SMK Sultan Yussuf

Founding (1907) The school was established in 1907 by K. Malaiperumal Pillay, a self-made Tamil contractor and rubber planter who had migrated to Malaya from Karaikal, French India, in 1889. He established the school as a Private English School using his own house as the premises, personally going door-to-door in the neighbourhood to persuade parents to enrol their children. Towards the end of 1908, the school was taken over by the State Government and renamed the Batu Gajah Government English School. Special education classes were inaugurated in May 2010. ==Founder==

K. Malaiperumal Pillay (3 June 1866 – January 1935) was born in Karaikal, French India, and arrived in Malaya in 1889. He rose from humble origins as a construction labourer to become one of the wealthiest members of the Indian community in the Federated Malay States, with a fortune estimated to have exceeded one million Straits dollars. Their descendants, numbering over 2,000 across eight generations as of 2026, are organised as the Muthu Ramalingam Pillai & Marimuthu Ammal Family Association (MRP&MMAFA). ==Notable alumni==

• Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah (1928–2014) — 34th Sultan of Perak (1984–2014) and 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (1989–1994). Reportedly served as head student. • Jeffrey Cheah — Founder and chairman of Sunway Group. • Manikam Shanmuganathan (c. 1927 – before 2022) — Olympic field hockey player (1956, 1964) and captain of the Malayan team at the 1962 Asian Games (bronze medal). Grandson of the school's founder, K. Malaiperumal Pillay. • Datuk Seri Dr N. S. Selvamany (1926–2019) — Tokoh Guru Kebangsaan (National Master Teacher, 1997). Honorary doctorate from the University of Malaya. Former schoolmate and close friend of Sultan Azlan Shah. A road in Ipoh, Jalan Datuk Seri NS Selvamany, was named in his honour in October 2022. Also a descendant of K. Malaiperumal Pillay. • Kumaresan Aramugam — Batu Uban State Assemblyman. ==See also==