Tulip Che Lah (4) St Mary's School 1946-1951 ~ Shaik Ahmad Clan

Tulip Che Lah (4) St Mary's School 1946-1951

MILESTONES

4 November 1931 Birth at Tanglin Hospital, KL
1932 - 1937 Lived in KL and Klang
1938 - 1941 Attended primary school in KL and Singapore
1942 - 1945 WWII (Japanese War/Japanese occupation/Perang Dunia Kedua)
1946 - 1951 Attended St Mary's School, KL (secondary school)

HER ASPIRATIONS

Tulip said she wanted to become a doctor, just like her father. However, the war broke out and she could not proceed with her studies and dream to become a doctor.

She was 10 years old when the war broke out in Kuala Lumpur. She was 14 years old when the war ended in Malaya. She lost 4 years critical time for good education, and her dream slipped away.

After the war, she knew a few languages - English, Malay, Chinese, Tamil, and Japanese. English was her mother tongue and Japanese was her newly acquired language as a result of the war. She was a self-taught polyglot at 14 and she was good at it.

Tulip attended a few schools in Klang, KL and Singapore. Of the schools she attended, St Mary's School in KL was the most she talked about. The School was special to her.

ST MARY'S SCHOOL, KUALA LUMPUR

In the post-war, an intelligent, obedient and observant child, Tulip attended the St Mary's School at Batu Road in Kuala Lumpur. She recalled a chauffeur in white uniform drove her from her home to school and back, in a white Austin Princess 5a, which resembled the Rolls Royce and was often mistaken for a Rolls Royce. The family does not know where this white Austin Princess 5a has disappeared to.

In May 2007, when I interviewed Tan Sri Dr Raja Ahmad Noordin at his home in Kg Tunku, PJ, he also recalled having been driven in the same "Rolls Royce", after a meeting with Dr Che Lah, from the Government Health Office in Kuala Lumpur, to Sg Buloh where Dr Che Lah's family resided. Then the chauffeur drove him back to Kuala Lumpur. He described the family's life as that of upper class.