When the Japanese came in 1942, Koh Sin was in Standard 3 (at the age of 12). The Japanese enrolled Koh Sin in an institution to recruit and train local soldiers for the Japanese forces. The recruits lived at the Malacca General Hospital, where they were ragged by the senior recruits from Indonesia. After the end of the war in 1945, Koh Sin went back to Standard 3, and was promoted to Standard 6 within a few months. Then he sat for an English proficiency entrance examination to be promoted to Standard 7, and was one of only two students to qualify (the other student was Tan Siew Lay, Tun Tan Cheng Lock's grandson). However he contracted tuberculosis, and had to spend a year recuperating at the Malacca General Hospital. There he met Abdullah Salleh, a Malay student a few years his senior who was also bedridden with illness. Abdullah Salleh (now Tan Sri) was, according to my father, the only Malay student then who excelled academically at Malacca High School. He went on to head a government department (the Public Services Department says my father, but he's not sure), and subsequently became president of Petronas. My father rejoined Standard 7, a year behind his former classmates, quickly got promoted to Standard 8, and finished his high school studies in Standard 9. After that, Koh Sin wanted to study medicine. previous | next