AS LAUGHTER and chatter filled the school hall, the 1962-2003 alumni of SMK Methodist Nibong Tebal in Penang stood united in a shared goal – to help their alma mater grow.
Alumni members and former teachers gathered during the recent fundraising- and-reunion dinner at SJK (C) Pai Teik in Jalan Ooi Kar Seng, Nibong Tebal, to raise funds for the construction of additional classrooms and for the 127-year-old school’s activities.
For alumni member and retired plastic surgeon Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy, the night was also a reminder of how far he and his 10 siblings, who studied at both the primary and secondary school, had come.
“Four years after my father died, my mother and all 11 of us moved from Sempah Estate in Sungai Bakap to Nibong Tebal.
“At the time, some of my siblings were already schooling at the Methodist Nibong Tebal Primary School, but when we moved out of the estate to Nibong Tebal, it was an eye-opener,” said Dr Subramaniam, who was among the first doctors to graduate from the school.
He said among his five sisters and five brothers, some had gone on to become professionals, from teachers to engineers and businessmen.
Dr Subramaniam, who lives in Ipoh, also fondly remembers his late principal Stanley Padman, whose leadership and dedication, he said, had helped shape the lives of many students.
“This school has produced a lot of successful people. This shows that you don’t have to go to a prominent school to be successful,” he said.
He also stressed that the school needed continuous support as “it is a government-aided institution and not a fully funded school.”
“We want to see it develop further for the sake of future generations,” he added.
Another ex-student Seow Lai Huat shared similar sentiments, describing the school as a “second home” to its students.
“As former students, we always ask ourselves what we can do for our old school.
“Because of the teachers, we managed to get a good education; they were like our other parents,” said Seow, a retiree.
“There was only one Science class when I studied there, and sometimes our lessons were held in the laboratory.
“But we loved every bit of it. We just want future generations to enjoy what we lacked,” said Seow, who travelled from Petaling Jaya for the gathering.
Event organising chairman M. Sandra Segaran said 460 alumni members and former teachers from the 1967 to 2003 batches attended the event.
“This is the first fundraising dinner of such a big scale that we have organised so far.
“We plan to build four additional classrooms and so far, the state government has helped us with the funding for two classrooms.
“With the construction of the additional classrooms, the school will be able to move from a two-session system to a single-session system.
“The current two-session system poses a challenge as students often return home as late as 7pm, have limited time for co-curricular activities and face difficulty with transportation.
“The single-session system will allow for more effective learning, better scheduling of co-curricular activities and also help reduce stress for parents,” he said.
He also noted that the target of RM200,000 was successfully raised at the fundraising event.
Presently, the secondary school has a population of 470 students.
Alumni president K. Prabagaran said the monies for the construction of the new classrooms would be handed to the Methodist Education Council of Malaysia, which would oversee the process of appointing the contractor for the project.
Guest-of-honour Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek praised the strong bond between the alumni and the school, saying it reflected the spirit of community partnership the Education Ministry hoped to strengthen.
She said two major national education agendas – the Malaysia Education Plan 2026-2035 and the new School Curriculum 2027 – required support from all parties, especially parents and the community.
“Efforts to strengthen our education system and nurture a knowledgeable, competitive and virtuous generation require everyone’s involvement,” she emphasised.
Fadhlina said that from 2026, the ministry would begin implementing a comprehensive approach to developing students’ character through integrated learning, starting with preschoolers before expanding to primary school pupils.
She also pledged a RM100,000 contribution for the school’s fundraising efforts.
The evening featured singing and dancing before ending on a cheerful note with a lucky draw, where the grand prize was a 65-inch television set.
The school was first established in 1898 and traces its beginnings to the Anglo-Tamil School, founded to serve the local community in south Seberang Perai.
By 1903, it evolved into the Anglo-Chinese School, initially operating from a rented shophouse before moving to a permanent site along High Road, Nibong Tebal in 1913.
By the late 1950s, enrolment soared to nearly 900 students and in 1958, the institution was formally reorganised as Methodist Primary School and Methodist Secondary School.
The 1960s marked the school’s golden era under the leadership of both Ann Harder and Stanley Padman, when it distinguished itself in both academics and co-curricular excellence.
In 2021, under the leadership of principal Dr S. Sivasanggar, himself an alumnus, the school achieved another milestone by introducing French Language as part of its international language programme.
The French Language Unit also won two national-level awards and earned the title of Best French Language Programme in Penang.
