Penang’s St Xavier’s Institution to unveil time capsule on 170th anniversary

GEORGE TOWN – Students and the alumni of St Xavier’s Institution (SXI) are eagerly waiting for December 17 when the school’s board of governors will open a time capsule that was put together 69 years ago.

The capsule is currently wedged at the side of the school’s main entrance wall.

“The students who put together the time capsule will be in their 80s. Did anyone predict the fate of Malaysia then?”

The unveiling of the time capsule coincides with the 170th anniversary celebration that will culminate in a dinner on December 17.

Chairman of the board of governors Victor Tan, brother-director Jason Blakie, board member Ooi Gim Ewe and several Xavierians are part of the organising committee for the celebration.

No one knew whose idea it was to set up the time capsule, only that it should be opened to commemorate the school’s 170th anniversary.

The school is the oldest Lasallian school in Southeast Asia and one of the pioneering Catholic Lasallian schools in Malaysia.

While it has a history dating back to 1787, the present-day institution, named after St Francis Xavier was only established in 1852, and it is historically regarded as the nation’s second oldest formalised school after Penang Free School in Green Lane.

On May 24, the school also celebrated its Founders Day, a day to remember the school’s founder St John Baptist De La Salle, the patron saint of teachers, and to celebrate the mission he started to provide education for the poor.

“My role as the chairman is to ensure that all stakeholders – the Education Ministry, the school administration, landowners La Salle Brothers, the parent-teacher association, the teachers and lastly the board – work together to educate the children who are in our care.

“Our next major homecoming celebration will be the unveiling of the time capsule that was buried in 1953, and we are anxiously waiting to see what is inside,” said Tan.

Based on some archival documents, one of the contents would most likely be a list with the names of students.

As part of the celebration, the board will place another time capsule in the same spot and will be opened at a later date, which will be decided later.

There will also be a gallery where the student wall is said to be the main attraction as it will have names of some 35,000 of its graduates.

Before year end, the school will have its fun run on September 16 and a canteen day, where the alumni will get to sample delicious hawker fare.

Tickets for the celebration and the other events are available online here. – The Vibes, May 29, 2022

Additional reporting by Ian McIntyre