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St. John's Institution (Malay: formerly known as SMK St. John; abbreviated SJI[1]) is a public all-boys school (sixth form is co-ed) and is one of the oldest schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The school is widely known by its initials, SJI and the students of St. John's Institution bear the name Johannians.
St. John's Institution Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. John | |
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Address | |
, 50250 | |
Information | |
Former name | Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. John |
School type | Cluster school of excellence All-boys primary and secondary school |
Motto | Latin: Fide et labore English: "Faith and Zeal" |
Religious affiliation(s) | Catholic |
Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
Established | 18 January 1904 |
Status | Operational |
Sister school | Convent Bukit Nanas |
School district | Keramat |
Principal | Sivakumar a/l Thannimalay |
Grades | (SK) Standard 1–6 (SMK) Form 1–6 |
Gender | Male: Form 1-5 Co-ed: Form 6 |
Campus type | Urban |
Houses | Joseph (green) Cornelius (red) Gilbert (brown) Claude (blue) Stephen (yellow) |
Color(s) | Gold and green |
Yearbook | Garudamas |
Feeder schools | SK St. John, Kuala Lumpur St. John's International School |
Affiliation | Malaysia Ministry Of Education |
Alumni President | Mohd Isham Ishak |
Website | stjohninstitution |
While it is commonly thought that the school is named after Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, the founder of the De La Salle Christian Brothers Order and also known as the Patron Saint of Teachers, the school actually takes its name from St. John the Evangelist which is the sponsoring parish church/cathedral which is also located nearby on Jalan Bukit Nanas.
SJI consists of a primary school and a secondary school. The primary and secondary schools initially were fee paying missionary schools and remained such until the 1970s. They functioned together until the increase in pupil enrollment led to the separation of the primary school in 1960. The primary schools were formerly known in Malay as Sekolah Kebangsaan St. John (1) and Sekolah Kebangsaan St. John (2) until the primary schools were officially merged again recently. The newly merged primary school is known today in Malay as Sekolah Kebangsaan St. John.
The secondary school was called Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. John, but it was announced in April 2016 that the name would be reverted to St John's Institution, a decision widely applauded by alumni and backed by another Johannian, Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak.[2][3]
SJI was among the first 30 schools selected for the Cluster School Scheme when it was first introduced in 2007 by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia.[4]
The La Sallian Brothers and the Board of Governors still hold much more autonomy over the management of the secondary school compared to the Malaysian Ministry of Education. This has allowed the secondary school to maintain a certain amount of prestige. Though the school land is owned by the Roman Catholic Church (including St. John's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur which is next to the school), much of the school funding is received from the Government of Malaysia.
Site and architecture
editThe main school building is located in Jalan Bukit Nanas, in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, next to the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, giving it a lush setting. St. John's Primary Schools are located across the road from the main school building. While the Convent Bukit Nanas, an Infant Jesus Sisters' school for the girls, the AIA building, and the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur are located further down the road. The Fatima Kindergarten (housed in what is Kuala Lumpur's oldest Catholic church and now converted into a community service centre) and the Roman Catholic St John's Cathedral are located on the road leading up to SJI.
The school is famous for its imposing red and white brick main building with Grecian-Spanish influences where it has been recognized as a Kuala Lumpur Heritage Building since 1986, where else it was gazetted as a National Heritage Site by the Government of Malaysia on 21 May 2010 through National Heritage Department.[5]
Administration
editThe school has traditionally been headed by the Brothers of the La Sallian order, with a Brother Director (like a headmaster) and a Brother Supervisor (like a deputy headmaster). In recent years, the Brother Supervisor was replaced with three assistant principals, who are not in the La Sallian order.
Former Brother Directors
editName of director | Took office | Left office | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Bro. Julian Francis | 1904 | ||
Bro. James Gilbert | 1904 | 1910 | Saw the construction of the Main Block |
Bro. Adrian Edmund | 1911 | 1913 | |
Bro. Marcian Cullen | 1913 | 1915 | |
Bro. Claude Marie Guibert | 1916 | 1921 | Introduced Sports Day in 1921 |
Bro. Barnitus Kennedy | 1921 | 1923 | |
Bro. Stephen Edward Buckley | 1923 | 1925 | Built the existing Brothers' Quarters |
Bro. Defendant Louis | 1925 | 1930 | Installed the statue of Jean Baptist de La Salle |
Bro. Cornelius Nulty | 1930 | 1946 | Longest serving Brother Director, built a school hall in 1936 |
Bro. Amor Matthias | 1946 | 1948 | |
Bro. Dositheus Joseph Brophy | 1948 | 1954 | |
Rev. Bro. Datuk Tiberius Lawrence Spitzig | 1955 | 1961 | Wrote SJI's famous School Rally and introduced many improvement projects to the school during his two terms |
Bro. Celestine Jennings | 1958 | Was appointed Director when Rev. Bro Datuk Lawrence Spitzig went on leave to Canada | |
Bro. Ignatius Barry | 1962 | Deteriorating health forced him to return to Ireland in September that year | |
Bro. Joseph McNally | 1962 | 1967 | An accomplished artiste and sculptor, designed the present school badge and introduced many beautiful sculptures and murals to the school Arts Block (Form 5 Block) which was built in 1965 during his serving years. He painted the school's exterior white and some of his works are still standing today. He went on to establish the LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore in 1984 |
Bro. Basilian Wong | 1967 | 1969 | Cleared the immense debt incurred by the development committee under Bro. Joseph McNally |
Rev. Bro. Joseph Yeoh | 1969 | 1977 | Former student of St. John's. First Malaysian to lead the school. Rev. Bro. Joseph Yeoh repainted the school to its current color scheme. Introduced Appreciation Day in 1972. |
Rev. Bro. Datuk Tiberius Lawrence Spitzig | 1978 | 1983 | Wrote SJI's famous School Rally and introduced many improvement projects to the school during his two terms |
Bro. Cassian Pappu | 1983 | 1988 | Served in La Salle Klang before taking up Brother Director's role in St. John's. Build a Form 6 Block called the Tan Sri Dominic Vendargon Building. |
Bro. Michael Wong | 1989 | 2002 | The last Brother Director of St. John |
The headship of the school passed to the laity in 2002 when Peter Yii Sing Chiu became the first non-brother and non-Catholic to head the school. Ending 98 years of Brothers' administration.
Former principals
editName of principal | Took office | Left office | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Peter Yii Sing Chiu | 2002 | 2009 | First non-Catholic principal. |
Leong Kum Loy | 2009 | 2009 | |
Lim Hean Hwa | 2009 | 2014 | Second Johannian to lead St. John's after his own principal, Rev. Bro. Joseph Yeoh.
He was a student from 1961 - 1973 |
Dr. M. Puvanendran | 2014 | 2016 | First non-Christian principal. |
Manmohan Singh a/l Kartar Singh | 2016 | 2022 | He officially retired on 13 May 2022. The retirement ceremony is available to watch on the official St. John's Institution Library YouTube Channel. |
Ravi Chandran a/l Krishnan[6] | 2022 | 2024 | First Catholic principal since 2002. |
Sivakumar a/l Thannimalay | 2024 | Present |
Note1: Brothers who have served as primary school headmasters since leaving the secondary school include Brother Patrick Arokiasamy, Brother Alban Tang and Brother Matthew Liew.
Note2: On 1 December 2009, Mr. Peter Yii Sing Chiu was replaced by Mr. Leong Kum Loy. Under the administration of Mr. Leong Kum Loy, St. John has been declared a Heritage Site by the Malaysian government.
Note3: The administration of this school has been continued until now by Mr. Ravi Chandran a/l Krishnan, the sixth principal of SJI who has started serving from the middle of June 2022. He is assisted by three senior assistants as follows;
- Senior Assistant of Administration and Curriculum: Madam Dzaizatul Shikin binti Madrahim
- Senior Assistant of Student Affairs: Mr. Musannef bin Yatim
- Senior Assistant of Co-Curricular Activities: Madam Faridah Bee binti MM Abdul Rahman
- Senior Assistant of Form Six: Madam Selvambigai A/P Arumugam
History
editYear | Events |
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1904 |
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1905 |
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1906 |
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1907 |
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1908 |
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1914 |
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1921 |
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1926 |
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1930 |
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1942-1945 |
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1948 |
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1953 |
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1954 |
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1955 |
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1956 |
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1957 |
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1958 |
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1959 | |
1960 |
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1962 |
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1963 |
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1965 |
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1967 |
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1969 |
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1971 |
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1976 |
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1979 |
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1984 |
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1988 |
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1991 |
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1994 |
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2002 |
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2004 |
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2009 |
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2010 |
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2011 |
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2014 |
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2016 |
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2022 |
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School history obtained
edit- 1954: Golden Jubilee school magazine
- 1964: Diamond Jubilee Souvenir book
- 1979: 75th Anniversary Commemorative book
- 2004: 100 Years Centenary coffee table book
Student
editThe composition of the students is always of various races and religions, and English is the common spoken language used throughout the establishment of the school.
SJI is an all-boys school, with the exception of sixth form students where it is co-educational. Female students (better known as Eagirls) are only admitted to lower sixth form and upper sixth form in addition to male students. This is the norm for boys' secondary schools in Malaysia.
This school also has the advantages and differences of being one of the schools in Malaysia that accepts the admission of visually impaired students. It has become part of their curriculum, students with visual disabilities should attend regular class sessions like other students. The school has a Resource Room for visually impaired students where it is attended by trained teaching staff and also a club that contains a large number of students who volunteer their time to help visually impaired friends/students.
Co-curricular
editSports
editSt. John's has several activities and sports clubs that are open to all students, including rugby, archery, soccer, hockey, badminton, sepak takraw, gymnastics, fencing, and others.
St. John's has 5 sports houses where the names of the five sports houses in St. John's was taken from the previous Brother Director;
Uniformed bodies
editSt John's Institution Cadet Corps
editThe St John's Institution Cadet Corps was established in 1915, one of the oldest cadet corps in Malaya. It is the oldest cadet corps in this school formed by Lt. Eric Chart. It was under the command of the British Military Somerset Light Infantry during the colonial days.
St John's Institution Naval Cadet Band
editThe St John's Institution Cadet Band was formed in 1916. The Cadet Band is also one of the few bands in Malaysia which include bagpipes in its ensemble.[citation needed]
In 2005 the St John's Institution Cadet Band Alumni was registered as an alumni body representing ex-band members. Today the members continues their passion through the formation of the Alumni Band, mainly Pipe and Drums, performing at private functions. In history, the band won their first title as 1st place in the "KL State Marching Band Competition 2009". In that year also, the band was granted affiliation with the Royal Malaysian Navy.[citation needed]
Notable Johannians
edit- Aizat Amdan, singer and songwriter
- Zeti Akhtar Aziz, seventh Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia
- Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysian Minister of Defence
- Hans Isaac, actor, entrepreneur
- Harith Iskander, artist and stand-up comedian
- Chow Chee Keong, former national goalkeeper
- Faiz Khaleed, Military dentist, member of Angkasawan program
- Abdul Ghani Minhat, national football player
- Farish A. Noor, political scientist and human rights activist
- Najib Razak, the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia
- Nazir Razak, Chairman, CIMB Group
- Syafiq Ridhwan, Asian Gold Medalist, World Bowling Champion
- Tengku Mohamad Rizam, Tengku Temenggong of Kelantan
- Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Sultan of Selangor
- Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, Sultan of Perak
- Afdlin Shauki, film director
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "SMK St. John Gets National Heritage Status". The Star. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ^ "SMK St. John to be known again as St. John's Institution, Sultan Nazrin announces". Malay Mail. 23 April 2016.
- ^ Siti Nursuraya Ali (23 April 2016). "St John's Institution to get its name back: Sultan Nazrin". New Straits Times.
- ^ Azhad Nilam (8 June 2008). "Sekolah Kluster 2007". ePutra. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "SMK St John's is National Heritage site". New Straits Times (Malaysia). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 21 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ "St John's Institution principal K. Ravi Chandran's sudden transfer raises questions, parents' group wants him back". Yahoo News. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ Naveen Mathew Menon (26 January 2011). "St John's Institution unveils new clock". New Straits Times. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ Rayan Ka Goling (18 January 2011). "'Old' clock ticks again at St John's". The Malay Mail. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
- ^ Free Malaysia Today (2016) https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/04/23/st-johns-institution-gets-back-its-name/
External links
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