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Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s elite and the state-funded schools that shaped them

Umito November 3, 2024

A radiant Anwar Ibrahim Last week, he watched with pride as his alma mater’s orchestra filled the air with music at the anniversary of a Malaysian power company. With clarinets, saxophones and a tuba playing in harmony, the scene was a nostalgic reminder of the Prime Minister’s past.

Malay College, founded in 1905 in the small town of Kuala Kangsar, is no ordinary institution. This all-boys boarding school, financed by taxpayers but reserved exclusively for Malaysians, is inspired by the model Great BritainThe elite of Eton College. It was designed to prepare the sons of Malay aristocrats for future leadership roles. Anwar, who attended from 1960 to 1966, is the second prime minister to graduate, following in the footsteps of independence hero Tun Abdul Razak.

In a rare public reflection on his time there, Anwar said in March 2023 that he learned discipline from “exceptional teachers.”

“Although it is a Malay college, the teachers who sacrificed and contributed so much for us were Malay, Chinese and Indian teachers,” he said, emphasizing the love and support that they brought it to us without prejudice.

Kuala Kangsar Malay College. Photo: Facebook/Kuala Kangsar Malay College

The college’s alumni list reads like a who’s who of Malaysia’s elite. Six of the 17 kings of Malaysia were educated there, alongside Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Bruneifather of the current sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah.