The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (abbreviated MCKK; ; ) is a premier
residential school in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. It is an elite all-boys and all-
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
school in the royal town of
Kuala Kangsar
The Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ''Kole Kangso'') is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of ...
,
Perak
Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
. It is sometimes dubbed "the
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
of the East".
The Malay College Kuala Kangsar was awarded the
Cluster School of Excellence
The Cluster School of Excellence is a merit system implemented in Malaysia granted to high achieving schools which are in turn given wider autonomy in administration and additional allocation for advancement of specific fields like academics, spo ...
title by the
Ministry of Education (Malaysia)
The Ministry of Education ( ms, Kementerian Pendidikan) is a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for education system, compulsory education, pre-tertiary education, technical and vocationa ...
. Since 2010, the school was awarded with the
Sekolah Berprestasi Tinggi
Sekolah Berprestasi Tinggi or High Performance School is a prestigious title conferred to a group of schools in Malaysia that have ethos, character and a unique identity to excel in all aspects of education. The schools have a tradition of high ...
or High Performance School title, a title awarded to Malaysian top schools that have met stringent criteria including academic achievement, strength of alumni, international recognition, network and linkages. The school has been selected as International Baccalaurate (IB) World School for Diploma Programme since 2011 and Middle Years Programme since 2016. The Malay College Kuala Kansas offers the national curriculum (SPM) while implementing IB curriculum standards. MCKK is also a member of an international organisation of best secondary schools in the world called
Global Alliance of Leading-Edge Schools
The Global Alliance of Leading-Edge Schools (Abbreviation: GALES) is an informal organization of leading preparatory and secondary schools from around the world. It was initiated in the year 2010. All the schools are among the top institutions in t ...
led by
Raffles Institution of Singapore. About 10% of current students are with public & private scholarships, such as
Bank Negara Malaysia
The Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM; ms, Bank Negara Malaysia) is the Malaysian central bank. Established on 26 January 1959 as the Central Bank of Malaya (''Bank Negara Tanah Melayu''), its main purpose is to issue currency, act as banker and ad ...
,
Telekom Malaysia
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is a Malaysian telecommunications company founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become the country's larg ...
, Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera and many more.
The school is one of the only two boarding schools in Malaysia (the other is
Sekolah Alam Shah
Sultan Alam Shah School or simply Alam Shah (abbreviated as SAS or SSAS; Malay: Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah) is a fully residential school situated in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Sultan Alam Shah School is one of the schools in the country awarded wit ...
, under the patronage of Sultan of Selangor) that are under royal patronage. The school's patron is the
Conference of Rulers
The Conference of Rulers (also Council of Rulers or Durbar, ms, Majlis Raja-Raja; Jawi: ) in Malaysia is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors or ''Yang di-Pertua Negeri'' of the other four states. It was ...
. As an institution under the royal patronage of Conference of Rulers, the school receives royal visits from
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
, King of Malaysia every five years and every year from
Sultan of Perak
The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states.
When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...
as school's board chairman. The board members are also appointed by the Conference.
The school specialises in rugby, basketball, hockey, debate, robotics and most prominently, leadership. It currently leads Malaysian schools in education and innovation.
History
The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) is the first fully residential school in Malaysia. Established on 2 January 1905, it was originally known as the Malay Residential School of Kuala Kangsar, also then formerly known as ''Maktab Melayu Kuala Kangsar'' in Malay.
[
The school was the brainchild of R J Wilkinson, inspector of schools for the Federated Malay States. In a letter to the resident-general dated 24 February 1904 he wrote about "establishing at a suitable locality in the F.M.S., a special residential school for the education of Malays of good family and for the training of Malay boys for admission to certain branches of Government service".
Its formation was supported by the rulers of the Federated Malay States: Sultan Idris Murshidul ‘Adzam Shah I of Perak, Sultan Alaiddin Sulaiman Shah of Selangor, Yam Tuan Tuanku Muhammad Shah of Negeri Sembilan and Sultan Ahmad Mu’adzam Shah of Pahang.
William Hargreaves, headmaster of ]Penang Free School
, motto_translation = Strong and Faithful
, streetaddress = Green Lane,
, city = George Town
, state = Penang
, postcode = 11600
, country = Malaysi ...
, was appointed as the first headmaster to lead the establishment of the school with 40 pioneering students. Since 1965, the Malay College has been led by Malay headmasters.
As it was founded to educate the Malay elite, being royal children and the sons of Malay nobility, few of its early students were from commoner families. However, during Tun Abdul Razak Hussein's tenure as Minister of Education in 1947, as a result of rising Malay nationalism
Malay nationalism (Malay: ''Semangat Kebangsaan Melayu'' Jawi: سمڠت كبڠساءن ملايو ) refers to the nationalism that focused overwhelmingly on the Malay anticolonial struggle, motivated by the nationalist ideal of creating a ''Ban ...
, he democratised the intake. This is mainly because of his experience as an alumnus there, where he found out the aristocrats that gained admittance to this college were mainly below par compared to their less-privileged peers in Victoria Institution
The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...
and Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...
. Their status as aristocrats had caused them to not be independent and to have no willingness to strive for a better future.[Paridah(2009), p. 3] Today, only selected Malay boys aged 13 to 17 from around Malaysia are educated there.
Some of the well known teachers include Pendeta Za'Ba and Anthony Burgess
John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, d ...
.
The ''Straits Echo'' on 15 April 1905 reported that a few boys were placed in cozy dormitories in Hargreaves’ rented house, while the others were stabled in small houses formerly occupied by the Malayan Railway clerks. The second half of the school, conducted by Mr. Vanrenen was held in a fowl house. There were 40 boys in the first intake.
The sanction for the building of a permanent school became official on 23 December 1905; by 1 May 1909, the Big School was first brought into use. On Saturday, 11 December 1909, the Big School was officially opened by the Sultan of Perak, and the auspicious date also marked the change in the name of the school from the Malay Residential School of Kuala Kangsar to the Malay College of Kuala Kangsar.
The change seems to have seen greater emphasis on the original aim of MCKK. A report from 1910 said: "From this school the Government have great hopes that the sons of Malays of the Raja and higher class will be educated and trained on the lines of an English Public School
In England and Wales (but not Scotland), a public school is a fee-charging endowed school originally for older boys. They are "public" in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, denomination or paternal trade or professio ...
and be fitted to take a share in the Government of their Country."
Since its inception, more than 5,000 boys (and 2 girls) have entered the gates of MCKK. The first The Malay College Magazine was published in 1939. The compulsory white uniforms were introduced in 1949, before that, the students wore Malay dress. The MCKK ''samping'' designed and woven in Terengganu consisting of black, yellow and red (with resultant overlapping colours) was introduced in 1939 to be worn with white '' Baju Melayu'' and black ''songkok'' was made the optional Malay uniform. It was only made compulsory in 1959 by the last British Headmaster, NJ Ryan.
The Headmaster changed the names of the 3 Houses (Rookies, Heads and Wheelies) to the four names of FMS Rulers in 1905. He was the same Headmaster who personally raised the UMNO
The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
flag on Federation Day, 01/02/1948, when the MCKK boys assembled to celebrate the demise of the Malayan Union
The Malayan Union was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administratio ...
and to sing the "new Malay National Anthem" as described by Hashim Sam Latiff. MCKK adopt (& perhaps adapt) that tune to be the MCKK Anthem using the words in the "Ode to the MCKK" penned by teacher-cum-poet/writer/composer Anthony Burgess. His words, turned into lyrics for the anthem, manifests the meaning of ''Fiat Sapientia Virtus''.
In October 1989, the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
, Duke of Edinburgh visited the school.
In 2004, the college was made under purview of the rulers with then Crown Prince of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah was appointed as board chairman.
The college celebrated its centenary on 26 March 2005, attended by dignitaries, old boys, and townspeople. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
of Malaysia attended the event, along with the royal rulers of the states of Perak
Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
, Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
and Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...
as well as the governor of Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
. The college were also proclaimed as the Heritage Institution of Culture and Country.
On 10 June 2006, Emperor Akihito
is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide.
Bo ...
and Empress Michiko
Michiko is a Japanese given name, used for females. Although written romanized the same way, the Japanese language written forms (kanji, katakana, hiragana) can be different. Common forms include:
* 美智子 — "beautiful wise child"
* 美 ...
of Japan visited the school. The monarchs had promised to visit the school in the 1990s.
Since 30 May 2007, the Malaysian Ministry of Education has recognised MCKK as a cluster school.
In 2010, the school have been selected to be among the first High Performance Schools while in 2013, the Prep School celebrated its centenary.
MCKK has also hosted two international events, which are The Malay College Youth Development Summit since 2008 until now, and The Malay College Rugby Premier Sevens since 2011. Both events consist of international schools across the globe such as Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand together with premier schools from India, South Korea, South Africa and Australia.
Buildings
The most recognisable feature of the school is the Big School (built in 1909), a building with pseudo Greco-Roman architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
fronted by a rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
field. The school is built to accommodate 100 students initially, but in 1910, there were 139 boys in the School Register, 124 of them boarders. Thus, the planning for the construction of the Preparatory School was considered and it was referred to as the ''Sekolah Kechil''. The block was completed by 1913 when it took in its first boarders. It was then referred to as the Prep School. It admitted boys who had completed Standard 4 and were being "prepared" for secondary school boarding experience by completing their Standard 5 and Form Remove at the Prep School. In 1955, the West and East Wing, as well as the administration block and Clock Tower were added. The administrative block (New School) was opened by High Commissioner for the Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...
, Donald MacGillivray
Sir Donald Charles MacGillivray (22 September 1906 – 24 December 1966) was a Scottish colonial administrator who served as the last British High Commissioner in Malaya.
Early life and education
MacGillivray was born in 1906, the son of Edinb ...
, in 1955. The West and the East Wing, with the original Big School, make up what is now called the Big School. Dorms 1-6 are located in the East Wing, 7-16 in the Overfloor and 17-22 in the West Wing. Two more hostel blocks, the Pavilion and New Hostel were built in 1963 and 1972 respectively; the latter houses second former. Another prominent feature of the school is the Big Tree, a rain tree (''Samanea saman
''Samanea saman'', also sometimes known as the rain tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, ...
'') in front of the East Wing that is said to be as old as the original Big School itself.
Presently, the Prep School houses the Form 1 students, the Pavillion houses the Form 2 students while the Big School houses students from Form 3 to Form 5
Houses
From a time gap between 1947 till 2018, Mohd Shah has the most wins for Best House with a winning rate of 34%, followed with Sulaiman 24%, Ahmad with 24% and Idris with 18%. The table shows the current apartment for 2019.
Tuesday Activities
Unlike other schools in Malaysia, co-curricular activities at the College are usually conducted every Tuesday. There are two types of co-curricular activities which are Club & Societies and Uniformed Bodies. The students wear their uniformed body attire on this day. The uniformed bodies that are present in the school are The Malay College Marching Band, Army Cadet Corps, Red Crescent Society
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
, Scout Troops, Fire Brigade Cadet and Malaysia Youth Cadet Corps. Club & Societies at the college come and go depending on the interests of the teachers and boys at the college at the time, but some have been around for a long period. Some of the Clubs & Societies that are currently in existence include: Debate, History, French Language, English Language, Malay Language, Innovation, Robotics, and more.
Sports
The school has four sports areas. The main field is in front of the Big School, equipped with two fields reserved for rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
, soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
("the Big Field"). The Big Field also doubles as a cricket pitch with the crease running along the football pitch alongside. To the east of Big School, sits three basketball courts, two immediately north of the East Wing and the Tun Haniff Court alongside the pathway between East Wing and the New Hostel. The hockey turf is located in front of New Hostel. The main volleyball court is located in front of the East Wing and three other volleyball courts located next to West Wing, Pavilion and New Hostel. A squash court sits immediately north of Dorm 3 and 4. There is also a gymnasium within the New School block, sitting next to the Prep School basketball court, and the Prep School football pitch and another one behind the West Wing. A short course swimming pool on the west of the Big School accommodates the water polo team and hosts the annual Swimming Gala. Next to it is Arena 72, a futsal court with 2 other futsal courts behind the hokey turf. In front of the main gate is a slanting perch of grass slightly smaller than a full football pitch and house Padang C where collegians play football during games hours. Prep School and New Hostel has its own playing field at its compound, equipped with rugby uprights and football goal posts.
The college ground is the only place in Malaysia where an Eton Fives
Eton fives, a derivative of the British game of fives, is a handball game, similar to Rugby fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any varie ...
court is found. The court is located on the south side of the Big School, nearby the IB World School campus. With the introduction of squash in 1938, Eton Fives began to lose popularity at the school until it was not played at all. Since a trip in August 2014 by two top English players the game's popularity has grown and more students are now playing again. Today, the students compete annually in The Schools National Championships, United Kingdom at Highgate School
Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate ...
, Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury.
Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...
.
The school excels in sports and debate. It became a powerhouse in Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
during the 1960s and is currently the best rugby school team in the nation. Nicknamed "MCKK All Blacks" after the New Zealand national team
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
for its all black strip, they perform the haka
Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both Māori and English) are a variety of ceremonial performance art in Māori culture. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompani ...
before matches. Traditionally, it has held a match series against the Vajiravudh College
Vajiravudh College is a private all-boys boarding school located at 197 Rajvithi Road, Dusit District, Dusit, Bangkok 10300 Thailand. The school was established by Phra Mongkut Klao Chaoyuhua - King Rama VI who is also known as King Vajiravudh. I ...
of Thailand since 1960. In odd-numbered years, the match is held in Kuala Kangsar. In even-numbered years, it is held in Bangkok. In addition to this, MCKK competes with its prominent rivals every year in a multi-games carnival.
The school basketball team is called "MCKK Cagers" and won Piala Hamdan Tahir, the boarding-schools basketball championship, 19 times since 1977, the most in Malaysian history. MCKK debate teams have won Piala Perdana Menteri, the boarding-schools national debate, five times for Malay category and twice for English category.
Rivalries
MCKK has over the years established academic and sports rivalries with several premier schools, for example, Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to:
;Australia
* Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory
;Canada
* Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario
* Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec
;Mala ...
, Victoria Institution
The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...
, both in the capital Kuala Lumpur, King Edward VII School of Taiping, Sekolah Alam Shah
Sultan Alam Shah School or simply Alam Shah (abbreviated as SAS or SSAS; Malay: Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah) is a fully residential school situated in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Sultan Alam Shah School is one of the schools in the country awarded wit ...
in Putrajaya, and its neighbour, Clifford Secondary School. Notably, the most prominent rival is Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman
Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman ( en, Tuanku Abdul Rahman School; abbreviated STAR) is a premier, all-boys fully residential school in Malaysia funded by the Government of Malaysia. Named after the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of the Federat ...
in Ipoh, which is one of the oldest Malay boarding school in Perak along with the MCKK.
Coat of arms
The shield is divided per cross, from dexter: white (''argent'') in the first quarter, red (''gules'') in the second, black (''sable'') in the third and yellow (''or'') in the fourth. Blazon: ''Per cross Argent, Gules, Sable and Or, overall charged with Malay dagger Gules with hilt Or.'' ''In crest: A Malayan tiger caboshed Or. Motto: Or, Fiat Sapientia Virtus in Sable.''
The colours represent the four houses into which the students are grouped: Idris (white), Sulaiman (red), Mohd Shah (yellow) and Ahmad (black).
In the middle of the shield is a red kris
The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...
, a traditional Malay dagger. On top of the crest is a head of a tiger which is the symbol of the Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...
. Surrounding the left and right side of the shield are laurel wreaths symbolising excellence. The school motto is ''Fiat Sapientia Virtus'', which is Latin for "Manliness Through Wisdom".
Notable alumni
File:Anwar Ibrahim.jpg, Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 12 ...
, 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia
File:Hishammuddin Hussein.jpg, Hishammuddin Hussein
Hishammuddin bin Hussein ( Jawi: هشام الدين بن حسين; born 5 August 1961) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who served as Senior Minister of the Security Cluster and Minister of Defence from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Unite ...
, former Senior Minister of Defence
The alumni association
An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students (alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools), ...
of MCKK is known as the Malay College Old Boys' Association (MCOBA) and it was established in 1929. In 2009, the association enrolled its first non-Malay member, Liew Yong Choon.
To this date, seven Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
out of thirteen that have resided the throne were its alumni (including a Lord President of the Supreme Court The title of Lord President of the Supreme Court was formerly the title of the head of the judiciary in Malaysia, until 1994 when the office was renamed " Chief Justice of the Federal Court".
The Lord President was head of the highest court in Mal ...
) and a Sultan of Brunei
The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...
. Out of the four states that have Yang di-Pertua Negeri
In Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri ( in Malay) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in states without a Ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak. This is in constrast to a Ruler () which is a constitutional title give ...
, two states have had at least one alumnus reside in office. The father of Malay nationalism
Malay nationalism (Malay: ''Semangat Kebangsaan Melayu'' Jawi: سمڠت كبڠساءن ملايو ) refers to the nationalism that focused overwhelmingly on the Malay anticolonial struggle, motivated by the nationalist ideal of creating a ''Ban ...
and the founder of Malaysia's largest party is also an alumnus. A Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
and a Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
(who later on became Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
) received their education in the college. The college also has produced two Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
. The college's Old Boys also gain their presence in economy, education, law, armed forces and art.
The novelist and composer Anthony Burgess
John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer.
Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, d ...
(1917–93), author of '' The Long Day Wanes: A Malayan Trilogy'', was a master at MCKK. He taught English and history and was housemaster at King's Pavilion, between 1956 and 1957, during the headmastership of J.D.R. "Jimmy" Howell. According to Burgess' ''This Man & Music'', he wrote some music there under the influence of the country, notably Sinfoni Melayu for orchestra and brass band, which included cries of Merdeka
''Merdeka'' is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or " free". It is derived from the Sanskrit ''maharddhika'' (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term ha ...
(independence) from the audience. No score of any, however, has been delivered to posterity. The "Ode: Celebration for a Malay College", Burgess had written for the college's 50th anniversary in 1955, "was swiftly expunged from the school's choral repertoire", when "within months ... he had to leave the school after falling out with the headmaster, JD Howell. The following year Burgess published his first novel, ''Time for a Tiger
''The Malayan Trilogy'', also published as ''The Long Day Wanes: A Malayan Trilogy'' in the United States, is a comic 'triptych' of novels by Anthony Burgess set amidst the decolonisation of Malaya.
It is a detailed fictional exploration o ...
''. A thinly veiled account of his time at Kuala Kangsar, it so cruelly caricatured Howell and his colleagues that, as Burgess recalled in his autobiography, some of those who deemed themselves traduced 'sought advice about libel' from a local lawyer. The verses of the Ode have survived but not Burgess' original melody."Unveiled: Work by Anthony Burgess suppressed for years; The exclusive Malaysian school where the author taught finally allows his ode to be performed," by Sholto Byrnes, ''Independent'' (London), 5 December 2010
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The alumni association is based in a dilapidated building called "Penthouse" of the MCOBA building on Jalan Syed Putra, Kuala Lumpur.
Headmasters
See also
* Education in Malaysia
Education in Malaysia is overseen by the Ministry of Education ( ms, Kementerian Pendidikan). Although education is the responsibility of the Federal Government, each state and federal territory has an Education Department to co-ordinate educ ...
* List of Malay College Kuala Kangsar alumni
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Johan, Khasnor. ''Educating The Malay Elite: The Malay College Kuala Kangsar, 1905-1941.'' Pustaka Antara. Malay College Old Boys Association. The Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
.
* Johan, Khasnor. ''Leadership But What's Next?''
* Paridah Abd. Samad (2009). ''Datuk Seri Najib: A Long Political Journey. From The Golden Boy of Malaysian Politics to Malaysia's Sixth Prime Minister''. Partisan Publication & Distribution.
Further reading
* Neil J Ryan. ''The Last Expatriate: Reminiscences of an educationalist in Malaysia''. Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn. Bhd.
* Nik Ismail Nik Daud. Arbain Kadri. ''Prosiding Simposium MCOBA 1.'' 3 December 1989.
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Colleges in Malaysia
Educational institutions established in 1905
Kuala Kangsar District
1905 establishments in British Malaya
International Baccalaureate schools in Malaysia
Boys' schools in Malaysia