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

These institutions, designed to prepare future leaders, have been both revered and criticised for perpetuating elitism in Malaysian society

Reading Time:3 minutes

Anwar Ibrahim shares a light moment with a fellow Malay College Kuala Kangsar alumnus at the annual meeting of the Malay College Old Boys Association in 2019. Photo: X/AnwarIbrahim

Published: 12:30pm, 3 Nov 2024

A beaming Anwar Ibrahim looked on with pride last week as the school band from his alma mater filled the air with music at a Malaysian power company’s anniversary event. With clarinets, saxophones and a tuba playing in harmony, the scene was a nostalgic reminder of the prime minister’s past.

The Malay College, founded in 1905 in the small town of Kuala Kangsar, is no ordinary institution. This all-boys boarding school, taxpayer-funded but exclusively for Malays, was modelled after Britain’s elite 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 from its halls, following in the footsteps of independence hero Tun Abdul Razak.

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

“Although it was a Malay college, the teachers who had sacrificed and contributed so much for us were Malay, Chinese, and Indian teachers,” he said, emphasising the love and support that they provided without prejudice.

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

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