SK Sungai Binjai is a centenarian school (the school celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2017). One thing interesting to note is that although SK Sungai Binjai has gone through several phases of government (British Administration, Japanese Military Administration, returned to British administration and subsequent post-independence era), the state of the school and its surroundings have not changed much. Some say that SK Sungai Binjai was once used as a communist hideout, through the stories of the alumni who attended school around the 50s and 60s.
The legendary river The name "Sungai Binjai" originated from the
Binjai trees that grows along the river. The fruit can be eaten and it can weighs up to a kilogram when it is matured enough. According to the mouth-to-mouth resources told by the elders of Kampung Meru, this exact river was the famous
Malay folklore story
Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup (The Split Boulder) originated, where the story of a mother who wanted to eat the eggs of a
mudskipper, and end up being swallowed by a magical boulder after she ran away, frustrated at the expense of her son eaten her precious mudskipper eggs without her permission. She asked to be swallowed by the boulder herself and locked inside forever since. From that split boulder came the name Kampung Batu Belah, a rural village situated in Kapar. The first settlers of Kampung Meru mostly came from Kampung Batu Belah.
The start (1917–1923) It was said that the history of Sungai Binjai was older than Kampung Meru itself, and why this school was named after. This school was known earlier as
Sungai Binjai Malay School. This school was first built by the locals of Kampung Meru (mostly Javanese settlers came from Batu Belah) in 1917 to meet the needs of the residents of
Kampung Meru, at the city of
Klang as to enable their children to get a proper education. On October 6, 1917, the school started with only 49 pupils. The founder and the first Headmaster, Abdul Karim b. Taari was the only teacher at that time serving the school. In 1917 the site of the original school was founded on the present site of SJK (Chinese) Tiong Hua Kok Bin and used until 1923.
The first move (1923–1954) In 1924 the school's name was changed to the
Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Binjai and moved to the site of Pusat Kesihatan Meru (
Meru Health Center) today. In 1924 a new school building was built on the Pipeline Road (Jalan Paip) about a quarter mile from the town of Meru. In this new school building, the situation was also similar to the old school. The increasing number of pupils from time to time, until it reached 105 pupils. The school was no longer suitable to be used for several reasons: the increased number of pupils and secondly, the school was frequently flooded during heavy rain. Obviously these matters were the reason of pupils studies had been interrupted for quite some time. Pupils of all levels were placed in a building without restrictions, and this situation lasted until 1954. The Headmaster's residence was connected directly with the school building. Other teachers lived in quarters (3-doors detached houses) near the school. It was situated behind the school.
The second move/recent site (1954–present) On the basis of the needs of the pupils, the school had moved to its current site in 1954, which is located not far from the original site and the second site. Given the state of the school buildings are too old and the increasing number of students is too overwhelming, then the government had moved the school to a new site about 4 acres (previously owned by Tuan Hj. Ahmad Tafsir) of the site of the present school building. The school has its own shape and a distinct look, and it was officially used in 1955. The new school can accommodate a total enrollment of 500 pupils. Unfortunately, the numbers of pupils keep on rising as years come. To solve the problem, the school was divided into 2 sessions (mornings and evenings) in 1964. Official opening of the school was held on October 22, 1977, and was inaugurated by the then
Chief Minister of Selangor YAB Dato' Seri Haji Hormat Bin Rafei, for opening the 1-storey buildings used for administrative purposes until 2010, where the school administration has now moved on new 2-storey detached buildings completed around 2010, replacing the dilapidated building that has been used since 1955. The old wooden building had been demolished on May 9, 2008. Since October 2013, the new
surau (Muslim prayer house) has started its construction and will be expected to be complete in the middle 2014. Some images of the old buildings can still be seen in some blogs and Flicker owned by the old pupils of SK Sungai Binjai. ==List of previous headmasters and chairman of the parent-teacher association (PTA)==