The desire to provide comfort for her parents was one of the biggest factors that drove Fatimah Zahrah Jaafar to obtain 11As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination results that were announced today.

The 18-year-old, who is the third of five siblings, said she was raised in a middle-income family, with her 56-year-old father Jaafar Tarmidi working as a farmer while her 46-year-old mother Noriah Daud is a housewife.

Fatimah, a student of Sekolah Menengah Agama (SMA) Jawahir Al-Ulum, Senggarang, near here, said that besides striving to change her family’s fortune, her success was also the result of her parents’ blessings, in addition to her daily practice of tahajud and solat prayers and reading the Al-Quran.

“I feel said watching my father having to take up job offers up to Segamat daily to put food on the table for us five while our mothers watches over all of us who are still schooling.

“My failure to excel in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination also drove me to do better this time,” said Fatimah when met at her home in Kampung Parit Baru, near here, today.

She also explained that her success in getting all As in the SPM was her belated gift for her parents, who celebrated their birthdays on May 8 and May 18.

Regarding her studies, she said she would usually give her full attention in class and ask her teachers for clarification whenever she doesn’t understand what is taught.

“After SPM, I plan to study until the Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and aspire to further my studies either in Jordan or Egypt in the field of education.

“I also want to be an educator because I think it is a very honourable career. I also want to share my knowledge with everyone,” she said, adding that she also aspires to send her parents to perform Haj and umrah.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency