A CENTURY OLD SCHOOL Chedet.co.cc August 05, 2008 by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad 1. I came back from a holiday in Croatia to attend the centenary celebration of my alma mater, Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid or Sultan Abdul Hamid College recently. 2. It was a sentimental occasion. Seeing the old school, quite unchanged since I was admitted into Primary I way back in 1932 brought back many sweet/sad memories. 3. The centenary was more meaningful to me because the school was founded by my father who was also its first headmaster. He used to tell me of his experiences when he was headmaster there. 4. It was not in the present building of course. It was housed in a wooden Malay house in the middle of the town of Alor Star. Called the GES or Government English School, he had Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman as one of his students. 5. My father died in 1962. I thought he would like me to attend the centenary. I felt very nostalgic of the good old days when he used to teach me and my brother mathematics. 6. Before I was born he was sent to Pahang to teach at a school in Raub. Then he was sent to Johore to teach at an English school there. 7. Those were very distant places and he had to travel by boat with my mother and my eldest sister. My mother's second child, also a girl was born in Pahang. Mahadi my mother's eldest son was born in Johor Bahru. 8. Father got tired of shifting house and traveling to strange places. He came back to Alor Star and applied for an auditor's job with the Kedah Government. 9. Although his name is Mohamad bin Iskandar, people generally call him "Master" or Mohamad Iskandar. To honour him the primary school attached to Sultan Abdul Hamid College was named "Sekolah Iskandar" inadvertently honouring my grandfather instead. I have never complained. 10. At the main ceremony on the morning of Saturday 26th July the College named three ex-collegiate as the Collegiate of the Centenary. HRH the Sultan was the first, second came Tunku Abdul Rahman and I felt greatly honoured to be named as the third Collegiate of the Centenary. It would be another century before anyone will get this award. 11. To be able to study at the GES was a great privilege in those days. This was the first and only Government English School in Kedah. There were only 30 boys from the whole of Kedah admitted each year. I was one of the lucky ones. 12. Going to school was thrilling to me and I couldn't wait for school holidays to end. 13. I did fairly well and my Senior Cambridge Examinations result was good enough for me to be admitted into the medical faculty of the King Edward VII College of Medicine. I was given financial aid which was not a scholarship. The British Colonial Government apparently practised affirmative action because all my Chinese and Indian classmates had far better results than me. The examination results of the other six Malay students were even worse than mine. There were 70 plus students in all. 14. I owed my teachers in school a great deal. Only one of them, Mr. Zain, is alive today. He was a great teacher and spoke grammatically correct English all the time. 15. Schooling was such a great experience and I recall with fondness many rewarding events that I went through. 16. I hope and pray that all Malaysians remember their school days and the part that school plays in their lives. Getting an education right up to University level is easy now. But we must nevertheless feel grateful for there are more than one billion illiterate people in the world. For them the future promises very little. 393 Comments By shamid1973 on August 5, 2008 7:35 AM what a sweet memory from you Tun. Always keep in touch and have a nice day. By legendAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 7:37 AM Dear Dr. Mahathir, Tahniah sempena KSAH menyambut perayaan 100 tahun. Semoga Allah memberkati KSAH selama-lamanya. Kepada Dr. M, tahniah juga karna dinobatkan sebagai salah seorang Old Boy yang paling senior. King Edward VII School, Taiping pun sama meraikan perayaan 125 tahun(1883)pada tahun ini. Perarakan Old Edwardians + Young Tigers telah berlangsung pada 31 Julai 2008. Saya sebagai seorang murid tua KEVII School, merasa amat bertuah karna dapat menyaksikan sambutan tersebut. Magni Nominis Umbra... Once a tiger is always a tiger. By Gaban on August 5, 2008 7:39 AM Penggunaan bahasa inggeris dlm pembelajaran science & math; saya sokokng tapi ramai yang saya dengar tak sokong. Apa pandangan Tun pula? By LeoSabriAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 7:39 AM Assalamualaikum "Sejahtera Atas Kamu" Semoga sihat sejahtera Berbahagia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Salam hormat, www.leosabri.com By Lanomeila on August 5, 2008 7:39 AM Dear Tun, thanks for bringing us down the memory lane. I was your opposite - couldn't wait for the school holidays to start! But I love my university days. Yes Malaysians have a lot to be thankful for. By cool80 on August 5, 2008 7:40 AM Tiada siapa pun boleh menandingi kehebatan dan kebijaksaan Tun....Episod kegemilangan negara dibawah kepimpinan Tun hanya tinggal sebagai mimpi yang indah sekarang. Tiada siapa yang sangka episod yang penuh dengan kejayaan itu berakhir dengan noktah hitam yang mendukacitakan semua rakyat Malaysia. Tun, mengapa ada mempertikaian Wawasan 2020??? U r great!!! By hailtheking on August 5, 2008 7:42 AM wow, tahniah kepada Tun dan seluruh warga Sultan Abdul Hamid College. Must be great for all of you. Tahniah hailtheking.wordpress.com By RohanaAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 7:45 AM assalamulaikum tun...saya sgt2 sayangkan tun. By apanamaAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 7:46 AM Sir, its refereshing to note that your former school (administrators) are not behaving like the leaders and a majority of members of your former political party. If there is one BIG mistake that the younger generation should avoid emulating Umno and the Malays is the way the treat you now. Tidak menghormati dan bersikap kurang-ajar (Nazri take note) terhadap orang tua adalah sikap yang besar dosa-nya, lebih-lebih lagi jika sikap sedemikian di-tujukan kepada pemimpin yang berjasa kepada kita. Dear Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, May God Continue To Shower His Blessings On You, Sir! (This is my family's daily prayer for you and Dr.Siti Hasmah) By ixora on August 5, 2008 7:47 AM Salams Tun. It is good to reminisce the good old days eh! Do write more of your memoirs. By peejoo on August 5, 2008 7:48 AM Dear Tun, Me too... But not much memories as great person like you..... By tokapiAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 7:48 AM Assalamualaikum Tun, Terima kasih kerana berkongsi pengalaman Tun semasa di sekolah... Teringat pulak saya dekat skolah saya.. Saya pon bersekolah di sekolah yg dulunya GES, tapi no 3 la di Kedah.... terasa semacam nostalgia jugak lah walaupun baru 5-6 tahun meninggalkan sekolah.. Wassalamualaikum.. By me_1st on August 5, 2008 7:51 AM ayahanda Mahathir and Che Det FAn.. By lizaAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 7:53 AM selamat menyambut ulangtahun perkawinan pada TUN berdua Semoga di berkati Allah kehidupan dunia dan akhirat By MyMalaysia on August 5, 2008 7:56 AM Tun ni mesti lepas solat subuh dapat idea terus post! Steady Tun! By Banderas on August 5, 2008 7:57 AM Tun..... hmm so nostalgic. By Derwina on August 5, 2008 7:59 AM Salam sejahtera buat Tun sekeluarga, Alam persekolahan yang cukup meninggalkan memory indah buat Tun. cheer! derwina By penukulAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 7:59 AM assalammualaikum, dear tun, Tempat jatuh lagi di kenang inikan pula tempat bermain. Pada masa tu tiada siapa yg sangka tun akan menjadi PM. wassalam, belajar sepanjang hayat. By kedah_kbg pasuAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 8:02 AM Salam TUN, Former PM from Kedah is still the best....hehee Semoga TUN sekeluarga diberkati ALLAH By rossi on August 5, 2008 8:02 AM Salam TUN, Congratulation for the award. Semoga Tun sentiasa sihat. By delimamasammanis on August 5, 2008 8:03 AM Asalamualaikum wbt, Apa khabar.. Tun dah makan ka...? Sayang sekali apa yang budak2 sekolah hari ini dapat tidak dapat saya rasai pada zaman dulu. sekian, terima kasih. By MyMalaysiakuAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 8:03 AM Salam Tun, Ahh...school days. Innocent days. I didn't get a chance to go to a "fancy" school but even then, my school taught me life long lessons. University life was also another experience. Students need to be just that for their 4 to 6 years in universities. There is no need to be heavily involved in politics. There is nothing wrong to have an opinion and support your own brand of politics but those 4 to 6 years are crucial in nation building. Great post Tun. Its sometimes good to talk about something else. Its a reminder that they are other important stuffs than just politics :) By tun det die hard fan on August 5, 2008 8:04 AM salam buat tun m sekeluarga.. saya harap tun dapat ulas tentang isu pak lah and tugu negara..adakah itu salah satu dari amalan islam hadhari?.. komen tun memberi nafas baru pada rakyat malaysia.. By beskal_biruAuthor Profile Page on August 5, 2008 8:06 AM Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera Tun, Banyak latar belakang pendidikan Tun yang saya dan mungkin ramai lagi yang baru tahu, mengenai Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid yang mana ayah Tun mempunyai jasa yang cukup besar.