Dato' Haji Shahnon bin Ahmad was a Malaysian writer, a National Laureate, and a Member of Parliament. He was awarded with the National Literary Award in 1982. He was also a Professor Emeritus at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.

Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid located in Alor Setar, Kedah, is one of Malaysia's oldest and most prestigious schools. Founded in 1908 as Government English School (G.E.S.), it is also one of the country's oldest English-medium schools. The students of Kolej, are mostly boys as Forms 1 to 5 are for boys only, and the Lower and Upper Sixth Forms are co-educational.