Principal | Ustaz Omar Haji Salleh |
School type | Private boarding school |
Founded | 20th August 1987 |
Location | Beseri, Perlis, Malaysia |
School Motto | Ulama' Warasatul Anbiya |
Ma’had atTarbiyah al-Islamiyah, commonly known as MATRI is the only private religious school in Perlis. Founded in 1987 by the late Dato' Kaya Bakti Ustaz Dahlan Mohd. Zain, MATRI celebrated its two decades of existence in May 2008 with the visit of over 10,000 visitors from all over Malaysia.
MATRI is located in Tunjung Village, Beseri, Perlis in Malaysia. Situated nearby a rubber plantation, MATRI is surrounded by greenery, with mountains as a background. This 16.2-hectare-school is accessible by road 14 kilometres from Kangar, the capital of Perlis. In 2008 there were 817 students in 34 classes.
Contents |
The school was founded on 2nd of August 1987 with eight boys and nine girls, at the earlier stage of Marhalah Khassah (Pre-University). Currently, administered by Al-Fadhil Ustaz Omar Haji Salleh with his committees, the classes are run from 7.30a.m. till 4.00p.m. Entry to MATRI is based on availability and permission from the school’s Administration Body.
At the earlier stage of MATRI, the facilities in MATRI only consisted of a block that is known as the “surau” (praying area). The ground floor of the main block held the classes, library, school office and administration, teachers’ lounge and rooms as well as the headmaster’s room. The second floor was the rest of the classes and the praying hall.
In 1990 a new hostel for boys and girls was built. In 1994, a 3-storey block was added. The second and the third floor of the new building is Form 1 to Form 5 students. The first floor used to be an extra hostel for Form 1 and Form 2 students. A second girls’ hostel was added, and a temporary dinner hall, football field, netball court and table tennis facilities.
On 26 March 1996, block A girls’ hostel that was connected to the main block caught fire but the main block survived the fire. New hostels for both boys and girls were built in 1996.
Today, MATRI has a new 4-storey academic block, which makes a total of four academic blocks. The site now has a library, two science laboratories, 34 classes, PEKA room, lobby, a huge praying area or musolla (which regarded as mosque in Friday), seven fields, two-storey dining hall, canteen, shops, open squares, workshops, three hostel blocks (which accommodate over 800 students), and multimedia room.
There are five houses in MATRI, each with their Housemaster and house colour and mascot. Scores for each house are gained through competitions. At the end of the year, the best house will be announced and rewarded by the headmaster. The five competitive houses are:
School results are amongst the top in Perlis in Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). For Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia or STAM, MATRI used to be amongst the best in Malaysia. STAM result recently shows that 60% of the STAM candidates managed to score Mumtaz or A.
In sports, MATRI hockey team is the champion of Perlis and the MATRI volleyball team and the MATRI ping pong Team. Some of them were selected to represent Perlis at National level. A hockey player from MATRI in 2007 represented Malaysia in an international hockey competition in Germany.
MATRI were in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL). In marching competition, the School's Youth Cadets were the 8-time-champion of Perlis. The Red Cross Association were champions in 2008. The Fire and Rescue Cadets were first runner-up for three years straight. The MATRI marching squad through PBSM Perlis contingent won the third-place in the National Level Open Marching Competition organised by the Malaysia Youth Body (MBM).
In Hari Pendidikan Islam (Islamic Education Day) especially in the north education zone of Perlis, MATRI is champion in Syarahan (public-speaking), Hafazan (memorizing), and Tilawah (reciting) al-Quran. For Maal Hijrah, the public speaker for MATRI also proved to be the champion of Perlis. In the Majlis Hafazan al-Qur'an, candidates from MATRI won the first place in 5 juzu' (5 chapter) category and therefore represent Perlis in the National competition for two years straight. In the English Ala-parliamentary debate competition, in 2006, the MATRI debate team were the first runners-up at the state level. In 2007, the Malay Ala-Parliamentary Debate Team of MATRI were amongst the quarter-finalists of the zone.