Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak (; abbreviated SDAR) is a premiere,

Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Sekolah Berasrama Penuh (SBP) or Fully Residential School is a school system established in Malaysia to nurture outstanding students to excel in academics and extracurricular activities. Since 2008, SBPs are directly administered by Fully Resid ...

() for

boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...

Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Somban'') is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council, Seremban City Council. ...

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia which lies on the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, wes ...

, Malaysia. It is one of the most prestigious schools in Malaysia, selecting the best students in the country and is named after

Abdul Razak Hussein Abdul Razak bin Dato’ Hussein (; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the second prime minister of Malaysia from 1970 until his death in 1976. He also served as the first Deputy Prime Minis ...

. It was known as a Smart School, before becoming a

Cluster School The Cluster School of Excellence is a merit system implemented in Malaysia, granted to high-achieving schools. Launched in 2007 by the Ministry of Education as part of the Malaysian National Education Blueprint (NEB) for the years 2006–2010, th ...

in 2008. In 2010, SDAR was selected as one of the 20

Sekolah Berprestasi Tinggi High Performance School ( Malay: ''Sekolah Berprestasi Tinggi'') also known as HPS is a prestigious title conferred to a group of schools in Malaysia that have ethos, character and a unique identity to excel in all aspects of education. The sch ...

or High Performance schools in Malaysia. The school is known for its rugby and foyer program.

History

Establishment

SDAR was established in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

on 1 May 1956 as Sekolah Menengah Melayu (Malay Secondary School). The establishment of the school was based on the proposal from the 'Penyata Razak' (

Razak Report The Razak Report was a Malayan educational proposal written in the 1956. Named after the then Education Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, its goal was to reform the education system in Malaya. The report was incorporated into the Section 3 of the Educ ...

) 1956. Among the main objectives of the formation of the school was to provide opportunities for bright and high potential students from the Malay stream primary school to further their education to the secondary level. When Sekolah Menengah Melayu was first established, there was no dedicated campus for the students. The first batch of students consisted of 80 boys and they were accompanied by three teachers. The group was assigned to a temporary location in Bukit Zaharah, Johor Bahru. In 1957, half of the original first batch students were assigned to enroll in a new location (now known as Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman) in

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

. The remaining students were then relocated to

Tanjung Malim Tanjong Malim, or Tanjung Malim, is a town in Muallim District, Perak, Malaysia. It is approximately north of Kuala Lumpur and 120 km south of Ipoh via the North–South Expressway. It lies on the Perak-Selangor state border, with Sunga ...

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

, staying in the campus provided by the

Sultan Idris Training College Sultan Idris Education University (; commonly abbreviated as UPSI; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي ڤنديديقن سلطان إدريس) is a public university located in Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia. Established in 1922 as a teachers' college, ...

, SITC (currently known as Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris). With larger campus, more students were taken in and enrolment increased to 119. SITC Principal, R.A. Goodchild was appointed as the temporary principal of the new school and he was replaced by C.F. Daniels two months later. Within this period, the school teaching faculty increased to 11, including part-time teachers. On 5 January 1958, the school new campus building, located next to SITC, was opened and En. Ariffin Mohd Nam was appointed as the first school principal.

School renaming

On 29 November 1958, the school was given a new name. The then

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Mohamed Khir Johari Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

, officially announced the school's new name as Sekolah Dato’ Abdul Razak, in honour of Dato’ Abdul Razak Hussein, who was the brainchild behind the school formation. Dato’ Abdul Razak himself, who was the Deputy Prime Minister at the time, officiated the renaming ceremony. “Berilmu Untuk Berjasa”, which means ''"With Knowledge to Contribute"'', became the official school motto.

Extracurricular activities

Rugby is one of the most popular sports at the school and its rugby team is known as the 'SDAR Lions'. A number of players were selected to play in the

Malaysia national rugby union team The Malaysia national rugby union team has not played at the Rugby World Cup, but has attempted to qualify since the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 1995 World Cup in South Africa. History Malaysian Rugby Union (Kesatuan Ragbi Malaysia) is the represent ...

. The school's rugby team won the National Premier Schools Rugby Championship in 1998 and featured in the final of the 1999 and 2001 editions. Before the school moved to its new campus in Seremban, the team won the Perak state title and the MORI Cup in 1971. It also won Negeri Sembilan school rugby championship and became the only school to win the title in two different states. Since 1973, the school competes with King's College Thailand in an annual rugby match. In 2011, the school band was featured in a

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organize ...

style, reality programme, ''Refleksi Orkestra'' in conjunction with Orkestra RTM 50 Golden Jubilee.

Notable alumni

Politicians

*Dato' Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah, former Second

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

*Dato' Sri

Ahmad Shabery Cheek Yang Berbahagia Dato' Sri Ahmad Shabery bin Cheek ( Jawi: ; born 10 December 1958) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Chairman of the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) since July 2023. He served as Minister of Agriculture a ...

, former

Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Malaysia is Mohamad Sabu, since 3 December 2022. Mohamad is assisted by Deputy Minister. The Minister administers the portfolio through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. List of min ...

*Datuk Dr. Haji Abdul Latif Ahmad, former

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Malay language, Malay: ''Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri''; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a member of Cabinet of Malaysia who administers a portfolio through the Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia) ...

*Dato' Wan Hisham Wan Salleh, former member of

Terengganu State Executive Council The Terengganu State Executive Council is the executive authority of the Government of Terengganu, Malaysia. The Council comprises the List of Menteris Besar of Terengganu, Menteri Besar, appointed by the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan on the basi ...

*Saiful Izham Ramli, political activist *Dato' Salamon Salamat, Malaysian politician, former MP of

Shah Alam Shah Alam (, from Persian language, Persian, meaning "king of the world") is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia which is situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam rep ...

*Dato' Adnan Abu Hassan, Negeri Sembilan State Assembly Representative (ADUN Senaling) *Dr. Haji Haziq "Ag" (Undergraduate at INTEC Education college)

Public service

*Dato' Syed Jamal Syed Jaafar, former chairman of

Malaysian Highway Authority The Malaysian Highway Authority (, LLM) is a statutory body under the Malaysian Ministry of Works (MOW). The agency was founded on 24 October 1980 by the Highway Authority of Malaysia (Incorporation) Act 1980 to monitor the works and administra ...

(Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia LLM) *Dato' Zorkarnain Abdul Rahman, former director of Selangor & Kelantan State Education Department *Iskandar Ismail, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC)

Academics

*Emeritus Professor Dato' Dr. Mohd Sham Mohd Sani, former vice chancellor of

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia The National University of Malaysia (, abbreviated as UKM) is a public research university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), ...

*Professor Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Nik Mustapha Raja Abdullah, former vice chancellor of

Universiti Putra Malaysia University of Putra Malaysia ( Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Agricultural University of ...

*Professor Dato' Dr. Ghazali Mat Nor, former dean of Faculty of Dentistry,

*Emeritus Professor Dato’ Dr. Abdul Samad Hadi, former director of Graduate Centre,

*Datuk Dr. Adi Taha, former director of

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

(Muzium Negara) *Professor Dato Dr Fauzi Ramlan, former vice chancellor of

Arts and literature

*Shamsudin Jaafar, Malaysian writer *Nandang Tutiman Abdul Rahman, Malaysian playwright

Law

*Tan Sri Ramly Ali, former Federal Court judge *Tan Sri Dato' Sri Ahmad Maarop, jurist and lawyer, 10th

president of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia The President of the Court of Appeal of Malaysia (Malay: ''Presiden Mahkamah Rayuan''), is the office and title of the deputy head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 24 June 1994, when the Court of Appeal of Mal ...

Business

*Dato' Ir. Abdul Halim Sulaiman, Malaysian businessman, HLA Group of Companies Executive Chairman *Khairun Zainal Mokhtar, Malaysian entrepreneur, CEO Tricubes Berhad *Dato' Zainal Abidin Ahmad, CEO Perodua Berhad

UKEC

*Muhammad Aiman Bin Noor Izan, former Deputy Chairperson 2022/23 at United Kingdom and Eire Council for Malaysian Students (UKEC)

References

External links

* {{Coord missing, Malaysia Boys' schools in Malaysia