New World Record - SPM 19A1 scorer!

Yes, it's been revealed - this year there is a 19A1 scorer by a Malay girl from Johor! Read more about it here: Utusan Malaysia article.

WALAU.

This has become a hot discussion topic in ReCom (the student forum I frequent). I did offer my two cents as well:

She might be really smart, and I congratulate her sincerely for the brilliant result. Presumably she must have put a lot of effort in the preparation process, and regardless of any suspected ulterior motives or conspiracy theories, the result she's reaping is definitely a personal achievement that should be lauded.

The point we should raise from this news, is not whether she's really that smart or good at studies (two of them are not equivalent), because you can only tell if you know her in real life. She might be vain, or is simply ambitious, but that's not known to us so any accusation here would be judgmental, and potentially sour grapes. In this case, no conjecture would do her any justice.

Instead of discussing her ambition or motives, what we should reflect on are the issues raised by the insane amount of A1s in general:

• the disproportionate attention our society is giving to the number of A1s
  
• the loss of differentiating power in SPM results
  
• the exacerbation of mark-driven education
  
• the unhealthy rat race of SPM quantities instead of qualities
  
• the continuation of scholarship-related clamor (which is related to the loss of differentiating power)
  

Some people might also be suspicious about the racial factor of the top scorer in the past few years, but that will only remain as a subject of hypothesis. And that would be inconvenient for me to discuss as well.

By the way, ReCom has had many discussions about the amount of SPM subjects in the past. Read through those discussions if you are interested:
Proposal to limit the maximum of 12 subjects for SPM
Lots of A1, does it show anything?
I want more A1 in SPM! The Motivation
High achievers in studies turning into national celebrities?