King Edward VII-1 School in dilapidated state

It is supposed to be the one of the most, if not the most, beautiful school in the country.

The building is majestic. The pillars are unlike any school built by Kementerian; kurus and cikeding and looks like they will fall apart the moment you lean against it, while the King Edward school was build by the Brit in 1905, so they are so massive that you will need Badang to carry and build them, and will withstand the tsunamis and earthquakes.

Apparently Aishawarya Rai was here
a couple of years ago or at least
that is what I was told by the security.

The ceiling is at least two-storey high; you would be able to play the badminton in the classroom, and you would never be able to hit the ceiling with the shuttlecock. At least as a 12-year old, I guess.

Beautiful, shady rain-trees adorn the compound to complement colonial building. Somehow the British colonial building supposedly from temperate climate and the raintrees from the tropic - a mismatch, may be an oxymoron even, and yet the two had co-existed over 100 years, and look like they were meant for each other. It was underneath these trees that we - then pre-teens -  had our fun under the shade. Guli batu, popia and takraw were some of our fav then. It was at this Padang too we secured our Perak U-12 rugby title in 1975.

Tough kids we were then.

The building should be a Heritage building. I am not sure if it is. Then again, with Taiping declared as Bandar Warisan, everything should be heritage in Taiping.

The raintrees and the padang with the rugby post.
This is Taiping and King Edward at their best; blue
sky with the equally blue and majestic Maxwell Hill
in thebackground.

But it is in dilapidated state, and in dire need of maintenance. Many renovations were done without adhering to a heritage building guideline. The newer non-descript building built by Kementerian should be torn down. It is ugly.

Sometimes I do wonder why the British built majestic building in their colonies, while after independence, as lord of the land in our own country, we build school like we were the stingy colonials ourselves.

The buildings on the surface are still majestic. But underneath, I noticed that it in dire need to a good maintenance.

Look at the pillars, and the pathetic and unkempt conditions it is in.
Do note at the ugly steel  grill on the balcony.
An eye sore basically. Twice in Std 5 and Std 6, we were placed in
the upper level, and nothing untoward had happened
to kids of the yesteryears, and yet they had to do it to
protect the kids today. They can, but complement it
with the architecture of the  building please.

Help save King Edwards VII school before it crumbles to the ground. Here are what I thought should be done:

1. Call on restorer(s) to restore not only the facade, but to look at everything that requires maintenance - wiring, piping, structure
2. Demolish all ancillary and auxiliary buildings that did not conform to the architecture of the building. This include, the 3-storey Kementerian built building at the back of the school, and the equally eye-sore canteen in front of the school, and whatever the reban ayam in the middle of the compound.
3. There is no need to replace the removed buildings; to ensure that there are enough places for students, make King Edward VII-1 a select school that all students attending it will go through stringent tests that include both academic and extra curricular activities.
4. Declare the whole compound of King Edward VII-1 primary school a national heritage
5. Declare Taiping as a national heritage town (similar status as Penang and Melaka), and we don't have to wait for UNESCO declaration.

What say you Old Edwardians?

Ugly grill

Oh my God, ni reban ayam ke? Is
this the best the government can come up with? Look at
what the British build in the background. Used
to be very green on this part of the school.

Another ugly store room aka canteen at the front of the school.
Come on la kementerian - both Pelajaran and Warisan.
Eye sore betul2 depan sekolah. Where art thou?

There used to be no ceiling, just beams and wood planks
of the above floor, and I am not sure how many fans
we had then.