BANDA HILIR: They are a dying breed, but the teaching brothers of the St John’s Baptist de La Salle mission – an order of the Catholic church – are a resilient and dynamic lot.
These men – laypersons who have committed their lives to religious and educational service – have put in tremendous effort to ensure their legacy remains intact among the 29 La Salle schools in peninsular Malaysia, and six associated schools in Sabah and Sarawak.
These efforts now include a new heritage centre that was launched on Oct 8 at St Francis Institution (SFI) in Banda Hilir, Melaka. This was held in conjunction with SFI’s 120th-anniversary celebrations that included a Mass at the school chapel, followed by dinner in the quadrangle.
SFI director Brother Ambrose Loke, his younger sibling and La Salle Malaysia director Brother Andrew Loke, and Brother David Liao officiated the launch, which was attended by Lasallian alumni and others.
The three rang the 112-year-old Heritage Bell 12 times to symbolically declare open the RM100,000 centre.
According to Andrew, his elder sibling had mooted the idea for the heritage centre in 2016. Ambrose – the longest-serving SFI director who has held this position for 33 years, and also the centre’s patron – had a “strong desire to see it happen as his mission was to do something good for the school and the future generation of students”, Andrew said.
“This was his earnest effort for all of us to remember the extraordinary services rendered by the 150 Lasallian brothers to SFI over the past 120 years, after they took over the school in 1902.”
Andrew recommended for every school in the country to establish a heritage centre of its own. “This way, the history and legacy will be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
“I hope the SFI Heritage Centre will encourage more schools to do likewise – to reflect on the character and ethos of the multitude of institutions in the country.”
Franciscan Club of Kuala Lumpur president Eric Chan added that the centre is aimed at conserving SFI’s storied past and ongoing efforts.
“We wish for its history and legacy to be safeguarded through continuing research and the documentation of past events. At the same time, we want to promote and disseminate knowledge and information on the school’s artefacts, culture, and written heritage,” he said.
Items displayed at the centre include medals, shields, school building replicas, commemorative souvenirs, and other memorabilia.
170-year journey
The Lasalle Brothers have provided quality education to hundreds of thousands of Malaysian youths of all races and creeds across generations.
According to Malaysian Federation of Lasallian Alumni Associations secretary James Sia, the brothers arrived in Penang in 1852 and established St Xavier’s Institution, their first mission school.
Half a century later, in October 1902, three brothers – Irish-American Maurice Josephus Freeze, Burmese Andrew Corsini Peter, and Malaysian Constantine Jeremiah – took over the administration of SFI from the Catholic church, officially making it a Lasalle school.
SFI was, at the time, housed in a two-storey building formerly occupied by St Mary’s School, located across the road from St Francis Xavier Church on Jalan Banda Kaba. But it wasn’t long before it became clear that bigger premises were required.
“SFI’s first building was the ‘U’ building on Jalan Parameswara, where the school is located today,” Sia said. “It was built in 1906 and opened in March 1907.”
On Jan 1, 1922, the brothers acquired the adjacent Malacca Rubber Plantations Ltd building as part of SFI’s expansion plans.
“Since then, SFI has flourished, providing quality education to generations of pupils across all levels of society,” he added.
