KUALA LUMPUR – SMK Long Bedian has been crowned champion of the Petrosains Tech4All 2026 National Level Competition, thanks to an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered waste sorting system built by its students.
The school secured the top prize with its Smart Object Recycling Technology project, known as S.O.R.T. It was designed to help the school cleaner sort rubbish more efficiently while encouraging environmental awareness among pupils.
The system combines AI with Arduino coding. A camera identifies different types of waste, including cans, plastic and paper, before the correct bin opens automatically.
Team member Agustus Antonio Galvin, 12, said the idea grew from a wish to support the school cleaner, known as Aunty Siti. âWe created S.O.R.T. because we wanted to help Aunty Siti, our school cleaner, sort waste more easily and save time,â he said.
Teacher Hanson Teo Kim Guan, 28, said he was proud of the team for turning classroom knowledge into a practical answer to a real-world problem. âThis is our first time participating in Petrosains Tech4All, so seeing our students make it into the Top 10 and eventually emerge as champions is truly meaningful for us,â he said.
The champions received RM3,500 in cash, certificates and exclusive Petrosains merchandise. The first runner-up, SK Punan from Johor, took home RM2,500, while the second runner-up, SK Telanok from Pahang, received RM2,000.
Fourth place went to SK Runchang, Pahang, and fifth place to SK Padang, Sabah. Each team was awarded RM1,000, certificates and merchandise in recognition of their efforts.
The national competition was held at Petrosains, The Discovery Centre, in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. It brought together 40 students and 20 teachers from 10 schools serving Orang Asli and Peribumi communities in Johor, Kelantan, Pahang, Selangor, Sabah and Sarawak.
Now in its third consecutive year, Petrosains Tech4All has grown from a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach initiative into a sustainable platform.
It supports Orang Asli and Peribumi students, teachers and communities through robotics, coding, computational thinking and emerging technologies, including AI.
The programme is organised by Petrosains in collaboration with the Ministry of Educationâs Daily School Management Division, with support from OPITO and Hibiscus Petroleum.
It combines educator development, hands-on learning and innovation-based challenges to narrow educational gaps and nurture future-ready talent across Malaysia.
For Sarawak, the win highlights the growing role that technology-focused learning can play in schools serving more remote and Indigenous communities.
Competitions of this kind typically give pupils a chance to test their ideas on a national stage and to see how coding and electronics can address everyday community needs. â Sarawak Daily
