Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak

History

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 secondary level. The concept was quite different from certain other Premier Schools in Malaya that were 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.

On 29 November 1958, the school was renamed. The then Education Minister, En. (later Tan Sri) 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.

The Tanjung Malim campus can no longer accommodate the growing number of student population at SDAR. In 1971, Negeri Sembilan State Government allocated a piece of land in Jalan Sikamat, Seremban to build the new campus of SDAR. In 2 January 1972, SDAR officially moved to the new site in Seremban even before fully completion of its dining hall. The campus remain in Jalan Sikamat for three decades even though an offer was made by the state government for SDAR to move to a bigger complex earmarked in Kuala Pilah as it goes against the Government aspiration of exposing students who are mainly from rural areas with the city life.

Living up to its status as a premier all-boys fully residential school, Ministry of Education had finally decided to upgrade SDAR facilities. On 2 February 2002, a new 40 acres campus in Sungai Gadut opened its door to SDAR. The campus is equipped with facilities that include administrative blocks, teachers' lounge, 25 classrooms, four four-storey hostel buildings, mosque, dining hall and apartments for academic and non-academic staffs. The campus also has a huge multi-use field, cricket batting cage, futsal court, tennis court and basketball courts.

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, SDAR rugby players have represented the State and Malaysia in 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 while also featured in the final of the 1999 and 2001 editions. A number of SDAR rugby players were also selected to play in the Malaysian national rugby team.The school also organised an annual rugby game with King’s College Thailand since 1973 which has become a tradition for both schools.

Other popular sports in SDAR are basketball, football, hockey, cricket, tennis, badminton, sepak takraw and volleyball. The basketball team is known as SDAR Redwings. SDAR Redwings has won numerous basketball competitions at district level and also Prime Minister's Cup or Piala Perdana Menteri (PPM) and Hari Kecemerlangan SBP (HKSBP). The team won Tun Dato’ (Dr) Hj. Hamdan Sheikh Tahir Cup six times, the last being the year 2013.

The SDAR Debate Teams participate in the annual PPM, a competition among Fully Residential Schools in Malaysia. For the Malay Language category, SDAR emerged as PPM Champions in 1982 and 2010 as well as first runner-up in 1978 and 1980. For the English Language category, SDAR emerged as PPM Champion 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 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 2005, the band made a major achievement when they emerged as first runner-up. In 2006 they emerged as second runner-up. 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. In 2011, the school band have been featured in a flashmob style, reality programme, Refleksi Orkestra in conjunction with Orkestra RTM 50 Golden Jubilee. In 2016, after a long wait, the band finally won first place at the 18th edition of SBP Wind Orchestra competition. SDAR Symphonic Band is also the champion of the Malaysia Wind Orchestra Competition in 2009, beating teams from other schools and also from other universities. SDAR Symphonic Band has an annual concert, 'La Reverie' since 2010.

SDAR has a strong chess team. In 1976, Mohd Noor Yahya, a player from SDAR won the MSSM Individual Chess Championship and repeated the achievement in 1977 and 1979, an unprecedented feat then. He subsequently represented Malaysia in several Asian Championships and Olympiads. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, SDAR won the state trophy after defeating nine other districts. 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.

Notable Alumni

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

Notable alumni include :