Weeratunge Edward Perera
Encyclopedia
Weeratunge Edward Perera MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...

(wɪərəˈtjʊŋɡə ˈɛdwərd pɨˈrɛərə) (22 June 1898 - 23 September 1982) was a Malaysian Sinhalese educator, businessman and social entrepreneur. He brought some semblance of peace to Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan
Teluk Intan
Teluk Intan(安順)is a town located in the state of Perak in Malaysia. It is the largest town in Hilir Perak district and third largest town in the state of Perak with an estimated population of around 120,000, about half of Hilir Perak district's total population...

, Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

, Malaysia) during its occupation
Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak
Throughout much of World War II, British Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak were under Japanese occupation.The Japanese Empire commenced the Pacific War with the invasion of Kota Bahru in Kelantan on 8 December 1941 at 00:25, about 90 minutes before the Attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii at 07:48 on 7...

 by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the Communist Insurgency War
Communist Insurgency War
The Communist Insurgency War, or Second Malaysian Emergency was an insurgency and guerrilla war, conducted by the Malayan Communist Party against Malaysian armed forces from 1968 to 1989.-Origins:...

 that followed. W. E. Perera oversaw the restoration of water, electrical supplies, medical services and governance to Telok Anson after its invasion by Japanese forces
Japanese Invasion of Malaya
The Japanese Invasion of Malaya, or Battle of Kota Bharu, began just after midnight on 8 December 1941 before the attack on Pearl Harbor...

 following the withdrawal of the British forces to Singapore. With the surrender of the Japanese and during the tumultuous Malayan emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....

 that followed, he was responsible in restarting and extending the Anglo Chinese School (ACS), Telok Anson
Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh
The Anglo-Chinese School in Ipoh is the oldest and one of the most prestigious schools in the state of Perak, Malaysia.Commonly known among locals as ACS, the school caters to students from Form One to Form Six of the Malaysian education system . It is one of the few schools in Ipoh which provide...

 (now Sekolah Kebangsaan Horley Methodist
Teluk Intan
Teluk Intan(安順)is a town located in the state of Perak in Malaysia. It is the largest town in Hilir Perak district and third largest town in the state of Perak with an estimated population of around 120,000, about half of Hilir Perak district's total population...

, Teluk Intan) with the help of the returning British administration and local philanthropists. He was the first non Methodist post war principal of the Anglo Chinese School in Telok Anson and was also responsible in organizing the first teachers housing cooperative in Malaya at Telok Anson (now the suburb of Kampong Guru (Teacher's Village), Teluk Intan).

Early life and education

W. E. Perera was born in Telok Anson, Perak, to Weeratunge Charles Perera and his wife, Galgodliynage Marthina Perera. His father a contract railway engineer from Kotahena, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

) settled in Malaya (1880s) after accepting the permanent position as Head Guard of the railway between Teluk Anson and Tapah
Tapah
Tapah is the administrative town of the district Batang Padang, Perak, Malaysia .The name "Tapah" is said to be originated from the name of a fresh water fish, "Ikan Tapah"...

 and later retiring as Chief Inspector, Permanent Ways, of the Malayan Railways. He and his siblings, elder sister Margaret, and younger brothers Samuel, Joseph and Daniel grew up in Seremban
Seremban
Seremban is the capital of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan, located within the district of Seremban, one of the seven districts of Negeri Sembilan. The town's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council or Majlis Perbandaran Seremban...

, Negri Sembilan where his father was subsequently transferred. W. E. Perera started his education at St. Francis Institution
St. Francis Institution
St. Francis Institution or Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. Francis is a secondary school in Melaka, Malaysia of the La Sallian tradition. It is called 'SFI' by the local population. Alumni, or Old Boys, are known as 'Franciscans' or 'Lasallians'....

, Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

 and then moved to St. Xavier's Institution, Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

 to complete his Junior Cambridge
Senior Cambridge
The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Jamaica. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations.-India:...

 exams. After passing the local government school leaving exams at Standard VII, at the direction of his father, he continued his studies whilst living in Prai
Perai
Perai is a main industrial area in Penang, Malaysia. It is situated in Seberang Perai, which is on the mainland....

, Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

 with his parents. He passed his Senior Cambridge Certificate exams on a second try during the height of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

World War I (1914–1918)

The First World War came to Malaya at the battle of Penang
Battle of Penang
The Battle of Penang occurred on 28 October 1914, during World War I. It was a naval action in the Strait of Malacca, in which the German cruiser sank two Allied warships.-Background:...

 on 28 October 1914. As he describes in his memoirs,

During this time W E Perera was a member of the Cadet Corps and through his friend Pertha Singh, befriended all the petty officers of the local guarding regiment frequently meeting with them in "one famous bar in those days known as Kee Kee Hotel", Penang.
Although being in the Commonwealth the sympathies of the locals were with the Germans during the early part of World War I.
After leaving school and short apprenticeships in engineering and surveying, his father arranged for him to join the Government service to apprentice under the Chief Clerk of the Railway Traffic office and later the Lands Office in Teluk Anson. Here, W. E. Perera learnt to buy and sell land, plant rubber and became conversant in the Malay language. He also applied to join the Army in an Anglo-Indian regiment being formed in India with volunteers from Malaya much to the disapproval of his father. However, his departure was delayed and later canceled when the Armistice
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...

 was ratified with Germany.

On being transferred to Batu Gajah, he lived in his own quarters, socialised with the local Eurasian community, studied and experimented in psychology, parapsychology, took up athletics and even music, playing the clarinet in a local band. He passed his clerical examinations and then completed a teaching diploma alongside doing a course in bookkeeping.

Career and marriage

W. E. Perera was employed by the Rev. W. E. Horley
Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh
The Anglo-Chinese School in Ipoh is the oldest and one of the most prestigious schools in the state of Perak, Malaysia.Commonly known among locals as ACS, the school caters to students from Form One to Form Six of the Malaysian education system . It is one of the few schools in Ipoh which provide...

 as a teacher at the Methodist High School in Telok Anson. By heeding the sound advice of his mentor Mr W. A. Rabel and friends, he saved enough money to invest in coconut and rubber plantations which he successfully ran whilst continuing his career as a teacher. This gave him financial independence to pursue various social activities like helping organise the Boy Scouts of Lower Perak and the Methodist Youth Fellowship, Telok Intan. In 1922, he created "The Cosmopolitan Club", Telok Anson, a multi-racial, secular social club much to the angst of the British who tried to keep the races separate. This gave him the opportunity to interact and befriend influential people from various social and ethnic groups like the Japanese, Chinese, Eurasians, Indians, Europeans, Malays and the Royalty of Teluk Anson.
In 1928 after a brief visit to see his mother and sister in Taiping
Taiping
-Places:*Taiping Island , or Itu Aba Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands controlled by the Republic of China *Taiping, Perak, a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia*Taiping District...

, he met and eventually married Meepaygamay Kankananga Joci Perera (7 March 1908 - 6 January 1994) on the 11th January 1929. They had 10 children: Minona, Jothika, Abhay, Wimala, Susimal,Tissa, Kimsuke, Jinamal, Kusala and Jaya in the years 1930 to 1947.

Japanese invasion of Malaya (1939-1945)

The war arrived to Telok Anson in form of air bombing raids by the Japanese Air Forces. Despite being instructed to leave Teluk Anson by the British district officer, W. E. Perera was one of a few people that boldly came out of hiding to help the unfortunate victims. He was a volunteer in the St Johns Ambulance at that time and months earlier had received training as a Superintendent of a medical unit which he put to good use.

As described in one of his birthday messages:
Throughout the war, Mr W. E. Perera was not affected by the atrocities of the Japanese soldiers
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...

 or the Communists
Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army
The Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army was a resistance movement during Japanese-occupied Malaya during World War II. It originated among ethnic Chinese cadres of the Malayan Communist Party . Some units were trained by the British...

 but he was not immune to other factions which he thought were war opportunists
Opportunism
-General definition:Opportunism is the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term can be applied to individuals, groups,...

. W. E. Perera slapped an Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...

 health officer who rebuked him for contributing only 5 Japanese dollars for their movement. This landed W. E. Perera being branded a traitor, arrested and detained in the Kempeitai
Kempeitai
The was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. It was not an English-style military police, but a French-style gendarmerie...

 jail. However, after a few hours, he was released when his friends who worked for the Japanese protested his innocence to the Kempeitai.


During the war, a number of people lived with the family of W. E. Perera at his residence at various times for protection against persecution by the Japanese, Communists and for economic reasons. These included Mr Neoh Ban Soon and family, Mr James Ranatunge and family, Mrs Rosie Shoemarker and family, Mrs Loveridge and six former members of an Auxiliary Armed Force. To purchase food during these years, W. E. Perera sold some of his properties.

W. E Perera saved a number of people from being executed during this period. As witnessed by his eldest son Jothika,

Communist Insurgency (1946–1958)

Life in Telok Anson was still difficult after the surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II when the war with the communists erupted. In the message given to his family, W. E. Perera relates the following:
When the missionaries arrived and found out what W. E. Perera, a non-Methodist teacher had done for their school, they appointed him Principal of the School.

As principal, he created a new high school with a laboratory for science teaching as an extension of ACS, Teluk Anson by getting his friend Mr V. Kn. Kannappa Chettiar to dispose of a five acre block of rubber land which he owned adjoining the Raja Muda's Istana for a reasonably low price of $25,000. The school was constructed with donations from the Missionaries, various guilds and associations like the rubber and copra associations, sizable contributions from Raja Musa the then Raja Muda of Perak
Perak royal mausoleum
The Perak royal mausoleum or Al-Ghufran Royal Cemetery is a royal mausoleum in Malaysia. It is located near Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar.-Sultans:*Sultan Ali Al-Mukammal Inayat Shah Sultan Shahabuddin Riayat Shah...

, and the Malay Gurus Association for special class-rooms to be named after them.

W.E Perera was the first in Malaya to initiate a housing society for teachers of his school at Teluk Anson from 1953 to 1955. He sought loans, land, got the houses built and created the housing estate named Kampung Guru (Teacher's Village) after refusing to have it named after him. This estate was opened by Governor Mc Gillivray of Teluk Anson.

Not one to rest on his laurels, W. E. Perera refused to accept any offers of honours or awards from the Sultan of Perak for his community service during the war. He also refused the recommendation for an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...

 (Member of the British Empire) award made by the then governor Sir Edward Gent
Edward Gent
Sir Gerard Edward James Gent, KCMG, DSO, OBE, MC, was the first appointed Governor of the Malayan Union in 1946.-Life:Sir Edward was born in 1895 was the son of John Gent and Harriet Frankland Randall. His real name is Gerard Edward James Gent, but he changed it to Edward James Gent, the reasons...

. However, when General Sir Gerald Templer
Gerald Templer
Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE was a British military commander. He is best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954...

 offered it again with the statement "the people have requested that it be bestowed upon you", W. E. Perera could not turn down the honour.

Retirement

Keeping to his desire to retire in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...

 so that his children could have better work and social opportunities, W. E Perera accepted the position of Principal of the Kishan Dial School, Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...

 from the late Swami Satayanda. He eventually settled in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur in 1965. Here he delved in the study of Asian philosophy and was involved in the establishment of the Brickfields Buddhist Temple
Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields
Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields is a Buddhist site founded by the Sinhalese community based in the areas surrounding Kuala Lumpur to provide a place of worship in the Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist tradition. It is also commonly known as the Brickfields Buddhist Temple...

 among other social endeavors like volunteering in the schools for the underprivileged. He taught Buddhist philosophy at the local university and regularly had discussions with visiting and resident Theravada Buddhist monks like the Revs. K. Sri Dhammananda
K. Sri Dhammananda
K. Sri Dhammananda was a Sri Lankan-born Buddhist monk and scholar.Born Martin Garmage in the village of Kirinde in Matara, Sri Lanka, Dhammananda spent most of his life and career in Malaysia. He was ordained as a novice monk at the age of 12 and was fully ordained in 1940...

, Ananda Mangala and Henepola Gunaratana
Henepola Gunaratana
Henepola Gunaratana is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monk. He is often affectionately known as Bhante G.Bhante is a title which literally means venerable sir in Pāli...

 whom he mentored.

W. E. Perera died at the University hospital, Petaling Jaya from a massive heart attack before he was due to receive a pacemaker. Having been the first voluntary worker with the blind to have pledged his eyes earlier, his corneas were donated to the eye bank and successfully transplanted into two recipients. Following a funeral, his body was cremated and ashes dispersed in the Straits of Malacca off Klang
Klang
Klang , formerly known as Kelang, is the royal city and former capital of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located within the Klang District in Klang Valley. It is located about 32 km to the west of Kuala Lumpur and 6 km east of Port Klang...

.
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