Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak

Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak
SDAR
Berilmu Untuk Berjasa
Having Knowledge to Serve
Location
Sungai Gadut, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Information
School type Fully Residential School (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh)
All-boys
Founded 1957
Principal Tn. Hj. Zakaria b Md Zin,
Number of students ≈700-800
Medium of language Malay, English
Houses Bendahara, Laksamana, Syahbandar, Temenggung
Song Berilmu Untuk Berjasa (I), Berilmu Untuk Berjasa (II)
Yearbook SEDAR
Alumni Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak Alumni (SDARA)
Website

Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak (SDAR) is an all-boys boarding school in Malaysia, named after Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak. Being one of the oldest "Fully Residential Schools" in Malaysia, SDAR is considered as a "Premier School". SDAR has been awarded various titles by the Government of Malaysia based on the school's achievements and track record. The school was known as a "Smart School", before becoming a "Cluster School" in 2008. In 2010, SDAR was selected as one of the 20 "High Performance Schools" in Malaysia. Currently located in Sungai Gadut (Seremban, Negeri Sembilan), SDAR has had a long history of moving from one place to another since its inception.

Contents

History

Founding

SDAR was founded in Johor Bahru on 1 May 1956, and was first known as the Malay Secondary School, or "Sekolah Menengah Melayu". The founding principles of this school were based on the suggestions included in Penyata Razak 1956 (the Razak Report). Among its objectives was to give opportunities for young Malay students in primary schools, especially those from poor and rural backgrounds, to further their studies at the secondary level. The concept was quite different from certain other Premier Schools in Malaya that were originally set up for the children of aristocrats and those who were more well-off in society.

When the Sekolah Menengah Melayu was founded, there was no dedicated site nor building for the school. The first group of 80 students and three teachers were temporarily housed at Sekolah Bukit Zaharah, Johor Bahru. In early 1957, half of the students (40 pupils) from the first group re-enrolled to study at the new premise in Ipoh, Perak. Along with other pupils from across the country, they became the pioneer batch of students in what then became Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (STAR).

In May 1957, the remaining students from the first group in Johor Bahru were relocated to Tanjung Malim, Perak, where they shared the campus of Sultan Idris Teachers College (SITC), now known as Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). Along with other pupils who registered there, the number of students increased to 119. Mr. R.A. Goodchild, the SITC Principal, was assigned as a temporary Principal for this new school. Two months later, Mr R. A. Goodchild was replaced by Mr. C.F. Daniels. During this period, the teaching staff was 11, which included two part time teachers.

On 5 January 1958, the new buildings for the school, situated next to SITC, were opened. En. Ariffin Mohd. Nam was appointed as the first school Principal.

Renaming

On 29 November 1958 the school was renamed. The Education Minister, En. Mohd Khir Johari announced the name as Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak, after the name of the previous Education Minister (who was later to become the Prime Minister). Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak had himself graced the event and blessed the new school name. "Berilmu Untuk Berjasa" (Having Knowledge to Serve) became the school's motto.

Further relocation

The building at Tanjung Malim could no longer accommodate the increasing student population. In 1971, the Negeri Sembilan State Government allocated an area of 16.36 acres (66,200 m2) in Jalan Sikamat, Seremban to build a new school complex. In 2 January 1972, SDAR officially relocated to its new site in Seremban even though the dining hall was not ready and its Remove Class students had to temporarily use the Maktab Harian building (a teachers training college - now known as Maktab Perguruan Raja Melewar). The Principal, Tuan Syed Jaafar Al-Idrus, remained as the Principal in the early 1970s.

On June 17, 1973, Dato' Hussein bin Onn, the Education Minister visited the school. He thought for a premier school such as SDAR, the complex was too small and requested the Negeri Sembilan State Government to provide more space. The State Government could not do anything as the land for such a purpose was limited. There was a proposal to relocate SDAR to Selaru in Kuala Pilah where about 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land was offered. The suggestion was declined as it was not in line with the Government's aim to expose the students to town-life (as most of them were from rural areas), while public facilities and infrastructures were still lacking. Thus the school remained in Jalan Sikamat, Seremban.

On November 3, 1973, the SDAR campus in Seremban was officially opened. The opening ceremony was graced by Tun Hajjah Rahah Bt. Tan Sri Haji Mohd Noah, the wife of then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Also present was Dato' Hj Murad Noor, the Director General of Education, Malaysia, and En Annuar Ayeob, Director General of Education, Negeri Sembilan.

In line with SDAR's status as a Premier School in Malaysia, the Ministry of Education was to further improve the school's infrastructure which required a larger site than the Sikamat campus. The school began the 2002 academic year on a new campus in Sungai Gadut, Seremban and the opening was officiated on 2 February 2002. The new campus occupies an area of approximately 40 acres (160,000 m2) and comprises building blocks to accommodate the administration department, 3 teachers' room and 25 classrooms, together with 4 four-storey boarding hostels, a mosque, a dining hall, and apartments for academic and non-academic staff. The campus has a large sports field, as well as basketball, tennis, badminton, sepak takraw and volleyball courts. In 2010, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Y.B. Dato' Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, launched the new futsal court in SDAR.

Motto

" Berilmu Untuk Berjasa "

Community

The SDAR community comprises the school administration, staff and students. The school administration includes the Super Principal; Tn Hj Zakaria Md Zin, the Senior Assistant for Academic Affairs; Tn Hj Sahak Ahmadun, the Senior Assistant for Student Affairs; Mr Yazid Abd Wahab, and the Senior Assistant for Co-Curriculum; Mr Salehuddin Pungut. There are 4 Heads of Department, Counsellors, and well-trained educators. The non-academic staff and the students make up the rest of the community. Students are selected from throughout Malaysia based on their achievements in Primary School. Amenities and facilities provided by the Ministry of Education continues to ensure the success of the students. The students are divided into 4 Houses ( Bendahara, Syahbandar, Laksamana and Temenggung ) and live in the student dormitories. Some educators also live in the campus complex.

Academic (Also see: Academic Achievements)

SDAR is a pure science Fully Residential School for students in Forms 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 under the Malaysian education system (those who are aged 12 or 13 to 16 or 17, when considering their actual dates of birth within the school terms). The Lower Forms are Forms 1, 2 and 3 while the Upper Forms are Forms 4 and 5. The following are the core subjects and additional subjects for the Lower Forms:

As for the Upper Forms, the core subjects and additional subjects taken are;

Academic Achievements

SDAR has a history of achieving excellent results in nation-wide school examinations. In the 1998 PMR examination, for instance, the school had the best results in the country with 94 of its 110 candidates getting As in every subject. In 2001, the school welcomed in a new principal named Mohd. Rauhi Mohd. In the 2003 PMR examination, the school again achieved the best results in the country when 110 of its 122 candidates obtained As in every subject. In the same year, 53 students obtained straight As in the SPM examination and SDAR was ranked the third best residential school in Malaysia. By the end of 2003, the principal was transferred to the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. In a few of the more recent years, SDAR continued to achieve the best results in the country for nation-wide school examinations.

Co-curricular (Also see: Co-curricular Achievements)

SDAR students are active in various types of co-curricular activities, including sports, clubs, and uniform bodies. SDAR students have been blessed with various co-curricular achievements at the state, national as well as international level. The following are examples of the organisations and sports teams in SDAR.

Clubs

Sports

Uniform Bodies

Co-curricular Achievements

Rugby is one of the most popular sports played in SDAR. SDAR Lions is the name of the SDAR rugby team, established since the school was founded. Throughout the years, many SDAR rugby players have represented the State and Malaysia in various championships.

Just before moving to the Jalan Sikamat campus in Seremban from Tanjung Malim, the school's rugby team won the Perak state title and went on to win the MORI Cup in 1971. SDAR also won the Negeri Sembilan school rugby championship and became the only school to win the title in two different states. The SDAR "rugby culture" is also associated with the annual rugby match with King's College of Thailand, which has become a tradition for both schools since 1973. In 1998, SDAR Lions won the National Premier Schools Rugby Championship. SDAR Lions also featured in the final of the 1999 and 2001 seasons. A number of SDAR rugby players were also selected to play in the Malaysian national rugby team. Other popular sports in SDAR are football, basketball, hockey, tennis, badminton, sepak takraw and volleyball.

SDAR has also produced good orators and strong debating teams. The SDAR Debate Teams participate in the annual Prime Minister's Cup or Piala Perdana Menteri (PPM), a prestigious competition among Fully Residential Schools in Malaysia. For the Malay Language category, SDAR emerged as PPM Champions in 1982 and 2010 as well as top runner-up in 1978 and 1980. For the English Language category, SDAR emerged as PPM Champions in 1985. A decade later, in 1996, a member of the SDAR English debate team was selected to represent Malaysia in the World Schools Debating Championship held in Sydney and Canberra, Australia. In the previous year, the SDAR English debate team had become the State Champions for the Piala Tan Sri Dato' Wira Abd Rahman Arshad. In 1998, the SDAR English debate team became the State Champions for the Piala Tan Sri Dato' Wira Abd Rahman Arshad again, after defeating Kolej Tunku Kurshiah.

The school band was founded in the early 1970s in Tanjung Malim. Originally, it was only a bugle band which then evolved into a brass band, a marching band and now a symphonic band. The band had won first place in the Marching Band Competition at state level in 2002 and 2004. They also represented Negeri Sembilan at the National Level Marching Band Competition in 2002.

The band went through a period of changes during 2004 under the guidance of then instructor Mr. Edwin Yeap Hock Beng and was later known as SDAR Symphonic Crew. Later in the year 2005 under the then Conductor and Band President, Azhan Zhafri, the band achieve its first major achievement when they emerged as first runner-up. In 2006 they emerged as second runner-up under the then Conductor Nizar Nordin. In 2007, they were first runner-up in the Wind Orchestra Competition held at the Putrajaya International Convention Center (PICC). The school band had been awarded the gold status for five consecutive years since 2002 for their performance. Apart from performing as a wind orchestra, they are still active as a marching band but currently on hiatus. SDAR Symphonic Band is the champion in the Malaysia Wind Orchestra Competition in 2009, beating well known teams from other schools and also from other universities. SDAR Symphonic Band also has built an excellent reputation to grace its enthusiastic community through its annual concert, 'La Reverie' in March 2010 and entered the international level competition, Singapore International Band Festival (SIBF) 2010 in Singapore to broadens its horizon through the international platform and gain quality music and knowledge.

SDAR has a strong chess team. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, SDAR won the state trophy after defeating nine other districts. In the years to follow, the format of the chess tournament had changed to an individual format. However, starting from 2003, there has always been a representative from SDAR in the nationals representing the state. In 2005, the Negeri Sembilan state champion was from SDAR.

School anthems

Berilmu Untuk Berjasa I

Ilmu Untuk Berjasa
Tujuan SDAR utama
Sama menuntut ilmu
Hingga kita jaya maju

Berilmu Untuk Berjasa
Kepada nusa dan bangsa
Tata tertib patuhi nyata
Tutur bahasa sama serta

Panduan hidup untuk diri
SDAR kekal abadi

Berilmu Untuk Berjasa
Kita tetapkan berjaya

Berilmu Untuk Berjasa II

Kami pelajar Sekolah Datuk Razak
Berikrar berusaha, berdisiplin, setia
Berbaktilah kepada S D A R tercinta
Berilmu Untuk Berjasa kepada nusa dan bangsa

Marilah kita bersama-sama tingkatkan kemajuan
Marilah kita bersama-sama tunaikan kewajipan

Kami pelajar Sekolah Datuk Razak
Berikrar berusaha, berdisiplin, setia
Berbaktilah kepada S D A R tercinta
Berilmu Untuk Berjasa kepada nusa dan bangsa
Berilmu Untuk Berjasa kepada nusa dan bangsa-->

Alumni

The school alumni body is Persatuan Bekas Pelajar Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak or known as Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak Alumni Association (SDARA).

Current Batches

The batches in SDAR in 2011:

External links