KEPALA BATAS: The Kepala Batas MARA Junior Science College (MRSM) has been renamed Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi MRSM in a ceremony held at the college today to honour Malaysia’s fifth Prime Minister.
Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said that Abdullah was a national leader who had strongly supported MARA’s efforts to expand the roles of its institutes, including MARA professional colleges, GIATMARA and MRSMs.
He added that naming the college after the former prime minister could never fully repay his contributions but it was a way to commemorate and honour him, especially in his former parliamentary constituency of Kepala Batas.
“After Abdullah’s death, I reached out to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and suggested to rename Kepala Batas MRSM to recognise and honour Abdullah, especially on behalf of Kepala Batas residents,” he said during his speech at the ceremony.
He added that the Prime Minister agreed, stating that he had received similar suggestions from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, officiated today’s ceremony, in the presence of Abdullah’s son Kamaludin and other family members, Rural and Regional Development Ministry secretary-general Datuk Khair Razman Mohamed Annuar, Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid and Reezal Merican.
He also shared that the college was among the first to introduce the Ulul Albab programme, which was proposed by Abdullah himself, and that Abdullah’s greatest legacy for MARA was the strengthening of a dual education system combining spiritual and worldly knowledge that formed the basis of the Ulul Albab programme.
“To this day, MARA has eight Ulul Albab MRSMs in the country thanks to Abdullah’s brainchild,” he said, adding that the programme nurtured huffaz students who excel academically while cultivating their integrity and leadership skills rooted in Islamic values.
MARA also issued a statement explaining that the MRSM began operating on March 1, 2007 with the first intake of 359 students on April 16, 2007, and represented a milestone in expanding Bumiputera education access in the northern region of Malaysia.
The renaming of the college was a special tribute to a distinguished leader who had contributed immensely to religion, race and country, it added.
