The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (abbreviated MCKK; ; ) is a residential school in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It is an all-boys and all- Malay school in the royal town of

Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ) 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 George Town, Penang, Ge ...

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, 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, Kel ...

. It is sometimes dubbed "the

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

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. Launched in 2007 by the Ministry of Education as part of the Malaysian National Education Blueprint (NEB) for the years 2006–2010, th ...

title by the

Ministry of Education (Malaysia) The Ministry of Education (; Jawi: ) is a ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for education system, compulsory education, pre-tertiary education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), curriculum s ...

. Since 2010, the school was awarded the Sekolah Berprestasi Tinggi or High Performance School title, a title awarded to Malaysian top schools. The school has been selected as an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

(IB) World School for Diploma Programme since 2011 and Middle Years Programme since 2016. The Malay College Kuala Kangsar 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; ; Jawi: ) 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 the banker and advisor to the ...

Telekom Malaysia Telekom Malaysia Berhad or simply TM is a Malaysian telecommunications company that was founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio, and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become ...

, Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera and many more. The school is one of only two boarding schools in Malaysia (the other is Sekolah Alam Shah, 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 known as Council of Rulers or Durbar, ; Jawi: ) is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors (''Yang di-Pertua Negeri'') of the other four states in Malaysia. It was officially ...

. As an institution under the royal patronage of Conference of Rulers, the school receives royal visits from the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...

, King of Malaysia every five years and every year from the

Sultan of Perak The Sultan of Perak (, Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch and head of state of the Malaysia, Malaysian state of Perak. It is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. The current Sultan o ...

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.

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". William Hargreaves, headmaster of

Penang Free School Penang Free School (PFS), located at Green Lane, George Town, Green Lane in George Town, Penang, George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest English-medium education, English-medium school in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1816, its academic achiev ...

, 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 of

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

and

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

, few of its early students were from commoner families. However, during Tun Abdul Razak Hussein's tenure as

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

in 1947, as a result of rising Malay nationalism, 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 b ...

. Their status as aristocrats had caused them not to 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, dy ...

. 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 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 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 ( abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a conservative, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its inception in 1946), UMNO has been known as ...

flag on Federation Day, 01/02/1948, when the MCKK boys assembled to celebrate the demise of the

Malayan Union The Malayan Union (; Jawi: كساتوان مالايا) 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 g ...

and to sing the "new Malay National Anthem" as described by Hashim Sam Latiff. MCKK adopted (and 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, Elizabeth II and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, Duke of Edinburgh visited the school. In 2004, the college was placed under purview of the rulers with then Crown Prince of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah appointed as board chairman. The college celebrated its centenary on 26 March 2005, attended by dignitaries, old boys, and townspeople. The

of Malaysia attended the event, along with the royal rulers of the states of

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

and

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...

as well as the governor of

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

. The college were also proclaimed as the Heritage Institution of Culture and Country. On 10 June 2006, Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

and Empress Michiko 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 The MCKK Premier 7s is an annual under 18 rugby seven tournament between the premier and international schools rugby sevens teams. The tournament was first held in MCKK Premier 7s 2011, 2011.The winners are awarded the NJ Ryan Cup, named after th ...

since 2011. Both events consist of international schools across the globe such as Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand getting 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 typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

fronted by a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

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

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 formers. Another prominent feature of the school is the Big Tree, a rain tree (''

Samanea saman ''Samanea saman'' is a species of Flowering plant, flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoideae, Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. It is often placed in the genus ''Samanea'', which by yet other aut ...

'') in front of the East Wing that is said to be as old as the original Big School itself. MCKK New School

Sports

The college ground is the only place in Asia where an Eton Fives 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. Since then, the students have competed in The Schools National Championships, United Kingdom at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparato ...

and

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

. The school is currently the best rugby school team in the nation. Nicknamed "MCKK All Blacks" after the New Zealand national team for its all black strip, they even perform the

haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

before matches. Traditionally, it has held match series against the Vajiravudh College 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, six times for Malay category and four times 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 ;Indi ...

, both in the capital Kuala Lumpur, King Edward VII School of Taiping, Sekolah Alam Shah in Putrajaya, and its neighbour, Clifford Secondary School. Notably, the most prominent rival is Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman 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 is a Javanese culture, Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although ma ...

, a traditional Malay dagger. On top of the crest is a head of a tiger which is the symbol of the

. 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".

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 organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, 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.

Alumni association

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, school A school is the educati ...

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. The alumni association is based in a dilapidated building called "Penthouse" of the MCOBA building on Jalan Syed Putra, Kuala Lumpur.

Notable alumni

File:HRH Tuanku Abdul Rahman Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Muhammad. The Tuanku Ja'afar Royal Gallery, Seremban.jpg,

Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan ''Tuanku'' Sir Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad (Jawi script, Jawi: ; 24 August 1895 – 1 April 1960) was the Yamtuan Besar, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan from 1933, and the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of the Federation ...

, 1st Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia File:HRH Tuanku Ja'afar Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.jpg,

Ja'afar of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Ja’afar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Jawi script, Jawi: ; 19 July 1922 – 27 December 2008) was Yamtuan Besar, Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan from 1967 until his death in 2008, and the tenth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Ki ...

, 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia File:Portrait of D.Y.M.M. Maulana Al-Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin Saadul Khairi Waddin.jpg,

Omar Ali Saifuddien III Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien (Jawi script, Jawi: ; 23 September 1914 – 7 September 1986) was the 28th Sultan of Brunei, reigning from 1950 until his abdication in 1967 to his oldest son, Hassanal Bolkiah. Over the course of his ...

, 29th Sultan of Brunei File:Tun Abdul Razak Universiti (4to3).jpg,

Abdul Razak Hussein Abdul Razak bin Dato’ Hussein (; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the second prime minister of Malaysia from 1970 until his death in 1976. He also served as the first Deputy Prime Minis ...

, 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia File:PM Kishida meeting with PM Ibrahim of Malaysia (cropped, 3to4 portrait).jpg,

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...

, 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia File:Rafizi Ramli January 2023 (cropped).jpg,

Rafizi Ramli Mohd Rafizi bin Ramli ( Jawi: ; born 14 September 1977) is a Malaysian politician who has been the Minister of Economy in the administration of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since 2022. He has been member of parliament for Pandan since 2022, ...

, Malaysian Minister of Economy File:Nik Nazmi 2023.jpg,

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad ( Jawi: ; born 12 January 1982) is a Malaysian who has served as Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability in the administration of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since 2023. He has been member of ...

, Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability File:Tengku Zafrul 2022 (cropped).jpg, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry File:Onnjaafarportrait.jpg, Onn Jaafar, 7th

Menteri Besar of Johor The Menteri Besar of Johor or Chief Minister of Johor is the head of government in the Malaysian state of Johor. According to convention, the Menteri Besar is the leader of the majority party or largest coalition party of the Johor State Legisla ...

File:Tan Sri Razali Ismail (cropped).jpg, Razali Ismail,

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

File:Dzulkifli Abdul Razak.jpg, Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Rector of the

International Islamic University Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is a public university in Malaysia. Headquartered in Gombak, Selangor, IIUM has six other campuses all over Malaysia: two medical-centric campuses and a Centre for Foundation Studies in Gam ...

File:Ar Sarly Adre Sarkum.jpg, Sarly Adre Sarkum, Council Member of the Malaysian Institute of Architects To this date, seven

out of seventeen that have ascended 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 Courts of Malaysia, judiciary in Malaysia, until 1994 when the office was renamed "Chief Justice of Malaysia, Chief Justice of the Federal Court". The lord p ...

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 Governor, officially Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Jawi script, Jawi: , ) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in States and federal territories of Malaysia, states without a ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and S ...

, two states have had at least one alumnus reside in office. The father of Malay nationalism and the founder of Malaysia's largest party is also an alumnus. Two

Prime Ministers A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

and a

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

(who later on became

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

and subsequently Prime Minister) received their education in the college. The college also has produced two

Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...

. The college's Old Boys also showed their presence in economy, education, law, armed forces and art. The novelist and composer

(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'' ( Jawi: ; , ) 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 Archipelag ...

(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''. 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
/ref> The college alumni were also noted as being influential in bringing the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

music into Malaysia.

Headmasters

References

Footnotes

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, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

. * 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.

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