The MARA Technological University is a public university based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to help rural Malays in 1956 as the RIDA Training Centre, and opened with around 50 students. It has since grown into the largest institution of higher education in Malaysia as measured by physical infrastructure, faculty and staff, and student enrollment.

Dato' Sir Onn bin Dato' Jaafar was a Malayan politician who served as the 7th Menteri Besar of Johor from 1947 to 1950, then Malaya. His organised opposition towards the creation of the Malayan Union led him to form the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in 1946; he was UMNO's founder and its first President until his resignation in 1951. He was famously known as the pioneer of organised anti-imperialism and early Malay nationalism within the entire Malaya, which eventually culminated with the Malayan independence from Britain. He was also responsible for the social and economic welfare of the Malays by setting up the Rural Industrial Development Authority (RIDA).