SEREMBAN: An orphan and a leukemia fighter were among those who received their Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) results with flying colours, announced here today at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Sheikh Haji Mohd Said.
Nurish Syazana Zulkipli, 20, who obtained 3.84 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) said the result was unexpected, especially when she had to deal with the sudden passing of her father due to heart attack.
Her mother succumbed to leukemia four years ago.
The third child and the only girl from five siblings said she was devastated when her father died and it took her a month to regain her spirit to return to school.
“It was during my first year in Form 6. I almost gave up but then I told myself that I must do well so that I can repay the kindness of my family members who have been taking care of me after my parents died,” she said.
Accompanied by her brother, Mohd Aidil Syukri, 24, who is currently pursuing his studies in Mechanical Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Nurish said she hoped to pursue her studies in Arabic Language.
“I pray and hope that the opportunity to further my studies to a higher level will come true,” she said when met after receiving her results from State Education Department director Datuk Pkharuddin Ghazali.
For Nur Syahidah Adnan, 20, who obtained 3.34 CGPA, being diagnosed with leukemia last year didn’t dampen her spirit to pursue her dreams of becoming a teacher.
“When I first learned about the disease, I was distraught and sad. I didn’t want to go to school because I had lost the spirit to continue my studies.
“But my family members, friends and teachers encouraged me and boosted my spirit to achieve my dreams. I slowly managed to accept my disease and was able to continue my studies,” she said.
She said although she had to skip many classes due to treatment, her friends and teachers had helped her a lot to keep her studies on track.
“I did my own revision at home based on the notes given by my teachers and friends. I hope to further my studies in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM),” said Nur Syahidah, who now works part time as a Fardu Ain and Kifayah (Kafa) teacher at Sekolah Kebangsaan Desa Cempaka in Nilai.
Meanwhile, Pkharuddin said a total of 1,394 students sat for STPM at state government schools last year, recording a 2.77 CGPA which is higher than the previous year's CGPA of 2.72.