Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian elite and the state-funded schools that shaped them

A radiant one Anwar Ibrahim watched with pride last week as his alma mater’s school band filled the air with music at a Malaysian energy company’s anniversary event. With clarinets, saxophones and a harmoniously playing tuba, the scene was a nostalgic reminder of the Prime Minister’s past.

Founded in 1905 in the small town of Kuala Kangsar, Malay College is no ordinary institution. This all-boys boarding school, funded by the taxpayer but exclusively for Malays, was modeled after it Britain‘s elite Eton College. It was intended to prepare the sons of Malaysian aristocrats for future leadership roles. Anwar, who was there from 1960 to 1966, is the second prime minister to graduate and follows 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 Malaysian university, the teachers who had sacrificed and contributed so much for us were Malaysian, Chinese and Indian teachers,” he said, emphasizing the love and support they provided without prejudice.

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

The university’s alumni list reads like a who’s who of Malaysia’s elite. Six of Malaysia’s seventeen kings were educated there, in addition to Omar Ali Saifuddien III Bruneifather of the current sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah.