| Sekolah Menengah Sains Perlis - Down Memory Lane |
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by B.P. Chopra 1st Supervisor of the school Sekolah Menengah Sains Perlis as it was first known is now ten years old but it seems only yerterday that I had the privilege of nursing its infancy after its sudden and hurried birth in 1973. If I recollect correctly, it was in November, 1972 that I was called to the Education Office by the then Director of Education, Encik Abdul Razak B. Ator, and informed that I would have to shoulder the responsibility of establishing this Fully Residential School in Perlis. For a moment I was speechless because I had my own duty as Senior Asssistant as we as Head of Department of English in the Sekolah Menengah Derma. This was additional work but knowing that I would have to run this school for a year or two until the permanent headmaster was appointed I could not refuse. A thick pile of documents was handed over to me and a few days later I was bound for Kuala Lumpur to attend a meeting chaired by Dato Hussein Onn, then the Minister of Education, who briefed us in detail on his pet project - the new Fully Residential Schools to be set up throughout the country. The ideas and objectives were explained to us - target were set and a few days later we had a series of meetings with Ministry officials where everything was sorted out. We, the supervisors of these schools from all over the country, were also asked to attend a ten day course at University of Malaya on the problems of Headmasters in running Fully Residential Schools. it was back to the desk in the daytime whereas at night sitting in the hostel we were preparing the estimates and lists of requirements for the opening of the new schools. I am happy to say that the spirit of cooperation among all of us was very strong and we worked as a team to finish our work and go back to our states to start tackling the problems of setting up the schools in temporary or borrowed premises. I still remember the words of Dato Hussein Onn who said, This project must not fail... What answer can I give to the public... Its Fate lies in your hands, ladies and gentlemen. I do not intend here to deal with facts and figures but I still endeavour to recall some of the trials and tribulations as well as some of the lighter moments which were a spin-off from the organising and setting up this school. Co-operation was readily forthcoming from all quarters: the Director of Education was accessible at any time and the Headmasters of the various premises, we had borrowed, gave all the help they could. In December, letters were sent to those pupils who were selected to be the pioneer group of students of Sekolah Menengah Sains Perlis. A meeting of parents of these children was called to brief them on the set up of the school and other matters relating to the education of their children. After briefing by the Director of Eduction, I sat down to answer the queries of the parents. This session lasted almost three hours. Fears of the parents had to be allayed regarding the welfare and safety of the children. Each parent had something to tell about his child whether it was that the child had the habit of 'sleep walking' or whether it was some 'sickness' that afflicted the child for which the parents would like to keep the child at home. Being a parent myself, I had little difficulty in assuring the parents that I would look after their children as I looked after my own. The parents were around the hostel almost every night and they showed more tearful faces than their children who settled down very quickly to the new life and routine. While the school was functioning in borrowed premises, plans had already drawn for the Sekolah Menengah Sains to be built at Bohor Pulai. Estimates had therefore to be drawn and plans made to recruit workers for the school. Very soon Cik Kamariah Bt. Sulaiman was appointed as clerk for the school and she was a very big help as she took over the office work thus leaving me free to tackle the other problems. As the building at Bohor Pulai started rising, equipment and other things started arriving - but they arrived at odd hours and on strange days. Sometimes when I was out visiting friends, goods meant for the school would arrive and one day almost at night a huge lorry drew up outside the house of the Headmaster, Sekolah Menengah Derma. It contained 200 mattresses meant for the students staying at the Scouts headquartes. I was at my wits end what to do with them for I did not have any workers. Anyway we asked for the lorry to go to Padang Katong while I went to find help. When I went to the Scout Headquarters, I found the lorry parked by the roadside because it was too high to go through an arch leading to the building. There was no choice but to pull down the arch. A chain was tied to the arch and the lorry hauled away the arch and its pillars. It took three workers, my sons and myself to remove the mattresses and the two hundred pillows from the lorry and store them in one of the classrooms in the Scouts headquarters. Much water has flowed under the bridges since and Sekolah Menengah Sains has now 79 workers. Even on Hari Raya Haji I was not spared for as I was about to put the first ketupat in my mouth at a friend's house,somebody came to ask me to take delivery of the bus which is incidentally still in service at the school. Even in my wildest dreams I never thought of driving a bus. I did not know what to do with it. Luckily I manage to persuade those who came to hand over the bus to stay in the Rest House for two days and deliver the bus to me when offices reopened after the holidays. They agreed but they had spoilt my Hari Raya Haji party. I cannot and should not forget the road leading to the school in Bohor Pulai because it was there ruined the tyres of my car driving over sharp granite rocks which were laid on the road for about a quarter of mile. I sometimes had to make more than half a dozen trips a day. It was during these days that DYMM Tuanku Raja Perlis honoured the school to be briefed on its progress. All the buildings were swept and cleaned and a model dormitory got ready. SMS students were brought from Sekolah Menengah Derma to welcome DYMM Tuanku Raja Perlis at the new school in Behor Pulai. When I looked back at those days, I feel that working to set up the school was a challenge and I enjoyed carrying out my duties. Today the school stands out in all its splendour a far cry from what it was 10 years ago when instead of my humble Morris Minor I should have use a 'Tank' to drive over the rocks. The works of the school then and even now is never-ending and those who study in it should be greatful for the opportunity they have of attending one of the finest institutions in the country. I am greatful to the Almighty that I was able to carry out my duty faithfully without faltering or hesitating in any of my decisions.
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Comments
To all who knew him, let us pray for his family and pray that God will give rest to his soul.
Thanks for all that you have done. I was amongst those 1974 Form 1 batch to be holed up at Asrama Pengakap.
Hope to meet you great guys again and all the Cikgu2 Hostel..Cikgu Razak, Cikgu Munir..not forgetting Nor Shah, Lawrence, Yong Wei, Azizi, Hisham (spec) Hasanudin,Isa, Eisa, Sudin, Rahman etc etc.
-soffie-
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