The First Malay School: Sultan Idris Training College

In 1922, the British established the Sultan Idris Training College (SITC) in Tanjung Malim, Perak, to train Malay teachers. But this school became a hotbed of anti-colonial thought and Malay nationalism. We explore the vision of its first principal, Richard James Wilkinson, the curriculum that mixed traditional Malay culture with modern education, and the unexpected consequences: the emergence of radical teachers who would later shape Malaysia's independence movement. We meet figures like Harun Aminurrashid, Ishak Haji Muhammad, and Abdul Rahim Kajai, who used literature and journalism to spread nationalist ideas. We also discuss the controversial 'Sitc' novel by Ishak Haji Muhammad, which critiqued colonial education. This episode covers the tension between British intentions of creating loyal civil servants and the school's role in fostering a generation of activists.

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