AS an alumnus of SMK Tinggi Kajang, formerly Kajang High School, I was taken aback when informed that the school is no longer taking in Form One students this year.
In fact, within five years, it will be turned into a school for Form Six students.
The move to turn the school into a junior college for Form Six may be a wise decision but by doing so, the alumni of the school will not only lose one of their fondest memories and heritage, but it will also mark the end of almost 100 years of the school’s history and students’ years spent at the school.
The past generations who had walked through the school’s
corridors will find this hard to accept.
It will mean that in the years to come, they will find no connection or link to the school, which has played an important role in shaping their lives.
At a recent reunion dinner held at the school compound, more
than 300 former students and teachers reminisced about the good old days.
We recalled with deep affection and attachment to the school with its motto in Latin, Labor Omnia Vincit (work conquers all), as the cornerstone of our endeavour to excel in education and sports.
What is sad is that the decision will bring an end to an illustrious school come 2019.
Very likely, the change will mean a new name for the school, probably Kajang Junior College or its Bahasa Malaysia equivalent.
In 2019, SMK Tinggi Kajang will be celebrating its 100th anniversary, a very significant event that the old boys are anxiously looking forward to.
It will be a grand reunion for fellow former students who remember this school as a preferred school when it was founded in 1919.
The school has produced some of the finest ministers, politicians and businessmen, and to decide on such a move has caused displeasure among the old boys, who have not forgotten their alma mater despite many working or living outside Kajang.
Together with the thousands of the school’s alumni, we urge the Education Ministry to reconsider its decision.
Junior colleges can be built for Form Six students across the land, but converting secondary schools with a rich past, like SMK Tinggi Kajang, will be erasing a past that has played a major role in the lives of many.
To change your decision will mean the preservation of SMK Tinggi Kajang’s past, and future generations will learn to appreciate the history that comes with the school.
Please allow this school to carry on its noble mission by maintaining its status quo of having students from Form 1 to Form 5 or Form 6, a move that will bring pride and gratitude to the alumni and students.
The Kajang community has always been supportive of the school’s endeavours.
The alumni, too, have never forgotten their roots and the education they received there.
We owe a debt of gratitude to SMK Tinggi Kajang and hope to see the school progress to another level of excellence and a school of choice for the community and others. Thank you.
Dr Tan Eng Bee, Kajang, Selangor