Tadika Raihan The Kindergarten Teaching A Nation To Read

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 Tadika Raihan’s legacy of early literacy and dedicated teaching continues to inspire generations.
Tadika Raihan’s executive director and principal Zuhairah Ali (right) with kindergarten teacher Hazniza Zainal Abidin. (Mohd Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)PETALING JAYA: It’s not every day you can say luminaries once napped on the same classroom floor mats as you. But for the pre-schoolers at Taman Pendidikan Raihan (Tadika Raihan) in Seksyen 12’s leafy neighbourhood – one of the oldest kindergartens in the country – that’s exactly the case
Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the current minister of investment, trade and industry, learnt to read here as a little boy.
So did actress Wardina Safiyyah, former model and TV personality Juita Jalil, and Mona Jamaluddin – eldest sister of former minister and now podcaster Khairy Jamaluddin.
“I learnt how to read through the ‘Terus Membaca’ books. She was one of the pioneers of this teaching method,” Mona recalled, referring to the late Nooraihan Sallehuddin, Tadika Raihan’s founder and one of Malaysia’s early childhood education pioneers.
“She would sit next to you, give you one-on-one attention, and that kind of mentorship when you’re at a kindergarten makes all the difference. Gives you the confidence to want to read,” Mona added.
The kindergarten is well-known for its ‘Terus Membaca’ books, now in its 10th edition. (Mohd Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)Established in 1967, the kindergarten is run by Nooraihan’s daughter, Zuhairah Ali, who took over in 2015. Now the executive director and principal of Tadika Raihan, Zuhairah carries the legacy with pride – and plenty of chalk-dust nostalgia.
“My fond memories of Tadika Raihan were coming back after school and helping out,” Zuhairah shared.
“I would help with playing the piano for the children. I would tell stories. I would do a little bit of drama with the children. My mother was somebody who believed in developing an all-rounded education,” she added.
Zuhairah’s mother was trained as a teacher at Kirkby College in the UK, and her love for education followed her across borders as a diplomat’s wife. While raising her children overseas, she developed a groundbreaking reading method after noticing even two-year-olds could pick it up.
Zuhairah and Hazniza standing at the front gates of Tadika Raihan. (Mohd Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)“She wanted to share this with her own people,” Zuhairah mentioned. The method gained traction in the Philippines – so much so that the First Lady at the time, Imelda Marcos, invited Nooraihan to the Malacañang Palace to demonstrate it. But when she returned to Malaysia, the response was lukewarm.
Not one to give up, Nooraihan decided to prove the method’s success by starting her own kindergarten in the garage of their home in Section 11, Petaling Jaya. With just five students and boundless determination, Tadika Raihan was born.
Today, its walls are still lined with handmade charts, colourful drawings and paper crafts. Despite the digital age, the school clings proudly to its old-school charm – and its powerful early literacy method.
The “Terus Membaca” series, first published in 1965, uses a phono-syllabic approach that teaches children to read even before they learn the alphabet.
Zuhairah with Mona Jamaluddin (right) who brought her Montessori learnings from Tadika Raihan to the US as a toddler. (Mohd Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)“I think one of the main reasons this kindergarten is still going is because of this method,” Zuhairah said.
“It has been very effective. And the teachers are very important – they are our frontliners. We had a whole generation of teachers who were very passionate about continuing this early method of reading,” she added.
Hazniza Zainal Abidin is one such teacher. She has taught here for 27 years, dedicated to helping children read through the “Terus Membaca” method. Many of her former students still pop in, often amazed to find the same furniture and posters from their childhood still in place.
Arguably, the kindergarten’s legacy runs deep – with many students now sending their own children and even grandchildren back. But for Zuhairah, the true legacy of Tadika Raihan goes beyond just reading skills. It is about making the first word of God alive.
The kindergarten’s spacious playground is a rarity these days. (Mohd Afizi Ismail @ FMT Lifestyle)“The first word brought down by Angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad was Iqra – read,” she said. “The legacy is about how important literacy is … the first thing that you must possess in order to be successful in life.”
And on this Teacher’s Day, Zuhairah has one heartfelt message for fellow educators: “My message to all the teachers, all the kindergarten teachers and all the teachers teaching very young children and educating young children is love what you do and do what you love. Happy Teacher’s Day!”
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- FMT

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