By Zaki Salleh
IPOH: Anderson School Ipoh celebrates its 116th anniversary today, marking its establishment on February 6, 1909.
The founding of the school followed the success of the establishment of Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK).
The school was named after Sir John Anderson, the British Commissioner at the time.
The original school building was located on Douglas Road, now known as Jalan Dato Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab.
In 1921, the boys’ dormitory was opened, and scholarships for 30 Malay students from rural areas were offered.
Secretary of the Perak Heritage Association, Nor Hisham Zulkiflee, mentioned that the increase in the number of students led to changes at the school.
He explained that the school administration had to temporarily use additional buildings at Masonic Hall (now the State Education Department building) on Maxwell Road (Jalan Tun Abdul Razak).
“Finally, in 1931, the new Anderson School building on Ashby Road (Jalan Hospital) was completed and opened. At that time, the school had 700 students, and 40 of them, who were recipients of the Malay Scholarship, stayed in the dormitory,” he said.
It is no wonder why Anderson School is known today for producing many talented hockey players, as the sport has been part of the school’s history since its early days.
Hockey was introduced by the headmaster, who was a hockey player representing Selangor and Perak.
The school team had to compete with clubs or state teams as there were no other school teams.
According to Nor Hisham, like most schools established during the colonial era, Anderson School also boasts a long history of success and excellence.
He noted that the nation’s education figure, Dato’ Seri Aminuddin Bin Baki, for example, continued his secondary education at Anderson School, which was considered the best English school in Ipoh at the time.
“He received his early education at the Chemor Malay School in 1932. After passing the fifth-grade exam in 1936, he moved to Anderson School,” said Nor Hisham.
Similarly, the renowned artist Lat, or Dato’ Mohamad Nor Khalid, was also a student at the school.
Contemporaneous with Lat was Tan Seri Mohd Annuar Zaini, a Member of the Perak State Legislative Council and the President of the Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council.
