunct Maxwell Road School premises after five months. While there, the School's scouts and cadets were represented at the Victory Parade to celebrate the end of the war at the Selangor Padang. The VI finally returned to its proper home in September 1946.
Mr M. Vallipuram, an Old Boy and former Senior Master on the prewar staff, was appointed VI Headmaster – its first Asian Headmaster - during those nomadic days. Mr. Vallipuram retired just as the school moved back to its own building and Mr Ng Seo Buck, another Old Boy and master, was appointed Acting Headmaster. At a special assembly he broke to the School the belated news - delayed because of the war - that the VI's first Headmaster, Mr Shaw, had died two years earlier in 1944.
Mr Ng performed his duties for about three weeks until the new VI Headmaster could arrive from recuperation leave in the United Kingdom..
He was none other than Mr. Frederick Daniel, the Senior Science Master of the thirties, who had pioneered the teaching of science in the VI. Apart from being a brand new Headmaster with the daunting responsibility of rebuilding the VI from an empty shell, Mr. Daniel shouldered another big responsibility - the duties of Science Supervisor for the whole country.
An official reopening of the School by the Governor of the Malayan Union, Sir Edward Gent, was held on Friday, 11th October, 1946, as a morale-booster to put the famous VI spirit back to work. In addition, the School's Golden Jubilee was belatedly celebrated that evening with rousing speeches by dignitaries and sketches interleaved with musical pieces by the resurrected School Orchestra. The actual event in 1943, of course, could not be marked because of the war.
Entry to the VI was now lowered to Standard Five (Form One today) instead of the prewar Standard Six.his was to accommodate the huge influx of boys from the feeder schools as well as over-aged VI boys who had missed school during the war years. To clear the huge enrolment bottleneck in the lower forms some boys received double or even triple promotions within one year, such was the disparity in age and ability as a result of the war.
Continue to parts 8-11 following this posting.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Victoria Institution (VI) ~ a brief history. (continued from earlier post.)
Victoria Institution (VI) ~ a brief history. (continued from earlier post.)
With the school enrolment ballooning to 800, the Annual Athletic sports were finally revived in 1947, with the Sultan of Selangor and his consort gracing the occasion. The Laxamana Cup was presented in 1949 by the Tengku Laxamana of Selangor for an annual football match between the Victoria Institution and his old school, the Malay College, Kuala Kangsar.
on 17th March 1949, Mr Anthony Eden (who was the wartime Foreign Secretary and who would become British Prime Minister in 1955) visited the school and officially opened the new VI library at its new premises in the science wing. The library, which had lost all its books during the war, had been restocked through many generous contributions from Old Boys. It had seating accommodation for 80 boys and room for 10,000 books.
Mr. E.M.F. Payne succeeded Mr. Daniel as Headmaster in May 1949. During his tenure, the Detention Class (more popularly known as D C) was introduced for the punishment of errant boys. A veritable social revolution occurred in 1950 with the admission to the School of its first girl, Miss Yoong Yan Yoong, from the Methodist Girls' School. Miss Yoong, who had two brothers in the VI, later read medicine at the university and is now retired as a doctor in Johor Baru.The VIMADS of the nineteen twenties was revived as the VI Drama Society that same year. Its first play, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, was publicly performed the following year to critical acclaim. This set another tradition in motion with the school thereafter producing a major play annually for a good twenty years. ( INCLUDING THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD I ACTED IN 1964)
In November 1951, the School was presented with a gilt-framed oil portrait of Queen Victoria painted by Mohammed Hoessein Enas, an artist from Java noted for his portraiture of Malay royalty. The Queen Victoria portrait hung at the back of the stage until the early sixties when it was removed to the school library where it still hangs over the
entrance.
Mr Payne left the VI in May 1952. Between 1953 and 1955, there were three Headmasters - Mr G.P. Dartford, Mr A. Atkinson and Mr P. Roberts - in rapid succession.
The VI Cadet Corps, which had lain dormant since the Pacific War, was finally revived. The school celebrated the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June with concerts and ice cream treats for the boys. The VI building was one of many in Kuala Lumpur to be floodlit for the coronation revelry.Twelve years after its sudden demise, the VI Cadet Corps - minus its band - was revived with 80 recruits, more than double the expected number. Two years later, a separate band platoon of eighteen boys was formed equipped with instruments donated by the Education Department.
In 1954, under the Headmastership of Mr A. Atkinson, the VI celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of its opening.The School had 38 staff teaching 28 classes totalling just over a thousand pupils, including 17 girls, in 1954.
9. When Dr. G.E.D. Lewis (THE ENGLISHMAN SEATED IN MY CLASS OF '64 PHOTOGRAPH! ) took over as Headmaster of the VI from late 1955 he initiated a golden age for the V.I. in terms of innovation, and in superlative results in sports and academic endeavour. He air-conditioned the library and restocked it with more reading materials. He also uncovered evidence of secret society members in the School and dealt with them forcefully, rooting out gangsterism in the VI. As a counter to such nefarious activities, Dr Lewis established Club 21, an exclusive group - limited to 21 students at any one time - of those who were meritorious achievers either in extra-mural activities or studies or both.
In 1956, Dr Lewis initiated the first of many far reaching changes for the VI – he introduced a new Speech Day format which combined exhibitions of school and society work with a prize-giving ceremony and a school concert, a format which lasted well into the 1970s.
Under the terms of the Education Ordinance of 1957 all Malayan schools were to be administered by Boards of Governors. Two thirds of the VI's first Board of Governors in 1958 were Old Boys and the Chairman was prominent Old Boy Yaacob bin Abdul Latiff. That year the School had 1,030 pupils of which 162 were in Form Five and 140 boys and 31 girls were in the Sixth Form.
In academic prowess, Victorians were second to none. In 1956, Ooi Boon Seng aced his Senior Cambridge examinations with eight A1 distinctions and was the toast of the school. Unafraid to commit the VI boys to any challenge, Dr Lewis initiated many annual bilateral meets with other schools in various sports, the most famous being the annual VI-Federation Military College athletics meet which pitted VI’s best athletes against those of the country’s military school. Dr Lewis will also be remembered as the Headmaster who promoted rugby tirelessly and made the VI a school rugby power.
In the early sixties, the crown prince of Brunei joined the VI, a testimony to the high standing of the School. He, of course, is Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah today.(HERE'S WHEN I CAME INTO THE PICTURE and THAT'S ANOTHER STORY!)
Mr. A.D. Baker became Headmaster in September 1962. Although he would be the last expatriate headmaster of the School as the process of Malayanisation ground on after Merdeka, the VI’s stirring record of achievements in sporting and academic fields was maintained during his short tenure.
Succeeding Mr Baker, Mr. V. Murugasu,(HE USED TO TAKE TURNS TEACHING US ENGLISH FOR KICKS!) who had been a postwar pupil at the VI until 1950, took over the reins on 1st June, 1964.Mr Murugasu was a rigid disciplinarian, in the mold of his old Headmaster, Mr F. Daniel. He did not spare the rod and he emphasized the equal importance of studies and extra-mural activities. He implemented a system that awarded certain points for each extra-mural activity that a pupil participated in. The School’s superlative academic and sporting achievements continued to elicit regular headlines and flattering coverage in the local papers.is VI dress code required pupils to wear canvas shoes instead, and only Sixth Formers were allowed to wear long pants and leather shoes. Hair styles and hair lengths were strictly enforced.
Expatriate teachers began returning to the VI in the early sixties, this time as volunteers from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States. The first American Peace Corpsman, Samuel D. Edwards, joined the V.I. staff in 1965.(THIS IS THE MR. EDWARD DORALL WHO DIRECTED THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD! )
10. The VICC Band acquired their first bagpipes ( I STILL PLAY THE PICCOLO! ) and were commended by US President Lyndon Johnson (a Texan) who heard them playing The Yellow Rose of Texas when he was driven past the Band during his visit to Malaysia in 1966. ( I WASN,T WITH THE VICC BAND ANYMORE...(SOB!). DATIN SRI DR. JAMILAH ARIFFIN, WIFE OF OTHMAN GHANI, MENTERI BESAR OF JOHOR WAS MY CLASSMATE THEN. I WAS INSTRUCTED TO LEAVE LOWER SIX AFTER THREE MONTHS TO GIVE WAY TO A BETTER GRADER, SO SAID THE HM, MR MURUGESU. I LOST MY PLACE BY JUST ONE POINT EXTRA! THIS CHANGED MY WHOLE LIFE AND FUTURE TOO! AND I NEVER STEP FOOT IN THE PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOL SINCE! ) He got down from his limousine and shook hands with the Drum Major. A bust of the President was later sent in appreciation to the school! 1968 marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the VI which was celebrated with great pomp and pageantry, with the Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in attendance. Mr R Thampipillay, one of the early pupils of the VI and a VI teacher for over 34 years was a special guest of honour. The school had 1392 pupils and 56 teachers in that historic year.
1969 was a watershed year as the May 13 incident resulted in the unprecedented cancellation of the school annual athletics meet. The annual school play was also abandoned just as rehearsals were in full swing. Red Cross Society members on the other hand offered their services to the National Red Cross during the crisis. This was also Mr Murugasu's final year at the VI as he was transferred to Malacca. Mr. Tan Cheng Or was appointed headmaster in 1970 and, after just over a year, was succeeded by Mr. V Somasundram in 1971.
Mr Victor Gopal became Headmaster in 1973 and will be remembered as the Headmaster who commissioned teacher, Puan Zainab bte Yusop, to write the Bahasa Malaysia version of the School Song
On April 1st of the year1975, a roller skating rink, was built from donations by the PTA and other well-wishers.But badminton, not skating, was the VI's watchword, for by the late 1970s, the VI had become a badminton power. Because of its hostel and excellent facilities many of the country's best badminton talents were being transferred to school. In April 1977, The VI under-18 and under-15 badminton teams were earning fame and glory and distinction of being the first school in the country to win the coveted King's Cup Trophy three times in succession. Mohd. Misbun bin Haji Sidek was declared VI Sportsman of the Year for 1978. He and his brothers and other ex-Victorian shuttlers would eventually constitute the bulk of the 1992 national team that would bring the Thomas Cup back to Malaysia.
In 1976, VI came under the headmastership of Encik Abdul Rahim bin Che Teh, followed by Encik Baharum bin Othman in 1979. Because of large numbers of pupils from the rural areas who comprised 40 percent of the school population, afternoon sessions had to be conducted which had a detrimental effect on extra-mural activities. d Encik Abdul Shukor bin Haji Abdullah, a Harvard Master of Education graduate took over the helm iin 1981.With the completion of the Form 1 and 2 Block in the same year, the VI could now revert to being a single session school, with extra-curricular activities held in the afternoon
From 1982 Encik Abdul Rahim bin Abdul Majid was the next Headmaster, serving six years.Two new martial arts associations were formed in Encik Abdul Rahim's first year. They catered for students interested in judo, wrestling, self-defense and the traditional Malay martial art of silat. Inspired by the emergence of information technology, the VI Computer Society was inaugurated in February 1983, and was presented with a computer by distinguished Old Boy Tun Ismail bin Mohd Ali, the Governor of Bank Negara. In April 1983, the VI Red Crescent Society,celebrated its silver anniversary. The School's ninetieth birthday was also celebrated that year. The anniversary cake was cut by Old Victorian Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon who also donated $20,000 to a scholarship fund. The VI Cadet Corps celebrated the anniversary of its founding with a tattoo that became a biennial event thereon.
A new school canteen was built in 1985. The School's swimming supremacy was maintained that year when its swimmers bagged a total of 27 golds, 18 silvers and 3 bronzes at the MSSMWP Meet. Five VI water polo players represented Kuala Lumpur in an inter-city tournament at Perth, Australia. At year's end, the VI cricket team which was Federal Territory school champion for five consecutive years went on a tour of Peninsular Malaya, winning five matches out of six.( BRAVO! PROUD TO BE THE INSTITUTION'S OLD BOY! SO LET'S FINISHED THE HISTORY).
In early 1987, there was a proposal by the educational authorities to replace 'Victoria' in the School's name. A petition initiated by the prefects and vigorous protests by the V.I. pupils as well as prominent Old Boys like Tan Sri Hashim Mohd Ali, Tan Sri Zain Azraai and Justice M. Shankar resulted in the withdrawal of that proposal. The School was renamed Sekolah Menengah Victoria instead.
Under Headmaster Encik Shuib bin Dahaban, who assumed his duties in 1988, there were 79 staff. By now there was recognition of the need to preserve the School’s past for future generations of Victorians. A large room was acquired that year for a museum to display all manner of interesting Victoriana accumulated over almost 100 years.
11. 6th July 1992 was the day the VI welcomed its first lady principal, Puan Robeahtun binte Haji Ahmad Damanhuri, who had been a member of the staff in 1973 to 1974. A centenary athletics event she organised as Committee Chairwoman was held on Saturday, 20th February 1993. The guest-of-honour was Dr. Mani Jegathesan, an Old Boy of the VI and semi-finalist in the 200 metre sprint event in the 1964 and 1968 Olympics.
The centenary tattoo was held on the night of 10th April.On 8th May, the VI held its centenary concert in the Kuala Lumpur City Hall auditorium as a tribute to the School’s founders and to the people of Kuala Lumpur. On August 7, a Speech Day was held with the Minister of Education as Guest of Honour who declared open the newly-built four-storey twelve-classroom Sixth Form block and launched a two-day Exhibition as well. The exhibits, of science, arts and extra-curricular interest, harked back to two decades or more ago when such events were annual affairs at the VI. The in-house celebrations climaxed at the VI Open House on 13th August at the quadrangle with a countdown to twelve midnight to mark the hundredth birthday of the VI the next day.
A grand banquet was held at the Shangrila Hotel on 14th August 1993 where Old Boys and Girls, their spouses and well-wishers dined with the likes of the Prime Minister, the Sultan of Brunei, two cabinet ministers, five ex-Headmasters including 81-year-old Dr G E D Lewis who had travelled from London, several Tan Sris and two of the oldest Old Boys, aged 82 and 83, who could be traced. The last event was on 19th August when a permanent VI Museum was officially opened by Mr. Gnanalingam, a parent, who had very generously financed the construction of the Museum which occupies two adjoining classrooms on the ground floor of the main building.
Puan Robeahtun was succeeded in December 1995 by Encik Othman b. Husin, who held the post for less than a year. Puan Salha bt. Othman became the second lady principal in 1996. On 27th July 1996, the VI Mosque (Surau Abdul Kadir Mat) was officially opened. It had been designed by Hajeedar Majid, an Old Boy, and financed by the Sultan of Brunei.
The 1998 Commonwealth Games had rich VI connections. The chairman of the organising committee was none other than Old Victorian General Tan Sri Hashim Mohamed Ali. The VI field was designated as one of the venues for the international cricket matches and a second sports pavilion, a permanent addition to the School's frontage, was built for that purpose. THE VI CADET BAND performed in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. Indeed, throughout the 1990s the VI Cadet Band had been the most visible standard bearer for the school. It had won the gold many times in National Day parades and in National School Band Competitions. It had also participated in marching band festivals in Sydney, Australia, in 1996, and in Yokohama, Japan, in 1998. In 2000, in Calgary, Canada, the band boys brought back a gold medal from the World Championship for Marching Show Bands. (GEE! AM I GLAD I WAS ONE OF THE BEST BEFORE!)
A new Headmaster, Tuan Haji Baharom b. Haji Kamari, assumed charge in January 1999. The first VI Heritage Night was held on 17th July, 1999, to pay homage to the School’s founders, and to celebrate the School’s successes and achievements.In April of that year came the sad news that former Headmaster Dr G E D LEWIS (MY FORMER HEADMASTER) had passed away in London.
On 22nd April 2001, the VI held a carnival in conjunction with the Daniel Shield games. At the Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur Schools Marching Band competition at the Titiwangsa Lake Gardens, the VI CADET BAND took top spot and also won the Best Drum Major title.
In mid-2002, Tuan Baharom was transferred from the VI and Tuan Haji Taslim Sarbini took over the helm of the School.
The VI story is definitely far from over. Pada 14 Feb 2009 yang lalu. Sempena pemilihannya sebagai salah sebuah Warisan Kebangsaan 2009, mula hari ini nama Sekolah Menengah Victoria yang diasaskan pada tahun 1893 akan kembali kepada nama asalnya Victoria Institution (VI).
Menteri Perpaduan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan, Datuk Seri Mohd. Shafie Apdal yang juga bekas pelajar sekolah itu mengumumkan demikian semasa majlis pengisytiharan 172 butiran Warisan Kebangsaan 2009 di sini hari ini.
Menurut beliau, VI diangkat sebagai Warisan Kebangsaan kerana memenuhi kriteria berdasarkan Akta Warisan 2005 yang mana sekolah berkenaan terlibat secara langsung dalam sejarah kemerdekaan negara apabila ia pernah digunakan oleh askar Jepun semasa Perang Dunia Kedua.
Jelasnya, VI juga merupakan sekolah menengah Inggeris pertama di Tanah Melayu, berprestij dan telah melahirkan ramai tokoh terbilang negara termasuk raja, menteri, ahli korporat, tokoh politik dan tokoh sukan negara.
''VI juga sekolah pertama di Asia Tenggara yang menubuhkan pasukan kadet dan pancaragam yang amat sukar ditandingi.
''Saya menyeru kepada semua hadirin agar kita bersama-sama berganding bahu memelihara warisan sekolah ini kerana setiap ciri sama ada dinding, jendela, beranda, bumbung, menara atau padang VI mempunyai cerita dan sejarahnya yang tersendiri,'' katanya dalam ucapan sempena majlis itu.
Dalam pada itu, Pengetua VI, Azizah Othman berazam untuk meneruskan kecemerlangan sekolah itu selaras dengan pengiktirafannya sebagai salah sebuah Warisan Kebangsaan.Beliau berkata, pengiktirafan itu adalah satu pencapaian gemilang serta antara tertinggi bagi warga pendidik, pelajar-pelajar serta tenaga kerja VI dulu dan sekarang.
''Sebagai pengetua wanita ketiga di sekolah yang didominasi pelajar lelaki ini, pengisytiharan ini membuatkan saya dan warga pendidik VI berazam untuk bekerja dengan lebih tekun,'' katanya
WELL DONE VI! YOU DESERVED IT. The school’s philosophy of a balanced education of mind and body as envisioned by its first Headmaster was embraced by generations of Shaw’s successors. That it worked can be seen from the products that walked through the portals of the school that is better known as the Victoria Institution - educationists, lawyers, doctors, engineers, civil servants, captains of business, scientists of all disciplines, judges, cabinet ministers, politicians, chief ministers, sultans, generals, think tankers, writers, poets, dramatists, artists. Many studied in the best universities in the world and have reached the commanding heights of Malaysian society and owe their very success to the unique all-round education they had received at the V.I., an education that gave them countless opportunities to organize and lead and to develop mind and body in tandem.
YES! THE VI STORY IS DEFINATELY FAR FROM OVER.
Nama Victoria Institution kekal
Nama Victoria Institution kekal
KUALA LUMPUR 14 Feb. - Sempena pemilihannya sebagai salah sebuah Warisan Kebangsaan 2009, mula hari ini nama Sekolah Menengah Victoria yang diasaskan pada tahun 1893 akan kembali kepada nama asalnya Victoria Institution (VI).
Menteri Perpaduan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan, Datuk Seri Mohd. Shafie Apdal yang juga bekas pelajar sekolah itu mengumumkan demikian semasa majlis pengisytiharan 172 butiran Warisan Kebangsaan 2009 di sini hari ini.
Menurut beliau, VI diangkat sebagai Warisan Kebangsaan kerana memenuhi kriteria berdasarkan Akta Warisan 2005 yang mana sekolah berkenaan terlibat secara langsung dalam sejarah kemerdekaan negara apabila ia pernah digunakan oleh askar Jepun semasa Perang Dunia Kedua.
Jelasnya, VI juga merupakan sekolah menengah Inggeris pertama di Tanah Melayu, berprestij dan telah melahirkan ramai tokoh terbilang negara termasuk raja, menteri, ahli korporat, tokoh politik dan tokoh sukan negara.
''VI juga sekolah pertama di Asia Tenggara yang menubuhkan pasukan kadet dan pancaragam yang amat sukar ditandingi.
''Saya menyeru kepada semua hadirin agar kita bersama-sama berganding bahu memelihara warisan sekolah ini kerana setiap ciri sama ada dinding, jendela, beranda, bumbung, menara atau padang VI mempunyai cerita dan sejarahnya yang tersendiri,'' katanya dalam ucapan sempena majlis itu.
Hadir sama, Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan, Datuk Seri Zulhasnan Rafique yang juga bekas pelajar VI.
Sementara itu, Yang Dipertua Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru (PIBG) VI, Raja Amir Shah Raja Abdul Aziz berkata, selepas pengiktirafan berprestij dan mendapat kembali nama asalnya, VI akan menjadi pemangkin untuk sekolah berkenaan meneruskan kesinambungan kecemerlangannya.
Menurut beliau, semua pihak termasuk PIBG, pelajar, guru dan Persatuan Bekas Pelajar VI (VIOBA) perlu menjadi terbaik di kalangan terbaik dengan menjadikan kecemerlangan Raffles Institution di Singapura sebagai penanda aras tahap pencapaian.
Dalam pada itu, Pengetua VI, Azizah Othman berazam untuk meneruskan kecemerlangan sekolah itu selaras dengan pengiktirafannya sebagai salah sebuah Warisan Kebangsaan.
Beliau berkata, pengiktirafan itu adalah satu pencapaian gemilang serta antara tertinggi bagi warga pendidik, pelajar-pelajar serta tenaga kerja VI dulu dan sekarang.
''Sebagai pengetua wanita ketiga di sekolah yang didominasi pelajar lelaki ini, pengisytiharan ini membuatkan saya dan warga pendidik VI berazam untuk bekerja dengan lebih tekun,'' katanya
This is me, sketching a scenery from my head. I loved sketching and drawing since my childhood days. I starting by copying images of heroes from comic books. Some of my favorites were Kansas Kid, Roy Rogers, Billy the Kid, Rob Roy, Robin Hood, Texas Ranger and Tonto, and many more I can't recall now. I even add the hero's horses names. Sometimes, I use carbon papers to trace the pictures.
Besides drawing and reading BEANO and DANDY, I also collect pictures of cars from magazines from wrapping papers from shops. Most of the cars came from US. Holden, Vauxall, Ford, Cardillacs, to name a few.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
