SPM opens doors but is not the only gateway to meaningful life

New Straits Times

08-05-2025

THE announcement of this year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results brought a wave of excitement across the country.
With 14,179 candidates achieving straight As — the highest in over a decade — there is much to be proud of.
But as headlines rightfully celebrate these achievements, it's worth remembering this: SPM opens many doors but it is not the only road to a meaningful life.
To those who didn't get as many As as they'd hoped, your journey is just getting started.
According to the Education Ministry, 1,789 candidates — about 0.5 per cent of the students who sat for SPM 2024 — did not pass.
But this is not the end of the road. An exam reflects a moment in time — not the totality of your potential and certainly not your worth.
I say this from experience.
Several decades ago, I enrolled in an engineering programme at a local university because everyone else seemed to be doing it.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long before the cracks started to show. I struggled to connect with the study material and lectures began to feel more like background noise than inspiration. My grades slipped and my interest vanished.
And eventually, so did I — officially dismissed from the programme. I felt like my life had derailed.
But as life often proves, failure isn't always the end. Sometimes, it's the beginning of a better route.
I decided to start over. My SPM results were modest — mostly credits, with two As — but they were enough to get me started.
I enrolled in a diploma programme, the first step in a longer journey that eventually led to a degree, a Master's and, ultimately, a PhD.
It wasn't a straight path.
My peers were graduating, building careers and moving ahead while I was finding my footing and figuring out who I was meant to become.
In hindsight, that was exactly what I needed.
It gave me time to figure out what truly mattered.
That winding path eventually led me to where I am today: an educator in Islamic economics and finance, a field I now consider a calling.
It wasn't the most direct route but it taught me patience, resilience and the quiet determination to keep going.
It's also why the concept of grit resonates so strongly.
Professor Dr Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, defines grit as a combination of passion and perseverance in pursuit of long-term goals.
In her landmark 2007 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, she found that grit — more than IQ, exam scores or raw talent — was the strongest predictor of success across diverse settings, from Ivy League undergraduates to West Point military cadets.
The paper, which has since been cited over 11,000 times in academic literature, showed that those who kept going — especially when things got difficult — were the ones most likely to succeed.
In today's world, where change is constant and challenges are many, that kind of perseverance matters more than ever.
Yes, SPM is important. It opens doors. It signals discipline and potential.
But it is not the only road to a fulfilling future. Nor is it the only way to define your worth.
In Malaysia today, there are more routes to success than ever before.
Vocational training, polytechnic programmes, digital skills development, entrepreneurship, creative fields — all of these are legitimate and valuable.
Some students may thrive in conventional academic settings. Others may shine through hands-on work, innovation or business ventures. We need all of them.
To students celebrating today: well done. Walk through the doors your hard work has opened. But stay hungry, be kind and never stop growing.
To those who feel unsure or are left behind: keep walking. Keep building your own road.
SPM is not the final word. Some of life's best lessons happen outside exam halls.
They happen when you get up, dust yourself off and keep going anyway.
That is grit.
And in the long run, grit will carry you further than any exam ever could.