New Name

There has been lots of mysteries about the change of name of our beloved TLS.

And now that I have landed on a very official piece of writing by Leonard Martin Uning, I am happy to share some statements lifted from it. So it is very, very official. Perhaps only a few would have legal documents (or no documents) to prove otherwise. In our developing world, names change for two cents or less. Whether that is good or not,our future history will tell.

Our beloved college is situated/sited on a delightful 50 acre (proof of size,land title?) parkland on the headland overlooking the south China Sea at Tanjong Lobang, about 4 miles outside Miri, in Sarawak's Fourth Division. It started as the first Government Secondary School in Sarawak in 1957 and has grown to become one of the most distinguished. Rebuilding and reconstruction of this premier college began only in 2007 as part of Malaysia's Ninth Development Plan, almost 50 years later. In the last 50 years, its wooden sheds, its small homes for teachers, and bicycle sheds, windblown hostels housed and educated almost all the most senior government leaders,educationists,doctors,lawyers of Sarawak. Foremost,perhaps being Tan Sri Alfred Jabu and Tan Sri Leo Moggie and not to miss out all the other SAOs,DOs,and teachers who have been missed out in the brilliant limelights of the Sarawak scene.

The seed idea of having a government school to educate poor rural boys and girls actually was sown in Miri according to historians like Leonard Martin Uning. Four names stood out in the founding of this school. Mr. MG Dickson, then the Director of Education of Sarawak, Mr. Robert Nicoll, then the Divisional Education Officer, Fourth and Fifth Divisions,Rev
Fr Rawlins who was the first Principal and Captain DR Gribble of Sarawak Oilfields Limited for helping out with the many physical obstacles in the first year of the school's existence.

According to the records, Mr. Robert Nicholl was the man responsible for getting the huge tract of land for the school. As a learned man, he had the vision of having a wonderful college for great minds overlooking the sea. A cliff top school was always the ideal of an educationist with a western philosophy as a background. Grants were made available from the Colonial Development and Welfare Funds.

The first intake of the school included a Primary Five class of native boys selected from the ulu areas of fourth and Fifth Divisions, a Transition Class of Chinese pupils who had completed their Chinese Primary Six, a Form Four class and a class of student teachers.

It took two years for Tanjong Lobang School to shape up with active bull dozers in place, and grounds flattened to make way for the present football and hockey fields and lots of labourers under the hot sun putting up the main buildings. So by 1959, students, staff both academic and non academic moved into the premises. To many it was "heaven on earth". And today if you happen to meet any of the original students of TLS, it is indeed very true. You can never find such a school again they would say,where teachers were angels and the Principal, a god.

The new buildings were declared opened by Mr. RL Hutchens, the New Zealand High Commissioner on Sept 24 1959. This honour was given to him because of the generous assistance given by the New zealand government under the Colombo Plan in staffing and constructing the school from the beginning. Those of us who were there recognised the pomp and significance of the occasion. But very few realised that it would be one of the last few occasions to be graced by colonial officials.

By 1967, the school had become a senior secondary school, admitting students only for Form Iv and above. Sixth Form classes had been started in 1963, and sixth formers had begun to outnumber Fourth and Fifth Formers by 1968, the year I completed my Upper Sixth and started teaching as a temporary teacher.

The Government then decided that the school was to become entirely a Sixth Formj Institution. So in May 6th 1969, " Tanjong Lobang School was renamed as Tanjong Lobang College by the Honorable Chief Minister, Dato Penghulu Tawi ." (Uning)

"Then a singular honour attended Tanjong Lobang College. In January 1971, His Excellency the Governor, Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang, graciously gave his name to the college. The famous Tanjong Lobang College thus became the prestigious Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang," Uning wrote in his Handbook of Information 1973 of Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Hj Bujang,Miri. The Handbook of Information was distributed to every student who was enrolled in the school that year with Mr. Uning as the Prinicpal.

This handbook consisted of 73 pages of very good information and may still be found in many school libraries in Sarawak. Today many colleges would give out this kind of booklet as a marketing tool when they go on educational roadshows to attract students.

In retrospect,I spent my greatest nine years of my life in the school, loving it and living every moment to the fullest. When I left in 1968 I knew I had to make it in life by all means. Life had been hard, and the hardest challenges were ahead of me. The friends I made have been life long. There are places I remember,
Some have gone,
some forever,
but I love them all. (Refer to Beatles' song.......)



I am wondering how it could be done, to change the name back again to TLS. How much would it take? Would it be all that worthwhile. Or would it be just...memories are just our second chance to happiness.......

My fellow ex-tanjongers out there....cheers and love always.