My long lost friend

A friend sent these two pictures to one of my alumni Telegram groups. Ya Rabbi Ya Rasul, only Allah know how excited I was every time I heard or met of long lost friends.

This friend of mine that I got to know in 1990, when he got selected for MHS' football sponsorship scheme. He's from Masjid Tanah, Melaka.

I like chatty people, and Norizan Isfak Ahmad was one of those friends that I ran to if I need a pair of listening ears.

After SRP, I moved to a boarding school in Johor and I got to know he left MHS too. Since then, I heard nothing from him.

Old friends bring back memories and I treasure all of my memories, be it sweet or bitter. I'm not a person who regrets things that I did in the past, but actually I did regret of not writing diaries during my school days. How I envy my friend, Rezuan who had that habit since at young age. How I wish I could flip through those pages, to refresh me of the colourful life I had during my student life.

Malacca High School to stay put

JASON GERALD JOHN AND KELLY KOH news@nstp.com.my

ALOR GAJAH: THE oldest school in the state, Malacca High School, will not be relocated as it is part of Malacca’s heritage, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron. He said the school would be given a facelift.

When Malacca was listed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008, the school was included as part of the state’s heritage.

“As the school is located in the buffer zone of the Unesco World Heritage Site, there are no plans to develop the area, but only to upgrade and maintain it.”

Idris said the proposed relocation was made a long time ago, prior to it being recognised as a World Heritage Site.

“Under my administration, we have no plans to develop the area, other than to upgrade all buildings in the heritage zone.”

He said this at the Hari Raya open house of Umno executive secretary, Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh, in Kampung Pulau in Alor Gajah here yesterday.

Yesterday, the New Straits Times reported that state Education, Higher Education, Science, Technology, Green Technology and Innovations Committee chairman Datuk Md Yunos Husin had said there was a need to relocate Malacca High School to ease traffic congestion in the state. He said the state government was identifying alternative sites.

Various parties, especially students and teachers, had objected to the proposal, based on a letter dated June 30 from the Education Ministry’s Planning and Policy Research Division.

This is the second time in 20 years that the state government had proposed the relocation of the country’s second oldest school.

The school, established in 1826, was known as Malacca Free School and changed to its present name in 1878.

The first attempt, in 1993, to move the school out of Bandar Hilir, together with two schools — St Francis Institution and the Sacred Heart Convent — failed after meeting strong opposition from students and the schools’ alumni.

Outcry over bid to relocate school

KELLY KOH kelly.koh@nst.com.my

MALACCA: A STORM is brewing in the state following a plan by the state administration to relocate the historical city’s oldest school, the Malacca High School or SMK Tinggi Melaka.

This is the second time in over 20 years that the state government had proposed for the relocation of the country’s second oldest school, established in 1826.

The first attempt in 1993 to move the school out of Bandar Hilir, together with two other schools — St Francis Institution and the Sacred Heart Convent — failed after strong opposition from the students and the schools’ alumni.

State Education, Higher Education, Science, Technology, Green Technology, and Innovations Committee chairman, Datuk Md Yunos Husin said there was a need to relocate Malacca High School to ease the traffic congestion in the state.

“This is to provide a better traffic flow. The school, located in the city centre, is densely packed with people and vehicles, causing major traffic crawls.”

He said the state government was in the midst of identifying suitable alternative sites.

“What is certain is that we will find a site suitable for the students and motorists,” he said.

The state government, however, must first get feedback from the school’s management, alumni and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) before the plan can proceed.

On July 17, the Education Ministry’s Planning and Policy Research Division had urged the State Education Department to seek the consent of the school’s management, alumni and PTA on the proposed relocation plan.

Various parties, especially students and teachers, had objected.

The school’s chemistry teacher, Lim Ming Hui who has been
attached to the school for 24 years said, she was confident that
the relocation would not materialise.

The school, she said, was a part of the state’s history and was in the Unesco World Heritage site buffer zone.

“The school is something very precious to us. There is no way we will allow the school to be relocated elsewhere.

“We also have several powerful figures from the Malacca High School Old Boys Association who strongly oppose this,” she said.

A member of the school’s alumni, Joeal Lim Guan Chin, 24, expressed his disappointment at the idea of a relocation.

“This is not good because the school itself is part of the state’s history; it should not simply be moved for the sake of development.”

MHS, the second oldest Government English school in the country, was first known as Malacca Free School, and changed to its present name in 1878.