SRBJ Student Wan Harriz Lifts Malaysia’s Name, Champions ‘Hippo English’ in Doha

PUTRAJAYA: A Year Four pupil of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Tasek Utara, Johor Bahru, Wan Harriz Wan Abdul Qayyum, carved a proud achievement after emerging as champion of the Play-Off Qualifier of the Hippo English Without Borders 2026 competition held in Doha, Qatar.

That sweet success also qualifies Wan Harriz to advance to the World Final Round scheduled to take place in Spoleto, Italy in October.

Johor Education and Information Committee Chairman, Muhamad Naqib Md Ghazal said, the excellent achievement of the student is very much in line with Core 1 of Sekolah Rintis Bangsa Johor (SRBJ), which is English Language Mastery.

“It indirectly strengthens the aspiration of SRBJ in producing human capital who are not only excellent academically, but also possess high self-confidence, strong communication skills and are able to compete on the international stage,” he said in a statement today.

SRBJ is an initiative inspired by the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, as one of the strategic initiatives to empower the state’s education system in order to produce a holistic, competitive and forward-looking Bangsa Johor generation.

Hippo English Without Borders is a prestigious international-level English language competition for students aged between six and 19, attracting participation of more than 90,000 students from over 70 countries worldwide.

This competition is designed in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) standards which assess participants’ overall proficiency covering aspects of reading, writing, listening, speaking and grammar.

In addition to Wan Harriz’s success, the Malaysian delegation also recorded a proud achievement through SJKC Sin Hwa student, Aaron Yung Wayze.

Aaron successfully emerged as champion of the 14th Hippo English Without Borders Asia-Pacific Continental Round, which took place in Phuket, Thailand from July 2 to 5.

Astro Awani