PENANG recorded its best Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) performance in 2025, with the state’s cumulative grade point average (CGPA) rising to 2.99 from 2.96 the previous year.
Penang Education Department deputy director Mohamad Zawawi Ahmad said the result was the state’s highest since STPM was introduced.
A total of 1,552 candidates sat for the examination out of 1,590 registered candidates, delivering a 97.6% attendance rate.
“Penang’s CGPA increased by 0.03 points compared with 2024.
“This is the highest state CGPA achieved since the STPM examination was introduced,” he told reporters after announcing the results on Thursday.
Mohamad Zawawi said 90 candidates obtained a perfect 4.0 CGPA, accounting for 5.8% of those who sat for the examination, up from 5.59% in 2024.
Another 766 candidates, or 49.4%, scored between 3.0 and 3.99 while 556 candidates, or 35.82%, obtained between 2.0 and 2.99.
Some 140 candidates, or 9.02%, scored below 2.0.
The percentage obtaining full passes in four or five subjects rose to 99.16% from 98.59% in 2024.
SMJK Chung Ling student Jeremy Lim Wei Yu was the only candidate in Penang to score 5As.
He was named the state’s top STPM student and the national top student in the Science stream.
Mohamad Zawawi said 22 candidates registered for five subjects, compared with 17 in 2024.
Saw Xin En from Kolej Tingkatan Enam Haji Zainul Abidin was named top STPM student in the special needs category for visually impaired candidates.
Ong Xue Ying from SMJK Chung Ling Butterworth was named the top Chinese language student.
Jeremiah Selva from Kolej Tingkatan Enam Haji Zainul Abidin was named the country’s top candidate for the Malaysian University English Test.
Mohamad Zawawi said the number of registered STPM candidates in Penang dropped from 1,725 in 2024 to 1,590 this year as many school leavers accepted offers for foundation, diploma, skills-based or TVET programmes.
Despite the decline, Form Six enrolment appeared to be improving, with 1,628 students currently in Semester Two, he said, attributing the increase to promotional efforts by schools, district education offices and the state education department.
Kolej Tingkatan Enam Haji Zainul Abidin in George Town and Kolej Tingkatan Enam Desa Murni in Sungai Dua were recognised as the country’s best Sixth Form colleges of 2025.
It was the first time Penang had received the national honour.
Mohamad Zawawi said 14 of the 22 subjects offered recorded higher full-pass rates while Usuluddin (Fundamentals of Islam) and Visual Arts achieved 100% pass rates.
