St. Francis Institution is one of the hundreds of learning institutions worldwide under the canopy of the La Sallian
Brothers care and management. With a common vision to help and assists through the complete education, the man behind this
noble heritage is St. John Baptist De La Salle. The work of De La Salle has been continued until today with a network of 8000
La Sallian brothers working in more than 81 countries across the world. He did not just educate and dream but had created
a better future.
One of the recognized Christian Missionary School from the La Salle community, this 122 years old alma mater to date
is also one of the few listed Premier Schools in Malacca with both its primary and secondary school.
SFI Melaka is named after the famous saint, St. Francis Xavier who lived and laboured for the good of all races. A brialliant
young scholar from University of Paris, with a mission to preach Chistianity, we are pround to be under his patronage
as the sons of St. francis, so valiant and true.
I became a Franciscan from the year 1987 when I was 7 and still remained one till this very day although
I left with a heavy heart after 11 years of studying in this marvelous school after my SPM in 1997.
Primary school was fun, fun, fun all the way. The small school compound with only 2 blocks of classes along
the stretch of old Jalan Chan Koon Cheng was always abuzz with us little kids making a nuisance of ourselves. 6 years here
was full of memories for me as a little kid.Teng-teng, hantu galah, ice-cream sticks fights still beckons. I was the class
monitor for 5 years in a row till Standard 5 due to popular vote before being a school prefect in Standard 6. That was cool!
Being in the crème de la crème of the Merah Class was intense as everybody was such a kiasu in studies, well at least a small
part of them. Why Alex Khoo remained the No 1 student year in and year out is beyond my thoughts. But of cause, I was in the
top 5 all along.
Being caned by Mr. Nonis, the headmaster himself in Standard 4 for failing to spell 3 words out of 10 in my English class was a real pain in the ass. Mr. Patrick's ghost stories was spooky
and En. Abu Hassan never failed to let us play football. And Mr. Lim was always
with his buku kasar in Mathematics. Mr. Wong was always full of games and quizzes in Co-Curriculum class. Madam Low was always
captivating with the piano. Those were some of my cool teachers. All of them are wonderful people although some of them might
be gone now.
I moved to the adjacent building to start my secondary years. The big canteen (you can play chess on its
tables), the clean and huge toilet (20 cubicles in all with 5 shower rooms and a 5 meter long glass ala hotel), the old retro
building and new blocks (all fully morzaic) and the small but majestic Chapel just made this school truly St. Francis Institution.
What better way to spend my booming teenagers life here. I began to search for my character, my way of life, my sense of direction,
my companions and of cause the art of doing what men enjoy.
The Monday morning assembly was always alive with the shouts of the
Cadet Guy to start the school band rolling playing Negaraku and the schools song. Definitely one of its kind. Then
there's the yearly Chinese New Year celebrations with our very own 24 Seasons Drum and lion dance Troupe as Datuk Gan Boon
Leong never failed to be our invited guest and not to mentioned generous donor. In fact I was among the pioner members in
the troupe and we really kicked ass in our prime making endeless performances. Check out the pictures!
Form 1 was character finding, Form 3 was the big PMR, Form 4 was honeymoon year and Form 5 was the challenging
SPM. That's to sum up my years in SFI. I was kinda active in the 5 years there. Football was my number one sports. If PJ was
not enough, a game of shooting over the goal post after school in our school uniform just proves so. Ask Andy, Kee Siang,
Bong and Tian Seng. All have the legs of a log I tell you. Where was I? Oohh school activities. Here's a list:
- Kadet Remaja Sekolah (Treasurer)
- Maths and Science Society (Secretary)
- Pusat Sumber (Treasurer)
- Koperasi (Head Coordinator, AJK Board)
Not to forget the various inner sports events that I got into like javeline and discus throwing representing
Edward, my sports house as they call it.
Recess was noisy as ever. Mee taa (very dry curry mee with lots of chilli) was the daily diet. "More chilly
ar aunty!!" I still visits the canteen occasionally to have a taste for that wonderful dish. 5 years of eating mee taa has
taken it's toll I guessed.
Teacher was more than that to me. They are my mentors, my pals and my source of inspiration. Names to mention
are Bro. Michael, Mr. Sim, Mr. Chan, Mr. Ho, Miss Poon, Mr. Tan Koon Beng (babi tanah), Mrs.
Lucy Tan, Mr. Shoeb. They are the best.
School mates here are just out of this world. Funny, crazy and daring to do anything. My buddies are mostly
from the Putih class (I was in the Hijau class). Walter the handyman, Andy the speaker, Bong, Ijay and Vincent the Babas,
Siva the faggot, Chin Kok, Tian Seng, Samuel, David, Freddie, Kenny, Mahendran are among the guys just to chill out with.
I left the school with a heavy heart to do
my Form 6 in another school. I learned more than what the books had to offer here. I found my identity and my true self. I
found more than what life had to offer here. Memories are all I have now. SFI will remain in my heart no matter what. Age
Qoud Agis !!!
Age Quod Agis, the school motto meaning "whatever you do, do it well" mirrors the spirit
that resides in every heart and soul of Franciscans
Below are pictures of my studying years in SFI.
