FORMER SINGAPORE MINISTER RECALLS TIME AT SITC

TANJONG MALIM, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- More than six decades after he first set foot at Sultan Idris Training College (SITC) as a young student, former Singapore Senior Minister of State (Education) Datuk Seri Sidek Saniff recalled his struggle to pursue teacher training education before serving in the republic.

Now aged 88, he was among the earliest SITC students from Singapore who studied in Tanjong Malim from 1955 to 1957, when the institution stood as the highest symbol of teacher education in the Malay Archipelago, and he later became the head student in his final year of studies.

“In 1957, we proposed that the selection of the head student be carried out democratically. What was most touching at the time was that friends from Malaya wanted me to assume the position, even though Singapore had yet to gain independence while Malaya was on the verge of independence on Aug 31.

“That moment was very meaningful to me because SITC was not merely a place of learning; it was where I learned about human values, openness of mind and democracy,” he told Bernama.

The Singapore republic figure, who regarded Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid or Razak Sensei as his idol, was met at the Former SITC Students Reunion Ceremony held at Dewan Sri Tanjung, Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Campus, Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), here today.

Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid was a Malaysian academic and the only Malaysian survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. A prominent professor of the Japanese language, he was nicknamed "Razak-sensei" by friends and university students.

Meanwhile, SITC alumnus Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdullah, 91, said the establishment of the institution in 1922 marked a major turning point in efforts to uplift the dignity of the Malays through education, particularly in producing trained teachers during the British colonial era.

“During the colonial era, Malays were not allowed to pursue higher education. After completing Standard Five, those who wished to continue their studies had to become trainee teachers and enter SITC. As such, SITC was established specifically to train Malay teachers from across Malaya.

“In the past, English was widely used, but after many Malay teachers were produced, the Malay language was used up to the university level, which opened up broad opportunities for Malays to pursue education and become leaders,” said Abdul Aziz, who entered the institution in 1951.

SITC Alumni president Datuk Seri Ahmad Burak, who is also a member of the UPSI Board of Directors, meanwhile, said the programme aimed to bring together former students from the earliest eras of SITC, some of whom have now reached nearly 100 years of age.

“Our primary objective is to bring them together because some have not met for between 40 and 60 years. Imagine that some of them entered SITC at the age of 13.

“Additionally, this programme serves as a highly useful platform for documentation and preservation by the university, as their numbers continue to dwindle, and most importantly, the gathering provides a space for us to learn from the SITC figures present,” he said.

Several other programmes were also organised at today’s event, which was attended by more than 60 participants, including a screening on the history of SITC’s establishment, a visit to UPSI’s Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Campus, which is the former SITC building, as well as a reunion dinner in the evening.

-- BERNAMA