Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School

Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Tshung Tsin Sabah in Malay, 沙巴崇正中学 in Chinese) is a Chinese independent high school located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. The principal is Hiew Hoh Shin. The school has two semesters each year. An academic year begins in January, with an approximately two weeks holiday in June, and ends in the beginning of November. The school is one of sixty Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia. In 2007, the school was chosen as one of the ten Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia to be included as a Cluster School under the Education Blueprint of the Malaysian Government's Ninth Malaysia Plan.^[2]

History

1962—1965: Early history

The gate of Tshung Tsin school in the early days

In 1962, the Malaysian government brought in legislation that only students who excelled in their Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (Primary School Leaving Examination) and were under the age of thirteen were eligible for education in secondary school. As a result, at least 40-50% of students in the city were unable to further their studies, the majority of whom were Chinese. The Chinese community consequently opened Tshung Tsin school to solve this problem. It was founded by the Api-Api Hakka Association in 1965. Datuk Chong Fook Thien, then-President of the Hakka Association and one of school's founders, proposed the construction of its building.

A committee was started with Datuk Pang Tet Chung as its chairperson. At the first meeting on 6 January 1965, the name "Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School" was decided. Soon afterwards, the school was approved by the state's Education Department and 9.26 acres (37,500 m²) of land was granted for its construction. The federal Financial Department approved the exemption of income tax to those who funded the school. On 12 October 1965, the school obtained the title deed for the land and the construction of the school commenced.

Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School opened on 25 January 1965, borrowing classrooms of the Chung Hwa School, Kota Kinabalu. 78 students were enrolled as the school's first students.^[3] The school was consequently accepted as a member of the Chinese Independent High School in Malaysia.

1966—1989: Development and growth

The hall in Tshung Tsin

In 1967, the first permanent school building was opened by the then Chief Minister of Sabah, Tun Datu Mustapha. Around 670 students enrolled in the school. In 1968, the government implemented a higher graduation rate for primary school students whereby students can then easily enrol into public secondary schools. This significantly reduced the enrolment rate for independent schools throughout Malaysia. By 1974 there were only 24 students left in the school, and the school was at risk of being closed.^[3]

The Api-Api Hakka Association decided to take action and had appointed a new management for the school. A new principal, Mr. Chang Yu On, was appointed in November 1974.^[3] Some professional Chinese teachers were also invited to teach in the school. The Hakka Association's efforts bore fruit in 1975 as the enrolment rate went up to 250 students for Junior One (初中), with 60 students for the Senior section (高中).

In 1975, the school started classes for Senior 3 students, and for the first time participated in the government's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM, Malaysian Education Certificate). Another 600 students were enrolled in the Junior section in 1976. Subsequently, the administrators decided to conduct an entrance examination to accept only the best students.

The Hakka Association tried to implement improvements for the school, independent of the Government because of the discrimination against Chinese High Schools due to the New Economic Policy, an affirmative policy which was introduced by the Malaysian Federal Government in 1971 favouring the bumiputras. By the 1980s improvements had been made, and this included the construction of more school buildings. The new buildings included two permanent classroom buildings, a building for the school administrators, a hall with a capacity of around 1000 students, a multi-purpose field, two basketball courts and a volleyball court.

On 19 August 1982, a new five story building was opened, which provided a canteen on the ground floor, a computer lab on the second floor, and a library on the third and fourth floors. The fifth floor was used to provide accommodation for teachers for two years until a new teacher's hostel was opened in 1986.^[3]

In 1984, as results for the students taking the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) were encouraging, the school decided to have classes for qualified students who were planning to further their studies in universities.^[3] A building was planned to be built in Menggatal, Sabah, but the school lost the land the new building was to build on due to the lost of the ruling party Barisan Nasional to the Parti Bersatu Sabah in the 1985 Sabah state election. In the end, the empty fifth floor of the five-story building was used instead for classes. Classes started in January 1987 with 152 students.^[3] The Pre-University class concept was well received and method of teaching was also lauded. In the same year, students who went for the A-Level and LCCI examinations organised by the University of Cambridge achieved good results, and this prompted the Hakka Association to raise funds to construct a building exclusively for the Pre-University students. In 1989, the building was opened by the then Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Pairin Kitingan. The Pre-University was known then as "Sabah Tshung Tsin Pre-University Centre" and today it is known as Institut Sinaran.

1989 — today

The school's principal Chang Yu On died on 4 November 1989 of a heart attack at age 48.^[3] In 1991, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah bestowed the honorary title "Datuk" to Chang Yu On posthumously to honour his contributions. The new principal was the then vice-principal Mr. Lau Suan Hok. In March 1990, Tsen Kui On and Hiew Hoh Shin were chosen as vice-principals of the school.

During the tenure of Lau Suan Hok, air-conditioning was installed in classrooms and the library was expanded. Lau retired in 1996 and Tsen Kui On became principal.

An artist's impression on the administration block in the planned new campus of the school.

A seven storey Co-curricular Activity Building was opened in December 1994. The canteen was moved to this building from the original five storey building, and two computer labs were added. The co-curricular activity offices were situated on the third floor. Music rooms, orchestral rehearsal facilities and photographic studios were also placed in this building.

In 2005, the school forged sister school relationships with Lee Kau Yan Memorial School, Hong Kong and DongHwa High School, South Korea.^[4][5] The school also has forged relationships with secondary schools from foreign countries, such as Lee Kau Yan Memorial School & Yan Chai Hospital Wong Wha San Secondary School in Hong Kong.^[4][5][6][7]

Due to the increase in enrolments, the Hakka Association proposed to build a new school campus in Menggatal. In 1998, the then Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Yong Teck Lee, approved a permit and a land title was received. Approximately 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land was granted to the Hakka Association. The building planned is costly, and fund-raising is continuing. Phase 1 of the school's new campus is planned to be completed by early 2009.

In 2008, Mr. Tsen retired as the principal of the school. As a result, Mr. Hiew was appointed as Acting Principal, and in 2009, Principal.

Fees

The school fees ranges from RM3,315 to RM3,785 per annum depending on which year the students are in. It not includes insurance, sports fees and the cost of living skill classes. Students who cannot afford the school fees can apply for financial assistance.

Scholarships are available for pupils who score an overall A1 in the entrance examination, or those who achieve 7As in Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah examination with an A2 in the entrance examination. Staff's children also benefit from reduced fees. The scholarship covers the fees for three years in the Junior section. Students that qualify for the financial help only pay between RM770 to RM825 annually. No scholarships are available for students in the Senior section.

School fees in secondary schools run by the government in Malaysia are either free or the students are only charged a minimal amount. Due to the vast difference in fees between private and government-run schools (e.g. students attending Tshung Tsin pays approximately RM2000 a year in fees while students in government schools only around RM20 a year). ...

Achievements

The school has achieved a pass rate of 100% for both public examinations, SPM and PMR since 2001.^[8][9]

Beside SPM and PMR, students at Tshung Tsin have to sit for the Chinese Independent Schools' Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) examination. In the 2006 result, Tshung Tsin had an overall pass rate of 96.17% in the senior section.^[10][11]

A student of the school also won the Grand Prize of the 4th Japanese Speech Contest for Secondary School organised by The Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur, the Japanese Chamber of Trade & Industry Malaysia (JACTIM), the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia and the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (JFKL).^[12]

Facilities

The school consists of three buildings for classrooms, two buildings as teachers' hostel, a fully air-conditioned hall (兆龙堂), a seven floor multi-purpose co-curriculum building, four workshops for Living Skills, parking lots, a football field, two basketball courts and a volleyball court.^[13]

Co-curriculum building

The co-curricular activity building. The 2006 School Sports Meet were being held

The building has seven levels and is the tallest of all the school buildings. The ground floor and first floor is the school canteen. There is a stationery shop on the first floor. Computer Lab B and the Multimedia Room are both located on the first floor as well. The co-curriculum office is located on the second floor of the building. From the 2nd floor onwards, there are over 25 co-curricular activity rooms such as the Cultural Orchestra practice room, Wind Symphony studio, Dancing room, Knitting room, Music room (equipped with piano, guitar, television and radio), several special classrooms, etc. The 7th floor is an open space and is multi-purpose. A surau for Islamic students is also located in this building.

Classroom buildings

The building has over 50 classrooms (44 main classrooms, a special room and four extra classrooms) which are all air-conditioned. There are also five science laboratories (Junior Science Lab A & B, Physics Lab, Biology Lab and Chemistry Lab) and a computer laboratory. The building also houses the Teachers' Office, an Education Department Office, the Principal and Vice Principal's office, the Secretary's office, the General Affairs Department, the Administration Department, a Meeting room, the Financial Department, the Health office, the Teachers' and Students' Welfare Department, the Counseling Department, the Disciplinary Department, the Prefect Board and the Computer Lab. The double-storey, air-conditioned library is located above the Teachers' Offices. A photocopy shop can be found on the ground floor.

Gardens and kiosks

The Yu On Court (佑安苑) is located next to the broadcasting room. The garden is named after the late principal, Mr. Chang Yu On. The westernmost part of the school compound is the herb garden. Inside the garden there are benches and tables for relaxation or a game of Chinese chess. There are three pavilions located in different parts of the school. These pavilions are named Jing Si Ting (静思亭), Si Yuan Ting (思源亭) and Tshung Tsin Pavilion (崇正亭).

Annual events

Sports Meet

The Sports Meet, usually held in February, is held for six days consecutively. The first three days is the preliminary round of events such as long jump and also finals for specific events such as shot put. Most of the events are held on Thursday and Friday.

Athletes to represent the school in the state or national level are selected based on the results of this event. The event is planned by the Senior 3 students, from selecting athletes to compete in the events, logo and mascot designing, choosing a 'cheering slogan', cheerleading practice, marching practice, house camp design and build. Camps are pitched next to the field, so that supporters from each house can cheer for their house.

The overall results are not based on the points gained in the sport events alone. Results are accumulated based on the performance on the camps, cheering team, cheering dancing, marching and special activities. To make the Senior 3 students responsible for their house, points are deducted from the overall result of a house if any member of the houses breaks the school rules when the event is being held.

Bazaar

The bazaar is usually held on the first day of the sports event, from 8 AM to 3 PM. Coupons are sold by the Prefects and Monitors of the school before the actual date of the bazaar. Various stalls selling a wide variety of food ranging from western foods such as spaghetti to Japanese foods such as takoyaki and local foods such as satay are set up around the campus of the school. There are stalls for games where students use their coupons to take part. Prize winners who have won several such games, may redeem prizes.

Cross-Country Race

Cross country race in 2006, before the race was cancelled in the subsequent years due to the upgrading of the roads.

The cross country race is an event held around the same time as the sports day. All students are required to participate. The students are divided into three groups: Group A (Senior 1, 2 and 3 students), Group B (Junior 2 and 3 students) and Group C (Junior 1 students). The race is 5.2 km, starting and finishing in the school compound.

The seven houses compete for first place in the race, as the result will contribute to the total score of the Sports Meet. The first thirty students from each group who complete the race are awarded medals, while five trophies are prepared for each group for the first five students who finish. For students capable of completing the race within a given time, a point will be added to the house total. In between 2007 and 2009, the cross-country race was cancelled due to the upgrading works of Jalan Damai, the road outside the school. The event resumed and commenced on 23 January 2010

Teachers' Day

Teacher's Day celebration is held in July. A party is usually held by each class to thank their teachers and express their gratitude. Students organise the party, prepare catering and decorate classrooms. All teachers and students are invited into the school hall where there is a Teachers' Day Celebration Ceremony with exclusive student performances and entertainments for the teachers. An audition is held to select those students and classes who are interested in performing, making it the only 'open-for-all' performance in the school, in contrast to the Tshung Tsin Night where only musical societies can perform. During the ceremony, one teacher is chosen to give a speech. The celebration continues until night, when a Teachers' Day feast is hosted for all teachers, staff and administrative workers to have dinner. At this event, the 'Most Outstanding Teachers Awards' are also announced.

Tshung Tsin Night

Musical societies such as the Cultural Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Strings Ensemble and the Sunflower Choir perform at this annual event, which is organised solely by the officials of the Co-Curriculum Activities Department of the schools. Tickets ranging from RM10-RM20 can be purchased two weeks prior to the event.

Wind Symphony Annual Concert

This is a concert by the school's Wind Symphony(formerly known as Concert Band). Tickets are sold at prices from RM10 to RM50. There is usually a theme of the night. For example, the concert of 2007 was the 30th anniversary of Concert Band and the concert was given the title: "The Melodious Aurora" while the theme for the year 2009 was "Steorra", meaning star in old English. The school's Wind Symphony also managed to obtain a Silver award with a total of 88.71% in Division II of the 2010 SIBF(Singapore International Band Festival). In 2012, the Wind Symphony managed to obtain Gold award with a total of 91.44% in Division II of the 2012 SIBF(Singapore International Band Festival), establishing itself as the first Sabah band to obtain a Gold award in an internationally renowned competition. Another of the activities that the Wind Symphony takes part in is the marching parade of the school's sports day and other sports events.

Cultural Singing Competition

This singing competition has been a tradition of Tshung Tsin for decades and is organised by the school's Sunflower Choir. The categories are the junior and senior section of male solo, female solo and choir. Participation in the choir category is compulsory for each class. Male and female representatives from each class compete in the solo categories on the same day. Usually, both preliminary round and the final round would be held in the school hall. For the preliminary round, the competition will start in the morning with the male solo of Junior section, followed by Junior female solo, Senior male solo and Senior female solo. After a short break around noon, the competition of the choir will begin, also from the Junior section followed by the Senior section. Five finalists from each group are chosen to perform in the finals. The finalists are announced the next day in a school assembly. Tickets are sold to the public to watch the competition. Besides the winners of each group, prizes are also given to the overall Best Solo, Best Accompanist and Best Choir Conductor.

Trilingual Speech Competition

Students who participate in the Trilingual Speech Competition present their speeches in three different languages, Chinese, English and Malay. Each speech is judged and scored. In the preliminary rounds, the three speeches are held on three different days. In the finals, five competitors chosen from the preliminary rounds give their speech on the stage. First, five contestants give their Chinese speech. The contestants do not prepare their speech, as the titles of their speech are given by the organiser half an hour before the competition starts. The contestants give their Malay and English speeches together. The results are announced soon after the competition, when prizes and certificates are given. Representatives of the schools to compete in the State competition as well as the National competition are selected among the finalists.

Administrators

• Principal : Mr. Hiew Hoh Shin
• Vice Principal : Mr. Tang Poh Mee
• Disciplinary Master : Mdm. Mary Liau (Mr Lai has retired since 1 November 2013)
• Assistant Disciplinary Master: Mr. Francis Y.L. Lee
• Assistant Disciplinary Master: Mr Golden Chee
• Co-Curricular Activity Master : Mr. Y.L. Chan
• Head Librarian: Ms. K.S. Chan
• Information and Technology Development Department Master: Mr. William Chu
• General Affairs Department Master : Mr. M.K. Chia
• Teachers and students Welfare Department Master: Mdm. C.C. Tan
• Academic Department Master: Mr. Gan Ping Koon
• Hostel Warden: Mr. Yee Kok Wai

Notable alumni

• YB Datuk Teo Chee Kang, Minister of Special Tasks in the Chief Minister's Department of Sabah, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party (Malaysia), and Sabah state assemblyman for Tanjong Kapor under the Barisan Nasional ticket.
• W.H.Y 林凯雯(W)，陈慧慧(H) and 苏颖滢(Y), a three-member girl group who won the 2005 East Malaysian College Idol competition and released several albums internationally.^[14]

References

External links

• Official website
• 沙巴崇正校友会 Sabah Tshung Tsin Alumni Association (STTAA) official homepage.
• STTSS Sunflower Choir website
• Sabah Tshung Tsin Learning Online

Maps and satellite images:

• Satellite image from Google Maps
• Satellite image from Wikimapia.org

List of secondary schools in Sabah by division
Interior Division	SMK Pengiran Omar SMK St. Peter Bundu
Kudat Division	SMK Matunggong
Sandakan Division	SMK Sandakan SMK Sandakan II St. Cecilia's St. Michael's Sung Siew
Tawau Division	SM ST Patrick
West Coast Division	Kota Kinabalu High School La Salle Sabah Science Sabah Tshung Tsin SM St. Joseph SM St. Michael SMKA Kota Kinabalu SMKA Tun Ahmadshah (formerly SMKA Inanam) SMK Bahang SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin SMK Majakir SMK St. Mary SMK St. Francis Convent SMK Takis

Coordinates: 5°58′22″N 116°05′41″E / 5.972914°N 116.0946°E / 5.972914; 116.0946