Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak

Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak

School type	Public boarding school
Principal	Hj. Azam bin Hj. Md. Atan
Founded	1956
Location	Sungai Gadut, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
School Motto	"Berilmu Untuk Berjasa" : Knowledge (in order) to serve

Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak (SDAR) is a Fully Residential School in Malaysia. Since 2008, the school has been acknowledged and declared as a Cluster School. SDAR is one of the oldest all-boys school in Negeri Sembilan and is located in Sungai Gadut, Seremban. It is also one of the Smart Schools in Malaysia.

History

Founding

SDAR was founded in Johor Bahru on 1 May 1956 which was then known as "Sekolah Menengah Melayu" (Malay Secondary School). The founding principles of this school were based on suggestions included in Penyata Razak 1956, amongst its objective was to give opportunities to young Malay students in primary schools to further their secondary studies.

When the Sekolah Menengah Melayu was founded, there was no dedicated site for the school. The first group of 80 students and 3 teachers were temporarily housed at Sekolah Bukit Zaharah, Johor Bahru. In early 1957, the school was relocated to Ipoh, Perak. Half of the students (40 pupils) from the first group re-enrolled to study at the new premise (which is now known as Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, STAR).

In May 1957, the school once again relocated to Tanjung Malim, Perak and shared the campus of Sultan Idris Teachers College (SITC), now Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. The remaining students from the first group was then relocated to the Tanjung Malim campus. More students registered and the number of students increased to 119 pupils. Mr. R.A. Goodchild, the SITC Principal was also assigned as a temporary Principal to this new school. However, two months later, Mr R. A. Goodchild was replaced by Mr. C.F. Daniels. During this period, the teaching staff was eleven, which included two part time teachers. On 5 January 1958, the new buildings for the school were opened for use. These buildings were situated next to SITC. En. Ariffin Mohd. Nam was appointed as the first school principal.

Renaming

On November 29th, 1958 a special event was held to rename the school. The Education Minister, En. Mohd Khir Johari officially announced the new name of the school as Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak. Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister at the time, graced the event and blessed the new school name. "Berilmu Untuk Berjasa" was the school motto.

Further Relocation

Because of the increasing number of students, the building at Tanjung Malim could no longer accomodate the student population. In 1971, the state government of Negeri Sembilan allocated an area of 16.36 acres in Jalan Sikamat, Seremban to build a new school. In January 1972, SDAR once again moved to a new location in Seremban. The principal, Tuan Syed Jaafar Al-Idrus, remained as the principal in the early 1970s.

On November 3, 1973, SDAR campus in Seremban was officially opened. The opening was graced by Tun Hajjah Rahah bt. Tan Sri Haji Mohd Noah, the wife of the late Deputy Prime Minister Tun Hj 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 and it comprises building blocks to accommodate the administration department, 3 teachers' room and 25 classrooms, together with four 4-storey boarding hostels, a mosque, a dining hall, and apartments for academic and non-academic staff. The campus has a larger sports field and boasts a number of tennis and basketball courts.

Academic achievements

In the 1998 PMR examination, the school had the best results in the country with 94 of its 110 candidates getting As in every subject. In the 2003 PMR examination, the school again achieved the best results in the country when 110 of its 122 candidates getting As in every subject. In the same year, 53 students got straight As in the SPM examination and SDAR was ranked the 3rd best residential school in Malaysia. SDAR continues to maintain its high academic achievement to this day.

Co-curricular achievements

Sports plays a major part in student activities in SDAR. Rugby is the most popular sport in SDAR. Other sports such as basketball, football and hockey are also popular. There is also a number of courts catered for tennis, badminton, sepak takraw and volleyball.

Just before moving to the new campus in Seremban from Tanjung Malim, the school's rugby team won the Perak state title and went on the win the prestigious 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. SDAR rugby is also associated with its annual match with King's College, Thailand, which, since 1973, which has become a tradition for both schools. In 1998, the school rugby team, SDAR Lions, won the National Premier Schools Rugby Championship. SDAR Lions was also featured in the final of 1999 and 2001 seasons. A number of SDARians were also selected to play in the Malaysian Rugby National team.

Formal debating contests are popular in SDAR. This activity helps raise a SDARian debater's self esteem, builds confidence, encourages a wider view of the world and develops critical and analytical thinking. As with all the residential schools in Malaysia, SDAR participates in the annual Piala Perdana Menteri (PPM). Winning the PPM is the dream of this school. SDAR had emerged to be PPM champion of the debating competition for the English Language category in 1985 only and none after that, which was broadcasted live on national television from Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur. The Bahasa Malaysia debating team was also first runner-up in 1978 and 1979. In 1998, the SDAR English debating team emerged victorious after defeating Tunku Khurshiah College to win the Piala Tan Sri Wira Abd Rahman Arshad State Championship.

SDAR is also famous for their strong chess team. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, SDAR won the state trophy after defeating nine other districts.

The school band was founded in the early 1970s in Tanjung Malim. Originally, it was only a bugle band which evolved to a brass band, then to a marching band and now a symphonic band. In 2007, they were first runner-up in the Wind Orchestra Competition held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC). The school band had been awarded the gold medal for five consecutive years since 2002 for their performance. They emerged to win the Malaysian Residential Schools Wind Orchestra Competition in 2005 (first runner-up) and 2006 (second runner-up). Apart from performing as a wind orchestra, they are still active as a marching 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.

School Anthem

Berilmu Untuk Berjasa
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

Alumni

Prominent students graduated from this school:

1. Y.B. Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek - Information Minister2. Y.B. Datuk Dr. Hj. Abdul Latiff Bin Ahmad - Health Deputy Minister3. Dato' Wan Hisham Dato' Wan Salleh - Malaysian Politician

External links

* [http://sdaronline.edu.my SDAR's Official Website]
* [http://www.sdara.net/ Alumni website]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sdara/ Alumni mailing list]