KUALA LUMPUR: The daughter of a building cleaner is among the top 70 students in Penang who achieved a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.0 in Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) yesterday.
Kosmo reported that Amsyar Muawiyah Mohd Sofi, 20, said she was motivated to change her family fortunes after her father, Mohd Sofi Salleh, 48, a former factory worker, died four years ago.
Since then, she said her mother had been working as a cleaner with a monthly salary of RM1,500.
"After my father died, my mother started working as a building cleaner at the Penang court complex to support me and my 18-year-old sibling.
"She always reminded me that I am the family's hope, so I need to work hard to improve our situation by studying diligently," she said.
She said she did not attend any tuition classes, but focused solely on her classwork and spent two to three hours a day doing revision.
Meanwhile in Pahang, Siti Zulaikha Jalaludin, 20, a student of SMK Sulaiman in Bentong, said the hardship of life as the daughter of a lorry driver had spurred her to study and score a perfect CGPA of 4.0.
"My efforts have paid off. I plan to continue my studies in economics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and become an educator," she said.