St John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur
St John's Institution (SJI) or Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St John is a secondary school for boys and one of the oldest in Kuala Lumpur. There are co-ed classes only for sixth form which prepares students for the GCE equivalent 'A Level' examinations.
This school was founded by De La Salle Christian Brothers Order on 18 January 1904. It was named after St John Baptist de La Salle, better known as the Patron Saint of Teachers.
SJI used to have both primary and secondary education, but due to the increase in enrolment of students, it was split into separate schools in 1960. The primary schools are known as Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan St John 1 and Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan St John 2. While the secondary school is known as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St John.
(Sekolah = school; kebangsaan = national; menengah = secondary; sekolah kebangsaan = national type primary school; sekolah menengah kebangsaan = national type secondary school)
SJI has always been known to excel in academic studies and sports. It has been chosen as one of the cluster schools of excellence by the Malaysian Government. A cluster school is one that is given autonomy to administer the school yet funded by the government to excel in the fields of sports, academic studies and extracurricular activities.
It is located in Bukit Nanas or Pineapple Hill and shares the hill with Convent Bukit Nanas, St John's Cathedral, the Fatima Kindergarten and AIG (American Insurance Group).
A distinctive aspect of the school is the enrolment of visually impaired students who also attend classes together with other students. It has a resource room for the visually impaired and a pool of specially trained teachers. It prides itself in having an active club of student volunteers who help their visually impaired school mates with their school work during and after school hours
Brother Directors
The school was run by Brother Directors, who acts as the school principal, until 2002. Among the brothers were
- Brother Julian Francis (1904) was the first brother director
- Brother Claude Marie Guibert (1916 - 1922) introduced Sports Day in 1921
- Brother Louis (1925 - 1930) erected the statue of St John Baptist de La Salle in 1925
- Brother Cornelius Nulty (1930 - 1946) - built the school hall in 1936. Accommodated crowds of refugees during the Second World War. He was the longest serving Brother Director.
- Brother Dositheus Joseph Brophy (1948 - 1954) established La Salle Sentul, La Salle Brickfields, La Salle Peel Road and La Salle Klang.
- Brother Tiberius Lawrence Spitzig (1955 - 1961) wrote the SJI School Rally
- Brother Joseph McNally (1963 - 1967) designed the present school badge and many sculptures and murals of the school. He also went on the establish the Lasalle College of Arts in Singapore in 1984.
- Brother Joseph Yeoh (1969 - 1978) introduced Awards Day in 1976. He was the school's first Malaysian Brother Director.
- Brother Cassian Pappu (1983 - 1988) built the Sixth Form Block
- Brother Michael Wong (1989 - 2002) was the last Brother
Director.
School Rally
Written by Brother T. Lawrence Spitzig and adopted by most affiliated La Sallian schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor as their own respective school rally except that the words St John's is replaced by La Salle.
Cheer, cheer and courage display,
All ye Johannians join
in the lay
Send a volley of cheers on high,
Shake down the
thunder from the sky,
What though the odds be great or small,
Dear old St John's
will win over all,
While her loyal sons
are marching,
Onward to Victory!
Rise, boys and loudly proclaim,
That ye will never sully
her name,
Let the hills and woodlands
ring,
Lift up your hearts and loudly sing,
What though the
way be rough or steep,
We unto virtue's summons will keep,
And if e'er our country needs
us,
Loyal and true we'll be!
St John's!!!
School Rally (Bahasa Malaysia Version)
Tunjukkanlah keberanian,
Marilah semua Johannian,
Laungkan semangat berkobar,
Hingga angkasa bergegar,
Walau apapun rintangan,
St John tetap berjaya menang,
Barisan putera setia,
Menuju puncak jaya.
St John!
Notable Alumni of St John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur
- Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj, Sultan of Selangor
- Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Perak
- Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia
- Dato' Sri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn, Home Minister of Malaysia
- Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia
- Harith Iskandar, actor, comedian and director.
- Farish A. Noor, political scientist and human rights activist
Brief History of La Sallian Brothers Schools in Malaysia
The first Christian Brothers school was the St. Xavier's Institution, Penang, which started in 1852. Up until 1965 there were 46 such schools throughout Malaysia, plus 10 more in Sabah and Sarawak.
Among the top of these schools were (with Christian Brothers as principals)
- St. Xavier's Institution, Penang - (1852 to 2009)
- St John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur (1904 to 2002)
- St Michael's Institution, Ipoh, Perak
- St Francis Institution, Melaka
- St Paul's Institution, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan
- St Joseph's Institution, Kuching, Sarawak.
These schools provided the foundation of education for many poor and needy students long before the formation of Malaysia. It has consistently produced well rounded individuals and leaders of the community. It provided wholesome education emphasizing of the importance of English and moral values, without indoctrinating young students with teachings of Christianity.
St Xavier's was the first mission school in Malaysia and also its last to have a Christian Brother administering the school. It ended with the compulsory retirement (at age 55) of Brother Paul Ho, the school's 29 principal, in 2009.
Address & Telephone
Sekolah Menengah St John
- Jalan Bukit Nanas, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sekolah Kebangsaan St John 1
- Jalan Bukit Nanas, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 6 03-20781643
Sekolah Kebangsaan St John 2
- Jalan Bukit Nanas, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 6 03 2078 1849 / 6 03 2078 1725 Fax
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Old Brothers' of La Salle Brickfields PLEASE HELP LA SALLE 
Old Brothers' of La Salle Brickfields PLEASE HELP LA SALLE
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