group, was found guilty and sentenced to death. In 2003, Chin Peng, Secretary-General of the CPM, admitted full responsibility for personally approving the killings of Chen. He also stated that he subsequently regretted his approval after David Chen's death. Assassination of Cheah Cheng Teik (1953) On 6 February 1953, Cheah Cheng Teik, a 19-year-old student of the school, and a member of a local Communist organisation, was shot and killed by an unknown man. Two shots were fired when he left his house for school. One bullet shot through his head, while the other struck a car nearby. He was sent to hospital by ambulance, but died three hours after. His death, according to the authorities, was attributed to his conflict with other members in an underground Communist organisation. Early Wang Yoong Nien-era (1952–1955) Soon after David Chen's death, Wang Yoong Nien, the school Dean, assumed his position as headmaster pro tempore. He was formally appointed as the temporary headmaster on 1 June 1952. A grand ceremony took place on 4 February 1953, commemorating the late-David Chen. Construction of the school hostel complex was complete and inaugurated on 30 May 1953. The hostel has a capacity of 250 boarding students with a dining hall capable of hosting 800 people. The dining hall was renamed Huai-en Hall (Huai-en Ting, Chinese: 懷恩廳; "恩" in reference to the late-David Chen's middle name) in memoriam of the late-David Chen. In 1954, the central portion of the campus complex was extended, forming a clock tower six stories tall. Construction lasted until 1955. 16 semi-detached houses were built behind the campus as residences for teachers, staffs, and their families. Primary school classes, which had been in operation since 1917, were permanently terminated in 1955. Nationalisation (1955–1957) At the turn of the mid-1950s, Malaya was entering a period of self-governance and eventual independence from the United Kingdom. In 1952, the British colonial government in Malaya issued the Education Ordinance of 1952, with the aim of creating a national education curriculum which could be implemented in all institutions of the country. However, the Chinese community protested against the 1952 Ordinance, as it effectively diminished the importance of the Chinese language within the proposed nationalized education system. In the end, the 1952 Ordinance was cancelled, not because of the Chinese uproar, but the lack of funding from budget deficits in the Malayan government of the time. The United Chinese