Top student pays tribute to her mum

All smiles: Zee Hwe (second from left) with Lim Yu Qi (third from left) and Nur Aina Najwa Mohd Taib (second from right) showing their SPM 2022 results to their respective mothers (from left) Lew, Lee Siew Chin and Noor Azlina Omar at SM Infant Convent Jesus Johor Bahru, in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

JOHOR BARU: Growing up with a single parent motivated Lee Zee Hwe to score 10 A+ in her 2022 SPM results.

The 18-year-old student from SM Infant Convent Jesus Johor Bahru paid tribute to her mother, Lew Jit Luang, 52, who holds two jobs to raise her and her younger sister.

She added that her mother was a housewife but their lives took a drastic change when Zee Hwe’s father died in 2018.

“My mother has been a rock for me and my sister. She works as an administrative assistant and she also has a part-time job for the past five years so that we can have a comfortable life,” she said when met after receiving her SPM results at her school here yesterday.

She said her father Lee Kok Bin, 47, died of a heart attack when she was in Form One.

Her father was their family’s only breadwinner and her mother had to find jobs to raise the family.

“My mother always reminded us to focus on our studies and not worry about other things. Her sacrifice pushed me to work hard and make her proud,” said Zee Hwe, who plans to get a degree in pharmacy.

She said her younger sister, who now goes to the same school as she did, would be sitting for her SPM examination this school term.

School principal Ande Noor Munawara Bachok said Zee Hwe was the school’s best SPM 2022 candidate.

She added that Zee Hwe, who was the school’s former head prefect, is a good example of a student who can find a balance between her studies and co-curriculum activities.

“Besides achieving success in her studies, Zee Hwe is very active in school through our choir group. She can play guitar and has a good singing voice,” she added.

Ande Noor said 180 candidates sat for the 2022 SPM examination.

The school achieved 100% passing marks with 32 of them getting straight As.

“Their good results are a perfect parting gift for me as I will be retiring in August this year after 39 years in the education field,” she added.

Johor Education Department said that a total of 1,129 SPM candidates in the state obtained A+, A and A- in all subjects taken.

The department’s (school management sector) deputy director Anuar Sukiran said the results were the best in five years.

He said 20 SPM candidates obtained A+ for all subjects.

“The number of school candidates who registered in the state to sit for the SPM examination in 2022 was 42,795 candidates compared to 50,330 candidates in 2021.

“The national average grade (GPN) of Johor in 2022 is 4.59, which is an increase of 0.16 points compared to 4.75 in 2021,” he said.

He said the state’s SPM GPN index also surpassed the national GPN achievement for nine consecutive years.