I remember very well that I joined Sam Tet School on 2nd May 1974 after finishing my Form Five in Yuk Kwan School, Batu Gajah. I made attempts to transfer to Sam Tet after my Form Three but failed, may be God wanted me to join Sam Tet after my Form Five. Sam Tet is always my dream school, at that time they were many top scholars like Lai Choy Heng, Wong Teck Fah… just to name a few.
Although I was a new comer at that time, I was absorbed into school very fast. Teaching staff and classmates were very friendly. I never have any difficulty to be integrated into Sam Tet. I remember the very first day I reported in Sam Tet, Chee Tai Kong brought me to his house in Satin Park. What make Sam Tet different from others? I think I will elaborate more on this from the view point of an educator.
Firstly, the school culture is conducive for study, the number of good students out number the rest. Problem students are every where as long as they are not the majority then the school environment will be good for study. Once the school culture is established then thing will go on as tradition, the juniors will be lead by seniors. This can be seen in many societies in Sam Tet, like the scout movement, Sam Tet’s scouts has done wonderful things, they can organize big scale activities. I had visited Sam Tet’s scouts recently to witness some of their activities, the comment that I can say is “job well done”. When I join Sam Tet I discovered that Sam Tet boys are responsible and dedicated group, why? I was especially attracted by the way library system. It was managed by student librarians. The service extended to 10 pm. This is on par with all the university libraries. Their dedication should be recorded. Apart from good service, the collections in the library are rich and up-to-date. This makes a different as students can do a lot of referencing on their own. This will definitely enrich and enhance their classroom experience.
Secondly, the staff and the administration were very supportive to student activities. They encourage and participate together to make all activities a success. I salute the dedication shown by the staff. I remember very well that I had a Physics and Applied Maths teacher who had worked all the past year questions on his own before showing to us. The administration is full of love although some time you may think that they are soft. One incident that I always remember is that during my Upper Six year, I lost my bicycle; Brother John Moh offered a bicycle to me as a replacement. It was so touching.
Finally, the community around was supportive to Sam Tet. This includes the PTA, the Old Boys Association and the community at large. At that time Sam Tet Hall and her Science Lab were two well known buildings. The community around Ipoh had helped Sam Tet to progress, so as Sam Tet never failed them in producing good students to serve the community.