In 1919, Syed Sheikh al-Hadi shifted to Penang and established Madrasah Al-Mashoor. He became the first principle of the madrasah.
During his tenure, he played a crucial role in the consolidation of the school in the sense that he transferred it premises from Acheen to Tek Soon Street, where the school got a bigger compound and catered for a large number of students.
In its new premises, the school offered Islamic courses and a set of secular disciplines that were taught in English.
The Madrasah Al-Mashoor was also well known during the British colonial era as a place of radical movement. The madrasah was one of the first Malay-Muslim institutions to ‘pioneer of the modern printing press, publishing not only religious texts, but also journals and magazines that helped to create the fledging imagined community of a literate public in the Malay Peninsula.
The all-boys madrasah began in Masjid Melayu Acheh, near the old warehouses and pilgrimage jetty.
Madrasah Al Mashoor
