Origin of Mensa

In 1945, two men met by chance on a train. Roland Berrill was an Australian expatriate licensed in law, spared the need to practice by a substantial investment income. Lancelot Lionel Ware was an Oxford university student who would someday become a barrister also. They subsequently corresponded about forming a club, which was a lifelong dream of Ware's -a vision of "an alliance of superior minds" (as determined by IQ testing) that could make significant contributions to problem-solving in many areas such as world peace, education, psychology, and ethics.

This ambitious goal was given life in 1946 at Oxford when on March 11, Ware administered the Cattell III 'A' IQ test to Berrill. Berrill printed the first piece of Mensa literature on October 1, 1946, the accepted date of founding. The idea captured public interest and grew, first in Britain, then in Europe and North America and then spread to the Asia-Pacific region, South Africa and Eastern Europe.

The name ‘Mensa’ comes from a Latin word which has three meanings: ‘mind’, ‘table’ or "month’, which neatly encapsulates the founders’ vision of monthly meetings of great minds around a table, a common Mensa event that continues today. Mensa is, basically a social club - but a social club different from all others. The only qualification for membership is a high score on an intelligence test. One person in fifty should qualify for membership; these people come from all walks of life and have a variety of interests and occupations.

Mensa is a protean: its most visible feature is its diversity. It crosses the often artificial barriers which separate people from each other. It recruits, not like other societies by persuading people to think as they do, or by searching for a particular narrow common interest, by scientifically selecting people who are able to think for themselves. Yet, although there appears little common ground and little surface agreement between members, we find there is an underlying unity which gives an unexpected strength to the society.


Malaysian Mensa's Heritage

On 29 January 1983, a band of 65 Malaysians who were International Members of Mensa met at an inaugural meeting of the proposed Malaysian Mensa Society whereupon a pro tem Committee was elected. Yong Poh Kon was the Chairman assisted by Ismail Sulaiman as Vice Chairman, Yap Shek Seng as Secretary, Tan Ah Seng as Treasurer, together with Chong Kwet Hin, Goh Ching Min, Joginder Singh Gill and Liew Tuan Hock.

This small group of pioneer members worked so enthusiastically that barely a month later, the International Director of Development and President of American Mensa arrived in Kuala Lumpur to discuss organizational matters and share their experiences on intelligence testing, publicity, activities, newsletters, etc. However, it was only on 22 May 1984, that the Malaysian Mensa Society was officially registered with the Registrar of Societies