Saving Penang Free School

For the past few days, I've been repeatedly introduced to an online forum created by a (group of) young Old Free(s) to highlight the recent problems faced by our alma mater, Penang Free School and hopefully garner enough support to make things right again. To be fair, this is not the first time such an effort has been initiated by an Old Free and I truly doubt it will be the last one either.

Every now and then, the school will face some daunting challenges but so far, she has succeeded in weathering the storm mostly unscathed and emerge stronger even. This time however, her enemies are a tougher lot and bent on destroying her (literally). Without a concerted effort to fight this menace, it will be quite an impossible task indeed overcoming these challenges.

I applaud such efforts to ensure our alma mater does not wither from existence, especially not without a fight. However, it is important to do it the right way and to fight the right battles. I did mention in the comments of one of my earlier posts that I cannot take the forum seriously. One of the reasons being the forum does not require you to be a member before replying. Of course your IP address is being logged and all even if you reply as a guest but it does not reflect a forum that is serious about handling the issues at hand with members who are articulate, mature and responsible enough to voice their opinions confidently without fear or prejudice. I mean come on, who can take a forum seriously when you have people with nicks such as doink, fuckface and ihatefreesnow?

I understand visitors to the forum might want to remain anonymous for apparent reasons but it's people like these with the type of comments they make that actually discredit the efforts of the majority who are serious at tackling the problems. The moderator might have other ideas in mind and opted for a more open forum instead which I totally understand. Not everyone enjoys being restricted in such a way and that might actually scare many away from commenting which will also defeat the purpose of the forum.

I actually feel at home when I'm at the forum because not often are you able to read in forums members who are able to articulate their views so well. I guess birds of a feather do flock together, no? It is obvious the comments did come from Old Frees who are of rationale minds and mature enough to discuss the issues professionally. This will truly help the cause in a lot of ways.

Initially when I visited the forum when it was at its infancy, some of the comments were just posted out of anger and really not helpful. They focused on the wrong issues. They chose to fight the wrong battles. They were barking up the wrong tree. I actually lost hope that this could actually turn out to be a credible challenge to the menace at the The Grand Old Lady now but I still left a window of opportunity open, hoping others who would later discover this forum will not follow the same route as some of the early birds. My patience did pay off soon enough as people started to grasp the crux of the situation and realise the real battle lies elsewhere (with the help of some of my proxies though).

Some battles are meant for us to fight and some for others to fight. We have to pick the right battles in order to triumph. As Old Frees, the hair and badge issue is not one for us to fight. That should be left to the current Frees to do battle. It does not concern us at all and we will not be of any help whatsoever if we were to get involved however hurt or insulted we are concerning the issue. We might actually hurt their efforts instead! Same goes to the parking issue. We are only outsiders when it comes to such matters. We can offer our advice and moral support but we can't fight the battle for them. Who are we to get involved? We have to choose the right battles and the decline of Penang Free School as a premier school is one battle we can fight on. The mismanagement of the school will be our battleground. The dessecration of school traditions can also be an area of contention if it affects the school negatively. The alleged racial discrimination is definitely a major battle we can fight against. We have to choose to fight the right battles if we intend to win.

The actual reason behind the implementation of all these silly rules and regulations is quite simple but many just do not see it. The school administration is on a warpath with the Board of Prefects and they are bent on making them worthless in the school through the implementation of such rules. The Board has been a pebble in their shoe for a very long time now and finally they have struck hard to get rid of the irritant. They had tried many times to quash the supremacy of the Board of Prefects but failed time and again. In recent years however, they have finally made inroads.

In my time as a school prefect, the school had planned to implement the hair ruling on TWO different occasions. How is it then that the students still managed to enjoy long luscious hair until recently? It is all down to the Board of Prefects standing up on behalf of the students to voice their concerns over the ruling and succeeded on both occasions that Penang Free School students was able to keep their hair although the school administration was very insistent on pushing forward. We struck hard and fast that word did not even manage to get out that such a ruling was planned for implementation.

It is only right that the prefects stood up to protect the welfare of the students since they are representatives of the students, no? Students just fail to see such behind the door scenes and we are always lambasted to be proxies of the school administration and bent on making the schooling lives of students as miserable as possible. How wrong they were. How short-sighted they were. Shouldn't the students be happy now that the prefects are powerless? So powerless that they are unable to do anything now? After all, this is what they had wished for all this while, no? Ironic isn't it that after finally achieving their ultimate goal of seeing prefects powerless, they realise it's not what they want after all! A bit too late, no?

Penang Free School has always been known for its student leaders and I truly believe the nurturing of capable student leaders is the best sustainable way to return our alma mater to its former glory. It's the best way to ensure the school will remain competitive and in good hands. It's the passion and love of Frees that keep the school spirit alive to this day. It's this very passion and love for the school that will ensure her enemies are kept at bay and the interests of the school served at all times. As such, I call upon the teachers, students and Old Frees to realise the importance of nurturing student leaders, the importance of not restricting them in what they do, the importance of giving them trust and freedom at being able to manage things while being their guiding light, the importance of cultivating the true Frees spirit.

A good first step would be to reestablish the Board of Prefects as what they should be. It is after all the epitome of student leadership in every school, no? Let's start realising the real issues at hand and start fighting the right battles. Let's ensure the Saving Penang Free School campaign does not end up to be just another Saving Private Ryan campaign. I just hope it is still not too late although the forum is already getting less and less active by the day. Let's return the Frees spirit to where it belongs, in the hearts and soul of all Frees, be it students, teachers, parents, staff or administrators. Fortis Atque Fidelis.

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• Penang Free School In Crisis
• Parking Woes At PFS
• Principal Playing The Race Card?

Principal Playing The Race Card?

I received some really disturbing news a few days back from a fellow Old Free. It seems that the current principal in Penang Free School made some very very very racial comments quite recently. If this is true, PFS is really going down the gutters faster that we think! Before I proceed, I would like to stress that this has not been substantiated with hard evidence as yet, so we don't know if this really happened.

It is alleged that the principal made a pledge to limit the enrolment of Chinese students to the school in the future and he's ready to implement it as soon as the next intake. How the people at the Old Frees Association in Penang came to know about this personal pledge of his I really do not know but it is really down-right disgusting. As if the school is not in a bad enough state that he must compound the situation further with such insensitive and uncalled for comments!

In recent years, people realise the ongoing Malaynisation of PFS (making it more Malay) but this has been threatening to happen for some while now and bound to happen sooner rather than later. I truly do not mind that happening if all those accepted to the school are really qualified candidates thus, ensuring the school will only have the cream of the crop and maintain its position as a premier school. However, if someone has a sinister motive to limit the number of non-bumiputeras entering the school, whatever his agenda may be is totally unacceptable.

The last I know, the State Education Department is responsible for making such decisions, not the principal. The principal may have a say in things but definitely not the last word. How is it then that he's so confident of delivering such a pledge unless he's already part of a dark plot that if true, must be stopped at all cost. I'm amazed at how daring he is to make such a pledge or even think of such a thing. Isn't this the principal that is more like a ghost in the school? The principal that is hardly around? The principal that is virtually non-existent? What happened? Trying to make a grand entry now?

The controversial senior assistant went too far recently with the no parking in school policy for student cars. It's paying dividends now for his detractors (including me) as the once dormant students that he and the rest of his merry-men have taken for granted and trampled over them time and again have finally woken up. They have finally grown some balls and are taking affirmative action to fight back. You see, when push comes to shove, something is bound to give way and this time, the students' patience gave way. I wish to convey my utmost appreciation to the controversial senior assistant for helping wake the students up from the dreamy state they were in.

The same effect will happen if this controversial pledge was really made. I hear that the Old Frees are already up in arms regarding this remark of his and are ready to do anything in their power to stop it from happening. Again, when an animal is surrounded, he is bound to fight back and the Old Frees have now woken from their constant slumber and hibernation, thanks to the remarks made by the principal. I'm not sure if they will succeed or not but at least they are doing something about it. Finally, the Old Frees will do something that I can be proud of.

I truly pray that the principal didn't make such an insensitive remark even if he did imply such a thing in jest or maybe something similar to that. I pray not for PFS but I pray for him since if it is true, his fate will definitely be sealed if it comes out in the open. He has helped us give each and everyone related to the school a big tight slap on the face and help all of us realise that the school is not exactly a proud institution to be associated with anymore and things have to be done to rectify the situation fast. I truly thank him for giving us a helping hand in our efforts to turn the school around. I guess that will be his best contribution to the school.

Anyway, for his sake I truly hope this is not true and just some sick rumour. If not, I'm sure it will cause a major uproar which will not only be unstoppable but unbearable. This I promise him.

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• Penang Free School In Crisis
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• Saving Penang Free School

Parking Woes At PFS

Things have gone really out of hand in Penang Free School lately, no thanks to one certain overzealous senior assistant who's trying so hard to make a name for himself. Doing it for the school? Doing it for the students? Oh please, save all that crap for someone dumb enough to believe you. We definitely don't. Take a look at his most recent handywork:

Students' parking irks residents

Indiscriminate parking by Penang Free School students on both sides of the Halaman Free School road in Penang is driving residents in the area up the wall.

They claimed that the road had become narrow since the students parked their cars there.

Mohd Sultan, 37, said the stu- dents began parking there after the school banned them from parking inside the school compound effective Feb 6.

"With them parking on both sides of the road, only one car can pass at a time although it is a two-way road," he said.

Mohd said he did not under- stand the school's decision to ban students from parking in the school compound when there was ample space inside.

"We were told by the school that the ban was enforced as some students hid inside their cars to smoke," he added.

A Penang Free School senior assistant who refused to be named declined to comment on the complaints.

Just a few days back the students had a rude shock when they found a Chap Goh Meh/Valentine's Day gift on their car windshields. They were issued police summons for parking their cars at that residential area. It was alleged that the senior assistant in question was the person who called the traffic police to issue the summons but my bet would be on the disgruntled residents instead. They were probably in the wrong to park there in the first place but can we truly blame them? Where are they expected to park then when their own school disallow them to park within the school premises? It's as if that bozo is discouraging students from coming to school!

Of course there are other means to go to school but what if that is the only way? In a time where the students have tuition classes practically everyday and quite a number of them straight after school, how can we expect the students to depend on the unreliable public transport or even car-pooling with friends that have stay-at-home parents? Are they forced to ride bikes then? Who is this fat shit to decide how the students should come to school?

Initially I thought the reason for banning student cars in the school premises was due to the lack of parking for staff (which is always a grievance even here in USM). However, after reading the papers today, I was totally flabbergasted that the reason behind the ruling was to stop students from smoking in the car! Oh come on, what kind of lame excuse is that?

As a prefect during my time in the school, I know that there are plenty more places that the students will light up the cancer sticks which are more popular compared to their cars. We've caught people smoking in the toilets before. Should we then tear down all the toilets in the school to stop the smoking menace? We've found people smoking in the hostel which is also the den of so many things evil and wrong. Should we then close the hostel altogether and turn it into a library? We've also found people smoking in the surau among other things! Now then, tell we what we should do to the surau?

If he is serious in combating the smoking issue, he should start with the teachers first who light up in the school ever so often. He should also empower the school prefects to tackle this problem instead of making them useless and powerless. He should stop coming up with all these nonsense and start working on the real issues instead.

It's amazing how this dimwit can come up with such half-baked ideas at such a consistent rate. Why did he refuse to be named? Why did he refuse to comment on the complaints? What's wrong? Cat caught your tongue? I remember very clearly people telling me he was very vocal during the school assembly about not being afraid of any objections and would face them all upfront. Why the sudden change of heart? Has his tiny little balls shrunk even further along with his waistline as he went from an oversized potato to the ghastly looking figure he is now? Is that even physically possible considering raisins can be considered a giant when compared to his nuts?

He has ripped up the school traditions one by one and boasting his so-called accomplishments and his service to the school while insulting all the things about the school that we are proud of. I can't entirely blame him for feeling high and mightly in the school. After all, the Frees that are studying in the school today frankly speaking, have no balls to go against him! They are nothing compared to the Frees of yesteryears. We wouldn't have allowed a moron like him desecrating the good name of our school in such a manner.

His actions so far have really left a bad taste in my mouth. It would be so simple to compile a dossier of all his wrongdoings and get him out of the school or at least just stop him from destroying the school even more. Why aren't the current Frees doing anything about it? You can't expect Old Frees to do something when the current Frees are willing to just go through with it without even a squeak! The onus is on the current Frees to start standing their ground and show this joker what true Frees are made of.

This clown wants to make a name for himself in the school. He wants to leave a legacy behind. Well, I've good news for him. He has definitely achieved his goals. He shall forever be remembered as the person that disgraced the good name of the school, destroyed it's traditions and brought the downfall of Penang Free School. Good work! For the residents that would like to thank him for the grievances he has caused, you can always just walk across the street since he's staying right at the Government quarters within the school.

UPDATE: I've been pointed to a similar article found in the New Straits Times to whom the questionable senior assistant was willing to give an interview and mentioned the reasons behind the ban.

Residents irked over parking

A decision by the Penang Free School to bar its students from parking their cars in the school compound has kicked up a storm of protest from some residents nearby.

Some of the residents in the vicinity of Jalan Halaman Free School claim students are parking their cars along the road, causing them much inconvenience.

Students were told they would not be allowed to park their cars in the school compound in a letter signed by the principal, Mohd Yusuf Omar. The ban has been in effect since Feb 6.

Those riding motorcycles or bicycles are now only allowed to park in the compound if they buy stickers costing RM3 each.

According to the school's senior assistant (students affairs), Abdul Latif Mohd Yusoff, the directive was issued with the consent of the parent-teacher association.

"We decided to ban students from driving their cars into the school compound to prevent accidents and untoward incidents. There were cases of students making out in their cars."

A resident, Mohammed Sultan, 37, said the Jalan Halaman Free School road was now reduced to a single lane because both sides of the road were used for parking.

"We have complained to the city council but no action has been taken."

"We have also spoken about the matter to the school principal but they have washed their hands of it, saying they have no control over where students park their cars."

Mohammed claimed 30 to 40 cars were usually parked along the road on most days.

Oh come on! The ban was "to prevent accidents" and due to "cases of students making out in their cars"? You think the car is the only place they can make out? There are so many other places in the school that are available to the them which are suitable! What is he going to do about those other places then? How many accidents occured in the school premises then that warranted such an action? Accidents will happen anywhere. That's why it's called an accident! Do you see the Government closing down roads or banning the ownership of vehicles due to road accidents?!? I guess next they'll ask the students to glue their school ties to their necks so they won't forget to wear them! Preposterous!

He's so smart in pushing the blame to others. This is not the first time he has done so when he finds himself in deep shit. Trying to wash your hands clean by pointing out the principal issued the orders and approval was gained by the parents-teachers association? Who was the mastermind behind all of these? Who was the devil pulling all the strings? Please, you can't fool everyone. In the end, the truth will prevail. He must remember that he's the senior assistant for student affairs and his priority is to protect the welfare of the students, not make their schooling life a living hell! Way to go for putting the school in the national dailies for all the wrong reasons. You should be proud of yourself!!!

Related articles:

• Penang Free School In Crisis
• Principal Playing The Race Card?
• Saving Penang Free School

Penang Free School In Crisis

I've been urged to highlight the current state of affairs of my alma mater in the newspapers by a group of people who are very passionate about Penang Free School. However, I've not been able to find the time to think clearly and draft a strong letter that would warrant a strong response. Some were too frustrated with the situation that they wrote in themselves which were published recently, albeit a huge chunk of their original messages being edited out, thus becoming a tame affair. The school admin even brushed it aside and labeled it merely as 'outside noise'. I think the time is right for me to submit my letter now especially after reading of a reunion dinner being organised by the school Board of Governors on December 3rd in The Star today. The previous big celebration was held in 1991 for the 175th anniversary but why is it being held this year, the 189th anniversary? I don't see any need or significance in organising one this year and instead of organising a reunion dinner, the Board of Governors should concentrate their effort on helping the school from sinking any deeper than it already has and return it to its former glory before it totally becomes useless to organise the all important 200th anniversary dinner because the school is non-existent anymore. Of course I cannot guarantee my strong-worded letter will get published but rest assured, it will definitely ruffle some feathers.

Related articles:

• Parking Woes At PFS
• Principal Playing The Race Card?
• Saving Penang Free School