Eighteen primary and secondary schools were honoured at the AIA Healthiest Schools (AHS) Awards 2025, organised by AIA Malaysia, a leading insurance and takaful provider in the country.
The awards recognised innovative and impactful efforts of the schools in promoting student wellbeing and driving meaningful change within school communities.
Chee Foong Wai, the chief marketing officer of AIA Malaysia stated during the ceremony: “The AIA Healthiest Schools programme is part of AIA’s extended purpose to nurture a culture of health and wellbeing from an early age, and we believe real change can start in the classroom.
“In just two years, what began as a simple vision has made progressive strides. The programme has sparked creativity and passion and empowered the next generation to take charge of their physical, mental, and environmental well-being.”
Chee said they were encouraged by the response to this year’s competition, which saw twice as many entries compared to last year.
“It’s a positive sign that the momentum is growing – with more schools taking proactive steps to create healthier and happier learning environments for their students.
“We’re proud to celebrate the remarkable efforts of our children and educators who are driving real change and making a difference in their schools,” she added.
This year’s ceremony marked the culmination of the second edition of the AIA Healthiest Schools Competition held from October 2024 to March 2025.
The competition received over 60 entries from government, private and international schools across Malaysia.
The winning schools were selected by a panel of judges based on project scope and execution, level of engagement with teachers, students and the wider community, overall impact as well as long-term sustainability.
The schools received prize money totalling USD100,000 (approx RM450,000) under the Winner and Highly Commended categories across primary and secondary school levels.
In the primary school category, SJK (C) Hwa Lien inPulau Ketam, Selangor earned the top prize with its My School, My Home 2.0 initiative.
Designed to address mental health challenges stemming from digital stress, social isolation, and language barriers amongst students, the school introduced five inclusive modules focusing on emotional wellbeing, cultural celebration, physical activity and language support. The initiative successfully fostered a more connected and resilient student body with the support of parents, the Orang Asli community and neighbouring schools.
Meanwhile, SMK Saujana Utama in Selangor clinched first place in the secondary school category for Canscape – a creative art-therapy programme under its larger Terapi Seni Ekspresi mental health initiative. Students used recycled tin cans as canvases to express their emotions, turning a simple and low-cost artistic outlet into a powerful tool for emotional regulation. The initiative helped reduce stress and negative behaviours such as vandalism while promoting emotional awareness and empathy.
The winning schools – SJK (C) Hwa Lien and SMK Saujana Utama will go on to represent Malaysia at the upcoming AIA Healthiest Schools Regional Awards scheduled to take place this July in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Both schools will compete alongside winning schools from seven other AIA markets, including Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
The AIA Healthiest Schools programme is supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia. It was launched in October 2023 with the aim to empower schools to promote healthy eating, active lifestyles, mental wellbeing and sustainability among students aged five to 16.
The programme provides free multilingual teaching resources in English, Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin, as well as hands-on teacher workshops to equip teachers to introduce health and wellbeing concepts in the classrooms.
Schools interested in registering for the AIA Healthiest Schools programme can find more information at https://ahs.aia.com/my/en.
Winners of 2nd edition of AIA Healthiest Schools Awards:
Primary School Category Winners
1st Place (USD 10,000 / RM 45,000) : SJK (C) Hwa Lien (Selangor)
2nd Place (USD 7,500 / RM 33,700) : SK Jalan Empat (Selangor)
3rd Place (USD 7,500 / RM 33,700) : SK Oran (Perlis)
4th Place (USD 7,500 / RM 33,700) : SK Kuala Perlis (Perlis)
Highly Commended (USD 3,500 / RM 15,700 each):
– SJK (C) Pui Ying (Selangor)
– SK Padang Temu (Melaka)
– SJK (C) Lawan Kuda Baru (Perak)
– SJK (C) Han Chiang (Penang)
– SK Changkat Jawi (Perlis)
Secondary School Category Winners
1st Place (USD 10,000 / RM 45,000) : SMK Saujana Utama (Selangor)
2nd Place (USD 7,500 / RM 33,700) : SMK Kuala Jenderis (Terengganu)
3rd Place (USD 7,500 / RM 33,700) : SMK Kampung Baru Kerteh (Terengganu)
4th Place (USD 7,500 / RM 33,700) : SMK Bukit Baru (Melaka)
Highly Commended (USD 3,500 / RM 15,700 each)
– SMK (P) Treacher Methodist (Perak)
– SMK Telok Gadong (Selangor)
– Sayfol International School (Kuala Lumpur)
– SMK Paya Rumput (Melaka)
– SMK Kijal (Terengganu)
 Awards 2025, organised by AIA Malaysia.){kind=link}