Macau: Seventeen Malaysian students have brought the country pride after collecting nine overall awards and 22 medals at the Koala Excellence Olympiad (KEO) 2026 international competition, held in Macau, which concluded yesterday.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the coordinator of the Malaysian Young Scientists Organisation (MYSO) and leader of the Malaysian contingent, Aidah Misran, reported that the team returned with a total of five gold medals, six silver, and 11 bronze. The competition, organised by KEO and Miss Man International Group and coordinated in Malaysia by MYSO, brought together students from various countries to compete in English, Mathematics, Science, and Arts Olympiads.
Malaysia's contingent comprised four students from Kolej PERMATA@Pintar Negara Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), six from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Ungku Aziz, two from Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, and three from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Convent (2) Bukit Nanas, with one student each from SMK Convent Teluk Intan, SK USJ 12, SK Seri Hartamas, and SK Convent Sentul 1.
The most outstanding Malaysian competitor at the event was Year Six pupil Mukridz Mardzuki from SK Seri Hartamas, who secured the overall Science Olympiad championship in the primary school category. Meanwhile, Sarah Isabel Maryam Ahmad Suhael from SK Convent (2) Bukit Nanas and Alfie Rizq Danial Azlan from Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah each secured overall runner-up spots in the Science Olympiad for the primary and secondary categories.
Ayra 'Adani Muhammad 'Aizat from Kolej PERMATA@Pintar Negara, UKM, was also named overall runner-up in the English Olympiad. Aidah highlighted that five overall third-place awards went to Marvyn Zef Mark Philip, who secured two category wins (Science and English), P Prem (Science), Muhammad Khairul Mauidz Khairul Azman (Mathematics), and AK Shashini (English).
The KEO is an international competition platform developed by Australian educational experts that aligns with the country's curriculum standards to emphasize critical thinking, creativity, and real-world application over rote memorisation across four disciplines.