Manjung: A total of 72 primary schools in the Manjung district of Perak participated in the second edition of the KIRABLE 2026 Competition yesterday, aimed at honing students' mathematical skills through interactive gaming methods.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the competition, organised for the second time, took place at Dewan Abdul Kadir, Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Muhammad Saman, Pasir Panjang Laut. It involved 144 students from years one to six, including those from SK, National-Type Chinese Schools (SJKC), National-Type Tamil Schools (SJKT), and private schools.
Manjung District Education Officer Musa Hamid said the main goal of the competition was to sharpen the participants' minds to improve their proficiency in basic mathematical operations through the interactive and fun KIRABLE game. "This is one of the classroom learning methods to ensure that our students develop an interest in mathematics," he said during his opening speech at the programme.
Meanwhile, KIRABLE Founder Mohd Suhaimi Mohd Yusof said the competition was divided into two categories: the overall category offers 15 winners an excellent opportunity to be crowned the grand champion. He added that the method used to evaluate the participants was based on their calculation efficiency and speed. "From what I gather, they will be enthusiastic about learning mathematics and remain keen to participate in future competitions," he said.
To ensure the smooth running of the programme, Manjung District Mathematics Committee Chairman Zulkifli Zakaria said that 32 teachers were given intensive training through a two-month judging and gameplay workshop. "The teachers who received training in these two workshops will return to their respective schools and train their students," said Zulkifli, who is also the headmaster of SK Muhammad Saman.
A participant from SJKT Beruas, M. Sarbeshwar, said that joining the competition has boosted his confidence to compete with other schools in the future. "I feel happy and eager to play against other schools. We won the first round, so we can win the second round. Today, we won about 10 rounds," Sarbeshwar said.
The same sentiment was shared by Nurauniaqilah Mohd Azhanni from SK Seri Manjung and Wilson Wong from SJKC Chinese National Kampung Koh, both describing teamwork as the key to success in KIRABLE. "I picked the numbers and my friend did the calculations. We worked together as a team, and I really enjoyed it," Nurauniaqilah said. "I looked at the numbers and then calculated them, and I also calmed my teammate down because he was quite nervous earlier," Wilson said.
The KIRABLE 2026 Excellence Champion Award was won by SJK (C) Uk Ing, followed by SJK (T) Maha Ganesa Viddyasalai as the runner-up, and SK Changkat Chermin in third place. All winners took home trophies and certificates.