©The Sun
(Used by permission)
by
Ho Koh Chye
Ismail (without blazer) in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games. The rest from left:
Kamarul Arifin, Ismail Ali, Unidentified Player (behind Ismail), Ho Koh Chye, C.
Paramlingam, R. Yogeswaran
I was still in school when independence was declared almost 50 years ago. Those
were carefree and exciting days. The streets, the five–foot ways, the backlanes
and the freely available open spaces then were our temples of joy for informal
sporting and recreational activities.
I remember with fondness kanda–kaundi, kite–flying, spider–catching, swimming in
mining pools, washing the sawdust off blocks of ice while preparing drinks for
the inter–street games, the forays into private orchards ... name it and we have
done it.
I miss the school Sports Day. I remember Edward House, the colours of which I
wore proudly during inter–house competitions, and especially on Sports Day down
at St. Paul's Institution (SPI), Seremban.
It was a special day of the year when parents turned up in full force to support
their children at the Negri Sembilan (NS) Padang. Parents were part and parcel
of the excitement. It was a perfect occasion for the bonding of teachers,
parents and children.
We never felt uneasy in the presence of our parents. Neither did we feel
abandoned when we finished 6th or last in the 440 yards or the long jump. A
smile, a word of encouragement and a pat on the back were our parents' usual
response.
Rivalry and competition were fierce for medals as well as for other events like
the Best Decorated House award and the inter–school relays.
The inter–school relays attracted large crowds including the staff and school
heads of the competing schools who used their cars to ferry teams and supporters
to the various races.
The relays were keenly contested affairs with each school trying to outdo the
other. The intense rivalry prompted many schools to build strong relay squads as
their flag bearers.
The King George V (KGV) field was one such battleground for flag flying. The 4 x
440 yards inter–school relay was the blue riband event of the day.
School heads, some biting nails, looked on anxiously from the sidelines as teams
from KGV, SPI, Victoria Institution, High School Malacca, Royal Military
College, and St. John's Institute locked horns.
The inter–school relay was usually the grand finale – a fitting way to end a day
enjoyed by one and all.
Elsewhere, the same exuberance and enthusiasm prevailed.
I was told that the Anderson School Sports Day in 1958 will always remain a
special day for four young lads from a relatively unknown school in Tapah. The
four of them, representing Government English School (GES), Tapah, had the nerve
to take on the big boys of Perak namely, Anderson, St Michael's Institution,
Anglo–Chinese School, Malay College Kuala Kangsar, Clifford and King Edward in
the 4 x 110 yards inter–school relay. It was David versus Goliath.
"Who are these guys?" asked many around the Anderson field, as the team from GES
warmed up. R. Yogeswaran, V. Vijiaratnam, Tham Siew Kuan and Peter Kandiah did
what they had come to do. At the sound of the starter's gun, they flashed around
the track with speed and flawless baton changing, astonishing everybody with
their victory.
It was their first appearance in the big league. It also turned out to be their
first big leap onto the winner's rostrum and to stardom. To think that they did
it, training on a 220–yard track! I am sure there are many similar heartwarming
stories that have been left untold.
Trophies won during inter–school competitions, be they in soccer, hockey,
badminton or inter–school relays, were proudly displayed during school assembly
on Monday mornings. The athletes who did the school proud had a special place on
the stage and came up for special mention by the school head. Such was the
importance attached to sports. Such was the manner in which athletes were
honoured.
Athletes do not appear from nowhere. Talent has to be discovered and developed
and schools, being the nurseries, play a central role in that process.
The pathway in place in those days was the same for all athletes. From the class
team, an athlete progressed through the ranks to the house, school and finally,
the state combined schools team. On leaving school, identified athletes were
absorbed into clubs to participate in the district or state league competitions
from which state teams were formed for national competitions.
Great names of the past like Ghani Minhat, Edwin Dutton, Arthur Koh, Rahim Omar,
Wong Peng Soon, Eddie Choong, Ng Boon Bee, Tan Yee Khan, Tan Aik Huang, M.
Jegathesan, Ishtiaq Mubarak, Nashatar Singh, M. Rajamani and many others were
products of the same process.
First, they excelled on the streets, five–foot ways and backlanes of their
neighbourhood, later in the cauldron of fierce rivalry between school and
school, and then between states.
It was from this intensely competitive environment that there emerged a group of
athletes like those mentioned earlier who went on to win honours for the
country.
School heads and teachers in the past were single–minded and committed to the
ideal of producing all–rounders. It was never about books at the expense of
sports or vice versa.
They never remained idle while waiting for government funding to provide their
students with a better environment for the development of sound minds in sound
bodies.
In the 60s and 70s, teachers of KGV Seremban organised fun–fairs and staged
plays and other activities to raise funds to build a swimming pool and to
purchase much needed books for the school library.
Heady days they were. We didn't have to be told to visit the homes of
classmates, teammates or playmates. It happened spontaneously and naturally. It
was open house everyday.
Sports and recreational activities brought us together. School pride and
belonging to a group was another.
There were visits to discuss the selection of the street's soccer team or
tactics to neutralise the star of another team. There were also visits to
exchange fighting fish and to decide how much to contribute for a new football.
Having a meal and staying over was a normal thing and parents were sensible
enough to know what not to serve Mohd Nasir or Samy. From young, I was exposed
to a rich variety of food like capati, thosai, chicken varuval, and chicken and
beef rendang ala nogeri. I even became very adept at using my fingers.
Complexion was not a problem. Race was never an issue. But beating our arch
rivals at the next 4 x 110 yards inter–school race was!
What happened in the intervening years? Today, critics will have us believe that
the school sports system has faltered and that Malaysian sports has had to pay a
price.
Let us briefly examine some factors that have been cited as possible causes:
– the rapid development and expansion of towns and cities since Merdeka has
resulted in a yawning gap between population and sports facilities, particularly
in schools.
– schoolgirls are out–performing schoolboys by the thousands, resulting in a
steep increase in the enrolment of women in teacher training and tertiary
institutions.
– religion and traditional ideas about women's participation have had
ramifications on their role in sports development as physical education (PE)
teachers and coaches.
As a consequence, parents complain that PE, sports activities and especially the
annual Sports Day have been put on the back burner because of a lack of school
playgrounds, PE teachers and coaches, and because of a very crowded curriculum,
and the paper chase.
The big leap in the percentage of women teachers in recent years is well
documented.
The consequences of this development, together with the lack of facilities and
commitment for sports, are issues that deserve the serious attention of sports
planners in the Education Ministry.
Let us remember that tomorrow's champions are today's school children, and more
importantly, schools need to imbue in our children a life–long love for an
active and healthy lifestyle.
Datuk Ho Koh Chye is an Olympian who played hockey for Malaya and later
Malaysia in the Sixties and Seventies. He coached the team that finished fourth
in the World Cup in 1975. He is the Chef de Mission of the Malaysian Contingent
to next year's Beijing Olympics.