A tribute to the late Mr T Thiruchelvam by Mr Wong Kook Cheow (V.I. staff '75 - '79, '85, '93, '95-'96). Mr Thiru passed away on September 10, 2021.

It was shocking and sad news to learn of the demise of my very good friend and V.I. colleague who left us suddenly after succumbing to a stroke. Thiru was indeed a very proud Victorian and had done more than any prominent Victorians had ever done for his beloved alma mater. In his own quiet, unassuming ways he made huge strides to perpetuate the V.I. as a very special and elite institution on par with all the other elite schools in our country.

He was a PROUD VICTORIAN whom everyone who has an association with the V.I. should aspire to be. He was not only a strong father figure to his own children but to all his students who were privileged to be taught by him. In memory of Thiru, let me encapsulate the many achievements he had accomplished for the school:

1. The V.I. Museum that easily occupied three classrooms on the ground floor of the school.

2. The School magazine, The Victorian, for which he was its Teacher Advisor over the years that he was in the V.I. until his retirement. I had the privilege of following him annually in his Old Faithful, his VOLVO 121, to Kok Printers to consult with Mr Kok to update the material the Editorial Board had progressively made to the final publication of the magazine.

3. On the field, Thiru was a qualified MAAU Coach specialising in the hurdles for which he was recognised to bring up both our school's and the State's athletes to compete successfully at both the school and state levels. He was also known as the man behind the opening and closing ceremonies for the Sports Day of V.I. - what protocols to follow and how the events should be ceremoniously conducted with the LAST POST by the bugler standing at the top of the pavilion to end the event.

4. A landmark tribute to Thiru was for all the hard work he had put in to help me organise the CENTENARY celebrations of the V.I. with our VICC Band to commemorate the historic event with a TATTOO in the V.I. quadrangle, followed by a special CONCERT in the Dewan Bandaraya for the residents of Kuala Lumpur. We even managed to produce souvenir program booklets for both the events for which Thiru helped to select the relevant photos to feature in the program booklets. To this day I have kept these booklets in my archives.

5. Finally, let me put on record that Thiru kept me company in the two years I was back from Adelaide as I was not successful getting my optional retirement and had to return to serve the V.I. to end my teaching career as the Head of the English Department. Thiru was there to give me plenty of emotional support and we even cooked meals at my Bangsar Baru home to prepare his Indian style fish curry. My nephew who was staying with me at that time was able to partake in our meals, often over the weekends.

I can keep on describing many other events that had brought us to work and bond together with students and staff, principally to celebrate all the events of this great institution.

We have all lost a V.I. icon, who had in his most humble and unassuming ways brought back the fame and glory of the VICTORIA INSTITUTION.

Let me end by conveying our heartfelt condolences to Thiru's bereaved family in their time of mourning.

The V.I. Web Page