Early History: The District of Penang, the oldest in Asia, dates back to the arrival of the first Brothers in Singapore in April 1852. The three territories which it presently encompasses - Malaysia, Singapore & Hong Kong - represent a small aggregate population of just beyond 27 million, small in contrast to the massive populations of neighbouring countries such as China (1,300 million), India (857 million), Indonesia (184 million) & Japan (124 million) - Even so, distances can be sometimes surprising: communities in West Malaysia, for example, are separated by thousands of miles from sister communities across the South China Sea in East Malaysia and Hong Kong.
 A feature shared by all three territories is the British colonial connection, dating from the latter half of the 19th century. Another is the Chinese Diaspora, dating largely to the same period. These two factors have greatly affected the work of the Brothers who traditionally concentrated their resources on building large, prestigious schools where the enrolment became increasingly Chinese, and where English was the medium of instruction.
If the District of Penang today has a strong Chinese orientation and character, it was not always so. The early Brothers, who set up schools in Singapore and Penang in 1852, were already within eight years establishing schools in India and Burma, and somewhat later in Shri Lanka. The District continued to have a strong basis in South Asia right up to the end of the century.
This rapid expansion across a huge continent was in part due to the fact that the first group of French and Irish Brothers came at the urgent request of the Paris Foreign Mission, an association of missionary priests already working all over Asia for more than a century. To this day, in fact, the District of Penang looks back fondly to Fr. Beurel of the Paris Foreign Mission as the founder of the District.
 By the early years of this century the District of Penang was perhaps the most far-flung in the Institute, extending thousands of miles from the Philippines to Shri Lanka. There followed what some regard as the halcyon years of Brother James Ryrne's long visitorship, which went almost unbroken from 1912 to 1946. In time, separate Districts were to be formed - Colombo, Burma and Philippines - until what we now know as the District of Penang eventually achieved its present manageable proportions.
The Brothers of the District of Penang came from a great diversity of backgrounds: Chinese, Indian, Eurasian, Burmese, French, German, Irish, Hungarian, Czech, American, Canadian and perhaps others. Together with numerous lay teachers of different races and faiths, these Brothers ran a network of very prestigious schools and colleges across Asia, distinguished as much for their distinctive architecture as for the large numbers of excellent students they produced.
These schools facilitated social mobility within rather rigid traditional cultures, often helping pupils of the poorest backgrounds to find a more worthy place in society. Stories abound of leaders in all walks of life who proudly attributed their success to the personal interest and patient coaching of a particular Brother.
World War II: A major crisis came with the outbreak of World War II. In the single month of December 1941, as the Japanese army made its historic dash through south-east Asia, the District of Penang without warning or preparations, lost control of its schools. Many were shelled and bombed and classes were everywhere suspended. A large number of Brothers, particularly those classified as enemy aliens, were interned for the duration of the war, mainly at Changi Prison in Singapore. Others had shorter periods of imprisonment, while still others were destined to waste away in a Japanese-sponsored jungle settlement.
Where communities managed to survive, the Brothers joined Japanese language classes in the hope of being allowed to teach in the now Japanese-controlled schools; and a number were permitted to teach.
With the advent of peace in September 1945, the Brothers, many weakened through sickness, imprisonment and malnutrition, were suddenly confronted by insurmountable opportunities. Their ascendancy in the field of education was enhanced by the fact that they had not abandoned the people; they had stayed behind and shared their pain and despair.
 Post-war Era: A new age was opening up, the rush for education was on and it would appear that everyone wanted admission to a Brothers' school. There followed a period of unprecedented expansion of schools and a corresponding increase in the number of Brothers, recruited locally as well as from overseas, notably from Ireland and Australia.
The Japanese invasion was seen as a judgement on the colonial powers, and perhaps more by default than by design, the Japanese sowed the seeds of nationalism. For the Brothers themselves it marked a movement towards local ownership, with the appointment, immediately after the war, of the first Malaysian Brother Directors and a general policy to get the Brothers properly qualified.
 Government recognition was later obtained for the Scholasticate programme and it was opened to lay teachers as well as to Brothers. For the 15 years or so that it functioned, the Brothers' Training College produced a remarkable body of excellent teachers. These were destined to play a key role in preserving and enhancing the traditional character of the Lasallian schools, and continue today as a basic core of membership within the Lasallian Family.
The early Brothers had concentrated on parochial schools where the majority were Catholic. As time passed, the number of children of other faiths increased such that today the proportion of Catholics in Brothers' schools averages between 15% to 20%, with some schools dropping to single digits. Teachers are appointed and paid by the government, and, in Malaysia particularly, as a result of regular teacher transfer, the proportion of Christian teachers keeps falling.
This situation has been long in the making, and the Brothers have learnt to adjust, often with much pain and anguish, particularly when another long-established school passes to a lay principal who can be a Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim. In the process, however, the Brothers have been brought into warmer rapport with pupils, teachers and parents of all religions and much goodwill has been generated.
 The Lasallian Youth Convention: Strangely, it is at the point in our schools when all formal support for our evangelising mission has been removed, even sometimes the very presence of the Brother, that the Spirit seems quietly to come alive. The national Lasallian youth convention organised annually for the past four years by our young Malaysian Brothers, has brought together from each school a core of student leaders of all faiths, together with their teachers.
For the most of a week they are given a formation experience in Lasallian spirituality, including an immersion experience by actually living with a poor family in a squatter area, a fishing village among plantation workers, or with an aborigine family.
The participants return to their respective schools with the strongest Lasallian convictions and with a plan of action to share with fellow students the fruits of their experience, particularly our Lasallian concern for the less advantaged. The school or management is usually well disposed and supportive.
With each passing year we meet a growing number of these youthful Lasallian, some now in university or already into their careers, still alive to the Lasallian dream and ready to give of their time and energy as members of the organising team for later conventions.
In effect the Brothers are no longer seen to have excursive ownership of the Lasallian heritage. This ownership is now clearly shared, with warmest conviction, by a growing number of dynamic young people, who arc fully representative of the ethnic and religious diversity of the region.
Thanks in large measure to this development the Brothers themselves have regained their faith in the future of the schools and are exploring other ways and means of maintaining supportive contact, particularly with those schools no longer under their direction.
 Projects for the poor and less privileged: In Penang a learning centre has been established to help students with learning difficulties. They are taught to be learners, each at his/her own pace, and materials are made available to help them acquire a wide range of learning skills. In Nabawan in Sabah a boarding project has been set in the interior of the country to bring education to children from scattered and very remote areas, a project highly appreciated by the parents. In Sarawak a network of simple tuition centres has been set up in remote rural areas. This project has attracted wide publicity for its timeliness and relevance to real needs. These are among the projects designed to assist the marginalized. All these projects are warmly supported by the former students and the Lasallian Family.
La Salle Learning Centre: The La Salle Learning Centre in Penang addresses the reality of children from distressed socio-economic backgrounds, often marginalised - and labelled as 'slow learners', 'underachievers' or simply 'stupid'. It is an expression of the District's outreach to the poor and marginalised.
Started in 1984 by Br. John D'Cruz, the La Salle Learning Centre caters for school going children who are unable to cope with the formal school system. It provides a process of nurturing and development that puts the focus on important aspects of human and spiritual formation through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and values.
 The underlying philosophy places the child or learner at the centre, and promotes dynamic methodologies of non-formal learning. One direct result of this process has been that, apart from the lifelong learning and living skills that children acquire, the Centre has become a model of what a learning centre can be. Parallel with this emphasis the Centre has been, for more than ten years now, promoting its philosophy and methodologies in Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere. The eighteen independent, centres [each with its own management] that are now functioning in these places is testimony to the meaning and effectiveness of this mode of Lasallian mission.
Well grounded on this experience, the La Salle Learning Centre, while maintaining its primary focus on children with learning difficulties, is now strengthening its work with adults: parents, teachers and others needing knowledge and skills.
The coming together of professionals, educators, religious and other resource persons to facilitate adult learning and enrichment programmes is being geared towards the awarding of a Lasallian 'Certificate' [for want of a better word] in Lifelong Learning, incorporating components, among others, in Language, Communications, Parenting, Spirituality, Character Formation and use of Information Technology. |
The District of Penang