St. Michael's

In the first eight years of its existence, this institution was known as St. Michael's School and was under the management of the devoted and zealous Parish Priest of St. Michael's Church Ipoh. In 1912, he earnestly besought the Rev Bro. James, who had quite recently been appointed Visitor of the District, was to open a school in his parish. As there were no Brothers available at that time, all that Rev. Bro. James could do was to give him a Headmaster and an assistant teacher from St. Xavier's Institution, Penang. 

Mr. Paul Morsingh, a very zealous convert of St. Xavier's, generously accepted the office of Headmaster, with 37 students in a large double-story half-brick half-timber Malay house, set in a coconut grove at one end of Kampong Pisang. Due to competition from two existing English schools, the school started out by accepting students of older boys. Though he feared the responsibility and regretted leaving his Old School, which had become a home to him. He faced the ordeal in the soldierly spirit of his race. He had to face the competition with fully-qualified European Head Masters. They were in charge of Schools already fully organized and enjoying local patronage.

 It was necessary to obtain the approval of the Government for the proposed School. This secured the understanding that the Brothers would take over the management as soon as possible. This assurance was given with confidence as His Lordship, the Bishop of Malacca, had obtained a promise from the Brothers. from the Brother Superior-General of the Brothers.

 Occasional visits were paid to the School by the Brothers from St. Xavier's Penang: Advice and encouragement were sympathetically given. Thus, the spirit of St. Xavier's, the Alma Mater of practically all the teachers, was infused into the new School. Another encouraging step was the purchase by the Bro. Visitor, of the School grounds and buildings, for the sum of $20.000. The Rev. Manager agreed to pay a monthly rent of $70 until the Brothers could take over the entire management.

The Great War darkened the prospects of the new School as it became almost impossible to recruit the Brothers for the fulfillment of the promise. At the same time, the strenuous work to which the Headmaster, Mr. Mor Singh, gave himself, we may say without counting the cost-began to tell seriously upon his health. It became necessary to replace him in 1920. It was impossible to find a suitable substitute in the circumstances, the Right Rev. Father Maritte, Vicar General of the Diocese, made a pathetic appeal to the Rev. Bro. Visitor to come to the rescue by taking over the entire management.

The appeal was discussed by the District Council on June 30, 1920. The Ree Bro. The visitor rose to the occasion. It was the question of safeguarding the interests of the Catholic children attending the School in spite of the terrible burden which the needs of the entire district placed upon him, especially owing to the shortage of the Brothers, trusting in divine Providence and in the protection of the great Patron of the School, the Archangel. St. Michael, he decided, supported by the advice of his Council, to take the final step

Early in July, he paid a visit to Ipoh and arranged preliminaries with the Rev. Father Coppin. It was decided that the Brothers would take over the School on the 16th of August 1920. Accordingly, Rev. Bro. Paul, then Director of the Brothers School in Taiping, was transferred to Ipoh. Two other Brothers, Bro. Herman agid John, from Singapore, and Bro. A Finian Loan from Taiping was given to him as a helper. The foundation stone was laid on 17th June 1922 by Mr C W C Parr, the British Resident of Perak, marking the commencement of work on the building. Many citizens of Ipoh witnessed the historical ceremony. 

As the enrolment increased, the building at Clayton Road was twice extended sideways in 1941 and 1951 until it reached the present 177-foot wide facade. This ceremony was preceded by that of the Blessing of the Stone, performed by His Grace Mor Merel, Archbishop of Craina, late Vicar Apostolic of Canton. The building was finished in 1923, blessed by Father Coppin on the Feast Day of St John de la Salle.

When the Hon. Mr CWC. Parr had declared the foundation stone well and truly laid he added that it gave him great pleasure to come to Ipoh for that ceremony, first on account of the importance of English Education in in the States and secondly because of the great and good work the Christian Brothers had done and were doing in the cause of Education. 

The State had indebted to bodies like the Christian Brothers, who devoted their energies to this great cause by replying on behalf of the management of the Rev Bro. James Visitors presented his sincere thanks to Major Parr and to His Grace, Archbishop Menit, for their respective parts in the ceremony. He paid a high tribute to the work done by Rev. Father Coppin, the founder of the School, during the trying years of the War and until the management was handed over to the Brothers. 

During the Japanese Invasion, St Michael’s housed British soldiers from the 1st Leicester Regiment and the 2nd East Surreys just days before the arrival of the Japanese army in Ipoh. It was in St Michael’s that the 1,400 soldiers, who had recently lost many men (killed or captured)to the enemy in Kedah, banded together on 20th December 1941 to form the “British Battalion”, before deploying to Kampar in preparation for their next clash with the Japanese in the Battle of Kampar (30th December 1941 to 2nd January 1942. On 23rd December, the Japanese bombed Ipoh, and those still in the buildings fled to a makeshift shelter behind the school.

Just 8 days later, as the Japanese occupied Ipoh, the school was closed and commandeered by the Japanese. The entire building was used to house the Japanese Administration, and it was renovated to suit their needs. The present lecture theatre was filled with sand and used as a bunker, and an underground shelter was also constructed for the Governor and his senior-ranking officers during air raids.

The first classroom next to the main staircase, on the ground floor, was the telephone exchange centre, while the other classrooms housed various government offices, including the Police Headquarters. The current school hall was the State Treasury, and important documents were safeguarded and kept in the room below the main staircase.

After the Japanese Occupation had ended, Brother Denis Hyland took over the Directorship of the school, which reopened on 24 September 1945. During his administration, further expansion of the school took place. Both wings of the school were extended so as to accommodate more classes.

When Bro Ultan Paul became the director, the need for further expansion arose once again. As the cost of constructing another building with the same architectural design was extremely high, a four-story building was built adjoining it. This new building, now known as the "U-Paul Block", houses the library, science labs, classrooms, staff room, offices, and canteen. The Hon. Dr. RO. Winsted, Director of Education, paid his first visit on the 9 of September 1925. He wrote in the school This is a most excellent building for a school, handsome in design and with well-lit and well-proportioned classrooms. The pupils look exceptionally neat and clean. 

The tone of the School is good." On the 2 of the following year. Dr. Winstedt, accompanied by the Inspector of Schools, assisted at the Annual School Sports. The following day he visited the School. He recorded that he was pleased with the alertness and neatness of the pupils. He was glad to note that there were no over-age boys in the classes. The occasion of the Annual Sports held on August 13 1927, was Sir Hugh Clifford. High Commissioner of the FMS and Governor of the Straits Suttioments paid a surprise visit he showed a keen interest in the events. This Sports gathering was one of the most representative ever held in Ipoh. Splendid Sportsmanship, keen competition, and a most enjoyable meeting were the verdict given at its conclusion by those who assessed it. Over time, the school PTA (Parents Teachers Association), BOG (Board of Governors), and OMA (Old Michaelian Association) put in lots of effort to keep the school maintenance perfect and stable. 

Finally, the school as it is today, famous for its architectural beauty, the alma mater of many current leading citizens of Malaysia, and a distinguished centre of education stressing all-round excellence.

Source: St. Michael's Institution 2012 Magazine