Did our beloved Malaysia miss out on an elite Malaysian,
Mr Benedict Ponniah, becoming Secretary General of the United Nations?
The Rt Hon Sir Cecil Clementi Smith G.C.M.G. established the prestigious
Queen Scholarship in 1889 in order to support the very brightest students to
further their education in the United Kingdom. The scholarship was awarded
purely on merit, regardless of background. Initially, the majority of the
scholars were Eurasians from Singapore, but as time progressed other races
started to be awarded the scholarship.
From 1931 to 1939 only two scholarships were awarded annually for the entire
Federated Malay States. One award was reserved for a Malay and the other for a
non-Malay. To become a Queen’s Scholar one really had to excel academically. In
1934, Benedict Ponniah was the only one to obtain the Queen’s Scholarship among
all the candidates in Malaya and Straits Settlement. A grand achievement.
The qualifying examination was offered to
all citizens of the Commonwealth who satisfied a pre-qualification requirement.
Benedict Ponniah sat for the examination at St. John's Institution, Kuala
Lumpur, Selangor, West Malaya. Apparently a total of 2 scholarships were offered
for Malaya and Straits Settlement, provided the candidates qualify.
His Primary education was at Anglo-Chinese School, Klang, Selangor, West Malaysia,(1921-1927), incidentally this
school is located behind my parents' home in Malaysia, he then furthered his
Secondary education both at St Paul’s Institution, Seremban,
(1927-1933), and then at St
John’s Institution, Kuala Lumpur, (1933-1935).
Before winning the Federated Malay States Queen’s Scholarship, Mr. Ponniah
passed his Senior Cambridge with honours from St Paul’s Institution, Seremban
and obtained first place in the Religious Knowledge examination among Catholic
Schools in Malaya.
Whilst at St. John’s Institution Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia, he had already
distinguished himself in the local sports world. He captained both the St John’s
Institution and St Paul’s Institution, Seremban, Negri Sembilan, West Malaysia,
cricket teams, played hockey for the Negri Sembilan Tamils and soccer for St. John’s
Institution. As a bowler of average standard he took 100 wickets in one season and
was selected to play for the Combined Schools of Selangor Club.
Mr. Ponniah was responsible for the organisation and pioneered the
flourishing Malayan Society at Cambridge.
Extracted from the ‘St John’s College Biographical Archive’.
A Malayan Society was formed at the University of Cambridge last year
[1937] and is
reported to be doing useful work. Its patron is Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor and
High Commissioner. Its first president was Mr. B. Ponniah, who has now been
succeeded by Mr. L’Angellier. This the first photograph to be taken of the
members of the society.
Seated (left to right): Lau Fook Khean (Downing), Tengku
Putra (Corpus), S. E.
Teh (St. Catherine’s), B Ponniah (St John’s), C. N. L’Angellier (Christ’s),
Ahmad bin Ibrahim (St John’s), V. G. Ciernan (Trinity).
Second row: G. S. Chua (Queen’s), W. II. Ng (Christ’s), A. W. Winslow (Sidney
Sussex), R. O. D. Nuano (Corpus), Raja Zahar (St. Catherine’s), Tengku Nong
(Trinity), R. A. Tan (Queen’s).
Top row: Y. B. Ng (Trinity), J. P. S. Long (Queen’s), Che Suffain (Caius), J.
B. Lin (Pembroke).
In his Law Qualifying Examination he passed his
B.A. with honours. He then passed Part I of the Law Tripos with First Class
honours and was awarded a scholarship of £60 and a college prize and books. He
was also elected a Scholar of St. John’s College.
He passed his Law Tripos Part II
again obtaining a First Class. He was the Honorary Secretary of the long
vacation Cricket Team of St John’s College, Cambridge and played together with
Yardley. He also represented St John’s College at badminton and his College were
the badminton champions of the Varsity. The other two representatives from St.
John’s College were badminton blues. Namely C.J.Wee of Penang and K.R.France.
Mr. Ponniah played hockey for the Asiatic students of the University who toured
Belgium. He then hurriedly sat for his final bar examination at the Inner Temple
and left for Malaya to visit his parents.
To the best of our knowledge
nobody from Malaya attended his graduation. In those days, by ship it would
have taken some 6 months and as he entered Cambridge in 1935 his graduation
would be in 1939/40, the eve of World War 2. His academic qualification
entitled him to the top administrative post in Malaya and Straits
Settlement. Unfortunately, Colonial regulations prohibited an Asian from
occupying the position. The position was a reserve of the White British.
However, similar positions in Ceylon and India could be occupied by Asians.
He then sat for the Ceylon Civil Service examination and topped the list of
passers leaving his nearest rival 100 marks behind and scoring more marks then
the candidates who came out first in the Indian Civil Service Examination.
This means he topped the list of the Indian Civil Service examination. The
Commonwealth Civil Service exams were open to all candidates of the Commonwealth
who had attained high academic qualification from Universities. Today's
equivalent would be an exam open to academics from around the world to a limited
number of top government administrative positions.
Mr. B. Ponniah also sat for his Bar examinations in
England and passed these as well. After his graduation from Cambridge with a
Triple First, he was invited for dinner to 10, Downing Street by Mr. Stanley
Baldwin, then Prime Minister of England. Please
allow me this freedom to insert a statement here about Mr. Baldwin’s Christian
conviction that will bless many; he
once said,“ I prefer to sink with Faith intact
rather than swim without it.”
At that time the 3rd World Colonies were beginning to demand more
self-rule with Gandhi leading the charge in India. As such, the British
Government of the day had a policy of nurturing good relationships with future
leaders from the 3rd world. Hence Mr. Benedict Ponniah's invitation to dinner.
After the war, Mr. B Ponniah visited friends and relatives in Malaya before
taking up the
position at the Secretariat at Ratnapura Kacheri Ceylon, which is equivalent to
a local Secretariat. We do not
know where he was stationed during the war years, but it was not in Malaya. At
that time Ceylon was an important Colonial post ranking after Canada, Australia
and India. As such, his appointment to the Secretariat at Ratnapura was a very
important posting for an Asian.
He married the sister of his Cambridge classmate. She was
an Indian from Gujarat whose father was serving as a judge in Ceylon. We do not
have particulars of her qualification.
duce
this profile at the recently refurbished Reference section of the British
Library in London during 2007.
Dr. C. P. Rawson (Federation Welfare Officer), Inche Mohamed
Salleh (State Secretary, Negri Sembilan) and Mr. H. P. Bryson (representing the
High Commissioner) at the funeral of Mr. Benedict Ponniah in Seremban.
Benedict Ponniah died on October 6th , 1949 at the age of 34.
He was from the inception a Government Servant. In 1939 he was appointed
Chairman of the 1st International Labour Conference to be held in Singapore.
At that time he was in the offing for the position as 1st Under Secretary to
the Secretary General of the United Nations. The appointee for the post of
2nd Under Secretary was the delegate from Burma, Mr. U.Than. En-route to Singapore, he
stopped in India and had tea with Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of
India.
"May we take an
interlude here and mention a special hymn that was played by the bandsman
decoratively dressed in black turbans at the
funeral of the Harrow and Cambridge
( Trinity College) educated, 1st Prime Minister of independent
India, Jawaharlal Nehru. This happened before his body was placed on a gun
carriage. Lead Kindly Light with Abide with Me were amongst his favourite
hymns. Do listen to the song pasted below. You will decipher why the hymn
brought delightsome joy to Mr Nehru!"
Sometime during his travels he confirmed his acceptance of the UN post. Whilst in
Singapore, Mr. B Ponniah stayed at Government House and was permitted use of the
facilities at Tanglin Club (Whites only club). Special permission was granted to
his younger brother Wilfred Ponniah to have tea with Mr. B. Ponniah at Tanglin
Club.
Another world renowned individual who studied Law at
Cambridge, a few years after Benedict was Lee Kuan Yew - the first Prime
Minister of modern Singapore. He attended Fitzwilliam College. Mr Lee
graduated with the rare Double Starred First Class Honours in the year 1949.
I must record it here that Mr. Lee originally worked as a lawyer in a firm
called Laycock and Ong. It was Christopher John Laycock, A. P. Rajah and C.
C. Tan ( the famous geneticist) who broke through and founded Singapore’s
first multiracial club, The Island Club to which all Asians were welcome to
join. This was in total contrast to the Tanglin Club. It was the Japanese
occupation that fashioned the political gene in Mr Lee. Something tells me
that Benedict Ponniah and Lee Kuan Yew would have shared many things in
common. Mention must also be made of Kwa Geok Choo, more popularly known as
Mrs Lee Kuan Yew. She shone like Benedict Ponniah and was also a brilliant
Queens Scholar. Mrs Lee studied Law at Girton College, Cambridge. It so happens that as I am writing these
lines I am also reading his book,” The Singapore Story-- Memoirs of Lee Kuan
Yew”, it’s a fascinating read especially how he firstly acquainted himself
with his soon to be wife, Kwa Geok Choo. Very sadly at 5-40 pm on 2nd
October 2010, she passed away in her home. Aged 89 years. She has indeed
left some lasting memories.
(Just suffice to say that it was in July/
August 1995 that we last visited Singapore. Our family were blessed to stay
in the Singapore Hilton for a week- a very comfortable stay. Anton had the priviledge to present a talk in a Church there. He remembers that the
majority of the congregation were from the Sindhi community. This is an
excerpt of the talk: If you have a minute to spare do listen to it:)
Below is where Benedict lived as a student
in St. John's (top floor right):
Sir Franklin Gimson's tribute to his work:
Sir Franklin Gimson, Governor of Singapore, has sent the
following letter to Mr. A B Ponniah, FMS Government pensioner, Seremban, father
of Mr. Benedict Ponniah, who was killed in a road accident near Kuala Lumpur last
week:
"It was with deep regret that I received the tragic news
conveyed in your telegram and in the newspaper this morning of the motor
accident which resulted in the death of your son and my former colleague in
Ceylon, Mr. Benedict Ponniah.
It is indeed a sad fate which should take Mr. Ponniah
from us at a time when he was visiting his homeland after so many years spent in
such a successful career in Ceylon, and his loss will be deeply regretted both
in Ceylon and in Malaya. Please accept my deepest sympathy."
We are grateful to the St. John’s College (Cambridge University) Biographical Archive for permission
to use the photographs and the items in blue. Our other main source was the
Straits Times of Malaya.
A special word of thanks
goes to Mrs. Fiona Colbert, Biographical Assistant, St. John's College Cambridge
for all her help. Very much appreciated. We also want to give a word of thanks
to Mrs. Philomena Stanislaus of Petaling Jaya, West Malaysia; the sister of
Benedict Ponniah and also Mr. James Leslie Ponniah a Barrister in Singapore.
(Please do read the latest entry of
Paul Nicholas, the great
grandson of B.P. Nicholas, who has now graduated in Mathematics from Christ College,
Cambridge. It will also interest you to
read what a prominent Malaysian journalist, Wan Ahmad
Hulaimi, the former Manager of The Straits Times of Malaysia, office in
London, England. wrote as a "Bernama"- news Agency, despatch
from London)
It’s a very rare achievement for a
Malaysian to distinguish himself at a prestigious world renowned University
within such a short time as three years as Mr. Ponniah did.
Remarkable tributes have been paid to
him by his professors and tutors at Cambridge. Mr. Glanville Williams, Fellow of
St. John’s College, said of him, “ his written opinion on points of law were not
only sound in themselves, but were invariably based upon an exhaustive
examination of the authorities.” Mr. Ponniah was elected to serve on the
editorial board of the Cambridge Law Journal-- one of the leading law journals
in the world. His contributions have been accepted and published in the journal.
Mr. Ponniah was entitled to the Mc Mahon Studentship of £200-00 a year for 4
years but had to forego this award on joining the Civil Service.
Here
is what a Malaysian individual wrote, just after the death of Mr. Ponniah, to
the Editor of the Straits Times of Malaya ...
MALAYSIA’S LOSS.
A Brilliant Queen’s
Scholar.
REFLECTIONS ON MR. PONNIAH
To the Editor of the Straits Times.
Sir - Your short editorial reference to Mr. Benedict Ponniah was splendid,
especially the touch of sincere admiration contained in the phrase “intellectual
equal of the cadets,” So few Europeans in Malaya have the grace to acknowledge
Asiatic merit that when we see it in print, and from such a newspaper as yours,
we are pleasantly surprised. Thank you.
Perhaps you would like to know why I write in this strain. Well, I remember
reading a report issued by a committee of schoolmasters on the subject of
Queen’s Scholarships. They suggested a change in the award of these famous
scholarships, viz. they should be given to graduates of Raffles College and the
Medical College, mainly on the ground that Queen’s Scholars are ‘immature’ and
‘mere schoolboys’ when they proceed either to Oxford or Cambridge.
Therefore, our educationists who were unwittingly condemning their own
products, advised government to delay the award by at least three years. After
this period of study in Singapore the recipient, they pointed out, would be able
to get the most from his studies abroad (undergraduate work for the most part
still).
Now, everyone knows that our Queen’s Scholars have done excellently. Your
paper some time ago gave a full account of their work in Cambridge, and, with
one or two exceptions they all achieved First Classes.
But to revert to Mr. Ponniah. He is following what others have done before
him because the doors in Malaya are closed to Asiatics.Here is a colour bar, and, as long as it exists,
our best lads will find their scope elsewhere. This is the real loss to Malaya -
not the taxpayer’s money but the country’s brains.
Think what our educational, administrative and medical services would be if
we had not lost Dr. Wu Llen-Teh, Dr. Lim Boon Keng,
Dr. Chan Cheng Lock, and younger men who are making their names in the civil
services of India and Ceylon-K. Kanagasundram and Sucha Singh, to mention two
who know me.
One more point. The Asiatic is not money only. What galls him is the enforced
subordinate position he holds in a country which boasts of justice and freedom.
Outside of the sordid business of amassing dollars and cents, the Asiatic is not
allowed to rise above a certain level and it is time that this bar was lifted.
If this takes place than our Ponniahs and Boon Kengs have helped to point out
the glaring omissions of a Government to which I subscribe still etc.
etc
On the video below, filmed in Malaysia, Anton
proclaims a moving testimony about the progression of the family. Do check it
out to see how the Malaysians received the contents of what he shared. For
this links up to the Malaysia Boleh story.
We want to acknowledge our Lord's blessings
on this website. It was blessed and
inaugurated officially on 1 August 2002.
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Our son Paul graduated with an Honours Degree in his Mathematics tripos from Christ's
College, University of Cambridge, 1st July 2005.
In 2003 he became a Scholar when he secured a first in his part 1 A of his
tripos.
Paul is pictured with his parents, his sister Jannine and our adopted family
member Valerie who is positioned on the extreme left.
Our daughter Jannine is now studying law at St. John's College, Cambridge.
One of the reasons she opted for this
College was to follow in the footsteps of her
From the above it is evidently very clear that St John's College, insisted on
Jannine receiving a minimum of 3 A stars for her A level subjects.
Just being awarded an A grade was not
sufficient for Cambridge.
Jannine received 96%
for Economics, 91%
for Chemistry, Mathematics 89%
and Latin 87%.
At 7-30 pm we received this news:
Congratulations! Your place at University of Cambridge to study Law has been
confirmed.Press here to read why praying was mandatory.
Presenting Jannine Nicholas,
(pictured on the left)
the President to The Winfield Society(2011-2012, Equivalent to the St.
John’s College Law Society) and Anisha Polson. Two of the only eight elite Law
undergraduates confirmed a placement at St. John's College, Cambridge for the
2009 entry. Here they are at the garden party in the presence of Royalty.
In March 2009 Paul received his MA from Cambridge.
He also graduated with a Msc, from Imperial College London, for which he was awarded a distinction (a
first). His graduation ceremony for his MSc, took place at the Royal Albert
Hall, May 2009. On 17th July 2009 Paul
conveyed the thrilling news to us that he had passed his final Actuarial Paper.
.
On 24th July 2009 his name was published in the London Times, page 68, stating
he is now a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.
Well done Paul! You can relax now and enjoy your profession as a fully qualified Actuary.
Solely for the the hits
coming in from Africa, if you want to glimpse at a picture of a school that
Saida attended at Kampala, Uganda, then please press this
link: Saida had
some happy times in Kampala, Uganda
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