Malacca High School set to mark its 185th anniversary

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MALACCA: Unknown to many, including former teachers, students and loyal supporters, Malacca High School (MHS) or SMK Tinggi Melaka as it is now known, started off as a mission school on Dec 7, 1826.

The school is celebrating its 185th anniversary this year.

Originally known as the Malacca Free School, its name was changed on Aug 1, 1878, when the government of the day took over its running from the Christian Mission because of financial and administrative problems.

Then: A lithograph print showing the parsonage house (on left side of the Clock Tower) which housed the Malacca Free School in 1826 and became known as Malacca High School in 1878.

Initially occupying the parsonage house (currently the Youth Museum of Malacca) of the local Anglican Church, MHS moved premises twice in 1848 and 1931, with the last move taking it to the current site off Jalan Chan Koon Cheng which encompasses a sprawling 15.6 acre site with 18 buildings catering to close to a 2,000-strong student enrolment from Forms One to Six.

Throughout its history thousands of students have passed the gates of MHS to become successful in various field, largely guided by its Latin motto, Meliora Hic Sequamur (Here We Strive For Better Things). The school motto was coined by principal L.W. Arnold when the school moved to its present site in 1931, and mirrored the initials of the school.

In 1989, the late principal Tan Sri Abdul Rafie Mahat emulated Arnold’s concept of reflecting the initials of the school, by now called Sekolah Tinggi Melaka (STM) came up with the motto Sini Terdidik Manusia (Here We Educate People). Then, in 1991 principal Mohamad Ismail, in an effort to imbue the spirit to excel in students, changed it to “We Are The Best”.

C.T. Wade, principal from 1960 to 1965, had written in the MHS annual magazine The Optimist: “Never be content with second best or the second rate. Always strive your hardest for the unattainable perfection.”

As if taking the school’s three mottos to heart, student’s from MHS, the second-oldest educational institution in the country after Penang Free School (founded in 1816), have gone on to accomplish achievements for state and country, and around the world, too numerous to document.

Now: The grand archway leading to the Malacca High School complex comprising 18 building blocks on a sprawling 15.6 acre site off Jalan Chan Koon Cheng.

Among the distinguished old boys of the school include three Tuns: Tun Sir Tan Cheng Lock (founder of MCA); Tun Tan Siew Sin (former finance minister) and Tun Abdullah Mohd Salleh (former Petronas chairman); and five chief ministers: Datuk Talib Abdul Karim, Datuk Seri Mohd Adib Adam, Datuk Seri Abu Zahar Isnin, Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam (for Malacca) and Lim Guan Eng for Penang.

Also on the prominent list is current Minister of Health Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad and Tan Sri Dr Johari Mat (both former secretaries general of the Ministry of Educaion), Tan Sri Hasmy Agam (former Malaysia ambassador to the UN), Tan Sri Datuk Tan Cheng Swee (former Malacca Municipality Commissioner and acting Malacca Chief Minister in 1961, 1963, 1967 and 1973) and Tan Sri Lal Chand Vohrah (former High Court judge and arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris).

On the sports front, MHS students who donned national colours and who made it to the highest level of international competitions in the 50s include the Choe brothers Richard and Robert and M. Balakrishnan (football), Ismail Ali, M.P.Haridas, Bakar Said, Goh Doh Jin and Tham Kong Onn (hockey), M.C. Kailasapathy (cricket), Shaharuddin Ali and Ong Cheng Watt (athletics), Leow Cheng Koon (taekwondo), Mickey Lee (archery) and Clancy Ang (bodybuilding).

In the 60s, MHS produced an array of sports achievers including several double internationals like Koh Hock Seng (football and hockey), Danny Saurajen, Robin Goh and Toh Chooi Beng (hockey and cricket), Cheong Kai Yong (rugby), V. Kalimuthu (athletics and football), Ong Chuan Hock and Leo Ann Mean (fencing). The 70s saw a host of hockey internationals like Tam Chiew Seng, Samad Said, M. Selvanathan, Mahinder Singh, Haricharan Singh, Razak Leman and Tham Yeow Kong (hockey) while the 80s and 90s saw the likes of Lim Chiow Chuan, Benny Tan and Chua Boon Huat donning national colours.

The words of the late Tan Sri Abdul Rafie Mahat, the first Malay principal of MHS between 1985 and 1990, best sum up its colourful and interesting story. “Malacca High School is not a myth, a dream and a vision — she is very real.

My eternal love for this fortress of academic excellence and individual aspirations will not diminish in time. She has brought some divine light to my life’s experience.

Indeed, it was she who made me Strive For Better Things” he wrote in the 216-page coffee-table book published in 2006 to mark the school’s 180th anniversary.