Victoria Institution

The Victoria Institution (commonly known as VI) is an all-boys secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is one of the earliest and most prominent secondary schools in the city and was established as a memorial school commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. VI is a secondary school for male students only from Form 1 to 5. Female students are accepted for Form 6 (Lower and Upper) and the students are known as Victorians. History VI was founded following a public subscription initiative to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The school was further supported by financial contributions from the Sultan and government of Selangor, as well as prominent residents of Kuala Lumpur. The foundation stone was laid on 14 August 1893 by Lady Treacher, wife of the then Resident of Selangor, Sir William Hood Treacher. The school officially opened on 28 July 1894 at its original site along what is now Jalan Tun H.S. Lee. Due to frequent flooding from the Klang River, the school relocated to Shaw Road (now Jalan Hang Tuah) on 26 March 1929. On 13 September 1945, the Victoria Institution was the site of the formal surrender of the 29th Imperial Japanese Army to Lieutenant-General Ouvry Roberts of the British 34th Indian Corps. The old building was then used for the premises of the Technical College 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 British High Commissioner to Malaya. It then housed High Street School before relocated to Setapak High School. From the 1980s, the old premises were managed as a cultural centre known as Taman Budaya and later came under the administration of the National Department for Culture and Arts. In 2009, the school reverted from the name SMK Victoria to Victoria Institution following approval in recognition of its historical significance and heritage status. Campus The school campus features a clock tower flanked by two sports pavilions overlooking a large central field. It also includes a 25-metre swimming pool and athletics facilities, making it among the earliest schools in the region to have such infrastructure. Student leadership and traditions Prefect system Student leadership at Victoria Institution includes a prefect system that has historically played a role in school discipline and governance. An opinion column in Malay Mail described the school’s prefects’ board as among the earliest established in the region, highlighting its longstanding influence within the school community. Co-curricular activities Victoria Institution maintains a cadet corps as part of its co-curricular activities, and according to the school’s official background information, the unit was established in 1901 by the school’s first headmaster, En. Bennet Eyre Shaw The Pasukan Kadet Bersatu Malaysia (PKBM), with which school cadet units are aligned nationally, was formally established under the Pasukan Kadet Bersatu Malaysia Act 1967 (Act 68). Sports Rugby Victoria Institution has a long-established rugby program and regularly competes in the Super Schools Rugby (SSR) championship, Malaysia’s premier inter-school rugby competition. In 2025, Victoria Institution reached the final of the SSR competition but finished as runners-up after a closely contested match against MRSM Balik Pulau. The school also organises the annual Victoria Institution Premier 10s Rugby Tournament, which has been reported as a significant event in the Malaysian schools rugby calendar. Football The Victoria Institution football team has achieved success at state and national levels, winning the Manchester United Premier Cup Malaysia in 2009 and 2013 and representing Malaysia at regional competitions. Cricket Cricket at Victoria Institution has recently been strengthened through a joint venture with the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA), with the school designated as a “State Centre of Excellence” under the National Cricket Development Programme following a formal agreement involving MCA, KLCA and VI. The school cricket ground hosted eight matches during the 1997 ICC Trophy. It also hosted List A cricket matches during the 1998 Commonwealth Games, including fixtures involving Pakistan, Scotland, Malaysia, and Jamaica. Headmasters and Headmistresses The following is a chronological list of headmasters and headmistresses of Victoria Institution. Alumni The school's alumni organisation, the Victoria Institution Old Boys' Association (VIOBA), was founded in 1922 and remains active in Malaysia and abroad. Notable alumni Royalty Hassanal Bolkiah – Sultan of Brunei; attended Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur from 1961 to 1963. Politician Prabowo Subianto – 8th President of Indonesia; attended Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur from 1962 to 1964. S. Rajaratnam – Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. Rafidah Aziz – Malaysian politician and former Minister of International Trade and Industry. Harun Idris – Malaysian politician; former Menteri Besar of Selangor. Shafie Apdal – Malaysian politician and former Chief Minister of Sabah. Yaacob Abdul Latiff – Former Mayor of Kuala Lumpur (1972–1983) and Malaysian politician. Zulhasnan Rafique – Malaysian politician; Minister of Federal Territories (2006–2008). Military Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali – Malaysian military officer; 9th Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Abdul Latif Ahmad – Malaysian military officer, retired brigadier general who served during Confrontation, Communist insurgency and led special forces in Somalia. K. Thanabalasingam – Malaysian naval officer who served as the first Malaysian Chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy from 1967 to 1976. Banking Ismail Mohamed Ali – second Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia and Chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad. Business Ananda Krishnan – Malaysian entrepreneur and business magnate. Francis Yeoh – Malaysian businessman (YTL Corporation). Yusli bin Mohamed Yusoff – Former Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia. Diplomacy Ramanathan Vengadesan – former Malaysian ambassador to Italy who served 35 years as a career diplomat. Economics Ramon Navaratnam – Economist and civil servant. Law and judiciary Anuar Zainal Abidin – Malaysian jurist and former Chief Judge of Malaya; served in the Malaysian judiciary for over 30 years before retiring as Chief Judge in 1997. Gunn Chit Tuan – Malaysian jurist and former Chief Justice of the High Court in Malaya Gopal Sri Ram – Malaysian lawyer and former Federal Court judge Mahadev Shankar – Malaysian lawyer and former Court of Appeal judge. Yong Pung How – Singaporean jurist and former Chief Justice of Singapore Tommy Thomas – Malaysian lawyer and former Attorney General of Malaysia (2018–2020) Mohd Zaman Khan – Malaysian police officer and former Commissioner General of the Malaysian Prisons Department Sports Mani Jegathesan – Malaysian athlete, sports administrator, and medical doctor Mokhtar Dahari – Malaysian footballer. Lall Singh – Malaysian-born cricketer who represented India in its inaugural Test match in 1932. Misbun Sidek – Malaysian badminton coach and former player. Razif Sidek – Malaysian badminton player. Jalani Sidek – Malaysian badminton player. Rashid Sidek – Malaysian badminton player. Medicine Ronald McCoy – Obstetrician and peace activist. Abdul Latiff bin Abdul Razak (1889–1956) – Physician. Arts Amir Muhammad – Malaysian filmmaker and writer. Aziz Mirzan Murad (Jit Murad) – Actor and writer. References