Penang teams prove to have the mightiest minds

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PUTRAJAYA: It was a clean sweep by Penang when teams from SMK Bukit Jambul and Chung Ling High School pipped 13 other state champions in two categories to claim absolute bragging rights to having the mightiest minds at the RHB-The Star Mighty Minds national finals in Putrajaya yesterday.

Bagging the grand prize of RM6,000 cash per team and a desktop computer and printer for each school was no easy feat for the lower and upper secondary teams.

The two-day finals that comprised five different elements – multiple choice questions, a hands-on task, an oral presentation, a minds-on challenge and a buzzer quiz – really put the teams to the test.

Dressed in their olive green school shorts and white shirts amidst various-hued blazer-clad teams, the lower secondary champs from Chung Ling – Lim Jian Hong, Ivan Ang Jie Xiong, and Choon Zi Yang – were hardly formidable in appearance and stature.

However, the Form Two boys consistently outwitted and outmanoeuvred their mainly older Form Three opponents from the others states. As for the upper secondary champions – Yeoh Seng Ming, Nathaniel Measias Zacharias and Jeanette Siah Ying Zhen – it was sheer determination and hard work that brought them smiles at the very end.

Jeanette said, “We studied till 11.30pm the night before the objective challenge to brush up on some final points.”

Unlike the state finals, the national finals required much more from the top five finalists.

Winners all: Celebrating their win are (top row, left to right) Ivan Ang, Jian Hong and Zi Yang, and (front row, left to right) Nathaniel, Seng Ming and Jeanette.

After battling it out on the floor with the other state champions through objective quizzes and a hands-on challenge, the top five teams from the lower and upper secondary categories were required to prepare a more in-depth presentation of their models with the aid of multimedia.

This meant less than five hours of sleep for several teams that laboured long and hard over polishing their presentation.

Since points were deducted for wrong answers, the pressure was on during the buzzer quiz, especially for the upper-secondary teams who were being watched by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Jointly organised by RHB Banking Group and Star Publications (M) Bhd, the competition, which kicked off in late March, swept through the 14 states in the country before culminating in the weekend’s finals at Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya.

In his speech, Muhyiddin said: “Conventional methods of memorising facts and formulae have been left behind, and students have learned to actively use both the left and right sides of their brains — thereby tapping into the full potential of their minds.”

Star Publications group managing director and chief executive officer Datin Linda Ngiam reminded the participants: “Being here, you have already proven yourselves to be potential leading lights of tomorrow.”

Acknowledging the importance of learning outside the classroom, RHB Bank chairman and RHB Capital Berhad director Tan Sri Azlan Zainol told the participants: “We hope that through competitions like this, you can go further in life, such as getting scholarships, when you show your full potential.”

Runners-up for the lower-secondary category were teams from Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar (Johor), Kolej Yayasan Saad (Malacca) SMK Taman Desa (Kuala Lumpur) and SMK Bahang Penampang (Sabah).

For the upper-secondary category, the four runners-up were teams from SMJK Keat Hwa, (Kedah), SMK Methodist, (Kuala Lumpur), SMK Sultan Abu Bakar (Pahang) and SMK Methodist (Perak).

The first and second runners-up each received RM4,000 and RM2,000 respectively, and a desktop computer for each school, while the fourth and fifth prize winners received RM600 and RM450 per team.

The rest of the teams received RM100 book vouchers per contestant.

And while most students were still unsure about what they would do with their winnings, Ivan Ang has got it all planned out: “I will save the money in the bank, and get some interest out of it.”

Look out for full coverage of the national finals in StarEducation this Sunday.