Penang Free School (PFS), located at Green Lane in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest English-medium school in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1816, its academic achievements led to its inclusion in the Malaysian Ministry of Education's Cluster School and High Performance School systems.

This secondary school has been an all-boys school since its inception, although girls are now admitted for Form 6. In addition, the school has produced several notable Malaysian and Singaporean personalities, including Tunku Abdul Rahman, P. Ramlee, Wu Lien-teh, Lim Chong Eu, Tuanku Syed Putra, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin and Wee Chong Jin; its alumni are known as the 'Old Frees'.

Penang Free School maintains its historical rivalry with St. Xavier's Institution, another school in George Town which also claims the honour of being Malaysia's oldest school.

History

The establishment of a 'free school' that was open to all ethnicities was first mooted by a committee led by Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings in 1816. It was initially proposed that a boarding school would be built to provide education and daily care for orphans and the poor, and that the boarding school would consist of two blocks, one for male students and another for girls. Local Asian children would be taught in their mother tongues, while English would only be taught for those who desired it.

Penang Free School came into being on 21 October that year, with William Cox as its first principal, and was originally housed at Love Lane. This was a temporary arrangement, as the new school building at the adjoining Farquhar Street was still under construction. The building, situated next to St. George's Church, was completed in 1821.

By the 1890s, as the school building became overcrowded, a tender was called for the construction of a new wing. The new wing, funded mainly by Chinese philanthropists such as Chung Keng Quee, was completed in 1896. Another wing was also built in 1906. In addition, English was made the standard medium of instruction within the school.

By the 1920s, the building was also reaching its maximum capacity. Therefore, plans were drawn up for the relocation of Penang Free School to a suburban site further inland, while the school premises at Farquhar Street was to be turned into a primary school. In 1928, Penang Free School was officially moved to a site at Green Lane, where it remains to this day. The old school building was turned into Hutchings School; today, this particular building houses the Penang State Museum.

In 1958, the then Prime Minister of Malaya and an alumnus of Penang Free School, Tunku Abdul Rahman, opened the school's Form 6 block, making it the first school in northern Malaya to offer secondary education up to Form 6. More school blocks were added over the years, enabling it to switch to a single-session school system by 1992.

List of principals

The following is a list of principals of Penang Free School. Year Name 1816–1821 William Cox 1821–1823 David Churcher 1823–1825 George Porter 1825–1827 William Anchant 1827–1829 William Anchant 1830–1843 John Colson Smith 1843–1846 Bruton 1846–1853 Fitzgerald 1853–1871 John Clark 1871–1892 George Griffin 1892–1904 William Hargreaves 1904–1925 Ralph H. Pinhorn 1925–1927 William Hamilton 1927–1928 D. R. Swaine 1928–1929 L. Arnold 1929–1931 D. W. McLeod 1931–1931 E. D. l. M. Stowell 1931 M. R. Holgate 1933–1935 J. Bain 1935–1941 L. W. Arnold 1945 Koay Kye Teong 1945–1946 N. R. Miller 1946–1947 J. N. Davies 1947–1950 D. Roper 1950–1951 P. F. Howitt 1951–1957 J. E. Tod 1957–1963 J. M. B. HughesHughes, J.M.B. '"The White Crocodile's Tale: My Memoirs", George Town, Penang: Areca Books. (2014). 1963 Brian Smith 1963–1968 Tan Boon Lin 1969–1971 Poon Poh Kong 1972–1974 K. G. Yogam 1974 Lim Boon Hor 1974–1979 Goon Fatt Chee 1979 Lim Chin Kee 1979–1982 R. Visvanathan 1983–1988 G. Krishna Iyer 1988–1993 Goh Hooi Beng 1993–2000 Hj. Ismail bin Ibramsa 2000–2002 Abdul Rahman 2002–2004 Arabi Sulaiman 2004–2006 Yusof bin Omar 2007–2012 Hj. Ramli bin Din 2012–2017 Jalil bin Saad 2017–2019 Omar bin Abdul Rashid 2019–2022 Shamsul Fairuz bin Mohd Nor 2022–2025 Syed Sultan bin Shaik Oothuman2026– Mohd. Mukhrizam bin Mohd. Mothtar

Notable alumni Ahmad Ibrahim Singapore's Minister for Health (1959–1961) Minister for Labour (1961–1962) Cheah Cheng Hye Co-founder, Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Hong Kong's Value Partners Group Limited Danny Quah Li Ka Shing Professor of Economics at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore Dennis Lee Pianist Eusoffe Abdoolcadeer Former Malaysian Supreme Court judge G. Rama Iyer Secretary-General of Malaysia's Primary Industries Ministry Ismail Merican Former Director-General of Malaysia's Ministry of Health Jomo Kwame Sundaram Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Lim Chong Eu Second Chief Minister of Penang Lim Chong Keat Architect of Komtar, the tallest skyscraper in Penang P. Ramlee Film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer and producer King Sirajuddin Raja of Perlis and former King of Malaysia (2001–2006) Subramaniam Sathasivam Minister of Health (Malaysia), Member of Parliament Tan Boon Teik Former Attorney-General of Singapore (1967–1992) and a founder of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra Tan Hock Eng President & CEO, Broadcom Ltd Tan Seang Beng Director of Spine Service, Singapore General Hospital Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Ismail Former Foreign Minister and Defence Minister (Malaysia) Tunku Abdul Rahman Founding father of Malaya and the first Prime Minister of Malaysia Wee Chong Jin First Chief Justice of Singapore Wu Lien-teh Medical doctor and nominee for the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1935 Yeoh Ghim Seng Longest-serving Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore (1970–1989) Tan Sri Dato' (Dr) Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman Founder of Rahim & Co | President of the Malaysian Senator's Council (2015)

Sport House • P.Ramlee • Wu Lien Teh • Pinhorn • Hargreaves • Cheeseman • Sirajuddin • Tunku Putra • Hamilton

Gallery

References

External links Official website