Section 90: SJK(C) Chung San
The School's Predecessor After the surrender of the Japanese forces in 1947, the school was reopened, occupying leased buildings as its premises, barely maintaining its operation. Over the years, as time passed and things changed, forty years have gone by, and now the small buildings resemble an elderly person in the twilight of life, swaying and on the verge of collapse, feeling lonely and deserted. In the past, many students had studied together here, exchanging knowledge day and night, and many teachers had diligently guided and worked here! But now, the echoes of those vibrant times have vanished into thin air. Amidst the overgrown grass, remnants of tiles and rubble are still left, with only the staircase on the second floor surviving. Reflecting on the determination of the past generations to establish and run this school, it is truly awe-inspiring!
Development History of SJKC Chung San, Rompin
Our school was established in the year 1928, and now it has been in operation for 95 years. Initially known as "Public Chung San School," the school premises were leased from a shop. The administration was led by its President the esteemed Mr. Zeng Sheng, and the principal was Mr. Lai Fu Lin. The school had a total of 25 students, divided into four levels of classes.
In early 1940, Principal Lai left our school and went to KuanRou High School in Johor. Soon after, the Second World War broke out, and the Japanese forces advanced southward, occupying our country, leading to the suspension of our school's operations.
In 1945, the Japanese forces surrendered, and peace was restored to the world. The following year, local notables, including Chen Huoyuan, Wu Furong, Qiu Li, Liao Huilong, Li Hongsheng, Lin Dongshan, Hu Zenghui, Huang Zuqian, gathered to discuss the resumption of the school. They leased another shop for the school premises, and Mr. Liao Jieming was invited by Mr. Li to take charge of the school affairs as the principal.
In 1947, Mr. Lin Dongshan assumed the school administration. The school premises were relocated once again to a building opposite the current post office. This building was owned by Mr. Lin and the school was required to pay an annual rental of 30 Ringgit.
In 1948, as the domestic situation was turbulent and unstable, the British government implemented emergency regulations. At that time, there was a change in the school's administration, with Mr. Wu Jin taking over the school administration, while Principal Liao managed the school affairs for seven years until early 1952 when he resigned.
In 1959, Mr. Peng Xingjie was appointed as the principal, overseeing the school affairs for one year. In the same year, (丹那那积) Tanah Pancit?? were segmented and sold, attracting Chinese families from other places to move in. As a result, the number of students increased, and the existing building could no longer accommodate everyone. In light of this, the school authorities applied to the Education Department to join the New Remuneration Scheme and requested government funding to build a new school. However, their application was not successful. As a temporary solution, they borrowed useless garages and worker dormitories from the Public Works Department and renovated them to serve as temporary classrooms.
Mr. V.K Kalyanasundram, the Founding Contributor of the School According to the school's historical records, on January 1, 1960, the school planned and initiated the construction of the first phase of school buildings. Due to the lack of suitable land, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Wu Jin, together with directors Zhang Luan, Zhang Shun, and Zheng Guoshi, approached an Indian businessman named V.K Kalyanasundram to seek a donation of land for building the school. Mr. Kalyanasundram generously agreed and donated a plot of land measuring three acres on Jalan Meliton? 美丽顿路. Furthermore, he contributed 1,050 Ringgit as the foundation fund for building the school. Looking back at the school's history, Mr. V.K Kalyanasundram's contribution to the development and construction of the school is invaluable. It is truly admirable that an Indian compatriot had such a significant role in promoting Chinese education. He can be rightfully regarded as the founding contributor of the school.
Subsequently, the Board of Directors recognized that the location was far from the town and new villages, and they were concerned that it might cause inconvenience for students to commute. Therefore, they approached the Union Garden Company to acquire a second plot of land as the new school site, while retaining the aforementioned land as the property of the Board.
In 1968, they obtained the land “geran” and was designated as Lot 1959. However, during the subdivision of the geran, due to the presence of buildings both in front and behind, only two acres(二依格) was retained, while the rest became part of the adjacent plot owned by the Wong family. The Wong family then provided a subsidy of RM 600 per plot to the Board, based on the prevailing land price at that time.
In 1981, the school planned to construct a two-story school building, which required a considerable amount of construction cost of RM 200,000. However, they only received a funding allocation of RM 20,000 from the Ministry of Education. Due to the insufficient amount and the economic downturn, fund-raising became challenging, leading to repeated delays in the construction plan, resulting in a stagnation of development.
On May 19, 1983, the school convened a meeting of the Board of Directors and sponsors to seek a breakthrough in their difficult situation. After careful consideration, they decided to put Lot 1959 up for tender and sell it to obtain funds for the construction of the school. The vacant land, which had remained unused for over twenty years, was finally sold for RM 83,330. With this wise decision made at the meeting, the expansion project was initiated promptly, and the magnificent two-story school building was successfully completed.