The Malaysian IMO team is selected through a rigorous selection process.
Basic Criteria
The International Mathematical Olympiad National Selection Test (IMONST) is open to Malaysian students studying in Malaysian schools at primary or secondary level, in line with IMO Regulations 2.2.
Age and Education Status: All students participating in IMO must be born less than twenty years before 1 July in the year of participation at the IMO, and must have been normally enrolled in full-time secondary education on or after 1 December in the year prior to the IMO.
Official National Selection
Starting in 2020, national selection takes place through IMONST. There are two stages to IMONST, namely IMONST1 and IMONST2. IMONST1 is an open competition, while IMONST2 is an invitation-only competition for the 300 top students in IMONST1.
For more information on how to register for IMONST1, visit the IMONST page.
IMO Training Camps
There is a series of training camps (usually four per year) taking place from December to May. Invitation to the IMO training camps are sent out by Ministry of Education Malaysia.
The top performers in IMONST2 (around 100) will be invited to the first training camp. The number of students is then reduced for each of the subsequent camps based on their cumulative performance.
During the training camps, students will learn through lectures and problem-solving sessions on a variety of mathematical topics at the IMO level. There will be a daily assessment involving a short test (2 hours). A longer final test (4-5 hours) is normally given on the last day of each camp. In between camps, students are given homework assignments which account for a significant part of the overall grade.
During the camps, students will participate in the Asian Pacific Mathematical Olympiad (APMO) in March, and the Tournament of Towns (TOT), in April/May. These contests are organised locally, so no international travel is required.
Selection to IMO, BMO, and Other Competitions
After a series of training camps, six students will be chosen to represent Malaysia at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in July, while another six students will be chosen to represent Malaysia at the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad (BMO) in April. Some students will also be eligible to represent Malaysia at the International Mathematics Competition (IMC) in July. Students from the camps are also eligible to participate in the Iranian Geometry Olympiad (IGO) in the following October.
Here are some reflections about their IMO journey by some Malaysian ex-Olympians.
IMO Malaysia 