Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid

Sultan Abdul Hamid College or Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, located in Alor Setar, Kedah, is one of Malaysia's oldest and most prestigious schools. Founded in 1908 as Government English School (G.E.S.), it is also one of the country’s oldest English-medium schools. The students of Kolej, are mostly boys as Forms 1 to 5 are for boys only, and the Lower and Upper Sixth Forms are co-educational.

There were only 50 students back in the year 1908 and by 2007 more than 1200 students were enrolled. The school is fondly known as "Kolej" to the people of Alor Setar and also Kedah as a whole. Students of this school are proudly known as "Collegians". The school's yearly magazine, Darulaman ("the abode of peace"), takes its name from the state of Kedah's honorific title. The school celebrated its 100 years in existence in the year 2008 and the Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians' Association(SAHOCA) has built a new hall, the Dewan Centennial Sultan Abdul Halim in the school to commemorate the 100 year celebrations. The hall was officiated on the 18th of May 2016 and is named after His Royal Highness, Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agung of Malaysia (Supreme King of Malaysia), also the present Sultan of the state of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah who was also named the "Collegian of the Century" during the school's 100 year celebrations in 2008.

History

The First School

In 1908, before Kedah came under British protection, the state’s government appointed Mohamad bin Iskandar, a senior teacher at the Penang Free School and the father of Mahathir Mohamad (fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia), as the first headmaster of the "Government English School" (GES), which was the state’s first English school.

The school was housed in a wooden building between the Alor Setar High Court building (now known as Galeria Sultan Abdul Halim) and the Balai Nobat facing the junction of Jalan Baru (now known as Jalan Putera). The small building, which could accommodate no more than 50 pupils, had previously been the office of Chief Minister Wan Md Saman, who was instrumental in the construction of the Wan Md. Saman canal.

In 1910, Mohamad bin Iskandar resigned and returned to the Penang Free School leaving the G.E.S. in the hands of Md. Salleh. Ismail Merican, another Senior Assistant Master at the Penang Free School, was appointed Headmaster the following year. The student body had grown to 97, more than the building could accommodate, so some classes had to be held in the open air.

The Second School

In 1911 the school moved to a private house in Jalan Penjara Lama. Here also the accommodation was insufficient for the number of pupils, who occupied cubicles in the small, dark rooms, with many seated on the floor.

By 1912 there were 160 boys enrolled. The school expanded its teaching staff, and now taught up to Standard Four. The shortages of accommodation and trained staff made teaching to a higher standard impossible, so that when pupils had attained Standard Four they enrolled in either the Penang Free School or the Malay College, or sought employment. The majority preferred to work since they could find good jobs with a Standard Four qualification.

The Present Building

The prime building of SAHC

For the site of the present building, Che Md. Ariffin (Secretary to the Government), and Che Ismail Merican (Headmaster of the school) selected an area of about 30 acres (120,000 m²) at Tanjung Bendahara. Construction, which began in 1915, was completed in late 1916.

The building consisted of a two-storied structure in the centre with two classrooms on each side. Provision was made for future expansion, allowing adequate space for playing fields and more classrooms to accommodate over a thousand pupils.

The school was formally declared open on January 1, 1917, and E.A.G. Stuart, who was the headmaster and also Superintendent of Education, had his office in the central building. By 1917 there were 223 on the roll with a staff of eleven including the Headmaster. There were trained teachers, and Stuart trained the others himself, as teacher training had not yet started in Kedah.

The Stuart Library, Est. 1930

Stuart had the task of running two rapidly growing establishments at the same time. By 1923 he was finding it difficult to cope alone, so E.C. Hicks was appointed as his assistant. By 1926 over 400 pupils were enrolled, and the government appointed a committee to make recommendations for future English education in the state. This committee members were Stuart, S. Dennys, E.A.P. Helps, Tunku Mohamed and Tuan Syed Mohamed Idid. They recommended, among other things, that English education should be provided to 800 boys, of whom 640 should be Malays.

Stuart relinquished his post as Headmaster to devote all his time to the Education Office, which occupied the top floor of the Post Office from 1926 until 1935. Hicks took over as Headmaster in late 1926. Stuart died the next year at Pulau Tikus Sanatorium, Penang, and soon afterward the college built a library and named it after him.

Co-education

Since its early days, the college had allowed co-education. After World War II, more girls were admitted, and in 1953 the Darulaman Magazine commented: "Owing to the shortage of teachers and the small number of students in Kampong Baru Girls' School (KBGS), co-education has been introduced into the Sultan Abdul Hamid College (SAHC)^[1] in 1948. KBGS sent only students of Standard Seven. They were Kalsom and Swee Eng, but towards the end of the year Che Zaidah joined them."

In 1949, four Malay girls enrolled, among them Tunku Sakinah, the daughter of the Sultan of Kedah. In 1950, 11 enrolled. In 1951 the intake dropped because the headmistress of KBGS sent only those she considered the best. By the beginning of 1952 only eight girls were left. In 1953 the figure rose again to 19, making a total of 24 girls in Standard Seven. In 1954 the College started Sixth Form tuition and three more girls enrolled.

Headmasters

Notable alumni

The Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians Association (SAHOCA) is headquartered in Wisma SAHOCA, Kelana Jaya, Selangor.

Royalty

• Tuanku Sultan Abdul Halim, Sultan of Kedah and current Supreme Ruler of Malaysia

Military

• Abd Razak Mohd Yusoff, recipient of Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa
• Jeneral Tunku Osman Tunku Mohammad Jewa, first Malaysian Armed Forces Chief of Staff

Politics

The Literary and Debating Society of Sultan Abdul Hamid College in 1946, Mahatir Mohamad seated front right

• Dato' Seri Chor Chee Heung, former Local Government & Housing Minister
• Tun Daim Zainudin, former Minister of Finance
• Tan Sri Mohamed Khir Johari, former Education Minister
• Tun Mahathir Mohamad, former Malaysian Prime Minister
• Tun Mohamed Zahir Ismail, former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
• Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, first Malaysian Prime Minister
• Dato' Dr. Affifuddin Haji Omar, former Deputy Finance Minister

Law

• Tun Abdul Hamid Bin Haji Omar, first Chief Justice of Malaysia
• Tun Dato’ Sri Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, former Chief Justice of Malaysia
• Mohamed Dzaiddin bin Haji Abdullah, former Chief Justice of Malaysia
• Tun Syed Sheh Al-Haj bin Syed Hassan Barakbah, former Yang di-Pertuan Negeri of Penang, President of the Dewan Negara, and Lord President of the Supreme Court
• Tun Zaki Tun Azmi, former Chief Justice of Malaysia

Diplomacy

• Tan Sri Dato’ Razali Ismail, former President of the United Nations General Assembly

Arts

• Prof. Emeritus Shahnon Ahmad, Malaysian National Laureate

Sport

• Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, former national and Kedah football player
• Dato' Azhar Mansor, first Malaysian to sail solo around the world
• Victor Andrag, former national and Kedah football player

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sultan Abdul Hamid College.

Schools in Kedah,  Malaysia
Kota Setar	Keat Hwa Secondary School Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid SMK Convent SMT Alor Setar
Kuala Muda	Sin Min Secondary School SMK Bakar Arang
Kubang Pasu	SM Sultan Abdul Halim SMK Jitra
Kulim	Chio Min Secondary School SK Taman Hi-Tech SMK Tunku Panglima Besar
Pulau Langkawi	SMK Ayer Hangat
Note: Not all schools were listed here.