JOHOR BARU: Muhammad Razien Ismail has proven that having dyslexia does not hinder learning, as evidenced by his impressive seven As in his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.
The 18-year-old said that he was pleasantly surprised after seeing his SPM results online. He repeatedly logged in to confirm its authenticity.
“I thought that I had keyed in my MyKad number wrongly. But after several checks, I realised there were no mistakes.
“I am really happy to have scored an A+ for History, which is my favourite subject in school,” he said when met at home in Taman Air Biru here yesterday.
ALSO READ : Better scores for SPM
Muhammad Razien added that he is grateful to have great teachers and friends at SMK Pasir Gudang 3 as they played a huge part in his achievement.
“My teachers gave us a lot of homework, which helped train me on how to answer questions during my SPM examinations, while my friends also helped me understand the lessons better as we always studied together.
“It pays to listen to our teachers as they only want what is good for us,” he said, adding that he hopes to be a human resources manager in the near future.
When asked which universities he wants to further his tertiary education at, Muhammad Razien said he wants to be near his home.
His mother, Ramnah Daud, 55, said the family is overjoyed with Muhammad Razien’s achievement.
She added that when he was in kindergarten, she and her husband, factory worker Ismail Salijan, 58, noticed that their son was unable to read or write.
“We brought him to see a doctor.
“He was diagnosed with dyslexia, which broke our hearts as we knew he would have difficulty in learning,” she said.
Ramnah added that Muhammad Razien was placed in a special needs class in primary school and that things started to improve for him when he entered secondary school.
“We only prayed that Muhammad Razien would be able to pass his SPM examinations just to get his certificate.
“But to get seven As is a blessing for him,” she said.
Johor achieved a state average grade of 4.48 for the 2023 SPM examinations, the highest in the last five years.