British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

, a Queen's Scholar was a holder of one of various scholarships awarded by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

to further their studies in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The first scholarships, originally known as the Higher Scholarships, were founded in 1885 by Sir

Cecil Clementi Smith Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (23 December 1840 – 6 February 1916),. was a British colonial administrator. Background The son of an Essex rector, John Smith, and his wife Cecilia Susanna Clementi (daughter of Muzio Clementi), Cecil Clementi Smi ...

, the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Straits Settlements, in honour of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. The main objectives of introducing Higher Scholarships was to allow promising boys an opportunity to complete their studies in the United Kingdom, and to encourage a number of boys to remain in school and acquire a useful education. From the period 1885–1890, Higher Scholarships were only awarded to the top boys in the

Straits Settlement The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

. Thereafter, the Higher Scholarships were renamed the Queen's Scholarships and was opened up to all British subjects of either sex. Recipients of the Queen's Scholarships would proceed to study at either

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

universities. The Queen's Scholarships were discontinued in 1911 but restored in 1931. In 1940, the selection of Queen's Scholars was transferred to a Board of Selection appointed by the Senate of Raffles College in Singapore. The Queen's Research Fellowships were also introduced for outstanding graduates of

Raffles College The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

and

King Edward VII College of Medicine King Edward VII Medical College (KEMC) was a medical school from 1905 to 1949 in Singapore, the first one in what was then Malaya. It was officially named King Edward VII Medical College in 1921 and subsequently became the Faculty of Medicine, Un ...

(later merged to form the

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

) to study postgraduate courses in selected universities in the United Kingdom. In 1959, the Queen's Scholarship was replaced by the Agong's Scholarship in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and the Singapore State Scholarship, now the

President's Scholar A President's Scholar is a recipient of the academic scholarship awarded by the Government of Singapore annually, to pursue undergraduate education at a university, usually abroad. The scholarship is considered to be the most prestigious public ...

ship in Singapore.

List of British Malayan Queen's Scholars

* 1886: Charles Spence Angus (Singapore), James Aitken (Singapore) * 1887: Dr.

Lim Boon Keng Lim Boon Keng (; 18 October 1869 – 1 January 1957) was a Peranakan physician who advocated social and educational reforms in Singapore in the early 20th-century. He also served as the president of Xiamen University in China between 1921 and ...

, P. V. S. Locke * 1888: Sir

Song Ong Siang Sir Song Ong Siang () was a lawyer and active citizen of the British Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements. He was an ethnic Hokkien as well as a third generation Hokkien Peranakan Baba (Peranakan term for ''man'') Chinese with ancestry from ...

(Singapore), Dunstan Alfred Aeria (Penang) * 1889: H. A. Scott * 1890: P. P. Mehergee, H. O. Robinson * 1891: Francis Osmond de Souza (Singapore) * 1892: A. H, Keun, H. J.Phillips * 1893: H. C. Keun, Ung Bok Hoey * 1894: H. A. D. Moore, Koh Leap Teng * 1895: J. C. J. de Silva * 1896: Gnoh Lean Tuck ( Wu Lien Teh) * 1897: F. Salzmann, R. Holsington * 1898: Quah Sin Keat, Phung Chock Kong * 1899: Goh Lai Hee (

Wu Lai Hsi Wu may refer to: States and regions on modern China's territory *Wu (state) (; och, *, italic=yes, links=no), a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period 771–476 BCE ** Suzhou or Wu (), its eponymous capital ** Wu County (), a former county i ...

), R. E. Smith * 1900: W. S. Leicester, M. Foley * 1901: Yeoh Guan Seok, R. H. McCleland, Chan Sze Pong * 1902: Tan Seng Suan, Koh Keng Seng * 1903: W. W. Davidson, W. J. G. McCain * 1904: Lim Guan Cheng, Noel Clarke,

Chan Sze Jin Chan Sze Jin CMG (6 September 1886 – 26 September 1948) was a lawyer and a politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Singapore, and was the first lawyer in private practice to be conferred the CMG. He was also the second lawyer ...

* 1905: E. R. Carlos, R. L. Eber * 1906: J. R. Aeria, L. Samy * 1907: Khaw Oo Kek, C. H. Claude de Silva * 1908: Leong Yew Koh (Perak) * 1909: Khoo Heng Kok, Stephen O. de Souza * 1924: Teh Say Koo, Tan Ah Tah * 1925: Yeoh Cheng Hoe * 1926: Tan Yeow Bok, Oon Khye Beng * 1927: Lim Kheng Kooi (Penang), Cheah Heng Sin * 1928: J. W. D. Ambrose (Penang), Cheah Soon Hock * 1929: Tan Thoon Lip, Ooi Tiang Eng * 1930: Maggi Tan, Goh Liang Chuan * 1931: Chuah Seng Chew, Liew Swee Cheng, Ong Hock Sim * 1932: Tan Sim Eng,

Thora Oehlers Thora Oehlers (2 September 1913 – July 1990) was a Singaporean physician. she was the first woman student in Singapore of mixed European and Asian ancestry to win a Queen's Scholarship in 1933, and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps durin ...

, R. Arulandum * 1933:Keong Siew Tong, B. H. Y. Meggs, H. Jesudason * 1934: A. V. Winslow, Dr. Lau Fook Khean, B. Ponniah (Seremban) * 1935: Cyril Noel L'Angellier, Ahmad bin Ibrahim, Ng Yok Hing, Mohd. Suffian bin Hashim * 1936: Lim Hong Bee, Chia Kim Chwee, Ng Wah Hing, Rajah Zahar * 1937: Emma Sadka/

Emily Sadka Emily or Emma Sadka (1920 – 19 July 1968) was an Iraqi-Singaporean historian and researcher specialising in the Political History of the Malayan region, which she taught at the University of Malaya (Singapore) and in Australian universities.Sil ...

Lim Chong Eu Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu (; 28 May 1919 – 24 November 2010) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang from May 1969 to October 1990. He was also the founding president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). He ...

, Chin Kim Hong, Ismail bin Md. Ali (K. Lumpur) * 1938: Lim Kok Aun, Lee Lian Chye, Yap Pow Meng, Abu Bakar bin Tamin * 1939: Oliver Lyons Phipps (Penang), Wilbur Boswell (Singapore), Rodney Russell Lam (Kuala Lumpur) * 1940: Chung Shiu Tett (S), Dr. C. V. Jumeaux (F), Dr. Megat Khas bin Megar Omar (F), Maurice. E. Baker (C'Hlds S), D. R. E. S. Monteiro (F), Chuah Yew Cheng (F) * 1941: Dr. Md. bin Mahomed (F), Dr. Wong Koon Yip/Wong Kin Yip/Wong Kim Yip (F) * 1942: Dr. Irene Rajaratnam née Irene Hoisington (S), Kenneth Byrne (F), Dr. B. H. Sheares (F) * 1946: Dr. Suleiman bin Md. Attas (F), Chin Fung Kee (S), Abdul Kadir bin Shamsuddin (S), E. W. Barker (S) * 1947: Dr. A. W. E. Moreira (F), Dr. Arthur A. Sandosham (F), Lim Ewe Hock (S),

Kwa Geok Choo Kwa Geok Choo (; 21 December 1920 – 2 October 2010) was a Singaporean lawyer. She was the wife of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the mother of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. She was also the co-founder and partner of law ...

(S) * 1948: Dr. Yahya Cohen (S), Chua Sui Eng (S) Kiang Ai Kim (F), Cheah Bian Kung (S), Dr. Abbas bin Haji Alias (F), Dr. Md. Din bin Ahmad (F) * 1949: Dr. Thong Saw Pak (Ipoh, S), Dr. Omar bin Din (Alor Star, S), Dr. Jaswant Singh Sodhy (Klang, F) * 1950: Chua Sui Eng (S), Lim Tay Boh (F), Dr. Abdul Majid bin Haji Ismail (S) * 1951: Francis Morsingh (Penang S), Aminuddin Baki (S), Gwee Ah Leng (S) * 1952: Wee Sip Chee/Wee Sit Chee (Singapore S), Un Hon Hin (Singapore S), Eunice Thio (Singapore S), Lim Joo Jock (S) * 1954: Chan Kong Thoe (Penang) * 1955: Dr. Mrs. E. Hannam (S), Tan Kheng Choo (S), Hwang Peng Yuan (S) * 1956: Huang Hsing Hua (Seremban S), Ang Kok Peng (Taiping F), Mah Guan Kong (Singapore S), Colin Leicester (Singapore S) * 1957:

Satwant Singh Dhaliwal Dr. Satwant Singh Dhaliwal ( pa, ਸਤਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ, Satavata sigha dhālīvāla; 29 January 1933 – 6 February 2015)'Obituary of Santwant Singh Dhaliwal,' in The Star (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia), 7 February 2015, P ...

(K. Lumpur S), Chatar Singh Data (Ipoh)

References

{{reflist British Malaya Education in Singapore Education in Malaysia

List of British Malayan Queen's Scholars

See also

References