SIBU: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof visited his former school, Sekolah Kebangsaan St Mary Sibu here, today.
Reminiscing the good old days, he said the school only comprised one wooden block with six classrooms back then, when he was schooling in the 1960s.
“I thank Nangka assemblyman Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee for organising my official visit,” he said.
The 61-year old Sibu-born said the school was among the best primary schools in the district and also the main feeder to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sacred Heart dan SMK Methodist.
“The school was very disciplined during that time. The headmaster during that time was Sister Ignatia Teresa Soon and if students misbehaved, they will be punished with a very long ruler,” he recalled.
The Petra Jaya MP extended his gratitude to the strictness and discipline of the school, attributing his success to the teachers.
“Thanks to the teachers from this school I became the person I am now who can contribute to our country and state,” he said.
Fadillah advised fellow students to always remember and appreciate teachers.
“Different teachers have different styles of teaching. Some are soft while others can be very strict but their ultimate aim is to make you a good citizen,” he added.
Fadillah reminded the school to remember their constituent representatives in the past, the late Sibu MP Datuk Robert Lau Hui Chee and former Nangka assemblyman Datuk Awang Bemee for their effort in seeking funds in 2010 to the then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for the construction of an additional block.
The deputy prime minister expressed his readiness to help and consider the school’s request for a future development fund.
Meanwhile, school headmaster Morris Belayang advised his pupils to see Fadillah as an exemplary model to measure success in their future undertakings.
“He was a former student of this school and today he is a deputy prime minister. Use him as a role model. If he can, you also can,” he said.
