How 3 SPM students defied the odds and rewrote their stories

 Aqlee Azlan, Aidil Abdullah, and Haris Haikal urge fellow SPM candidates not to struggle in silence but to reach out for support.

(From left) Haris Haikal , Aidil Abdullah and Aqlee Azlan joined study groups that met for four hours every day, reviewing lessons and sharing notes.

PETALING JAYA:

 They were written off as underperformers with no future, but three secondary school students from poor families took fate in their own hands three months before their SPM exams.

They banded together to form study groups after having met at an intensive tuition course.

A pass at the SPM seemed like a far-fetched dream for Aqlee Azlan, and he had decided to become a food delivery rider. He said he was unmotivated, overwhelmed and disconnected from his studies.

“I was getting really low grades. I had no reason to study, no drive. I felt like I couldn’t cope,” he told FMT.

Aqlee Azlan.

But everything changed when he decided to take charge of his future and turned to his friends for help.

He held small study discussions and asked for guidance on Mathematics and Science, the subjects that he struggled with the most.

“No one, not even me, expected I would pass,” he said. “If I didn’t put in the effort, I would probably be unemployed, or maybe become a food rider. But more than that, I would have been stuck, depressed, without direction.”

Aqlee eventually scored 5Bs in Malay, English, Maths, Science, and Islamic Studies. Today, he dreams of becoming a culinary entrepreneur, blending his love for food with automation to make cooking more accessible.

“I studied 12 hours a day for two months before the exams. It wasn’t easy, but I learned that without risk, there’s no reward.”

Aqlee was a participant of a pilot project by Dutch Lady Milk Industries in collaboration with the education ministry, which offered 20 students from poor families a three-month intensive tuition programme before their SPM examinations.

The company’s corporate affairs director, Ezmir Hazizi Azhar, said they picked students who were really weak in their studies. Some of them had failed in all their subjects.

“It would have been easier to invest in bright students but our aim was to give a second chance to the weak and those from the urban poor,” he told FMT, adding that their next project will be in Sarawak.

Stateless with hope

Aidil Abdullah.

For 18-year-old Aidil Abdullah, the journey was not just about overcoming poor grades, it was about finding hope despite his legal status.

A Malaysian by birth, Aidil remains stateless due to complications in his family’s situation. His father is Malaysian, his mother Indonesian, but was not registered at birth.

“I have always been an average student with big dreams. Being stateless made everything feel more uncertain, more difficult,” he told FMT.

But he pushed forward, earning 6As in subjects including History, Malay, English, Science and Food Processing.

He plans to pursue a diploma in nursing; his true ambition is to become a doctor – but he is unable to register for medicine due to the high cost involved.

As for Haris Haikal, he never imagined being able to pass in English, Maths, or Science.

“I never had confidence in myself. I always thought I wasn’t smart enough. I usually failed my subjects,” said the teenager, who scored 3Bs, 4Cs, and a D in his SPM.

The turning point

Haris Haikal.

But the final few months before the exam changed everything. Haris joined a study group that met for four hours each day reviewing lessons and sharing notes.

“The group helped boost my confidence. We supported each other, and for the first time, I started to believe I could do better,” he said.

His eyes are now set on becoming an automotive engineer and eventually opening his own workshop. The SPM results, he said, are proof that even the seemingly impossible can happen with hard work and the right support.

“To anyone sitting for SPM, don’t give up. Find your support group, share knowledge and don’t suffer in silence,” he said.  - FMT