In the 1998 PMR examination, the school had the best results in the country with 94 of its 110 candidates getting As in every subject. In 2001 the school welcomed in a new principal named Mohd. Rauhi Mohd. In the 2003 PMR examination, the school again achieved the best results in the country when 110 of its 122 candidates got As in every subject. In the same year, 53 students got straight As in the SPM examination and SDAR was ranked the third best residential school in Malaysia. By the end of 2003 he was transferred to The Malay College Kuala Kangsar.