F
or many Malaysians, the declaration of independence at Stadium Merdeka on Aug 31, 1957, is a moment learned through history books, old radio clips, black-and-white documentaries, or family stories passed down over generations.
But for Mary Josephine Amalanathan, now 89, that bright Saturday morning lives vividly in her memory, a day she will always cherish.
“I was there at Merdeka Stadium on Aug 31 to witness the historic moment of the Union Jack being lowered and (first Prime Minister) Tunku Abdul Rahman proudly raising the Jalur Gemilang and declaring our nation’s independence,” she said.
The grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of one recalls standing shoulder to shoulder with thousands of Malaysians, filled with hope and pride, as they watched a new nation being born.
“I saw the Tunku, Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun V.T. Sambanthan – our founding fathers – up close. The first Yang di-Pertuan Agong was there too. It was unforgettable.”
She added that when the Tunku cried out the iconic “Merdeka”, the atmosphere was exhilarating.
“I still feel the excitement of that moment. It was unity, it was joy, it was freedom,” she recalled in an interview with Bernama at her home here.
But Josephine is not just an eyewitness to history. This former headmistress also helped shape it – in classrooms filled with young pupils with big dreams.
A TRAILBLAZER IN EDUCATION
Her journey as an educator began in 1955 as a trainee teacher at the Convent School in Kajang, Selangor (now known as SK Convent Kajang). Josephine had just passed her Senior Cambridge (a British examination equivalent to today’s SPM), and, “So, straight to work it was for me.”
Mrs Josephine Amalanathan pictured here in her office as headmistress of St Anne's Convent Primary School.
Due to the lack of formal teachers’ training institutes back then, Josephine attended a training course for ‘normal class teachers’ at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur every Saturday. This way, she managed to equip herself with the skills needed for a job she took to heart.
She then went on to teach at Marian Convent in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, and the Convent School in Klang, Selangor.
In 1961, when she was just 25, Josephine was appointed the first headmistress of SK St Anne’s Convent in Port Klang, Selangor, and was confirmed in her post after four years, a rare honour and likely making her the youngest to hold such a position at the time.
“The nuns chose me,” she said humbly.
From just 60 pupils in its early days, mostly from modest households in Port Klang and Pandamaran, Josephine, together with a team of dedicated teachers, helped build St Anne’s into a thriving institution of over 600 students by the time she left in 1987 to join SRK Methodist Girls School in Klang (MGS Klang) as its headmistress, where she had more than 1,600 students under her administration.
“There were no VIP children or doctors’ kids at St Anne’s. Many parents could not even afford the RM2.50 monthly school fees,” she said. “But we found a way, convincing the school board to exempt them. Education has to be for everyone.”
STRICT BUT CARING
Mrs Nathan, as Josephine was fondly known among her students and teachers, was a firm believer in discipline, but she was compassionate as well.
Her mere stare could silence a noisy class. If that failed, a 12-inch wooden ruler on the desk would do the trick, she said, chuckling.
She was never cruel, just caring. Some of the teachers who worked with Josephine recalled how she carefully rechecked exercise books corrected by them.
Josephine Amalanathan, 89, former headmistress of St Anne's Convent pictured here at a gathering at her home in Port Klang with some former headmistresses and students of the primary school.
She also championed handwriting as an essential skill. “There was a dedicated slot in the timetable just for handwriting,” Josephine said. “Block letters for the younger ones (pupils), and cursive from Standard Four upwards. Teachers had to follow the standard, too.”
Former teachers recall she taught her students to leave a finger's width between words and insisted on the correct use of punctuation.
Many of her students, who later became teachers and headmistresses, still thank her not just for neat penmanship but for the lessons in precision and pride.
LEGACY OF RESPECT AND EXCELLENCE
Josephine’s commitment to excellence did not stop at her students. She reviewed teachers' record books with the same diligence, gently marking mistakes with a pencil, said Kamaleswary Sandragesu, who took over as headmistress at St Anne's Convent after Josephine was transferred to MGS Klang.
Kamaleswary described Josephine as “hardworking, fair and always the first to arrive and last to leave”.
Retired teacher Quake Geok Lee, who taught at St Anne's Convent when Josephine was headmistress, recalled an incident when an education officer came to the school for an inspection and asked her (Quake) why there was a “pin-drop silence” in the school.
“My answer was simple: our headmistress, Mrs Nathan, instilled good discipline,” Quake said, adding, “Parents back then supported teachers. If a child was scolded in school, they got a second round (of scolding) at home! Today, parents are more defensive. How quickly times have changed.”
For Josephine, it was a proud moment when her school, MGS Klang, emerged as the overall winner in the “Best Decorated and Cleanest School” competition in 1990, organised by the Klang Education Office and Klang Municipal Council (now known as Royal Klang City Council). It competed against 73 primary and 123 secondary schools.
LIFE BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Josephine retired in 1991 at the age of 55, but the educator in her never truly left.
Josephine Amalanthan, the former headmistress of St Anne's Convent at Port Klang receiving the PJK award from the Sultan of Selangor in 1989.
She went on to offer free tuition to underprivileged children through an organisation called Educare, which was run by nuns of the Franciscan Missionary Divine Mercy.
Josephine also co-founded the St Anne’s Convent Alumni Association in 2015, becoming its first patron.
“My heart will always be with St Anne’s. That’s where I grew up,” she said.
In 2014, a group of former students of St Anne's Convent, led by Cynthia Varghese and guided by Josephine, came together with a shared vision – to unite all ex-students through the alumni association.
Their inaugural gathering took place on Jan 24, 2015, bringing together 150 former students. The alumni’s 10th anniversary dinner will be held on Aug 23 at the Crystal Crown Hotel here.
For her decades of dedicated service, Josephine was awarded the Pingat Jasa Kebaktian (PJK) by the then Sultan of Selangor in 1989.
Josephine was magnanimous in paying tribute and attributing her accomplishments to the exemplary teamwork and cooperation shown by former teachers and students.
Josephine, or Mrs Nathan, is undoubtedly a woman who did not just teach lessons from textbooks but shaped lives through kindness, discipline and the unshakable belief that every child, no matter how small, can shine.
-- BERNAMA
