Old boys, former school staff take part in walk
FORMER principal of SMK St Thomas M.N.D’ Cruz, who will turn 88 next month, was in a wheel-chair as he was pushed by school old boy Abdul Rahman Abdul Razak under the blazing sun in Jalan Gambut, Kuantan recently.
Since he has difficulty walking, the old boys decided to give him a helping hand during the Walk for St Thomas, which was organised by the Save St Thomas Ad-Hoc Committee to persuade the Education Ministry to retain the name of the 68-year-old school.
“I came prepared with sun glasses. The heat does no bother me. The school is second nature to me. I will do everything possible to ensure the school name is retained.
“It would be better if both the primary and secondary schools are moved back to their old premises,” he said.
D’Cruz, the longest serving school head from 1973 to 1984, is widely regarded as among those who turned the school into one of the most respected schools in Pahang and in the country.
His emphasis on discipline as well as academic and sporting excellence made the school into a much sought one by parents and members of the Pahang royal family.
“The school was built by the people for the people. It is an institution. The authorities should not close it down by giving it a new name,” he said.
D’Cruz taught in the school in 1954 before furthering his studies and making a comeback later.
He knows the school’s history from the early days when it was founded by French priest Father Louis Guittat.
Some 120 old boys, former school heads and former teachers wearing “Save St Thomas” T-shirts and caps, joined the silent march from the school.
Although they planned to march till Wisma Sri Pahang, which houses the state secretariat about 1km away, the police advised them to turn back after about 100m since Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zahid Hamidi would be passing by around the time.
Keeping the legacy alive
Before the walk, the old boys sang the school song “Cheers for St Thomas”. Abdul Rahman, who is ad-hoc committee chairman, read out the memorandum, which they were supposed to handover to the office of Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.
But the memorandum could not be handed over to the guards following the decision of the police to halt the march.
Abdul Rahman, 57, said the old boys and former teachers want the new school complex to be built in Kemunting to be called SK St Thomas and SMK St Thomas.
“St.Thomas is the pride of Kuantan. By giving a new name, the school’s history will be erased. We actually prefer the primary school and secondary schools which are sharing facilities in two other schools to be moved back to their old premises,” he said.
He said the old boys will seek an audience with the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, an alumnus of the school, to urge him to protect the school’s legacy.
Former school senior assistant Augustine Ng, 78, sang an impromptu song about the school, which he has been associated with for more than two decades in front of the old boys.
Former teachers S. Arunandy, 67, and Chew Seng Van, 69, who took part in the walk, said they taught Tengku Abdullah when he was studying there from 1970 till 1974 before furthering his studies in England. Tengku Abdullah’s younger brother Tengku Abdul Rahman also studied in the school.
Old boy Wan Fadzil Adlan Wan Sidik, 52, who is residing in Bangi, Selangor said he took part in the walk since he owes a lot to the teachers when he studied there from 1974 till 1977.
“Our late teacher Chan Teck Hong and former primary school head the late Kenneth Santa Maria instilled a love for the sciences and arts in me.
“The school has produced many luminaries,” said Wan Fadzil Adlan, who is a consultant with a government-linked company.
Principal of an engineering consulting company Chew Weng Yuen, 56, who is based in Subang Jaya, Selangor, said he was grateful to the dedicated teachers.
“It was a multiracial school. It was 1Malaysia before the word was introduced,” he said.
A day earlier, about 130 old boys, 16 former teachers and five former school heads attended the inaugural grand reunion dinner of the school at a hotel.
In November last year, State Health, Human Resources and Special Functions Committee chairman Datuk Norol Azali Sulaiman said the Government would spend RM56mil to build a complex for the two schools and they would no longer bear the name St. Thomas and instead would be called Sekolah Mahkota Abdullah.
Since January 2014, SMK St Thomas has been sharing facililities at SMK Sultan Abu Bakar while SK St.Thomas is sharing facilities at SK Teruntum.