ABOUT US
THE HORNBILL FOUNDATION
202401017184 (1563034-K)
The Hornbill Foundation is a company limited by guarantee and was incorporated on 2 May 2024
under the Akta Syarikat 2016 (Companies Act 2016) of Malaysia as a charitable non-government, non-profit foundation.
It was granted tax-exempt status by the Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia)
under Reference Number LHDN.AG.600-12/1/4-6.8895 in respect of donations received for
a period of five years from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2030.
The Objectives of the Foundation are as follows :
A
To raise funds to provide tuition on a charitable basis principally in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (“STEM”) subjects via direct and/or distance learning to students in secondary schools in Sarawak as well as other states in Malaysia irrespective of race, religion and creed.
B
To provide education on a charitable basis principally in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (“STEM”) subjects to secondary school students in Sarawak and other states in Malaysia through direct and/or distance learning, and to include other subjects as and when the Foundation deems fit and suitable.
EDUCATION
STEM education is the teaching of a combination of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects in a single interdisciplinary framework. It plays a critical role in preparing students for the workforce through developing their critical thinking, problem solving and innovation skills, key competencies necessary in any working environment. The goal is to develop STEM literacy to enable students to acquire the ability to apply STEM concepts to real world situations.
The initiative to teach STEM subjects to secondary school students was conceived in 2017 as a privately funded project by individual cohorts in collaboration with the Dato’ Sri Senator Temenggong Lawai Jau Education Trust and Lucia Paya Kalang, the Ketua Kampong of Long San, Baram, Sarawak to address the inequalities arising from the disparate opportunities available to urban over rural students.
The Initial Project was launched in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (“SMK”) (National Secondary School) Datuk Lawai Jau Long San in the interior of Baram, Sarawak. It was a school which had limited access to the internet.
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Tablets loaded with STEM subjects based on an international age group syllabus prepared by the Khan Academy were supplied to 250 selected students comprising 50 students each from Forms 1 to 5 of the school.
The Khan Academy is an American educational non-profit organization which provides free online learning resources for students worldwide.
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The selected students were then tutored face-to-face by on-site teachers. They formed the test group whose Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (“SPM”) (Malaysian Certificate of Education) results would be compared to the SPM results of the control group, that is, the group not selected, in order to assess the effectiveness of the tuition given. It should be noted that of paramount importance was the exposure of the students to STEM education, not the SPM results of the students.
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In 2021, five years into the Initial Project, the first batch of the test group sat for their Form 5 SPM examination. To their credit, the test group of students selected for the project performed far better than the control group of students who were not selected.
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The improved performance was repeated the following year with the second batch of test group students selected for the program again performing far better than the control group.
EXPANDED
PROJECT
Impressed by the results of the Initial Project, the Premier of Sarawak, YAB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg, encouraged the expansion of the teaching of STEM subjects to all students from Forms 1 to 5 in all the nine SMKs from Marudi to Bario in the Baram area, the majority of which had limited access to the internet.
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The Premier was confident that all students taught STEM subjects in rural Sarawak would benefit from an expansion of the Initial Project and that there would eventually be an increased appreciation of the teaching of STEM subjects to both rural and urban students in Sarawak to meet the demands of a modern state.
NO KID LEFT BEHIND
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The slogan adopted for the expanded project was “No Kid Left Behind”. It was designed to teach STEM subjects to students from Forms 1 to 5 in the nine SMKs in Baram, that is, a total of 4,500 students. It is to be noted that the majority of the nine SMKs had limited access to the internet.
The expanded No Kid Left Behind Project was organized under a charitable non-government, non-profit foundation with tax-exempt status with both private and public funding. The Foundation enabled the teaching of STEM subjects to be carried out by the best and most experienced teachers of STEM subjects available in the State of Sarawak to be cost-effective “sans brick and mortar”, with the teaching conducted by remote teachers located in urban areas via low Earth orbit satellites in the presence of on-site teachers in the classrooms.
Teaching STEM subjects to students under the No Kid Left Behind Project in all the nine SMKs in Baram commenced on 18 March 2024.
The Hornbill Foundation was subsequently incorporated on 2 May 2024 as a charitable non-government, non-profit foundation and was accorded tax-exempt status on 24 June 2025.
TEACHING
VIA
SATELLITE
Whilst the Initial Project taught STEM subjects to only 250 students at SMK Temenggong Datuk Lawai Jau in Long San, Baram through resident on-site teachers, the No Kid Left Behind Project under the Hornbill Foundation teaches STEM subjects via low Earth orbit satellites to approximately 4,500 students in all nine SMK schools in Baram.
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Currently, 30 selected teachers experienced in STEM subjects and residing in Sarawak and parts of Peninsula Malaysia teach STEM subjects on-line to all students from Forms 1-5 at the nine SMK schools in Baram through the Starlink low Earth orbit satellites in the presence of 18 on-site teachers. Specialized equipment with interactive capabilities is installed in designated classrooms in each of the nine SMK schools to maximize the effectiveness of the teaching.
30
REMOTE
ONSITE
TEACHERS
18
LOW ORBIT
SATELLITES
SMK STUDENTS
4,500
Approaching the third year of the No Kid Left Behind Project, requests have been made to the Hornbill Foundation to extend the teaching of STEM subjects beyond the 9 SMKs at the Baram to other SMKs in Sarawak. The Hornbill Foundation is currently evaluating this request in the light of its current resources of teachers, equipment and finances.
DONORS
The initial funds for the Project were donated by the following individuals/associations:
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Dato Richard Wee Liang Huat, Yayasan Sarawak
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Augustine Wong Chun Ho, Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (“SHEDA”)
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Datuk Sri Richard Jong East Full
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Kapitan Peter Wong Hung Huang
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Datuk Tan Thian Hoo
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Lim Chien Cheng
In addition, the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (“MEITD”) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development (“MUDeNR”) provided essential funds and advice to the Hornbill Foundation to enable the No Kid Left Behind Project to be carried out. Swinburne Innovation Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of Swinburne University Technology Sarawak (“SWIM”), was the training provider, and had selected and organized the teachers who carried out the Project.
DIRECTORS
BOARD OF
The initial Directors of the Hornbill Foundation were:
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1. Lim Chien Cheng – Chairman
2. Datuk Tan Thian Hoo
3. Kapitan Peter Wong Hung Huang
4. Libat Langub
5. Anna Dreba
6. Valarie Luhong
FUTURE PROGRAMS
The Hornbill Foundation plans to discuss with the Khan Academy, the content provider of the STEM subject syllabus, on how to improve the pedagogy and teaching methodology currently employed in the No Kid Left Behind Project. It is certain that the modus operandi of the No Kid Left Behind Project will continue to evolve and be reorganized and streamlined accordingly and to be increasingly aligned to the teaching of STEM subjects in schools by the Ministry of Education of Malaysia.
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Other proposals of the Hornbill Foundation to improve the effectiveness of the No Kid Left Behind Project in better preparing students for the workplace include on-going discussions on the feasibility of introducing the following programs:
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Integrating the teaching of “arts” in STEM education i.e. “STEAM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) to foster creativity, interdisciplinary thinking and a deeper understanding of technical concepts.
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Acquainting students with employment, vocation, services and professions associated with STEM education.
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Introducing internship programs where graduating students can be provided with opportunities to experience work in vocations, industries, services and professions that require a workforce educated in STEM. These programs are integral to STEM education and the Hornbill Foundation believes that students will appreciate the STEM education they have received. It is the Foundation’s belief that such programs will persuade more students to elect science as their major subject in school.
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Outreach programs to select teachers from amongst high-achieving students from universities in Sarawak to teach STEM subjects online under the No Kid Left Behind Project.
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Mentorship programs to help students build connections and gain guidance. ​​
Employers in the electronics, services and hospital industry in Sarawak and West Malaysia that employ workers with a STEM educational background have indicated interest in the programs proposed by the Hornbill Foundation.