Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah College () is an elite coeducational day and boarding secondary school located in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The school is a national secondary school, a government school in which Malay is the main medium of instruction.
History
Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah College was officially opened on 29 September 1978 by the third Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Hussein Onn. Dubbed the 'Eton of Borneo', the college was formerly known as Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah Junior Science College. Its original purpose was to serve as a Junior College for Form 6 students who obtained good results in their Form 5 examination. In later years, the college started admitting Form 1 to Form 5 students while still keeping the Kolej (College) prefix. Admission for Form 6 students was halted in 2005.
The plan to build the school was granted by the Federal Government in 1972 under the Second Malaysia Plan (RMK-2). The construction was completed in 1978, covering 8 hectares.
The college was named after Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah, a local politician who served under Vyner Brooke. He was a well known patriot who opposed the cession of Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946.
Admission
Admission to the school is monitored and conducted by the State Education Board. Since 2017, after the implementation of both KSSM and KSSR programmes under the KPM, there are no specific minimum requirements to enter the school, instead a student (Form 1) whom applied the admission to this school, with good results in UPSR will be called for an interview.
Principals
Tuan Haji Adzuddin bin Haji Mantrang was appointed as the 13th Principal of Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah College in October 2022, succeeding Abang Othman who has served the post since October 2019. Prior to that, Tuan Haji Adzuddin was the principal of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lundu. He is also the Deputy President of Kesatuan Guru Bumiputera Sarawak (KGBS).
Datu Putit Matzen (1978-1982) Hajah Sukinam Domo (1983-1984) Tuan Haji Morshidi Ali (1985-1989) Tuan Haji Mohd Zain Abang Ismail (1989-1992) Datuk Amar Michael Manyin Jawong (1993-1995) Putit bin Haji Ped (1995-2004) Datin Hajah Halimah binti Haji Mohd Sahari (2004-2007) Johara Zen (2007-2011) Hajah Mastura binti Haji Anuar (2011-2015) Tuan Haji Ibrahim bin Haji Jamain (2015-2017) Catherine Ritikos @ Fiziah Abdullah (2017-2019) Abang Othman bin Abang Masagus (2019-2022) Tuan Haji Adzuddin bin Haji Mantrang (2022- )
Symbols and traditions
The college's motto is Arif dan Maju (Wisdom and Progress), which is also the title of one of its two anthems. The second anthem, Arif dan Maju (written by Wan Danial Samiun Bin Wan Mohamad), was introduced during Putit bin Haji Ped's tenure as the Principal when the college was declared a Smart School. However, Pelajar Bestari was replaced by Hearts and Minds during Mdm. Johara Zen's administration in 2007. In 2005, during Datin Halimah's administration, We Must, We Can, We Will Excel was adopted as the college slogan. A popular short phrase was then added to the slogan by Tuan Haji Ibrahim bin Haji Jamain, "We Must, We Can, We Will Excel, Eureka Yes!", which now the slogan is the battle cry for the whole Kolej community.
Sports Houses
Kolej DPAH Abdillah has four 'houses', each assigned with a particular color (in brackets); Lions (Red), Wallabies (Orange), All Blacks (Black) and Springboks (Green). The houses are named after international rugby teams.
Prior to 2001, the names used were either based on the name of local heroes or patriots; Rentap, Sharif Masahor, Rosli Dhobi and Patinggi Ali (Patali). In 2001, the names of Proton (National) cars were used, namely Waja (Red), Satria (Yellow), Perdana (Blue) and Wira (Green). In 2009, the houses names were changed to the names of four famous Rugby teams from around the world; Lions, Springboks, Wallabies and All Blacks.
Students are assigned to a randomly selected house. Houses compete against each other in the Annual Sports Event and academic competitions like debates.
School publications
The SPEKTRA is the school's official yearbook or annual magazine and is also the longest running school publication. The editorial board consists of students and teachers. However, the main body of the editorial board consists of students. In 2015, SPEKTRA publication was taken over by Kolej DPAH Abdillah Multimedia Club after responsible publisher, which was Mr. Mohd Noor bin Lamat moved out from Kolej to his new school.