All-boys secondary school in Jalan Hang Tuah, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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 Jubilee of Queen Victoria
in 1887. The establishment of the school was further supported by financial contributions from the Sultan and government of Selangor, prominent Kuala Lumpur residents, and the general public.
[1]
The school reverted to its original name (instead of
SMK Victoria)
in February 2009, after being granted approval in recognition of its having been declared part of Malaysia's national heritage.
[2]
The Victoria Institution is a
secondary school
for male students only from Form 1 to 5. Female students are accepted for Form 6 (Lower and Upper). The school is widely known as VI, and a student of the Victoria Institution is known as a Victorian.
Performing well both academically and in sports, the VI is considered one of the best non-residential schools in Malaysia. In 2007, VI was named as a
Cluster School of Excellence
[3]
[4]
by the then
Minister
of
Malaysian Ministry of Education
,
Hishamuddin Hussein
.
The post-war period
[
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]
On 13 September 1945, the school was the site of the formal surrender of the
29th Imperial Japanese Army
to
Lieutenant-General Ouvry Roberts
of the
34th Indian Corps
.
[5]
School buildings
[
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]
The former building (1893?1929)
[
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]
Foundation stone and early years
[
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]
The school's foundation stone was laid by on 14 August 1893 by Lady Treacher, who was the wife of
Selangor Resident
at that time;
Sir
William Hood Treacher
. The school was opened on 28 July 1894.
[6]
[7]
This original school building is located at
Jalan Tun H.S. Lee
, right next to the site of present-day
KJ14
SBK16
Pasar Seni LRT/MRT station
.
Status of former building after the completion of new building
[
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]
This building was then used for the premises of the Technical College (now
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
)
[8]
up until the 1950s when the new Technical College building at Jalan Gurney (now
Jalan Semarak
) was completed and officially opened on the 1 March 1955 by
Sir
Donald MacGillivray
, the then
British High Commissioner
to
Malaya
.
After the Technical College had moved out, the old VI building was used as a school again, as High Street School, which in turn moved to Setapak and became known as
Setapak High School
.
[9]
The old VI building was then managed around the 1980s by the
Kuala Lumpur City Hall
as a cultural centre, known as Taman Budaya, until it was burnt down by a fire in 1999.
[10]
[11]
Restoration work was made from 2002 to 2005 by JTK Consult.
[12]
The department is now run as the National Department For Culture & Arts.
[13]
The current building (1929?present)
[
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]
As the VI's former location was frequently flooded by the nearby
Klang River
during heavy downpours, the Victoria Institution moved to
Jalan Hang Tuah
(formerly known as Shaw Road) on 26 March 1929.
The Victoria Institution has a clock tower overlooking two sports pavilions at its facade, and a large field, surrounded by colonial-era trees (
yellow flame trees
and palms). The VI also has its own 25-metre
swimming pool
and synthetic track for
100 metres
sprint events, making it the only school in the region with these facilities at that time.
Student life
[
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]
Traditions and heritage
[
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]
The VI is also home to the oldest cadet corps in the country, the Victoria Institution Cadet Corps (affiliated with the Malaysian Army and the first to receive Colours in 1960 in honor of the role played in the Second World War
[14]
), the oldest cadet corps band in the country, the Victoria Institution Cadet Corps Band, and the oldest scout group in the country, the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop. The First Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop split into two troops in 1933 thus establishing the First Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop and the Second Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop. The official name of the Second Kuala Lumpur Scout Troop today is the Victoria Scout Group.
Sports
[
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]
The school's cricket ground first witnessed an international match when
Ireland
played
Gibraltar
in the
1997 ICC Trophy
, which was hosted by Malaysia. Eight matches in that competition were played at the school premises.
[15]
The ground also played host to three
List A
fixtures played in the
cricket competition at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
. These fixtures saw
Pakistan
play
Scotland
,
Canada
play
India
, and
Malaysia
play
Jamaica
.
[16]
Alumni Association
[
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]
The
Alumni
Association of the VI is known as the VIOBA (Victoria Institution Old Boys' Association) and was founded in 1922. The games competition between the Current Victorians and the Old Boys is for the Daniel Shield and this tournament is held every year. There is a similar Alumni Association in Singapore, the VIOBA Singapore.
Notable alumni
[
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]
- Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
,
Sultan of Brunei
- Yusof Mohamed Alam
,
prince consort
and
cheteria
of Brunei
[17]
- Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusomo
, Lt-Gen, Indonesian Armed Forces (R), Defence Minister, Indonesia, 8th Indonesian President
- Ismail Mohd Ali
, first Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia
- Ananda Krishnan
, businessman and Malaysia's 2nd richest man
- Francis Yeoh
, Managing Director of
YTL Corporation
- Syed Amin Aljeffri
, Malaysian entrepreneur
- Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali
, General (Rtd), 9th Commander,
Chief of Defence Forces
- Raja Petra Kamarudin
, political activist, founder of the
Malaysia Today
website
- S. Rajaratnam
, former
Deputy Prime Minister
of
Singapore
- S. Namasivayam
, Singaporean artist
- Rafidah Aziz
, former International Trade and Industry
Minister
Malaysia
- Zulhasnan Rafique
, former
Federal Territories
Minister
Malaysia
- Ruben Gnanalingam
, CEO Westports Malaysia
- Wong Phui Nam
, Poet
- Chuah Guat Eng
, Novelist
- Wan Zaleha Radzi, ex-TV newscaster, celebrity, Asian Games (1998) and South-East Asian Games (1995) medallist for Equestrian
- Kamahl
cabaret/easy listening Australian singer and recording artist, famous for The Elephant Song
- Raja Nong Chik
, former Federal Territory Minister
- Ramon Navaratnam
, Malaysian economist
- T. Sachithanandan
, pioneering Malaysian anesthesiologist
- Paul Tan
, automotive journalist
- Shafie Apdal
, Minister for Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs; Minister for Unity, Culture, Arts and National Heritage; Minister for Rural and Regional Development; VP, UMNO; Founder of WARISAN; MP for Semporna; Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Sabah, ADUN for Senallang
- Tommy Thomas
, Lawyer, former
Attorney General of Malaysia
.
- Mahadev Shankar
, lawyer and former Court of Appeal Judge
- Gengadharan Nair
, High Court Judge
- Ridzwan Bakar, cardiologist, former CEO & Chairman Pantai Holdings.
- Jit Murad
, Comedian, Writer, Producer, Theater & TV performer, Co-founder of Instant Cafe Theatre
- Amir Muhammad (director)
, writer and filmmaker
- Sivarasa Rasiah
, human rights lawyer and vice-president of
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(People's Justice Party)
- Omar Yoke Lin Ong
, politician and member of the first Malayan Cabinet, the fifth
President of the Dewan Negara
.
- Tan Kee Kwong
, politician and former member of parliament for
Wangsa Maju
.
- Sri Ramachandran s/o Gopal Iyer [Gopal Sri Ram], Judge, Federal Court of Appeal, Prosecutor
- Chew Wing Foong, former president of the Library Association of Malaysia and former Chairman of CONSAL
[18]
[19]
- Aidit Alfian, songwriter/producer, winner of TV3's 17th Juara Lagu 2002,
Keliru
- Mohd Zaman Khan
, former Director of Police CID & former Director General of Malaysian Prison
- Khairul Annuar bin Abdul Aziz, President of Petroleum Dealers Association of Malaysia (2016-present) and Former President of Petronas Petroleum Dealers Association of Malaysia (2014-2022)
- Abu Tariq Jamaluddin, Director General of Inland Revenue Board Malaysia
[20]
[21]
Sports
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]
- Mokhtar Dahari
, former
Malaysian Football
International
- Mani Jegathesan
, sports icon, doctor, and researcher and deputy president of Olympic Council of Malaysia.
- Misbun Sidek
, National Badminton Champion and National Badminton Singles Coach
- Jalani Sidek
, All England Badminton Doubles Champions and National Doubles Champions
- Razif Sidek
, All England Badminton Doubles Champions and National Doubles Champions
- Rashid Sidek
, National Badminton Champion
- K. Reuben
, Malaysian footballer
- Shafiq Sharif
, Malaysian National team cricketer
- Choo Min Wang, Malayan Chess Champion (1958)
- Foo Kok Keong
, National Badminton Player, former world number 1
- Soo Beng Khiang, member, 1992 victorious Malaysian Thomas Cup team
- Yeoh Teck Chye, member, 1949 victorious Malayan Thomas Cup team
- Lall Singh
, former
Indian
Test cricketer
- Shahrin Majid, footballer,
Malaysian Football
International
- Yap Wai Loon, footballer, Malaysian Football International
- Sieh Kok Chi, Malaysian Water Polo player, Secretary-General, Olympic Council of Malaysia
- Hadin Azman
, Malaysian footballer,
Penang F.C.
- Mohd Khairi Zainudin
, Malaysian footballer
- William Mei York Liang, Championship Racing driver
- Zainon Mat, Captain, Malaysian Cricket team (1980s)
- Khiew Hoe Yean
, Malaysian Swimmer
- Muhamad Harith Akif, Malaysian Footballer
Kelantan F.C.
- Zamir Selamat
, Malaysian Footballer
- Ahmad Faedzal
, CEO, National Sports Institute of Malaysia (ISN)
References
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]
External links
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]
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This list is incomplete. Only notable all-day and full-time schools should be listed.
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Brickfields
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Segambut
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Damansara Heights
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Others
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Italic denotes the school is under construction.
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03°08′19.30″N
101°42′07.53″E
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3.1386944°N 101.7020917°E
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3.1386944; 101.7020917