SK Sultan Yussuf

I attended SK Sultan Yussuf (primary school) from 1972 until 1977. The above picture shows the main entrance of the school at Jalan Pusing. This school was shifted from Jalan Ilmu during the 90s. This school is located next to the Convent schools.
Most of the students who completed at this primary school will continue their studies at SMK Sultan Yussuf.

This is the original school building at Jalan Ilmu. It has been renovated and converted into Pusat Kegiatan Guru Batu Gajah. I am not sure whether this building is still in use or not.
During my school days, this building housed the class rooms, library, staff room and a store room to keep the sports equipment. I still remembered my classes at this building were Darjah 1A4, Darjah 2A3 and Darjah 3 Putih.

This tennis court is located at the left side of the building. Originally, this was the location of the administration and headmaster’s offices building. Located beside the office was the dental clinic - probably the only dental clinic in Malaysia located at school premise. Behind the clinic was the school canteen. Students of the afternoon session will assemble at the canteen before enter their class rooms.

This block located is at the right side of the main building - just across the school field. This block housed my class rooms of Darjah 4 Putih, Darjah 5 Putih and Darjah 6 Putih. This block also can be converted into a school hall. I took the Ujian Penilaian Darjah 5 (Standard 5 Assessment Examination - now known as Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah for Standard 6) at this block in 1976.

Another part of the main building - this picture was taken from my home. There was a staircase leading to the first floor of the building on the right side.
I was at Standard 4 when we moved here at Taman Kam Seng in 1975. I have to use a wooden plank to cross the monsoon drain to this school.
Now the compound is not maintained. The ground floor of the building was almost completely hidden by bushes.

Origins and History

Batu Gajah (4° 28' 0" North, 101° 3' 0" East) with population of about 34,000, is a small town located in the state of Perak. It is about 24 km south of Ipoh, the state capital of Perak. It is also the birthplace of the current Sultan of Perak, His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah.

The name Batu Gajah, which literally means "elephant stone" in the Malay language, is presumably derived from two large boulders that resembled elephants found along the Kinta River. Folklore claims that huge elephant figures were made of stones to scare away the elephants that destroyed the villager's sugar cane crops.

Famous for its tin mining long before the Independence Day of Malaya, Batu Gajah had been an ideal place for Chinese immigrants to stay and work during those years. This contributes to a significant percentage of Chinese in the population of Batu Gajah today. The Indian Settlement village at Changkat has a large population of Indians and Punjabis who built one of the oldest Sikh temples in Perak.

Batu Gajah had an established pre-war [British] English [school], which was renamed Sultan Yussuf School (SYS) (officially known as SMK Sultan Yussuf) after the war. The current Sultan of Perak is a former student of this school. Formerly known as the Government English School (GES), it was founded by Mr. Malai Perumal Pillay in 1907. The school was built from the rubble of an old jail. Over the years, the school has produced many successful students.

Note: There are some errors on the above Google Map. For example, the Stesen KTM Batu Gajah has been relocated in Kampung Pisang. The Majlis Daerah Kinta Barat office has been relocated at Jalan Haji Abdul Wahab. That is not Jalan Garuda as labelled in the map.

Introduction

Assalamualaikum and greetings to all visitors.

Welcome to my second blog - my hometown, Batu Gajah. Click here for my other blog.

My name is Amir Mohd Amin. I was born in a small town of Batu Gajah more than 40 years ago. From 1965 to 1975, we lived at government quarters in Changkat and then we moved to Taman Kam Seng which is not far from the main town.
I attended SRK Sultan Yussuf (1972-1977) and then SMK Sultan Yussuf (1978-1982) which is also known as SYS. I was appointed as a school prefect and scout troop leader.

Now I am residing in Bandar Tasik Puteri near Rawang, Selangor with my beloved wife and four kids. My eldest son is currently pursuing his studies in MBBS at UniKL RCMP in Ipoh. My second child has just completed her SPM Examination recently. My third child is now in her sixth year at SK Sri Kundang while my youngest son will enrol in a kindergarten next Monday.

During my spare time, I loved travelling, took photos, reading books/magazines and of course surfing the internet.

Articles in this blog are mainly about my childhood memories and anything related to Batu Gajah. Comments are most welcomed.

Note: About the picture...well, that's not me. He is my eldest son at the former Batu Gajah railway station in mid 90s.