St. Xavier's Institution

St. Xavier's Institution
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. Xavier (Malay)
Front entrance of St. Xavier's Institution
Address
St. Xavier's Institution
Location within George Town's UNESCO World Heritage Site (purple)
Farquhar Street,
George Town, Penang, 10200
Malaysia
Coordinates 5°25′16″N 100°20′13″E / 5.420978°N 100.336884°E / 5.420978; 100.336884Coordinates: 5°25′16″N 100°20′13″E / 5.420978°N 100.336884°E / 5.420978; 100.336884
Information
Type All-boys secondary school
Motto Latin: Labor Omnia Vincit
(Work Conquers All)
Religious affiliation(s) Christian
Denomination Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s) St. Francis Xavier
Established 1852 (1852)
Founder De La Salle Brothers
Principal Sim Hock Keat[1]
Brother Director Anthony Rogers[1]
Grades Forms 1 - 6
Gender Male
Co-educational (Form 6)
Colour(s) Green and gold
Feeder schools
  • St. Xavier's Primary School
  • St. Xavier's Primary Branch School
Affiliations Lasallian educational institutions
Abbreviation SXI
Website www.sxi.edu.my

St. Xavier's Institution, at Farquhar Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest Catholic Lasallian school in Malaysia.[2] While it has a history dating back to 1787, the present-day institution, named after St. Francis Xavier, was only established in 1852.[3][4][5][6]

This secondary school has been an all-boys school since its establishment, although girls are now admitted for Form 6. In addition, the school is renowned for producing several notable Malaysian and Singaporean personalities, including Wong Pow Nee, Karpal Singh, Cecil Rajendra and Hon Sui Sen. Students of the school are colloquially known as 'Xaverians' or 'La Sallians'.[7][8]

To this day, St. Xavier's Institution maintains its historical rivalry with Penang Free School, another premier school in George Town which holds the honour of being Malaysia's oldest school.[9] The school has two suburban feeder primary schools at Pulau Tikus and Air Itam.[4][10]

History

The history of St. Xavier's Institution stretches all the way back to 1787, soon after the founding of George Town by Captain Francis Light. Light invited Bishop Arnaud-Antoine Garnault, a French Catholic priest, to George Town as Bishop Garnault and his Eurasian followers were fleeing political persecution in Siam.[11] After arriving in George Town, Bishop Garnault, who was proficient in Malay, set up a Malay school at Church Street.[11][12]

The Malay school was subsequently relocated into a brick house built by Jean-Baptiste Boucho of the Paris Foreign Missions in 1825 and converted into an English school.[7][11] It was called the Catholic Free School, in opposition to Penang Free School which had been established by Protestants in 1816.

In 1852, three members of the De La Salle Brothers took over the administration of Catholic Free School upon invitation by Jean-Baptiste Boucho. The school was renamed as St. Francis Xavier's Free School after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Catholic missionary who is revered to this day for his extensive missions in Asia in the 16th century.

St. Francis Xavier's Free School was moved to its present grounds at Farquhar Street with the completion of a new school building in 1858. With this relocation, the school was finally renamed as St. Xavier's Institution.[13] This building was expanded several times over the years, before it was replaced by a grander Baroque-style double-storey building in 1895. A third storey was added in 1901 and a wing was constructed in 1908.

During the Japanese occupation in World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy used the school building as a Marine barracks.[7][13] As a result, the school building was completely destroyed by American bombers between 1944 and 1945.

With the building entirely wiped out, school sessions were resumed after the war at the adjacent school field, with temporary attap sheds serving as classrooms. In 1954, the current school building was completed at a cost of about $2 million (Malaya and British Borneo dollar).

Notably, the last La Sallian Brother principal of St. Xavier's Institution, Paul Ho, was also the last member of the De La Salle Brotherhood in Malaysia to serve as a school principal.[14][15] His retirement in 2009 marked the end of a long-standing era of La Sallian Brother principals in Malaysia.

Affiliation

To this day, St. Xavier's Institution maintains its association as part of the network of Lasallian schools throughout Asia.[16] The affiliated schools in Southeast Asia include St. John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur, St. Michael's Institution in Ipoh, and St. Joseph's Institution in Singapore.

Feeder schools

St Xavier's Institution operates two feeder primary schools in the suburbs of George Town. St. Xavier's Primary Branch School at Pulau Tikus was opened in 1962, while St. Xavier's Primary School at Air Itam was launched much later.[17] While the schools are not closely associated with each other, most pupils go on to continue their secondary studies in St. Xavier's Institution.[4]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 "Saint Xavier's Institution". Saint Xavier's Institution. 2017-04-09. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  2. ↑ Hong, Ng Soon. "e-Lasallian Network - Bro. Anthony Rogers speaks with BFM Radio on La Salle Legacy". www.e-lasallian.org. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  3. ↑ Story, Penang's History-My. "Alma mater right smack in the centre of historical George Town - Community | The Star Online". Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  4. 1 2 3 "About SXI". Saint Xavier's Institution. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  5. ↑ Koay A. (2012) 'Legacy of learning' in The Star 13 February 2012
  6. ↑ Siebert, Dr. A. E. (2002) 'Early Catholic Church, La Salle Education and The Penang Story' in The Penang Story – International Conference 2002 18-21 April 2002, The City Bayview Hotel, Penang, Malaysia Organisers: The Penang Heritage Trust & STAR Publications
  7. 1 2 3 "Old Penang: St Xavier's Institution - anilnetto.com". anilnetto.com. 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  8. ↑ "Xaverians aim for largest reunion bash - Community | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  9. ↑ "Penang Free School has a long history with St Xavier's Institution - Community | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  10. ↑ "St Xavier's Branch School". Time Out Penang. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  11. 1 2 3 "The bishop and the French connection | Wong Chun Wai". wongchunwai.com. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  12. ↑ "::Alliance Française of Penang, Universiti Sains Malaysia::". web.usm.my. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  13. 1 2 Langdon, Marcus (2014). A Guide to George Town's Historic Commercial and Civic Precincts. George Town: George Town World Heritage incorporated.
  14. ↑ "Raise retirement age of La Sallian brothers". www.thesundaily.my. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  15. ↑ "SXI brother-principal's retirement marks end of era - anilnetto.com". anilnetto.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  16. ↑ Voon, CM. "e-Lasallian Network - Lasallian Education in Malaysia". www.e-lasallian.org. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  17. ↑ The Straits Times, 28 February 1962, Page 5
  18. ↑ "Penang's Kelawi Road where the Eurasians set words to music - Community | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  19. ↑ "Mayor Guru a Penangite at heart | Buletin Mutiara". www.buletinmutiara.com. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  20. ↑ "Former Penang journalist elected mayor of NZ town - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  21. ↑ "Projects of conscience". The Edge Markets. 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  22. ↑ Jacob Termansen, Pia Marie Molbech (2012). Asian Style Hotels: Bali, Java, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9781462909070.
  23. ↑ hermes (2015-07-15). "Founders, keepers". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  24. ↑ "A goat chased me in court". NST Online. 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  25. ↑ More than merchants: a history of the German-speaking community in Penang, 1800s-1940s, Salma Nasution Khoo, Areca Books, 2006, ISBN 983-42834-1-5, ISBN 978-983-42834-1-4, P59
  26. ↑ "Ooi Kee Beng". Wikibeng. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
  27. ↑ Ooi, Kee Beng (2010). In Lieu of Ideology: An Intellectual Biography of Goh Keng Swee. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9789814311311.
  28. ↑ https://www.selangorbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/sonni-pillai.pdf
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