Reflection on La Salle Brothers in Sarawak, Malaysia.

On the eve of the departure a few La Salle Brothers from Sarawak, I write this recollection. I was one of the old boys of Sacred Heart School, Sibu. Their dedication and commitment in providing a high standard of education have influenced my life and others in the community.

Historically, the founder of the De La Salle Brothers, John Baptist De La Salle, started this noble mission, 300 years ago, of providing education to the common people, particularly the poor, children running wild in the streets intermingled with crime and depravity. It was a time when education was the privilege of the rich. The many Brothers, believing in the love of God, continued with this noble mission. Brother Adrian, Brother Albinus, Brother Hilary and Brother Columba left their homeland in Europe to this far away remote land called Borneo, some 40 years ago. With the transfer of the management of school from the church, the La Salle Brothers raised the standard of education through their professional teaching. Indeed they have contributed greatly to the foundation of our modern society.

While education provides us with the necessary knowledge to build a better world, particularly in the advance of science and technology, life as a whole is also getting more sophisticated and complicated. There are unintended consequences brought by the progress in society : environmental problems, pockets of poverty, disease control problem, breakdown of family life, generation gap, high stress in work, alienation & dislocation of professional life in their fragmented specialisation, etc. etc.

However, as I reflected upon the teaching of these dedicated Brothers, I realised that it was not just the high standard of educational level in term of high scores that really matter, it was the principles and human values that they lived with and hence radiated through their teaching. Whether these principles and human values are wrapped in Christianity, they are the true driving force that helped in the transformation a land of almost nothing to what we have today.

As we are the fortunate recipients of this fine education from the Brothers, it is a real challenge to us to live the same spirit of these great Brothers to transform our organisation, community, and society towards a higher state of excellence, quality and happiness, under the driving force of the universal principles and human values. This calls for a new set of Learning to the educated : the professional, the businessmen etc. who play the pivotal role for an emergent global village to take shape. And the La Salle Brothers spirit lives on.

(Note : New Learning, refer to other articles in this homepage)

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