Johor school celebrates historic SPM success
TOP scorers in the 2024 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations credit their success to personal sacrifices, family support, disciplined study routines, and dedicated teachers.
Among the 56 top scorers from SMK Sultan Ismail in Johor Baru were M. Kayyelvizhi, Harry Danish Ahmad Kamal Azuan, twin sisters Lee Yun Ting and Lee Yun Qian and Chan Le Rou.
Kayyelvizhi, who scored 10A+ and 1A, went to great lengths to avoid distractions – choosing not to have a mobile phone or engage on social media throughout her studies.
'I didn't want a phone because I knew it would distract me from studying,' she said during a recent interview at the school.
Kayyelvizhi says she draws inspiration from her elder brother who had attended the same school and was a top scorer.
Aspiring to pursue medicine, Kayyelvizhi drew inspiration from her elder brother, a former top SPM scorer from the same school who achieved 12A+.
She credited past-year exam papers as a key part of her preparation.
Her parents rewarded her with a mobile phone after she completed her final exam in 2024.
Harry Danish was thrilled to score 8A+ and 1A in SPM, which he achieved without attending any tuition.
'I chose to study independently, as my teachers' notes and guidance were more than enough,' he said.
While confident in his preparation, he kept his expectations realistic. He plans to pursue a degree in information technology (IT).
For Chan Le Rou, early preparation was key to her success in the examinations.
'Our school put us in 'battle mode' from day one of Form Five, which helped me stay focused,' said Le Rou, who scored 8A+ and 2A, including an A in Japanese.
Having participated in a student exchange programme in Japan, she developed a passion for the language.
She shared that her most productive study hours were from 6pm to midnight.
'I took breaks to avoid burnout, but consistency was what kept me on track,' she added.
Le Rou also scored A in Japanese.
Twin sisters Lee Yun Ting and Lee Yun Qian credited their success to strong family support, especially from their mother.
Yun Ting, who scored 6A+, 3A, and 1A-, and Yun Qian, with 7A+, 1A, and 2A-, said they often supported each other in their studies.
'Our mother always gave us advice during the hour-long drive to and from school, ever since Form One,' Yun Ting said.
SMK Sultan Ismail principal Suriyah Mohamed Lahir credited the school's historic SPM 2024 results to the combined efforts of students, teachers, parents, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), as well as the district and state education authorities.
The 56 top students scored straight As, including two who achieved all A+, while all 159 candidates passed – marking a 100% pass rate.
Suriyah, a 30-year education veteran, noted the school's improvement from the previous year, which saw 36 students with straight As, including three with full A+.
Suriyah: SMK Sultan Ismail saw 56 students scoring straight As, including two with full A+ in the 2024 SPM examinations.
She attributed the success to clear expected targeted results (ETR), consistent performance monitoring, and regular student-teacher dialogues under the Take-Off Value (TOV) approach held at least three times before the exam.
She said preparations began as early as Form 4, with struggling students identified early and parents brought in for support.
'Each student's progress is tracked closely – every head counts,' she said, also thanking the PTA and education offices for their ongoing support in resources and guidance.
Beyond academics, she said the school also emphasises extracurricular excellence.
One of its current Form 5 students, Chua Yee Jia, has been selected to represent Malaysia at the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2025 in Columbus, USA, with her chemistry innovation project titled 'Molecular Insight Into M.L.C.E Larvicide'.
Johor saw a significant improvement in the 2024 SPM results, with 41 students achieving straight A+ – more than double the 20 recorded in 2023, according to state education director Mohd Hanafi Samad.
The state also recorded its best performance in five years, with a Grade Point Average (GPN) of 4.36, outperforming the national average of 4.49.
'This is the best achievement for the state in the past five years,' he said.
'A total of 1,513 candidates scored excellent results (A+, A, or A-), while 4,096 earned at least one B, and 6,740 secured at least one C.'
He said of the 42,616 candidates, 94.49% qualified for certification, and absentee numbers dropped to 565 from 901 in 2023.
'Special needs candidates also performed well, with 16 out of 168 scoring excellent results –including four with 8As, four with 7As, and eight with 6As.'
Additionally, Hanafi said the number of schools across urban and rural areas in Johor achieving 100% certification eligibility rose from 75 to 81.
The performance gap between urban and rural candidates narrowed to just 0.02 points, aligning with the state's goal of becoming a national leader in education.
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Daily Express
2 days ago
- Daily Express
‘Second Death March' in Murut heartland
Published on: Sunday, June 01, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jun 01, 2025 By: Kan Yaw Chong Text Size: Rubin and Tham beside a huge boulder at Lanut Carved Rocks Garden. WAGE a war, lose it, and you are a soldier of the vanquished empire – the victor will grab and march you to death, no mercy. Sabah actually holds a track record of two different WW2 death marches, when we became a battleground for hegemonic control. Here's the first, and most publicised. Advertisement The 1945 Sandakan-Ranau Death March wiped out 2,434 Allied prisoners of war, merely six survived – 99.8pc killed! Why? Britain lost, Japan won, in a battle for Malaya and Singapore, allied captives bundled to Sandakan to build an airport for the victorious Japanese empire which eventually marched the captives to death At least though, Aussies and Brits converge in Sandakan each year, to remember their dead, with large information generated on the fate of nearly each one collected and assembled by historian Lynette Silver. But, here is the second death march, far deadlier, yet almost unknown, when the fortune of the two empires in war reversed. The untold 2nd death march This is the untold, or untellable 2nd Death March. Starting with 6,000 Japanese soldiers deployed in deep interior Pensiangan and ordered to march to surrender when Japan lost, it ended with a mere 400 alive in Beaufort! The tragedy – nobody remember them, dying in vain! And information on them and the event is practically zero, the whole story muted, probably on account of shame and disgrace. I just had the luck. One day in early 2023, I was working on a story of the Rundum rebellion, I googled for info, suddenly the most unexpected snippet popped out. Here it is, and probably the one and only brief account on the suppressed 2nd Death March, written by American anthropologist and ethnographer, Thomas Rhys Williams, who was in North Borneo 1960-61 to do a very rare research on Murut Customary Behaviour. Thomas later published an article entitled 'The Form of a North Borneo Nativistic Behaviour'. Note, however, the American researcher and author never used the words '2nd Death March' which was later coined by author Maxwell Hall but the number of deaths was apparently so big or the survivors so drastically reduced, that it didn't escape his attention while more famous British historian like Owen Rutter avoided it completely. Vivid account by American on what happened Here it is, Williams' writing, quoted verbatim: 'On Dec 17, 1941, the Japanese invaded North Borneo with a force of 25,000 men. The main centres of occupation was established in Murut area at Tenom, Keningau, and Pensiangan. For three years large patrols of infantry regularly moved from these points through Murut territory, conscripting labor for construction of airfields, women for army prostitution centres, commandeering rice and other foodstuffs, imposing head taxes, fines and punishing offenders. In late 1943, allied guerrilla agents, parachuting into the area, enlisted Muruts in a force for raids on Japanese Patrols and outposts. Reoccupation of North Borneo by the Australian 9th Division led to heavy fighting through Tenom and Keningau. The 6,000 Japanese stationed in Pensiangan were ordered to stack arms and marched 150 miles to the coast and Beaufort to surrender. Australian army records show (only) 400 Japanese reached Beaufort. The remainder were killed by Muruts along the line of March (Tregonning 1958:221).' Died in the nether gloom for nothing There it is, as clear as it can be – there was actually a 'Second Death March', which I first published on February 5, 2023, in a Daily Express Sunday Special Report entitled 'Mystery of Sabah's 2nd Death March unravelled', although Thomas did not call it a '2nd death march', possibly because he wasn't aware of the first. Assuming Thomas' numbers were dead accurate, a death toll of 5,600 is far worse than the 2,434 Allied POWs dead in the 1st Sandakan-Ranau Death March, most of whom (about 1,400) actually died in Sandakan POW camp. For the eventual Japanese losers – all died in ignominy – public shame and disgrace covered up, accorded zero mention, compared to the annual heroic commemoration treatment for the Allied POWs killed in Sandakan-Ranau death march. That's war for domination, a zero sum game – losing soldiers die for nothing. Generals and emperors who order them to battle in the nether gloom of hostile distant jungles to cut down enemies for control and power, abandon them in the end. Track records: Two harbingers of death This is the sobering geopolitical lesson for serious reflection, in a world now simmering with war hawks in high places calling for a battle for national supremacy, beating up war drums and actively preparing war, instead of diplomacy for common prosperity. Since unsung Sabah had hosted the horrors and sorrows of two killer death marches, these are harbingers of death – omens, signs, symbols that foreshadow possibly a march towards worse recurrence approaching us and beyond, if the solid track records of two death marches in Sabah are not remembered and taken to heart and finally inspire no transformative impacts. So, maybe there is more value to peace-making to highlight lesson from Sabah's two death marches – two killer track records driven by relentless hostility, cruelty ending in deliberate, wilful mass slaughter. Eloquent venture capitalist Eric Li who understands investment risks best says he trusts only proven track records. Here is little Sabah, which hosted two track records of death marches where two empires take turn to lose wars and suffered. So, who won? Map on 2nd Death March route So, I was determined to dig into what this obscure 2nd Death March is all about, after being over exposed to the first. When Tham Yau Kong invited a trip to visit Tenom last Tuesday to see the little known Lanut Carved Rocks Garden yonder further down famed Sapong, somehow, this field experience magnified what was a pure academic interest two years ago. The reality of the 2nd death march escalated from what I published on 5 Feb 2023 purely as head awareness. First, like the Aussie army Mud Map which plots the whole length of the 1st death march that Lynette gave Tham in 2005, leading to a full identification of the direction of the track, Tham gave me Maxwell Hall's map from his book 'Kinabalu Guerrillas'. This map indicates main connecting dots Maxwell calls the '2nd Death March', as follows: Pensiangan-Rundum-Kemabong- Sapong-Tenom-Beaufort. Field trip to Layan Carved Rocks Garden Glad to be back to my old love as 'roving reporter', 28/5/25 headed for outback destination Layang Layang, 8km from Sapong and 28 km from Tenm town. Arriving, you see first a flourishing cabbage farm stretching far yonder, dubbed second Kundasang. Our real interest, however, was the carved rock garden – a one kilometre walk into a jungle one kilometre above the cabbage farm. Rubin Kumuah, land owner of Layang Layang, led the uphill trek. We came to a big boulder – one of a scattered dozen that was covered by green moss. Botak, Rubin's loyal decades-old Indonesian worker, cleared the mosses, carvings surfaced but they looked like abstract art to me. Straining harder for a mind of the carvers, I saw possibly a deer head and other guesses. Rubin: 'My parents reported many Japanese here' So what did land owner Rubin Kumuah had to say about Lanut Carved Rocks Garden which he owns? He cited his parents: 'Papa dan ibu saya cakap banyak Jipun berkhemah di kawasan ni.' Translated, it means 'My father and mother (Lanut) said many Japanese army camped here'. To pit camps in the rock garden, the Japanese must have walked on existing tracks that passed by here. So, even though Layang Layang is not marked on Maxwell's map, it could well be a passage or approximate track of the 2nd death march, which gives us at least a mental grip about the reality of this major WW2 episode in Sabah. Of course, the inevitable question is: who did these rock carvings? Rubin said again: 'According to my parents, the Muruts of old did it but according to my brothers, when words were out that they were treasure maps carved by passing Japanese troops, treasure hunters went digging but found nothing'. Prospects for tourism The question is, can a combination of rock carving, Japanese camp site and passage of the 2nd death march be developed into a tourism product? Tham answered: 'In 2019, Rubin introduced his Rock Carving Garden to us, it attracted a few groups of hikers but when the Covid Pandemic struck with strict movement control, hikers stopped completely.' 'When we restarted trekking in mid-2024, we discovered no less than 10 carved boulders and when Rubin suggested this site be named after his mother, we came up with 'Lanut Rock Carving Garden'. Rubin's goal: 'I wanted to conserve these carved boulders for future generations who may benefit from rural tourism development.' Tham added: 'The Layang Layang area has at least 20km of tracks used by Muruts to walk from village to village, British officers used these as pony tracks to go from Tenom to Kemabong.' Heavy presence of Japanese in Murut heartland As Thomas Phys Williams noted, the Japanese military deployed a strong presence in Tenom, Keningau and Pensiangan – all Murut heartlands. In the case of Tenom, they set up a military headquarter in Sapong, complete with an airstrip in its rubber estate into which General Baba flew into and out. To deploy 6,000 soldiers in Pensiangan, they only way then was to walk 150-mile over pony tracks or hunting trails from Tenom to Kemabong, Rundum to reach Pensiagngan and vice versa later, on the 2nd death march. In my maiden visit to Pensiangan in December 2021, local Murut leader, Ansom bin Putiang recalled Japanese military camps studded the banks of the Saliu river downstream Wreckage of Liberator bomber In the end, Tenom, Sapong, like all other owns of North Borneo were heavily bombed. Tham recalled in in the 70s, he saw near the Perkasa Hotel ¾ of wreckage of a Liberator bomber, either shot down or crashed during such bombing runs but in 2000, he saw only chunk of metal left, the rest all cut as scrap metal. The point is, given such big military deployment in deep interior of Sabah, Japan, had reasoned that as a rising industrial power , they had the right to colonise foreign lands, just at Britain, USA and all the European power had done. They had planned and no doubt expected to colonise entire Borneo long term but alas, after just 44 months of occupation, America whipped up a complete surprise – dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by a hydrogen bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, and Japan surrendered abruptly on August 15. Pensiangan too far for 9th Division to attack Although Japan formally surrendered on August 15, their forces in North Borneo continued to fight and elements of the Aussie 9th Division which landed in Labuan on June 10, continued to face combat in Tenom, Keningau and Beaufort was not taken until Sept 11, 1945. Pensiangan was apparently too deep going for the 9th Division which apparently did not target it for attack. What we know is, as Thomas Williams reported, 'the 6.000 Japanese stationed in Pensiangan were ordered to stack arms to march to Beaufort to surrender' but only 400 arrived . Maxwell Hall coined '2nd Death March' Maxwell Hall was the author who explicitly called this 'a second Death March', this time involving the Japanese and Muruts '. He wrote: 'The Murut warfare continued… When the Japanese soldiers left Pensiangan to march northwards to surrender to the Australians, they marched fully armed. By this time, the Muruts were masters of the route, which extended two hundred miles from Pensiangan to Beaufort….Death and dying spread out the whole way…..When they surrendered, the survivors were suffering all forms of tropical disease. It was a death march of Japanese… Just another example of bloodshed that took place…' In a discreet conversation in Pensiangan in December 2021, one time Murut headman, Ansom bin Puntiang, told me the locals were distributed guns towards the end of the war, what they did with it Ansom declined to say. Neither did Maxwell explain what he meant 'by this time, the Muruts were masters of the route'. 'All empires become arrogant' – Commentator Has the world learnt from the horrors of wars for power and control, like Sabah's two death marches? 'Fundamentally no,' says Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, Canberra. 'All empires become arrogant, it is their nature,' observes Edward Rutterford. 'The earth is littered with empires that once believed they were eternal,' noted Percy Bessshe Shelby. On a parting note from Cliff James: 'The temple of empires comes tumbling down, the names of the mighty forgotten. Here is a parable: Power never last.' Transformative tip from the 'Good Samaritan' So what virtues and values last? When will the nations drop their hostile minds and lust for power and domination? Here's just one transformative tip from the story of the Good Samaritan, who not only lived by extraordinary kindness but radically blind to ethnic superiority and racial barriers.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Kosei Tanaka Retires at 29 After Repeated Eye Injuries
FOUR-DIVISION world champion Kosei Tanaka has called time on his professional career at the age of 29 due to repeated eye injuries, the Japanese fighter said. Tanaka is the fastest boxer to earn belts at four different weights, winning the WBO strawweight, light-flyweight, flyweight and super-flyweight titles in 21 bouts, surpassing American Oscar De La Hoya's record of 24 fights. Having made his professional debut at 18, Tanaka retires with a record of 20-2. His last fight was in October when he lost to South Africa's Phumelele Cafu. He said he underwent surgery on both eyes after the bout. "I'm retiring as a professional boxer. 11 years of professional life ... The reason is all about my repeated eye injuries...," Tanaka posted on social media on Wednesday. "Due to the effects of hernia operations on my neck and many, many operations on my eyes alone in the four years from 2021, my eyes have become brittle and I can no longer spar, let alone compete. "I decided to retire because there was no way for me to get into the ring."
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Japan's four-division world champion Tanaka retires at 29 due to eye injuries
FOUR-DIVISION world champion Kosei Tanaka has called time on his professional career at the age of 29 due to repeated eye injuries, the Japanese fighter said. Tanaka is the fastest boxer to earn belts at four different weights, winning the WBO strawweight, light-flyweight, flyweight and super-flyweight titles in 21 bouts, surpassing American Oscar De La Hoya's record of 24 fights. Having made his professional debut at 18, Tanaka retires with a record of 20-2. His last fight was in October when he lost to South Africa's Phumelele Cafu. He said he underwent surgery on both eyes after the bout. "I'm retiring as a professional boxer. 11 years of professional life ... The reason is all about my repeated eye injuries...," Tanaka posted on social media on Wednesday. "Due to the effects of hernia operations on my neck and many, many operations on my eyes alone in the four years from 2021, my eyes have become brittle and I can no longer spar, let alone compete. "I decided to retire because there was no way for me to get into the ring."
