Std. 5C, 1968 – from the Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh
The Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) was the first English school (and first Christian mission school too!) in the Kinta Valley. This school was established by the Methodist Episcopal Mission in 1895. It was said that just five days after his arrival, Rev W E Horley opened ACS in a small attap-roof Malay house rented from Datoh Panglima Kinta Muhammad Yusuff.
Here we have Std. 5C, from 1968. Our donor Mr Sundralingam is somewhere in the picture. What about you? I’m sure we have some former ACS boys out there (especially from this class!). What about the teachers shown here – are they still around?
To start the ball rolling , the boy seated next to the male teacher and the one squatting in front in between the 2 lady teachers stood out in size . Are they older than their classmates ? Or even at Standard 5 level , the men are beginning to be separated ( by size dimension ) from the boys ?
The boy seated to the extreme left looked diffident and pensive . Was he the one more likely to be picked upon in class ?
Why did the boy in the last row to our left , turn his head ? Did he not hear the word , “cheese” ? Or was there some striking distraction ?
The boy seated to the right of the lady teacher seemed very self-assured , alert and likely to be from a middle class family background . Did he exhibit signs of having the potential to do well later in life ?
The boy squatting to our extreme right , has he since acquired an ample waistline ? He had even in those days outgrown his shirt , likely exposing his navel .
This is merely a guessing game for a wet , boring afternoon . Perhaps , Mr. Sundralingam can assist ?
Hi LMS136. you seem quite good at ‘character-profiling’…hahahahaha…
but, good observation skills, i must say! as for those ‘older’ boys, perhaps they WERE older? to what i was told, in those days if you didn’t pass your current Std you have to stay back another year, instead of moving to the next Std…
Hi felicia ,
A couple more comments ….
You can also tell who were from the better off families and who hailed from poor families . The former would wear leather shoes most days except for the days when they had PE classes scheduled . The poor boys would wear white canvas shoes all the time . Whilst this would change colours as the weather and muddy conditions take their toll , the more diligent ones who took pride in themselves , would blanco their shoes . It was however a struggle to stay looking smart if one had only one pair of shoes .
The shoes would rot , holes formed easily and the stench ! All from only a year or two of hard and intensive use , including for sports and cross-country runs . I believe that Fung Keong shoes were cheaper than Bata ones . These shoes had little grip on the soles . I used them when I was in Outward Bound school and found myself frequently in a free fall as I slid down muddy and sandy patches on a hill trail . Towards the end of the course , my right toes protruded through the canvas toe cap and were well ventilated . My pair of shoes were constantly in use throughout the 25 days and didn’t have a chance to dry out .
Why did some smile and look so cheerful ? Why did some look so grim and even sullen ? Not all had a happy young mind !
I hope that there are some amongst those in the picture who are still around . They couldn’t have all migrated . Why the lack of comments and reactions to the photograph ?
These fellows in Standard 5C in 1968 must be in their early fifties only. Surely they must be still around. Unfortunately, many of this age group do not use the computer well, so the possible reason for the silence.
LMS136, thanks for your entertaining and witty comments on those in the photograph.
Re those white rubber shoes, do you remember that it would be rather a great thing to have a pair from BATA? Some would only get ‘FUNG KEONG’ shoes. Also, we had to wash them at least once a week on Saturdays and put ‘BLANCO’ to make them white!
How many of you can remember ‘Blanco’ and what it is like to use it?
Later KIWI came out with a liquid bottle of whitening material, then another company added a sponge top to make it easier to apply the stuff to our white rubber shoes! They are really not ‘rubber’ shoes (only the soles but canvas shoes. Right?
Hi UV@Valiant Knight ,
They were canvas shoes with a non-grip rubber sole . Today the branded sports shoes are made of leather with fanciful sole reinforcement , including air cushion , to give a fillip to the SOUL …. oops sorry , SOLE … hahaha .
The kudos don’t even want Bata these days if they think that their parents can afford the branded ones . We live in judgement (we are not the judges though) .
This ACS class photo was snapped by the then the famous photo studio of Ipoh, Modern Studio. Ms. Felica, I would like to agree with you that Mr.LMS136 is an able character-profiling observer. In 1968 even if one is unable to perform well in their studies, they need not stay back another year in the class. That’s why in ACS we had classes from A to G (7 classes). The first two classes were very good classes, most students of these 2 classes were from affluent families. The C classes were above moderate and average in their studies. From the D classes onwards they were just average and so forth. However when one performed well, then they were awarded the double-promotion. Just to put it right, whatever physical sizes these students were, they were all born
in 1957.
LMS136 and UV@Valiant Knight I can still remember Fung Keong shoes, & BLANCO to whiten them. I use to wash my Badminton Master(Bata) and reluctantly whiten it. Otherwise my mum would skin me alive, and it would be an embarrassing moment for me.
I too wonder what had happen to all these guy of 5C of ACS 1968! I can remember some of them like Kong Kee Fatt, R.Ragunathan, Roslan, Sulaiman, Wai San, Letchumanan and John. I am the one sitting second from the right. The teachers in the photos are (from left), Cikgu Aminah, Ms. Toh Choon Sooi and Mr.Henry Lee Ying Seng, our National Language teacher. Ms. Toh our form teacher, was very strict and fierce, she had pinched and canned me for I was quite weak in her subject. But I still value her, can anyone help me to locate her?
Hi Sundralingam ,
Thanks for breaking silence to give us some insights into the way things were those days .
You had a cheery smile , which I hope continues to these days , and you were wearing the noose of office , which must denote that you were a prefect . I trust that you have been keeping your chin up and life has been treating you well since school days
I had an Indian classmate who was quite a tiny tot throughout the greater part of his school life . But in university , he shot up in height and can since see “eye to eye” with us . We don’t really know what caused that .
Hi Mr.LMS136, I like your identity, it’s like a James Bond code. Well, thank you for your positive conformity about me based on this 1968 picture.
By the way are you from ACS? Concerning your Indian classmate, maybe he had failed to develop the positive human qualities. As humans, we have the unparalleled opportunity to acquire merits and develop wisdom, thereby contributing to our well-being and happiness not only to oneself but also to all mankind. This will enable one to live a life filled with purpose and add quality to human existence. But, sad to note, some choose to be otherwise, because our mind is the architect of our fate.
When one achieves sudden height, ego and self-pride sips in one’s mind. Then one forgets himself and lowers his own dignity and be a nuisance to the other party. Why let him bother you Mr.LMS136?
Hi Sundralingam ,
I am happy and proud to say I was from ACS Ipoh . Perhaps not quite a true blue one as I only had my secondary education in ACS , but a staunch product I can claim to be .
My apologies to you if I had given a wrong impression of my ex-Indian classmate . I meant to say that even up to Form 5 , he was short and small in size , a bit diffident and tentative but all in all , he was really likable . His father used to run an Indian food stall on a wheeled cart near the school .
He had moral fibre , he made his way through law school and when I met up with him in his early working life , I was happily astonished to find that not only had he shot up in height , but he has a robust physique and personality to match .
He is now a very senior lawyer in KL . Our Form 5 and Form 6 group meet very regularly , both in KL as well as in Ipoh . He is a regular participant . In our eyes , we behave like we were in our school days except perhaps that we have each acquired in our own ways a more interesting dimension to our personality . Our relationship remains easy going and spontaneous .
Do have a good day . Cheers !
Do you folks out there know whether Ms.Toh is still around?
Hi UV@Valiant Knight, I was told she use to attend the Methodist
(Chinese section) at ACS. I am yet to reach her, she must be in her seventies. Anyone out there know the where about of Ms.Toh?
The male teacher is Mr Lee
The Malay teacher is Cikgu Aminah
Hi Lam, were u in this class? And where is Ms. Toh now?
Hi S.Sundralingam and Lam,
What a memory!!! I am one year your senior and I am afraid I left it all behind. It is indeed wonderful to look back at old school photos. Thank you for the memory….
Hi, Mr S Sundralingam and all,
I’m Sulaiman, (Not the one you mentioned above). In 1968 I was in std 4C. I presume that we were at the badminton court at that time, waiting to get our class
pic taken. I still had the pic of my class and would like to share with you and everyone.
Hi Sulaiman, welcome to our world.
If you can scan the picture at a good resolution (say 600dpi) and email it to info@ipohworld.com then we shall be pleased to share it with our readers.
I look forward to receiving it.
Hi folks..just dropping a line to check whether i can bump into some old pals here.Year born is 1956 and only remember brian our discipline master, Mr leong Ms Tai or Toh i think.Hope to receive some mails soon.
Gooday and Best wishes
Schoolmate always make fun of me by calling me Siti heheheh
Stays in Falim those days