SMK St. Anthony, Teluk Intan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Saint Anthony's School (; abbreviated SAS) is a school in
Teluk Intan Teluk Intan is a town in Hilir Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. It is the district capital, the largest town in the district and fourth largest town in the state of Perak with an estimated population of around 172,505, more than half of Hilir P ...
,
Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Established in 1931 as a school belonging to the local
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
parish of the same name which is in turn under the ecclesiastical purview of the
Diocese of Penang The Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang (; Malay: ''Keuskupan Pulau Pinang''; Tamil: ''பினாங்கு மறைமாவட்டம்''; Mandarin: ''天主教檳城教區'') is situated in the northern as well as the east coast region ...
, the school was transferred to the
De La Salle Brothers The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle ( ...
after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and has remained part of the Lasallian community since.


History

On 2 February 1931, the parish priest of St. Anthony's Church; the Rev. Fr. Michel Bonamy; started a school in a wooden shack adjoining the church building to cater to the needs of the Catholic children in his parish. Until then, school going Catholic children attended the nearby Methodist School (today known as the
Horley Methodist School Horley Methodist School (; abbreviated HMS) is a school in Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia. Established in 1898 as the Government Tamil School, the school was transferred to the Methodist Episcopal Mission in the following year and was later renamed t ...
). The school was named after
St. Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. Anthony was born and raised by a wealthy ...
and had an initial enrolment of 11 students. In March 1936, the Rev. Fr. John Edmond succeeded Fr. Bonamy as the parish priest and Headmaster of the school and successfully acquired a piece of land opposite the church across Anderson Road for the school. The first block of six classrooms was built on this land and officially opened by the British Resident of Perak, Marcus Rex, on 27 January 1941. During the
Japanese occupation of Malaya Malaya, then under British administration,, was gradually occupied by Japanese forces between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 15 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allie ...
, the school was eventually closed in 1943 and served as a barracks for soldiers of the local Japanese garrison. The school remained closed until the
Surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
ended the hostilities of the Second World War and Malaya came under the British Military Administration.


The first Lasallian Brothers

After the War, Fr. Edmond sought to re-open the school but was hampered by a severe shortage of funds and manpower. A visit by the Assistant Superior General of the
De La Salle Brothers The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle ( ...
, Brother Lawrance O'Toole, to Malaya provided Fr. Edmond the opportunity to re-open the school. In a meeting with Bro. Lawrance in Penang, Fr. Edmond suggested that the Lasallian Brothers assume the administration and oversight of the school. In 1947, the Rev. Bro. Finan Owen, FSC, was welcomed by the Fr. Edmond's successor, the Rev. Fr. Arokianathan, as the first Lasallian Brother Director of St. Anthony's School. He was subsequently succeeded by the Rev. Bro. Mathias Patrick, FSC, (1949–1950) and the Rev. Bro. Sigolin Henry Lassaud, FSC, (1950–1955).


Independence of Malaya

Following the education reforms of the
Razak Report The Razak Report was a Malayan educational proposal written in the 1956. Named after the then Education Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, its goal was to reform the education system in Malaya. The report was incorporated into the Section 3 of the Educ ...
in 1956, mission schools were required to follow to a common national curriculum but were still granted the autonomy of hiring their own teachers through their own Board of Governors. This was facilitated by graduates of the Roman Catholic Church run Bukit Nanas Teachers' College and the St. Joseph Teachers' College in Kuala Lumpur and Penang respectively. In exchange, the government provided funding in the form of
grant-in-aid A grant-in-aid is money allocated from a central/state government to subnational governments to provide specific services or fund specific projects. Such funding is usually used when the government and the legislature decide that the recipient ...
to the mission schools. The Independence period saw stewardship of the school passed on to the former Director of St. Michael's Institution, the Rev. Bro. Denis Hyland, FSC. During Bro. Denis' stewardship, the school was acknowledged as one of the top English medium schools in the Lower Perak district. Bro. Denis was also instrumental in acquiring a two-acre site adjacent to the school that eventually became the school field. In 1961, the former Director of St. Patrick's School in Singapore, the Rev. Bro. Alban D'Rozario, FSC, was appointed the Director of the school. During Bro. Alban's stewardship, a three-acre site was acquired in Jalan Sungai Nibong and a new campus was built on that location to house the Primary School.


The last Lasallian Brothers

Bro. Alban was succeeded by the Rev Bro. Damian Oliver, FSC, as the Director. The Sixth Form Centre was established during Bro. Damian's stewardship and the school emerged as one of Malaysia's more outstanding schools particularly in the sciences and in English language studies. The school hall was also built during this period. The hall was named ''Dewan Damian'' () in his honour during the 60th anniversary of the school in 1992. Bro. Damian served until 1 July 1974 when he left to take Directorship of
St. George's Institution Saint George's Institution (; abbreviated SGI) is a public all-boys (and girls for Sixth Form) and is one of the oldest schools in Taiping, Perak. The school is widely known as by its initial "SGI" and the students of St. George's Institution a ...
in Taiping. It was also in this period that further reforms in the Malaysian education system hastened the end of the Lasallian Brothers direct administration of the school. The Aziz Commission of 1971 provided for special benefits to teachers in mission schools provided they became civil servants. A majority of mission school teachers opted for this effectively ending the autonomy of mission schools in hiring their own teachers. This was preceded by the closure of the two church run Teachers' Colleges after they were deaccredited by the Ministry of Education resulting in the lack of suitable candidates for direct hiring by mission schools. Bro. Damian was replaced by the Rev. Bro. Kevin Byrne, FSC, who served until 1976 who was in turn replaced by the Rev. Bro. Oliver Rogers, FSC. Bro. Oliver, who served until the following year, was to be the last Lasallian Brother to serve as Director of the school.


Current developments

Mr. Toh Soon Guan became the first lay Principal of the school and helped shepherd the school through the transition from the English medium to the Malay medium. St. Anthony's School remains a highly regarded institution in Teluk Intan.


Co-Curricular Activities

Student participation in co-curricular activities are encouraged with points for participation being allocated for the total tariff calculated by the ''Bahagian Pengurusan Kemasukan Pelajaran'' () for admissions into public universities. The Anthonian Band is an institution in Teluk Intan and is constantly in demand for public functions. Other uniformed organisations like the
Scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
, the
St. John Ambulance of Malaysia St. John Ambulance of Malaysia ( ''Rumi'' Malay: ''St. John Ambulans Malaysia'', ''Jawi'' Malay: سينت جون ايمبيولنس مليسيا, , Tamil: செயின்ட் ஜான் ஆம்புலன்ஸ் மலேசி ...
, the
Malaysian Red Crescent Society The Malaysian Red Crescent (MRC) () is a voluntary humanitarian organization that seeks to promote humanitarian values, as well as provide service and public education in disaster management, as well as healthcare in the community. It is part o ...
and the
Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...
are well represented in the school.


Affiliations

St. Anthony's School is affiliated with the other 43
Lasallian educational institutions Lasallian educational institutions are educational institutions affiliated with the De La Salle Brothers, a Catholic religious teaching order founded by French priest Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, who was canonized in 1900 and proclaimed by ...
in Malaysia as well as the larger Lasallian family worldwide. Students, faculty members as well as alumni of the school have been frequent participants in events organised by the Lasallian East Asian District (LEAD).


Notable alumni

* Brigadier General Ng Chin Huat, Defence Adviser of the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations * Rt. Rev.
Antony Selvanayagam Antony Selvanayagam is the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Penang, Malaysia. He was elected by Pope John Paul II as the 4th bishop of Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the ...
, Bishop of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang The Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang (; Malaysian Malay, Malay: ''Keuskupan Pulau Pinang''; Tamil language, Tamil: ''பினாங்கு மறைமாவட்டம்''; Mandarin language, Mandarin: ''天主教檳城教區'') is situat ...


References


External links

* {{coord missing, Malaysia Educational institutions established in 1931 Teluk Intan 1931 establishments in British Malaya Lasallian schools in Malaysia Catholic schools in Malaysia Primary schools in Malaysia Secondary schools in Malaysia Publicly funded schools in Malaysia