CHAPTER 1 THE KAJANG GOVERNMENT ENGLISH SCHOOL (1919-1929)

 i)                    The School And The Site

The Kajang Government English School had the dubious distinction of being the first government English school in Selangor (1). It became functional March 17 1919 and was officially opened on April 1 1919. A decade later it metamorphosed as the present-day Kajang High School (picture above) at another place.

The then Inspector of Schools,David A. Bishop came for the offical opening,presumably,together with certain other state education officials.The local dignitaries who had advocated for the establishment of an English school in the district since 1916 were no doubt present during the historic occasion. They were Towkay Low Ti Kok, Towkay Ng Bow Thai, Raja Allang, Mr. Arumpalam, Mr. V. Sabapathy and Mr. Gan Boon Teik. In his report Mr. Bishop made no mention of the school's site.However,he wrote that the "old Rest-house buildings" had been converted to accommodate the school premises (2).

The Speaker of the then Federal Legislative Council,Raja Sir Uda also recalled that the school was housed in an old building and he threw more light on the school's site when he wrote that the school was near the Police Station and he had to pass by the school on his way to and from the District Office (3) when he was the Assistant District Officer way back at the beginning of the twentieth century (4).

Photo of Raja Uda (KHS 23/1955)

The man who was on the school's scene for a number of years, Mr. Ng Seo Buck, the Head Master gave kind of an eye-witness account of the school's physical condition in an interview with the KHS Editorial Board in 1956 (5).

The first Malayan Head Master of the Kajang Government English School,the legendary Mr. Ng Seo Buck assumed office in 1923.Three years later he wrote in a report that the school,"the first government English School in Selangor" was in structural decay and he was really apprehensive that fatal accidents might befall his pupils (6).

Photo of Mr. Ng Seo Buck (KHSM 24/1956)

About thirty years since he left the school in 1927,he still didn't mince his words on the condition of the school which he described as a "building full of leaks" (7) .As it was already overcrowded during his tenure,he had to turn the kitchen of the old Rest House into a classroom.

A lone gardener looked after the school's ground.Mr. Buck himself had to double up as clerk and peon.In a rather dramatic and forceful fashion,he further described the physical condition of the school as "hellish" (8).

Anyway there was already an indication that conditons would improve.Mr. Buck was one of the group of five individuals and benefactors in the forefront seeking a new site and building for a new school. The others were Towkay Low Ti Kok,Raja Muhammad,Haji Abdul Jalil and RCM Kindersley.The Ag. Director of Education, Shelly was told that a new site for the school had been selected when he was on a visit to the Kajang Government English school in January 1926 (9). Mr. Buck exited the school a year later when no doubt preparations were under way for the building of the proposed new school.

SOURCES (PHOTOSTATED)

(1) KHS MAG 23/1955.Page 23. N. B. P

(2) KHS MAG 27/1959.Page 18.

(3) KHS MAG 23/1955. Page 2 - The present Bangunan Dato Nazir which was built on its site-writer

(4) Ibid

(5) KHS MAG 24/1956.Page 5

(6) KHS MAG 25/1957. Page 44 - On Turning Back the Pages

(7) KHS MAG 24/1956. Page 5

(8) Ibid

(9) KHS MAG 25/1957. Page 43/Shelly.

HEAD MASTERS

                                           KAJANG HIGH SCHOOL

                                    ( LABOR OMNIA VINCIT)

       HEAD MASTERS   1919  -   1948

       

       1.  Mr. J.David.  1919

        

       2.  Mr. J.B.Sullivan.   1922  

       3.  Mr. Ng Seow Buck.   1923

       4.  Capt. B.Preedy.   1927

       5.  Mr. C.E.Gate.     1929

       6.  Mr. T. A. O'Sullivan.   1930

       7.  Mr. T. Mailvahanam.   1932

  

       8.  Mr. J.B.Cobb/ Mr.C.E.Gates   1934

       9.  Mr. J.B.Carr.  1937

 

       10.Mr.O.G.Williams.  1939

       11.Mr.T.Mailvahanam.  1941

       12.Major I.Waters/ Mr.D.H.Christie.  1946   

 

       13.B.H.Bromley.   1947

       14.Mr.G.W.L.Clarke.   1948

              

  

        

      

   

NIR KARSA-NIR JAYA ! HUT 57 PADA 01 O1 2018.

Sekitar Zaman Awalnya Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar, Batu Pahat, Johor

Pada ulangtahunnya Senin 01 01 2018 mantan pelajar dan guru Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar wajar sekali menengok ke tahun-tahun awal sejarahnya yang gilang-gemilang itu.

Barangkali sekolah kita  dapat ditonjolkan sebagai yang terawal atau yang pertama didirikan seantero negara tanggal 1 Januari 1961, setengah abad yang lalu (Bentara 2/1961-Annual Report).

Nama Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar dipilih atas persetujuan Ketua Pegawai Pelajaran Johor pada waktu itu, En. S. V. Ponniah dan En. Talib bin Abu, Pegawai Daerah Batu Pahat (Majalah Bentara 2/62-Laporan G. B) untuk mengabadikan nama dan jasa Dato Bentara Luar, Muhammad Salleh bin Perang, putera luar biasa negeri Johor yang telah membuka Batu Pahat pada tahun 1893 dan pernah pula menjadi "Wakil Raja memerintah Batu Pahat" sampai dengan tahun 1911 (Kamdi Kamil, Hj -artikel).

"Pendiri" atau pengasas Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar ialah En. S. V. Ponniah , Ketua Pegawai Pelajaran Johor. Sebenarnya biaya membina Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar itu tidak kedapatan langsung dalam Anggaran Belanja (Budget) Pejabat Pelajaran Johor 1960. Dengan menghemat dan memperkecil perbelanjaan di Pejabat, maka dapatlah En. S. V. Ponniah menyediakan dana yang seadanya untuk membangun sekolah kita itu (Bentara 1/61.Halaman 7)

Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar dibangun pada situs yang terletak di bahagian lembah yang berhampiran dengan penghujung Jalan Lim Poon dan agak jauh pula dari pinggiran Jalan besar Batu Pahat-Kluang. . Di seputarnya perkebunan getah yang merentang ke lereng Gunung Soga di kejauhan. Puncaknya yang menjulang dan masih menghijau seakan-akan menaungi sekolah yang baru lahir itu.  Batu pertama untuk sekolah itu dipancang pada bulan Julai 1960; bulan Julai bersempana dengan bulan meninggalnya Dato Bentara Luar pada tahun 1915. Pembinaan gedung sekolah dimulai segera sesudah pemancangan batu pertama oleh pihak JKR Batu Pahat. Pembiayaan seluruhnya tidak termasuk perabotan dan yang lain-lain sebagainya, sejumlah $150,000 (Bentara 2/1962-Laporan Z. A. T)

Dipilih oleh JKR Batu Pahat kontraktor Ong Kah Hoe untuk membina sekolah tersebut dan gedung yang dibina bersifat "semi-permanent", menampung 11 buah kelas, 1 bilik guru, 1 pejabat, 1 stor, 1 kantin dan 1 tandas yang bersifat "permanent structures". Untuk mengutip kata-kata Zainal Abidin Tamby, tandas tersebut merupakan "... an excellent and up to date lavatory" (Bentara 2/1962-Annual Report).

Seperti adanya di seluruh negara selepas Pemasyhuran Kemerdekaan 31 Aug 1957, diujudkan beberapa kelas menengah yang menggunakan Bahasa Melayu sebagai usaha awal merealisasikan Penyata Razak 1957. Pada umumnya kelas-kelas menengah Melayu itu ditempelkan pada sekolah-sekolah berbahasa Inggeris. Di Batu Pahat kelas-kelas demikian diujudkan di Batu Pahat High School. Ada tiga atau empat kelas semuanya yang dimulai pertama kali pada tahun 1957/1958.

Kelas-kelas menengah Melayu di  Batu Pahat High School merupakan unit yang autonom, bebas daripada pentadbiran Guru Besar Batu Pahat High School, walaupun secara fisik sebahagian daripada sekolah itu. En. Muhammad Hj. Nasir, guru lulusan Kirkby Teachers' Training College, Liverpool, England mengendalikan sepenuhnya kelas-kelas tersebut. Beliau dibantu oleh beberapa guru yang lain, antaranya En. Jumaat Hj. Mohd Nor (lulusan Brinsford, England), En. Masrom Hj. Adnan (Brinsford), En. Nordin Awang (Brinsford), En. Anshar Nawi (Language Institute JB/KL) dan lain-lain.

Pendaftaran Murid-murid Awal

Murid-murid Kelas Menengah Melayu, murid-murid Remove Class dari Batu Pahat High School, (untuk mengelakkan kesesakan di sekolah itu) juga murid-murid baru daripada Sekolah Melayu berhampiran yang berhasrat masuk sekolah menengah Melayu mendaftar pada tanggal 2 Januari 1961. Diselenggarakan dengan efisien oleh Cik Asiah Ahmad, kerani sekolah, En. Kadir Soal, budak pejabat dan beberapa orang guru lain yang ikut pindah dari Batu Pahat High School, maka proses pendaftaran berjalan lancar. Kelas mulai fungsional pada minggu kedua penggal satu tahun itu, (Bentara 2/1962.Halaman 15). Dimulailah hidupnya Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar, Batu Pahat yang dipimpin oleh En. Zainal Abidin bin Tamby, Guru Besar yang pertama dan dinamis itu. Sekolah yang baru berdiri ini memperoleh penghormatan yang besar apabila dikunjungi oleh YAM Tengku Mahkota Johor tanggal 21 Januari 1961. Pada tahun 1964 Remove Class dipisahkan daripada Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar.

Sejumlah 763 orang murid didaftarkan pada Hari Pendaftaran tersebut dan 82 orang murid belajar di kelas Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia yang pertama bagi sekolah kita. Pada tahun 1961 murid-murid ini merupakan calon yang pertama mengikuti Ujian Sijil Rendah Pelajaran yang dikendalikan dalam Bahasa Melayu sepenuhnya. Mengutip kata-kata Dato' Hj. Hassan bin Hj. Yunos, Menteri Besar Johor "... walaupun Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar ini maseh muda umor-nya.....telah pun mengemukakan murid-murid kelulusan Sijil Rendah yang terbaik sekali.....bila di-bandingkan dengan sekolah-sekolah Menengah Kebangsa'an di-Persekutuan Tanah Melayu.....dengan mendapat 85 peratus kelulusan-nya."(Bentara 2/1962-PENDAHULUAN KATA).

Sehubungan dengan ini 56 orang calon mendapat Pangkat Pertama. Kemudian mereka dihantar belajar di sekolah elit, Alam Shah Kuala Lumpur. Salah seorang yang mencatat Pangkat Pertama ialah Shamsuddin bin Hitam yang kini merupakan mantan Ketua Setiausaha, Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia. Murid ini beserta teman-teman yang lain mencatatkan prestasi gemilang lantaran kemahuan yang membaja walaupun kendalinya amat besar- tiada buku teks berbahasa Melayu, tiada peristilahan, tiada guru yang berpengalaman menggunakan Bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa pengantar dll.

Para Guru Zaman Awal

Guru-guru yang pernah mengajar di kelas menengah Melayu dan Remove Class di Batu Pahat High School pindah ke Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar mulai tanggal 1 Januari 1961. Guru sementara diambil supaya jumlah guru sebanyak 29 orang dapat dicapai untuk sekolah itu. Sejumlah 9 orang guru sementara diambil bertugas.

Mulai dari awal sejarah persekolahan lulusan dari Brinsford, Kirkby (England) dan lulusan Language Institute/Maktab Bahasa (JB dan KL) merupakan mayoritas tenaga pengajar. Antara yang dilatih di Negeri Inggeris ialah En. Muhammad Haji Nasir (Kirkby), En. Jumaat b. Hj. Mohd Nor, En. Masrom Hj. Adnan, En. Yaacob b. Abd. Rahman, En. Nordin Awang, En. Salleh b. Hj. Hussein, En. Abd. Razak Rouse (Brinsford semuanya). Lulusan Maktab Bahasa terdiri daripada En. Abu b. Juraimi dan Kamar bin Ibrahim yang menggantikan En. Anshar Nawi yang berpindah ke Kelang, Selangor.

Ternyata sedari awalnya tidak terdapat guru lulusan universiti. Tetapi mulai tahun 1963 untuk pertama kali dua guru lulusan universiti mulai mengajar di sekolah kita. Mereka itu Cik Norlia binti Ali B.A (Hons). Dip.Ed. dan Puan Yohani binti Mohd Yusuf B.A. Dip. Ed, kedua-duanya lulusan University Malaya (Singapore).

Guru American Peace Corps yang pertama di Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar, Mr. Richard Sussman, mulai bertugas pada tahun 1968. Dua tahun kemudian sekolah kita menerima pula guru Indonesia yang diperbantukan kepada Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia selaku guru ilmu pasti/alam (Matematik dan Sains). Mereka itu terdiri daripada: Drs. Sujadi, Bapak Parlaungan Lubis; Bapak Djam'an Salleh; Bapak Marsoediono; Ibu Hamidah dan Ibu Aisjah Hutabarat.

Guru-guru lulusan Brinsford, Kirkby dan Maktab Bahasa yang menerima pendidikan di sekolah Inggeris zaman kolonial menghadapi kekurangan buku teks berbahasa Melayu, peristilahan yang minimal dan kompetensi yang minimal pula dalam menyampaikan pelajaran dalam berbagai-bagai bidang ilmu pengetahuan dengan Bahasa Melayu yang baku dan gramatis, kendatipun di tingkat sekolah menengah. Namun nasionalisme dan patriotisme di jiwa raga mendorong mereka tanpa rasa jemu mencari bahan-bahan pengajaran dan menterjemahkannya ke Bahasa Melayu dan menyediakan bahan tambahan sebelum menghadapi anak-didik di kelas.

Gabungan guru pelopor Brinsford-Kirkby-Language Institute (Course A) mengajarkan matapelajaran apa saja tanpa banyak tanya. Mereka dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan kondisi mengajar-belajar zaman pasca-kemerdekaan yang penuh kendala dan tantangan itu.

Perlu dicatat bahwa salah seorang guru pelopor yang bahu-membahu dengan yang lain-lainnya menegakkan Bahasa Melayu dengan usaha konkret sebagai bahasa ilmu-pengetahuan di Sekolah Menengah Datuk Bentara Luar ialah En. Jumaat bin Hj. Mohd Nor. Sewaktu meniti karirnya dalam Perkhidmatan Pendidikan, beliau cepat diangkat memegang posisi yang tinggi. Beliau adalah mantan Pengarah Bahagian Sekolah, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. Setelah itu sebagai Pengarah Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Konsolidasi

Dalam minggu kedua setelah murid-murid baru didaftarkan tanggal 2 Januari 1961, sessi akademis dimulai. Pada waktu yang sama berlangsunglah proses konsolidasi untuk memantapkan keberadaannya sebagai salah satu sekolah menengah kebangsaan yang terawal (kalau tidak pun yang terawal).

Langkah awal yang diperkenalkan oleh Guru Besar, En. Zainal Abidin bin Tamby ialah seruan "Majulah Kita!". Murid-murid yang berpapasan dengan Guru Besar akan menyerukan ungkapan "Majulah Kita" kepada Guru Besar yang akan menyambut dengan kata "Tetap!" dengan suara yang tegas. Perbuatan ini diharapkan dapat membina dan menanamkan rasa setiakawan dan meniup semangat mengejar kemajuan diri di kalangan para murid. Satu lagi inisiatif En. Zainal Abidin, yang pada umumnya mencerminkan kepedulian dan keprihatinan seluruh staf pengajar ialah mewujudkan "UNDERPRIVILEGED PUPILS FUND" (Bentara 1/61. Halaman 43 dan 49). Amatlah memberangsangkan dan juga mengharukan apabila Y. A. M Tungku A. Rahman - T. M. J Johore dan Y. A. M Tungku Mahmood Iskandar merestuinya.

Sebagai hasil buah-pikiran dan persepakatan En. Muhammad bin Haji Nasir, En. Jumaat bin Haji Mohd Nor dan En. Ali bin Jalil dan persetujuan Guru Besar didesain emblem sekolah seperti di bawah ini:

Kata-kata keramat sebagai motto sekolah membawa maksud "berbakti untok ramai sa-belum berbakti untok diri sendiri," (Bentara 2/62-Laporan G.B). Barangkali ungkapan ini diadaptasi dari yang aslinya "Boedi Oetomo" (ejaan Ophuysen). Lukisan emblem sekolah yang di atas dipertanggungjawabkan kepada En. Ali bin Jalil (MTTC Penang) yang merupakan Guru Lukisan. Lagu atau Hymn Sekolah diciptakan pula oleh Ghazali Karim dan Maarof Sarpan, kedua-duanya komponis setempat yang tidak asing lagi. Judulnya seperti Motto Sekolah-Budi Utama dan dinyanyikan sewaktu Perhimpunan Minggu Pagi. Lambang dan motto sekolah yang awal ini diganti pada tahun 1970.

Emblem sekolah yang baru dan dipakai hingga kini dalam rentang lima puluh tahun dihasilkan oleh En. Abdul Rahman b Ghani (Guru Lukisan lulusan STTI Cheras). Motto yang baru disarankan oleh Drs. Sujadi. Motto pada emblem baru adalah ungkapan dari Bahasa Kawi/Bahasa Melayu Kuno - NIR KARSA-NIR JAYA. Maksudnya tiada upaya/usaha tiada jaya. Dirasakan jika lembaga pendidikan di Barat dan di Malaysia juga (terutama yang menggunakan Bahasa Inggeris) menggunakan ungkapan Bahasa Latin, Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar mengambil prakarsa menggunakan NIR KARSA-NIR JAYA daripada Bahasa Kawi sebagai mottonya. Dengan berbuat demikian pastilah Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar merupakan satu-satunya sekolah yang mottonya berasal daripada bahasa nenek-moyang kita.

Lagu sekolah turut diganti dengan yang baru yang dikenal sebagai March Bentara. Musik dan lirik oleh Drs. Sujadi juga.

House System dan Prefectorial System yang kedapatan di sekolah-sekolah Inggeris zaman kolonial diperkenalkan di sekolah kita. Pada ujung Penggal Satu para murid digolongkan kepada empat "pasokan"- Tengku Mahkota Abd. Rahman; Tengku Mahmood Iskandar; Abd. Rahman Talib; dan Ponniah (Bentara 01/1961. Halaman 40). Ketua Murid dilantik pada waktu yang sama dan Mohd. Jalal bin Ahmad dipilih sebagai Ketua Murid yang pertama dalam sejarah sekolah.

Pada awal Penggal Dua tanggal 9 April 1961 En. Salleh bin Haji Hussein mendirikan Kelab Tinju dan Kelab Gimnastik. Sambutan para murid amat memberangsangkan. En Salleh mendapat latihan keguruan di Brinsford dan Pendidikan Jasmani (P.E) adalah spesialisasinya. Sebahagian kantin sekolah diubah menjadi gimnasium untuk latihan gimnastik dan tinju.

Peristiwa-peristiwa sekitar hari dan tahun kelahirannya pada tahun 1961 direkam dan diabadikan dalam Buku Tahunan yang pertama yang dinamai BENTARA. Sifatnya dwibahasa. Pelajar di Tingkatan 2A, Ibrahim Ahmad ditunjuk sebagai Ketua Redaksi (Bentara 1/61. Halaman 5). Ikut pula dia menyumbang sebuah tulisan berjudul "HIDUP SANDAR MENYANDAR UMPAMA AUR DAN TEBING" (Bentara 1/61. Halaman 26). Mantan pelajar ini pernah menjadi pegawai tinggi dalam Perkhidmatan Awam.

Menarik hati sekali mengutip kata-kata En. Zainal Abidin Tamby, Guru Besar yang pertama mengenai dokumen yang penting ini dalam sejarah Sekolah Dato' Bentara Luar : "Dengan berani-nya kami mengeluarkan Majallah pertama ini di-dalam dua bahasa, Melayu dan Inggeris." (Bentara 2/62. Halaman 16). Pada tahun berikutnya (1962) menyusul Bentara No. 2 yang bersifat tribahasa dan dimuat tiga buah tulisan berbahasa Mandarin oleh murid-murid Remove Class.

Di samping tulisan pelajar-Ketua Redaksi Buku Tahunan / Bentara No. 1, dimuat pula buah pena pelajar yang lain, Johar bin Murat. Judulnya "DI-MANA ADA KEMAHUAN DI-SITU ADA JALAN". Pelajar muda dan pendiam dari desa ini ternyata seorang yang gigih dan punya swa-motivasi yang luar biasa. Judul tulisannya itu diangkatnya sebagai filsafat hidupnya yang menggariskan trajektori pendidikannya mulai di Sekolah Datuk Bentara Luar ke sebuah sekolah menengah elit dan kuliah di sebuah universiti terkenal sebelum meraih ijazah. Kemudian dia meniti karir pada Perkhidmatan Awam Malaysia dan menanjak sebagai salah seorang eselon atasan di Kementeriannya.

Kurang-lebih enam bulan setelah Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar berfungsi, didirikan pula Kumpulan "Budak2 Pengakap" tanggal 2 Julai 1961. Kemudian secara resmi dikenal sebagai KUMPULAN XI BANDAR PENGGARAM, BATU PAHAT. Menarik hati sekali bahwa pemimpin-pemimpinnya semuanya staf pengajar sekolah kita, yang guru sementara mahu pun yang tetap. Mereka terdiri dari

1. En. Abd Razak bin Rouse - kemudian menjadi Guru Besar 1962-1969

2. En. Ya'acub bin Hj. Abd Rahman -terlatih di Brinsford

3. En. Abd. Wahab bin Abd Aziz -guru sementara

4. En. Yahya bin Hj Mohamed - guru sementara

Semua perkara dan kegiatan untuk mengisi keberadaan awal Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar merupakan bukti nyata bahwa "claim" mengenai Sekolah Dato Bentara Luar Batu Pahat adalah sekolah menengah yang terdahulu bukan "omong kosong" dan sekaligus mencerminkan dinamisme, tekad kental dan aspirasi nasional yang tinggi kepemimpinan sekolah dan kerabat staf pengajarnya.

SELAMAT ULANG TAHUN KE-52

DIRGAHAYU SEKOLAH DATO BENTARA LUAR

Oleh:

Haji Hanafiah Kamal Bahrin Lubis aka

Kamar bin Ibrahim

Guru SDBL 1961-1977

Kajang, Selangor.

Desember 2012

THE JAPANESE INTERREGNUM-TOA SEINEN GAKKO; IKENOBU SAN, TSUBOCHI SANAND NIPPON-GO

/PART I

In the 1930s events in Europe and Asia were moving sloser and closer to World War II.But to the British Colonial regime in Malaya, they were far atway, unreal and perhaps irrelevant.Life went on at its languid and pleasant pace.In the local scene, the Kajang High School, under Mr. C. E. Gates, the Head Master, achieved notable progress.During his tenure, he inspired his charges to strive and to excell.

In the 1936 Mr. Gates had to go on retirement and sailed for home and England, the Englishmen's "Other Eden".As his steamer sailed away, Mr. Gates must have felt felt tremendously gratified for the legacy he had left behind-Kajang High School Golden Age.(1) However, little did he forsee that Kajang High School was about to undergo a drastic makeover, as indeed the rest of the Malay Peninsular, in form and substance.

About a year after Mr. Gates had left, there was excitement and joy over the visit of Pandit Nehru, the famous Indian Nationalist on June 6, 1937.(2) The headmaster, Mr. J. B. Carr gave permission for pupils and masters to hear a public address by Pandit Nehru from 11.00 am to 11.30 am.They must have come away imbued and flushed with patriotic and nationalistic sentiments.

There was much youthful enthusiasm and verve too as the Kajang High School students celebrated their 9th Annual Sports on July 17,1937.( 3 ) For the first in the school's history, real hurdles were used courtesy of Towkay Low Ti Kok, one of the school's founders and benefactors. The good Towkay presumably might have imported the hurdles from England out of his own pockets.

PART II

The ominous visit to the Kajang High School by several Commonwealth military top brass on Sept 14 1941 must have caused consternation to teachers, masters and pupils alike as it might mean something very serious and grim was afoot.

The commonwealth military entourage was led by Major-General Sturdes of the Australian Army and Major-General Murray Lyon, General Officer Commanding (G.O.C) British Army Northern Area.They told Mr. O.G. Williams that the military would take over the school in February 1942.(4)

However, about three months later on Thursday December 7,1941, Mr. Williams was instructed at 12.45 by Bloomfield on the telephone to evacuate the school by Monday morning. (5) Acting on instruction and perhaps too shell-shocked to do anything else, the Head Master carried out the evacuation exercise. The "war refugees" rushed helter skelter over to the Convent School at Church Road (now Jalan Gereja) on Monday morning December 11, 1941. One of them was the late Abd Rashid Busu (deceased 2013),Victor Ludorum, Vice School Captain, student-organizer of the School Geography Room and Mr.Williams' blue-eyed boy.
.

The Kajang Convent was then under the charge of Mother Martha I J.(6 ) She was confronted with the "exodus" from the Kajang High School. Her girls apparently continued to attend classes in the morning while the boys occupied her premises in the afternoon from 1.15 pm to 5.30 pm.(7)

In all probability, Mr. O.G williams was still the Head Master during the transition from the Kajang High School in Jalan Semenyih to the Convent in Jalan Gereja.But sensing bad times ahead, he must have left Kajang in great haste to join the rest of British community in their helter-skelter dash to
Singapore.
After Mr. Williams' departure, a senior member of the teaching staff, Mr. T. Mailvahanam took over  as Head Master.He was transferred to the Kajang High School in 1930 when the school was established.He had a brief stint as Head Master in 1932.(8) Before coming to Kajang he had taught at the Klang High School and the Maxwell Road High School in Kuala Lumpur. In Kajang, Mr. Mailvahanam occupied Government Quarters No. 166 Jalan Timur (9),now non-existent.

PART III

The exodus of the British community in Kajang and indeed elsewhere, was the harbinger that

something was seriously amiss. Prior to this, life had been pleasant. Nobody expected the unexpected and so British Malaya "slumbers"on(10). However, it was rudely awakened on December 8, 1941. The Japanese had landed .The beaches at Kota Baru, Kelantan the main invasion point were swarming with Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese invasion of British Malaya, presumed to be an impossibility, was well under way, a grim and shocking reminder that it was Curtain Fall for the British in Malaya and things wouldn't be the same again.

From Kelantan and other beachheads in the north ,camouflaged with leaves and twigs in the wake of their armored columns, the Japanese soldiers swept down the Peninsular on their bicycles. Their fighter planes which had earlier neutralized British defenses  provided them with air-cover.

Within a month of their landing, the Japanese soldiers had reached Kuala Lumpur(11). The people of Kajang had braced themselves for any eventuality. They had dug trenches in which to seek cover upon hearing the wailing of the ARP (Air Raid Precaution) siren, the harbinger of the aerial onslaught. The Japanese intended to bomb Kajang and their planes had flown several  reconnaissances for that purpose.

The much-anticipated bombing occurred on January 12, 1942(12). The target was  of course the Kajang Railway Station at 15th Milestone, Reko Road. The intention was to interdict the British retreat to Singapore.Unfortunately, the bombs fell in the grounds of the cathedral-like Catholic Church which was just across the railway tracks in front of the Railway Station. It was badly damaged; the residence of the Infant Jesus Sisters in the Convent School ground was destroyed (13). The Japanese warplanes at the same time bombed the Rice Stockpile Center near the Railway Station and strafed the neighborhood. There were scores of civilian fatalities. Several dead bodies lay sprawled in the drains and on the stretch of Reko Road from the Sun Cinema (now a Buddhist Center) to the Kampung Bukit (Reko Road) Muslim Cemetery.There were a few dead bodies too in front of the Kajang English School building* near the Sun Cinema.

Several brick houses which suffered the aerial attack had gaping holes punched by machine- gun bullets into their walls. These tell-tale signs were evident in the neighborhood in 1947 when this writer, aged nine, moved in with his parents to live in his uncle's house called the Sentosa at No 11 Reko Road or Kampung Bukit, Kajang(now non-existent).The house had undergone some repairs and had a fresh coat of paint.It was a walk away to the Rice Stockpile Center.Before the outbreak of the War, it was a private school known as the Kajang English School* . As far as it could be ascertained,it had not suffered any significant damage.

PART IV

The Japanese bombing raid of Kajang Town mercifully, didn't cause any significant damage to the Kajang High School. Perhaps it was not considered legitimate target on the basis of their assessment of intelligence reports from their espionage network operating from the Japanese Photo Studios in Jalan Tukang.

On entering Kajang after the British and Commonwealth troops had fled, the Japanese army seized the Kajang High School and turned it as the Headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Army in the District of Ulu Langat.(14) They also removed the brass plaque commemorating the opening of Kajang High School. It read thus :

"This tablet was unveiled on the occasion of the opening of this Shool by His Highness Ala'iddin Suleiman Shah, G.C.M.G, Sultan of Selangor, on 19th of March 1930."(15)

The disappearance of the plaque was perhaps the only "collateral damage" sustained by the school.A sizeable collection of English books kept in the school were left largely untouched and they were all carted back to Singapore Raffles College in 1946.(16) Those books were brought to Kajang High School just before the outbreak of war to be "mothballed" in its safe sanctuary. So it was thought.But there was a claim that the school had been converted as the first Teachers' Training College in the country before the end of WW 2 and those books were brought over to stock its library. However, this was not corroborated in the school journal dated 27.09.1945 by the Head Master, Mr.Mailvahanam. Just for the record, the British established the first Teachers' Training College in Taiping in 1898.(17)

As the Head quarters of the Japanese Imperial Army in Ulu Langat, the name of the school was changed to TOA SEINEN GAKKO.(18) It was no longer known by its old British colonial name. Everything associated with British Colonialism and Western Culture in the school was forthwith eliminated and prohibited. Of course the English Language, the standard-bearer of Western Culture, was proscribed and supplanted with the language of the new masters- NIPPON-GO.

Highest on the liquidation list of the Japanese were the pro-western and anti-Japanese elements in the Kajang population. The school mythology claims that torture and summary executions of those perceived to be anti-Japanese rule were carried out at Kajang High School. An incident in 1949 tend to lend credibility to this popular belief. A human skull was found by a pupil on the site which was being cleared for the school's Primary Department. He caused quite a sensation by putting the skull at the end of a short stick and twirling it around before his wonder struck and gaping school-friend spectators! Digging further at the site, several boys found the rest of the skeleton. It was taken out and cleaned under the supervision of the school's first Senior Science Master, Mr. A.D. Dennison-a useful and authentic visual aid during biology classes.

PART V

As the Kajang Catholic Church had suffered "collateral damage" due to the Japanese bombing of the Railway Station, the Japanese army ordered the closure of the Kajang Convent.(19) The Kajang High School (TOA SEINEN GAKKO) classes in the Convent were ordered to shift to a new location- a movie house called the Queen's Theater (later known as National Theater) on the bank of Sg. Jeluk just a stone's throw from the Convent.(20)

Mr. T. Mailvahanam who had earlier taken over from Mr. O.G. Williams was allowed to continue as Head Master and ordered to start Japanese classes at the Queen's Theater.He stated in the School Log that two Nippon-go (Japanese Language) teachers, known as Nippon-jin sensei, were sent to teach Japanese in July 1942. They were IKENOBU SAN and TSUBOCHI SAN. The Headmaster wrote that they ceased teaching at the end of the year.(21)

It appears that IKENOBU SAN was also instructed to teach Japanese to Mother Martha's pupils.(22) She had started a small class in the church ground after the Convent was closed. It was a sine qua non for the class to function.However,not long aferwards he perished in the Straits of Malacca when the boat taking him home to Japan was bombed and sunk.

One of the surviving students of the Japanese class of TOA SEINEN GAKKO held at the Queen's Theater was young V. Pathamanathan. Being a very determined and resolute youth, he didn't quit school but was prepared to undergo the discipline and rigor of the Japanese regime at the Queen's Theater.

The pupils at the Queen's Theater had to learn Nippon-go as fast as they could under pain of punishment. In addition they had to undergo "Thaiso", drills which were like calisthenics. They were taught at Mother Martha's too.(23) Two other pupils whom Pathmanathan could recall attending classes with him were Hashim (tall and fair) and Ismail. Both of them were from Cheras.(24)

The Japanese classes and Thaiso were held in the morning and afternoon. The Japanese Language was taught to the exclusion of other subjects. In between classes, they had to do gardening on vacant plots of land on the banks of Sg. Jeluk. In this way, pupils were taught self-reliance.Such simple agriculture pursuit in the backyard were naively perceived to be the way to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. The Allied naval blockade of the Malay Peninsula had brought unprecedented hardship and deprivation among the population. Rice was extremely difficult to get,not mention other needs.

The long dark nights and the nightmare of the Japanese Interregnum came to an end when the Atom Bombs fell on Japan. After the defeat of the Japanese, Kajang High School was reopened on September 27, 1945. Mr Mailvahawam who was still Head Master had to hand over the baton to Major Waters July 11, 1946. He continued to remain on the teaching staff until 1949. He used to come to conduct Spelling exercises in SMC 1B ( Special Malay Class) of that year-the indefatigable School Master that he was.

Postscript :

Following the defeat of the Japanese in the Pacific War, Kajang High School was reopened on September 27, 1945. It became an English School again and reverted to its old name, no longer TOA SEINEN GAKKO. Mr. Mailvahanam, loyal as ever to the school, took over as Head Master in the transition period but had to hand it over to Major Waters July 11, 1946.

When the Kajang High School was reopened those who had skipped school altogether or those who had remained in the school and went through the rigor and tough regime of the TOA SEINEN GAKKO but with little or no schooling, began to stream in to join the Alma Mater again. The joy and elation, when they met the first time, was felt only in the "deep heart's core" but was palpable and could only be expressed with difficulty, choked as they were with deep emotion, when trying to recall their lost years.

Among the earliest to enroll themselves were N. Murugiah- School Captain 1945;1946; T. Sivagnanam- School Captain 1947 and K. Kandasamy- School Captain 1948.

Others who were also the "early birds" were Abdul Rahman Abbas who left school in 1947 and joined the Malayan Civil Service; Muhd Shukor bin Ali who was Editor of the School Magazine 1948 and later graduated from the prestigious London School of Economics (LSD); Satwant Singh (Dr.) who became Chairman, Kidney Foundation of Malaya; and Pretam Singh (Dr) who became Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, Federation of Malaya. He was the son of Mr. Chanan Singh, a member of the teaching staff.

Of course, the youth whose steely determination had seen him through hard times at the Japanese classes of TOA SEINEN GAKKO, V.Pathmanathan also came back to continue his studies. He emerged as one of the school's brilliant scholars in the immediate post-war years. Having achieved excellence in the Cambridge Oversea School Certificate, he joined the Post School Certificate Class (PSCC) and thereafter became a freshman at University Malaya. During his senior years at KHS, he managed to write a piece, The Place of Business in The World of Today for the school magazine- an early indication that economics was his forte. But he was destined to be a "School Master" and had taught both in our Alma Mater and Sekolah Menengah Sains Selangor for some years before being elevated as Head Master of a prestigious primary school in Petaling Jaya.

As for Mr. T. Mailvahanam, he remained on the school's teaching staff for a while under a subsequent Head Master, Mr. G.W.L Clark. This writer didn't recall seeing him in the school scene post-1949. He just faded away, like the legendary old soldier.

                                                    LABOR OMNIA VINCIT

* As recounted by Kang Buang (deceased) a long-time resident of Kajang and an alumnus of Kajang English School--- Han.Kamalbahrin Lubis.

REFERENCES (MOSTLY PHOTOSTATED)

(1)   KHS MAG 41/1974 Pg. 26

(2)   KHS MAG 25/1957 Pg. 45

(3)   IBID

(4)   IBID

(5)   IBID

(6)   CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY KAJANG / ANNIVERSARY 1901-2001-ROY ANTHONY ROGERS Pg. 17

(7)   KHS MAG 25/1957 Pg. 45

(8)   KHS CLASS 1956 SOUVENIR (2010) – SIVAMALAR Pg. 18

(9)   IBID

(10)                       CENTURY CLIPS : NST NOV 8 1999 – ZAINAL ABIDIN ABDUL WAHID

(11)                       ROY ANTHONY ROGERS Pg. 16

(12)                       IBID Pg. 17

(13)                       IBID

(14)                       IBID Pg. 19

(15)                       KHS MAG 23/1955 Pg. 18

(16)                       KETINGGIAN 47/1980 Pg. 18

(17)                       ORIGINS OF MALAY NATIONALISM – W.R ROFF Pg. 132

(18)                       KHS MAG 25/1957 Pg. 45

(19)                       ROY ANTHONY ROGERS Pg. 17

(20)                       KHS CLASS ’56 SOUVENIR (2010) – SIVAMALAR PG. 18

(21)                       KHS MAG 25/1957 Pg. 45

(22)                       ROY ANTHONY ROGERS Pg. 17

(23)                       IBID

(24)                       KHS CLASS 1956 SOUVENIR (2010) Pg. 13./ HANAFIAH LUBIS KHS 1956.

POINEERS OF THE "PENCINTA BAHASA BRIGADE"

Being a new and vital experiment in Education in the Federation, the Language Institute was launched, without fanfare, on Sunday, January 5, 1958. A stately mansion in Bukit Senyum, Johor Baru was adapted to accommodate the fledgling Language Institute. The 1st term ended on Friday March 14, 1958. (J.E Tod, Dec 9, 1957)

Fresh school-leavers who had completed their Overseas Cambridge School Certification and with excellent Bahasa Melayu results were taken in as freshmen and assigned as Course A Students. There were about 60 of them . Serving and qualified Malay Primary School teachers, also numbering about 60, were designated as Course B (A renown Malaysian educationist, Prof. Dr. Awang Had Salleh was among the 1st intake of Course B). The Course B Malay Teachers abandoned the course midway due to salary dispute.

The Language Institute in Bukit Senyum, Johor Baru as on March 7 1958

Course A2 Students of the Language Institute as on March 14, 1958 (end of 1st term) with the 1st Principal, Mr. J. E. Tod and Vice Principal, En. Zainal Abidin bin Ali.

Those in the picture from L to R

Sitting : Nik Jaafar (Kelantan), Omar Hassan(Johor), Raja Shahriman(Perak), Salleh Darus(Perak), Muhammad bin Long(Pahang), En. Zainal bin Ali(Vice  Principal,Lecturer in BM), Mr J.E Tod(1st Principal and English lecturer), En. Mokhtar bin Mohd. Don(Education and Elementary Phonetics lecturer), Shaari Che Man(Perlis), Mohd Hussein Ahmad(Johor), Shamsul Bahrin(Perak), Kamar Ibrahim / Hanafiah Kamal Bahrin Lubis(Selangor), Saad Jusoh(Perlis).

Standing : Mohd Kenali(Pahang), Tajuddin Hussein(Johor), Mohd Anshar(Johor), Shamsuddin(Kelantan), Mustapha Muhammad(Selangor), Mohammad Musa(Penang), Mohd Karim Sharif(Johor), Raja Ahmad(Perak), Noran Abdul Rahman(Johor), Zakaria Ibrahim(Johor),

Raja Aizuddin Anor Shah(Perak), Muhammed bin Hussein(Johor), Nasir Jalil(Johor).

Not in photo : Nasir Ishak(Johor), Muhammed bin Arshad(Perlis).

Lecturers not in photo : En. Ku Bahadur(Methodology-Malay), Mr. K Sundram(Methodology-English), En. Rahim Che Teh(General Linguistics Theory and Language Acquisition), En. Nordin Bachik(Language Teaching Materials).

CourseCoCurse A2 resplendent in their dark green blazers with the 2nd Principal and Vice-Principle

The date at the back of this photograph was December 12 1958

Sitting(center) : Mr. F. Daniel(Principal). On his right, Mr. Drennon(Vice-Principal)

2nd row standing : 4th from left : Nasir Ishak, Muhammad bin Arshad(5th from right).

Note : Muhammad Arshad was the co-designer of the Institute's crest,together with Abdul Rahmad Khalifah(Course A1).  By  HANAFIAH LUBIS  COURSE  A/30 LANGUAGE INSTITTUTE ,BUKIT SENYUM,JOHORE BARU 1958.

SCHOOL CAPTAINS 1930-1956

1930 Wong Kong Yew & Rasdan bin Othman
1931 Saw Kim Hock
1932 Saw Kim Hock
1933 Sharif bin A. Samad
1034 Maruf bin Sheikh Ahmad
1935 Juala Singh
1936 Raja Adnan bin Raja Abdullah
1937 Raja Adnan bin Raja Abdullah
1938 K. ParOamalingam
1939 Ng Chin Hong & Kamaruzzan bin Mohd. Sharif
1940 R. Subramaniam
1941 Goh Oon Hock
1945 N. Murugiah
1946 N. Murugiah
1947 T. Sivagnanam
1948 R. Kandasamy
1949 Yaacob bin Ibrahim
1950 P. A. Rajendra & Tan Toh Hong
1951 Teh Sham Fook
1952 Muhd. Bakri bin Haji Isa
1953 Hakik bin Sultan Khan
1954 Budiman bin Kassim
1955 Phang Ah Kow
1956 Abdul Aziz bin Mohd. Amin
         Chandran T ( Vice School Captain )
         Tan Ban Lee (Vice School Captain )

REUNION

This Group Photograph was taken at the Ballroom of the Prescott Metro Inn, Kajang on February 24 2010 in conjunction with the Luncheon Reunion of KHS Alumni and the launch of the Souvenir Magazine produced by members of the Kajang High School Class 1956. Among those who came for the luncheon date and the launch of the magazine were:

Front Row
Datin Rosalingam, 7th from left and Ms. Sivamalar, 8th from left (both are daughters of Mr. T. Mailvahanam - Head Master 1932 and 1941-1946).
Mr. Teh Sham Fook (next to Sivamalar)-School Captain & Gates Medalist 1951.
Mr. V. Pathmanathan (on Mr. Teh Sham Fook's left) - alumnus of TOA SEINEN GAKKO and ex- Head Master.(4th from R--Pn. Rokiah Bee Arabi); (3rd from R--Mrs.Pelly); (2nd from R-- Mrs.Chandran); Far Right-- Puan Hjh Maznah Yahya Nasution (KHS alumna.)-writer's wife.

Second Row
Kamarudin Taki (Far Left); Lt. Col (R) Razali Yusoh Nasution (2nd from Left); Aris bin Haji Majid (3rd from L); Lee Yau Seng (5th from L)-Queen's Scout 1956; Dato Kamaruddin Nordin Lubis (6th from L); Emeritus Professor Dr. Abdul Latif Ibrahim Harahap (7th from L); En. Nik Man (8th from L)-Pengetua Sek. Men. Tinggi Kajang; Dr. Satwant Singh Gill (9th from L); Abdul Aziz b. Mohd Amin (10th from L)-School Captain 1956; T. Chandran (11th from L)-Vice-School Captain 1956; Kamal Bahrin Lubis (12th from L)-alumnus '56; Arabi Zalman (13th from L)-alumnus '56; Christopher Pelly (14th from L)-alumnus 1956; Zainal Abideen Ibrahim Lubis (Extreme Right)-alumnus 1959; Yasmin Nadirah Lubis(5th from R)-writer's daughter; Fuad Husni Lubis (6th from R)- K H S student;writer's son.

Back Row
Billy (1st from L)-teaching staff of Sek. Men. Tinggi Kajang; Chai Kim Sin (5th from L)-Editor of KHS MAGAZINE 1957; Dr. Sankaran R (6th from L); Dato Samuri b Juraimi (8th from L)-alumnus 1963,Sate Millionaire; Ismail Timbang (9th from L)-Junior Singles Champion, Ulu Langat Badminton League 1955;School Badminton Captain 1956; Kassim Wahab (2nd from R)-School Bodybuilder ;Mr. Kajang 1954.