SMK Bugaya Semporna’s best student, Suhanah Abdul Mohammad and the school’s Form Six senior assistant, Masni Haji Ullong, at the ceremony at SMK Membakut yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: The Tanduo crisis last year did not stop Suhanah Abdul Mohammad of SMK Bugaya Semporna from preparing for the STPM examination and excelling in it.
“I studied consistently throughout the fracas even though I was frightened. We had a week of holiday from school but had to stay indoors most of the time,” she said after receiving her result from state education director Datuk Jame Alip and Membakut assemblyman Datuk Ariffin Arif at SMK Membakut.
Suhanah was one of the 15 students from Sabah who attained a CGPA of 4.00 in the STPM which was announced yesterday.
She recalled that the ambiance in Lahad Datu then was extremely quiet, particularly in the evening.
On her result, Suhanah mentioned that she was extremely happy. She was the first student from the school to attain such an excellent result.
Her teacher who accompanied her, Masni Haji Ullong, said they were informed of the result the day before.
“We took a 10-hour bus ride to reach here. We will return after this and a thanksgiving reception will be held at the school upon our return,” she said.
Suhanah also attained 7As in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia.
Another excellent achiever present during the event was SMK Tansau Putatan’s Nur Efazainiza Ainie Basri, 20.
She was one of the top three students from her school to achieve excellence in the STPM.
Winning 4 PNGK, this eldest in a family of three siblings, was ecstatic with the results as she never expected to achieve that high.
“I thought I would get 3.5 and that could have made me happy,” she shared, adding that she did not do too well in her SPM, garnering only three As.
“I think that spurred me to study hard,” she stated.
On her preparation for tests, Nur Efazainiza shared that she had her own timetable to focus on certain subjects and concentrated on them fully without interruptions.
“I also concentrated on the subjects in class so that I don’t miss anything. Besides that I also joined friends for study sessions.”
Her favourite place to study was on her room alone.
She also attributed her success to her parents’ support and understanding as well as through the grace of God.
She aspires to be a teacher and will enrol in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in Perak soon.
Her father, Basri Mustafa, is a Borneo Post newspaper vendor.
He said he was very proud of his daughter and was confident that she would be successful as she was very studious.
Her schoolmate, Nurapni Juraini, also achieved 4.00 CGPA in the examination.
She attributed her excellent result to her routines which consisted of doing the ‘solat’, studying and revising as well as the constant guidance from her teachers and mother, a cleaner at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
“I am the only child and my mom will be extremely proud of this. We’ve lived in hardship since my father died a long time ago,” she said.
She believed that the hardship she had endured had moulded her into the person she is today and mentioned that she aspires to become an economic specialist.