WHY ONLY ST. XAVIERS & ST. JOHNS?

Terrence wrote in Malaysiakini yesterday:

“In my beginning is my end,” runs the refrain from a poem of TS Eliot’s, lines with a special poignance to Ho Kok Chee, (Brother Paul Ho) Brother Director of St Xavier’s Institution and a Masters in English - a postgraduate qualification he has had to equip himself with, as otherwise his fitness for the headmastership of the school would have been deemed by the authorities as inadequate.

In the event, it enabled him to last 16 years as Brother Director, the longest tenure of the 28 principals who preceded him since the foundation in 1852 of this flagship school.

Ho’s retirement today brought to a close the 157-year presence of the La Salle Brothers in Malaysia, a Roman Catholic teaching order that at its height was responsible for the administration and ownership of 59 primary and secondary schools in Malaysia that educated something like two million students.

Read More HERE

THE WEALTHY MAN WHO GAVE UP ALL
TO START THIS BAND OF EDUCATORS.
Fratres Scholarum Christianarum (FSC)
Brothers of the Christian Schools.

John-Baptist de la Salle, born of a wealthy French family in 1651, knew in his heart by the time he was just ten years of age that he would become a Catholic priest. Driven by this heart-felt belief, he was made a canon of Rheims cathedral eleven years before being ordained. Shortly thereafter, however, his motivation in life changed to one dedicated to the education of poor boys; he gave up everything for this new pursuit. He felt that he could greater serve this cause by teaching others how to teach these poor boys. By 1688, he started a free school in Paris for young poor men and founded colleges in Rheims and Saint-Denis dedicated to training instructors. In an effort to reach as many of the poor as he could, John-Baptist de la Salle decided against teaching them in Latin. This was a revolutionary principle which was met with much opposition. Despite the vigorous efforts of those that opposed to the abandonment of Latin instruction, the success he and his teachers has was indisputable. John-Baptist de la Salle's teachers, the "Brothers of Christian Schools", exists to this day and continues to teach young men and women building upon the teaching philosophies that John-Baptist de la Salle developed.

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Truth be told, I too belonged to this illustrious teaching order, the Brothers of the Christian Schools. As Brother Arnold, I taught in St. Patricks, Katong, Singapore, St. Francis Institution, Malacca, La Salle, Klang. When I left the the Order, I continued teaching in La Salle, Sentul, KL. I found immeasurable satisfaction in my life as a teaching Brother but certain rules and regulations kind of inhibited what and who I really am - a free spirit. As such it was a turmoil, the years of indecision of whether I continue or leave. It was a Jesuit priest who counselled: Who says you cannot continue the apostolate of teaching as a layman. That did it. Father Keane, SJ was right. I could reach out to more kids, unfettered and in my own way. But lets put the record straight. I owe an invaluable gratitude to the religious training and I am what I am and want to continue to be, because I was a Brother of the Christian Schools - a LaSallian Brother, now ex though.

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So it was with a tinge of sadness that was expected after reading Terrence's piece, although I am proud of this former student of mine....also another free spirit who left the MSM to do what he does best - let the ink from from the heart - unfettered & unrestricted.

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Another voice is heard, this time from a former Head Prefect of St. Xavier's and former Gerakan stalwart: Dr Goh Cheng Teik:

Hand back ‘Saint’ schools to the La Salle Brothers

YOUR report “An end of an era for La Sallians” (The Star, May 1) stirred deep emotions in the hearts of those who had studied at the 50 La Salle schools in the country. The exit of Bro Paul Ho, the last Brother Director from St Xavier’s Institution does look like the end of an era.

But Old Xaverians and Old Lasallians do pray that Bro Paul’s retirement would not be the end of the involvement of Christian Brothers in Malaysian schools. At the recent Yayasan La Salle Board meeting on June 6, former UPM Vice Chancellor Tan Sri Syed Jalaluddin, an Old Xaverian, made a passionate plea for the Christian Brothers to stay engaged in Malaysia. The meeting was chaired by Tan Sri Kamarulzaman Shariff, another Old Xaverian and a former Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, who mandated Syed Jalaluddin to sketch out a road map for the coming years.

Old Lasallians like Syed Jalaluddin and Kamarulzaman value what the Brothers have done and wish that they can do more. Unfortunately, the congregation of La Salle Brothers worldwide has shrunk.

Fewer and fewer youths in the modern world are prepared to embrace the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience for the sake of educating children from impoverished families. The Brothers have to conserve their manpower and deploy their resources smartly.

The present thinking is that Old La Sallians who have friends in high places should convince the Government to hand back two schools, St John’s Institution and St. Xavier’s Institution, to the La Salle Brothers to manage and administer. At the same time, the Government should convert both schools from being sekolah bantuan modal into sekolah-sekolah bantuan penoh.

Schools like St John’s and St Xavier’s have shown that they have withstood the test of time. After all, St John’s has produced Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the present Prime Minister; Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Home Minister; Datuk Sri Nazir Tun Razak, the banker and younger brother of Najib and Raja Nazrin Shah, the Raja Muda of Perak.

St Xavier’s has produced Karpal Singh, the opposition leader; Tun Hamid Omar, the former Lord President; Tan Sri Nor Nor Mohamed Yakcop, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Both schools can be depended upon to make proper use of the financial resources and enhanced powers given to them. They should be challenged - at the right moment - to bring back the academic and extra-curricular excellence that they had enjoyed in the past. These include competency in the English language, both written and spoken.

I believe making St John’s and St Xavier’s fully-aided schools and mandating the La Salle Brothers and the respective boards of governors to administer them is the answer. Taking both schools private sounds great in theory but in practice, funds would have to be raised all the time. Fees have to be charged and revised upward regularly.

Those students who cannot pay would have to be barred from attending classes. The La Salle Brothers would not be comfortable with a fee-based regime. Their philosophy is to provide education to those who need it, not only to those who can pay for it.

Syed Jalaluddin’s mission is delicate and important. As someone who had studied in a La Salle school and who had worked as a Vice Chancellor of a public university, he can bridge the communication gap between the La Salle Brothers and the politicians and civil servants.

He can get a dialogue going. For all you know, he may find an ally in the person of the PM since Najib is an Old Lasallian.

Dr GOH CHENG TEIK,

Kuala Lumpur

But why only St. Xaviers and St. Johns. What about St. Michael's Ipoh, St. George's Taiping, St. Anthonhy's Telok Intan, the La Salle Schools (in Sentul, Brickfields and Peel Road), La Salle PJ, La Salle Klang, St. Paul's Seramban and St. Francis Malacca? Their contributions sure do count, yes?

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(whispering: On July 16 I will dine with students I taught in Form 5 in La Salle Klang in 1965)