OLD Andersonians want the government to provide proper maintenance for schools more than a century old, starting with their own alma mater.

The alumni of SMK Anderson in Ipoh said the all-boys secondary school has been in a dilapidated condition for years and seek RM300,000 to fund repairs. 

Pre-independence buildings should be preserved for future generations, they said, but given the lack of support from the authorities, they have taken up the task of refurbishing the school themselves.

Former Andersonians Club Ipoh presidegnt Anwar Hassan told The Malaysian Insight that funding the school received from the government was insufficient.

“The government should prioritise maintenance, especially for 100-year-old schools and undertake serious supervision and monitoring of the state of old schools, and not to allow the rot to set in.

“Without proper maintenance, the accumulated repair costs will become too huge to bear.”

Anderson School is an English-medium school established during the British colonial period in Malaya. The school opened on February 8, 1909.

Currently, there are 1,000 students enrolled in the school.

It was named after Sir John Anderson, governor of the Straits Settlements and British High Commissioner in Malaysia.

Anwar said since last year, funds allocated have not been enough to maintain the school’s old buildings and meet the cost of major repairs.

“Repeated requests for additional funding have not received a response.

“Hence, the school has to resort to seeking the funds from various sources such as contributions from the old boys.”

Repairs needed include painting the school with its original colour, refurbishing the roof, tiles and replacing its ceiling boards.

The entire school needs a fresh coat of paint, Anwar said.

“So far, with donations of RM 60,000, we have managed to complete cleaning and painting of the school clock tower and the front facade of the school.

“The rest of the school building and classrooms are yet to be done as we need an additional RM300,000 for refurbishment works.”

Anwar, however, said that renovating the old headmaster’s residence may cost more as it is a wooden structure and needs electrical rewiring. 

As for funding, Anwar said they had some generous old boys who contributed their time to check for quotations and who made donations to kickstart the repair work.

He said it also helped that the school’s principal was an Andersonian and as such was energetic and hands-on with the alumni’s efforts and willing to listen to the old boys.

“He is daring enough to be receptive to ideas. He agrees with the principle that people who donated money to the school must have a say in the selection of contractors to ensure their hard-earned money is put to good use.

“The principal was very amenable to a suggestion that the old boys select the contractor, and we chose someone who did all the work for another mission school (St Michael’s).”

Anwar also said the old boys are lucky to have support for their efforts from the school’s teachers and students’ parents. – May 24, 2021.