Berry Berry Top Public University in Malaysia (IPTA) Year 2010

March 10, 2010

Berry Berry Easy will be publishing the “biased” list of Top Public University in Malaysia (IPTA). Every list that are published usually will have its own detractors and admirers. So, do not read too much into the ranking of this list. It’s totally unscientific and based upon the perception of the Berry Berry Team.(And yes, we do know that USM is the only APEX university in Malaysia. Yet, most published world rankings put UM above USM. )




Berry Berry Easy would also like to inform the public on the nature of such lists. It is often that the overall ranking of a university do not reflect the quality of the individual schools/faculty. So it is best if students who are interested in registering a specific course take note of the individual faculty ranking rather than the overall university ranking. (For example: A top ranked school might not have not have a better faculty of engineering as compared to a middle range university’s faculty of engineering). Also, the metric used to gauge a university might not be agreeable between from person to person. Most list weighs heavily on research excellence, but students might be more interested in quality of teaching alone. So take list with a pinch of salt and enjoy our Berry Berry List. We hope to spark some discussion on the comments section with this list.

Berry Berry Top Public University in Malaysia (IPTA) Year 2010

The top 10

1. Universiti Malaya / Malaya University or University of Malaya (UM), 1905 located at Kuala Lumpur.
2. Universiti Sains Malaysia / University of Science, Malaysia (USM), 1969 located at Gelugor, Penang.
3. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia / National University of Malaysia (UKM), 1970 located at Bangi, Selangor.
4. Universiti Putra Malaysia / Putra University of Malaysia (UPM), 1971 located at Serdang, Selangor.
5. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia / University of Technology, Malaysia (UTM), 1972 located at Skudai, Johor.
6. Universiti Teknologi Mara / MARA University of Technology (UiTM), 1999 located at Shah Alam, Selangor.
7. Universiti Malaysia Sabah / University of Malaysia, Sabah (UMS), 1994 located at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
8. Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIA) / International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), 1983 located at Gombak, Selangor.
9. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak / University of Malaysia, Sarawak (UNIMAS), 1992 located at Kota Samarahan, Sarawak
10. Universiti Utara Malaysia / Utara University, Malaysia (UUM), 1984 located at Sintok, Kedah.

Unranked

• Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia / Islamic Science University of Malaysia, 1998 located at Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.
• Universiti Malaysia Pahang / University of Malaysia, Pahang (UMP), 2002 located at Kuantan, Pahang.
• Universiti Malaysia Perlis / University of Malaysia, Perlis, 2001 located at Arau, Perlis.
• Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris / Sultan Idris University of Education (UPSI), 1997 located at Tanjung Malim, Perak.
• Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka / Technical University of Malaysia, Melaka (UTeM), 2000 located at Durian Tunggal, Melaka
• Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia / Tun Hussein Onn University of Malaysia (UHTM), 2000 located at Batu Pahat, Johor.
• Universiti Malaysia Kelantan / University of Malaysia, Kelantan (UMK), 2006 located at Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan.
• Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia / National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM), 2006 located at Kuala Lumpur.
• Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia / Darul Iman University of Malaysia (UDM), 2005 located at Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.
• University Malaysia Terengganu / University of Malaysia, Terenganu (UMT), 1999 located at Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

We welcome all discussion regarding this list. Tell us what you think.

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SPM Results 2009 – NS Trainees are Allowed to Go Back Earlier

March 8, 2010

This is an unscheduled post by Berry Berry Easy to disseminate the breaking news for the benefit of the National Service (NS) trainees (and their family members) who would be collecting their SPM 2009 results on 11th March 2010.

SPM Results 2009 – First Batch of NS Trainees Allowed to Go Back Home – 10th March 2010

The Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ahamd Hamidi made the announcement that the first batch of NS trainees may return home on 10th of March 2010, in time to be with their families to collect their SPM results. This meant that they will be able to go home four days ahead of the earlier proposed schedule. It is said that the first batch is made up of 30,219 trainees currently undergoing training in 79 camps in the whole of Malaysia.

So parents, please take note and remember to pick up your children. For other readers, please inform those who might be interested in this piece of news.

Posted in: Berry Announcement | 1 Comment »

Berry Berry Easy Upcoming Education Events 2010 – Overseas

March 7, 2010

Ever dreamt of going overseas to study? But brush away the idea from your head thinking that you cannot afford it? Well, get that thinking off your head and start thinking positively. Go attend education fairs, there will be scholarships on offer. Some waives application fee. You’ll even get goodie bags. So, all school leavers please take note!!! Berry Berry Easy wish to inform both STPM and SPM-leavers to take note on the upcoming education fairs or seminars. So, you would-be globe-trotters, get ready to visit:

Upcoming Education Events in Malaysia 2010 (1) for Oversea Studies

1) Berry Berry Easy Information on Education in Australia 2010

So if you want to see the outbacks and experience the laid-back style of the Aussies, check out:

Friday, 5 March 2010

• Venue: IDP Subang Jaya
• Time: 11.00 am to 4.00 pm

Saturday, 6 March 2010

• Venue: Seri Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
• Time: 11.00 am to 5.00 pm

Sunday, 7 March 2010

• Venue: G Hotel, Penang
• Time: 12.00 noon to 5.00 pm

Tuesday, 9 March 2010

• Venue: The Puteri Pacific Hotel, Johor Bahru
• Time: 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm

Thursday, 11 March 2010

• Venue: Hilton Hotel, Kuching
• Time: 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm

Friday, 12 March 2010

• Venue: Le Meridien Hotel, Kota Kinabalu
• Time: 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm

For more information: http://www.malaysia.idp.com/upcoming_events_2009.aspx

2) Berry Berry Easy Information on Education in the United Kingdom (UK) 2010

Excited about the English Premier League? Want to be near the action? Or you just love the Britsh accent? Then maybe studying in UK will be a good experience for you. So head out to:

Saturday, 20 March 2010 – Sunday, 21 March 2010

• Venue: Hall 1, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur
• Time 1.00 pm – 6.00 pm

Tuesday, 23 Mar 2010

• Venue: Grand Ballroom, G Hotel, Penang
• Time: 1.00 pm – 6.00 pm

Thursday, 25 Mar 2010

• Venue: Petra Room, Pullman Hotel, Kuching
• Time: 1.00 pm – 6.00 pm

Saturday, 27 Mar 2010

• Venue: Ballroom, Le Meridien, Kota Kinabalu
• Time: 1.00 pm – 6.00 pm

For more information: http://www.britishcouncil.org/malaysia.htm

3) Berry Berry Easy Information on Education in Germany 2010

Which is the largest economy in Europe? Yes, Germany. Which is the place where most great cars are made? Think Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen.. Yes, Germany again! So if you are interested in technical courses, Germany might be the destination for you. So try check out the options below and try to gather more information.

Information and advice:

Daad Information Centre KL
No. 1, Jalan Langgak Golf
55000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel No.: 03 – 21480568
Fax: 03 – 21480568
E-Mail: info@daadkl.org
WWW: ic.daad.de/kualalumpur

Dr. Harald Olk
University of Malaya
German Section
Fakulti Bahasa Dan Linguistik
(Dept. of Asian and European Languages)
50503 Kuala Lumpu
E-Mail: info@daadkl.org

Application and Information:
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
26th floor, Menaratan & Tan
207 Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur

For more information: http://www.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/07535.de.html

3a) Study Visits / Study Seminars and Practicals in Germany by Groups of Foreign Students

• Objective: to carry out a study visit / study seminar and practical training in Germany under the leadership of a university teacher.
• Target Group: student groups.
• Application deadlines: 15 November / 15 February /15 May each year.

3b) University Summer Courses in Germany for Foreign Students and Graduates

• Objective: to attend a German language and area studies course or technical language course offered by a state or state-recognised German higher education institution.
• Target Group: students and graduates.

4) Get Berry Berry Easy Information on Education in Japan 2010

Sushi, sumo wrestling, shinkansen, Doraemon and Ayumi Hamasaki. What do they have in common? I don’t think I need to answer that for any of you readers. If you are interested in the Japanese culture, you might want to experience life there by spending your tertiary education life over there. So, for those who are interested, do check out:

Education Counselling Service at Japan Information Service (JIS), Embassy of Japan for year 2010 is available at http://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/English/JIS/study.htm

Generally, Education Counselling Service is available from 10:00 am-12:00 noon every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (except public holidays and embassy holidays).

If you have any enquiries about studying in Japan, you may call 03-21772600 (ext. 185) during counselling hours. You may also visit the Education Counsellor at the embassy (walk-in) during counselling hours. Although no reservation is required, you are advised to call to enquire if the Education Counsellor is available at JIS before making your trip to the Embassy of Japan.

So there you go, four locations as recommended by the Berry Berry Teacher if you are thinking of heading to overseas for your tertiary education. So do check out the fairs or write them a line if you are interested in any of the places. We have heard of many stories of unexpected scholarship offers in the fairs. Now the difficult question, where to go? Australia? The United Kingdom? Germany? or Japan?

Posted in: Berry Announcement, Berry Recommendation (Recommendation) | 4 Comments »

SPM Biology Form 4 Notes – Terminology and Concepts: Cell Structure and Cell Organisation (Part IV)

March 6, 2010

Finally, the 4th or concluding post in the series for SPM Biology Form 4 notes on Cell Structure and Cell Organisation.(Do check out the previous three post on the same topic, easiest to find by clicking on “related posts”) To close this chapter, Berry Berry Easy would like to focus on cell organisation and their differences in various organisms. Be sure to read all four posts as a whole to understand the whole picture.

SPM Form 4 – Terminology and Concepts: Cell Structure and Cell Organisation (Part IV)

Cell Organisation

Unicellular – A single cell performs all the basic life process. Example: Amoeba sp., Paramecium sp., Chlamydomonas, Bacteria and Euglena.

Multicellular – An organism consists of more than one cell. Each group of cell specialized to carry our life processes. Example: Homo sapien (human), animals and plants. It has five levels of organisation

1. Cells: basic units of structure and function.
   Example: Red blood cells and xylem vessel cells.
2. Tissues: made up of cells with similar in structure and function.
   Example: Epithelial tissues and vascular tissues.
3. Organs: made up of tissues that perform a specific function.
   Example: Heart and flower.
4. System: two of more organs that perform a specific function.
   Example: Digestive system and root system.
5. Organisms: whole living thing that carry out all the basic life processes.
   Example: Human and durian tree.

Cell Organisation (Unicellular) in Amoeba sp. (lives in freshwater ponds) and Paramecium sp. (lives in soil and moist area)

1. Cell structure

• Amoeba sp.: plasma membrane, food vacuole, contractile vacuole, pseudopodium, nucleus, ectoplasma, endoplasm.
• Paramecium sp.: food vacuole, posterior contractile vacuole, cytostome, gullet, oral groove, cilia, macronucleus, micronucleus, anterior contractile vacuole.

2. Locomotion

• Amoeba sp.: Pseudopodium (false foot) helps it to move forward slowly and it is known as amoeboid movement.
• Paramecium sp.: Hair-like cilia to beat against water. It beats its cilia backwards diagonally (swim forward) and it rotates on its axis. It beats its cilia forward (swim backwards).

3. Feeding

• Amoeba sp.: Omnivore. Eat bacteria, plant cells, algae and other microscopic organisms.

1. Entrapment – extend pseudopodium.
2. Engulfment – engulf tiny food (phagocytosis) with its pseudopodia.
3. Digestion – food enclosed in food vacuole
4. Absorption – enzyme digests the bacteria
5. Egesting – expel indigestible material.

• Paramecium sp.: Eat bacteria, organic material and other microscopic organisms.

1. Sweeping – movement of cilia. Food moves along the oral groove into the gullet and cytostome.
2. Digestion – food vacuole circulates round the cell.
3. Elimination – undigested food is eliminated at the anal pore.

4. Reproduction

• Amoeba sp.: two types of reproduction.

1. Binary Fission – nucleus divides (favourable condition) and then follows by division of cytoplasm. Two daughter cells are formed (mitotic division).
2. Spore Formation – spores form (bad condition) and germinate into new amoeba under favourable condition.

• Paramecium sp.: two types of reproduction.

1. Binary Fission – micronucleus undergoes mitosis (favourable condition). Macronucleus begins to elongation and form two. Cell content divide and two daughter cells are formed.
2. Conjugation (Sexual reproduction) – two same species parent paramecia exchange genetic material of their micronuclei. Each parent divides and forms four daughter cells.

5. Osmoregulation

• Amoeba sp.: water moves into the cell by osmosis and prevention of bursting, it has a contractile vacuole.
• Paramecium sp.: water moves into the cell by osmosis and prevention of bursting, it has two contractile vacuoles.

6. Respiration

• Amoeba sp. and Paramecium sp. (both): exchange gases throughout the whole cell membrane

7. Excretion

• Amoeba sp. and Paramecium sp. (both): waste products are ammonia and carbon dioxide by diffusion. Solid waste in paramecium is expelled through its anal pore.

Cell Organisation (Multicellular) in Human

1. Cells: Epithelial cells, muscle cells, white blood cells, red blood cells, sperm, nerve cells.
2. Tissues: Epithelial tissue, smooth muscle tissue, connective tissue, skeletal tissue, nerve tissue.
3. Organs: Stomach, heart, kidney, lung, liver.
4. Systems: Circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, excretory system, muscular system, lymphatic system, integumentary system, skeletal system, nervous system, endocrine system, reproductive system.
5. Organisms: Human.

Cell Organisation in Plant

1. Cells: Parenchyma cells, collenchyma cells, sclerenchyma cells, epidermal cells.
2. Tissues: Epidermal tissue, meristem tissue, vascular tissue.
3. Organs: Leaf organ, flower organ, stem organ, root organ.
4. Systems: Shoot system, root system.
5. Organisms: Plant.

So do revise on all four posts in the series if you want to understand the gist of Cell Structure and Cell Organisation. Especially useful for Form 4 students who are new to SPM Biology.

Posted in: Berry Reference (Notes) | 2 Comments »

SPM 2009 Results Out on 11th March 2010

March 4, 2010

For Berry Readers who took their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) in 2009, wait no longer! Results will be out in the 11th of March 2010. The news has been announced by Education director-general. It has also been reported in The Star and Bernama news portal today. So students can expect to wait for the announcement of the SPM results from 10am on 11th of March 2010. That’s exactly a week away.

SPM 2009 Results to be Announced on the 11th of March 2010

• School candidates who sat for their SPM examination in 2009 can take their results from their respective schools from 10am onwards on the announcement day.
• Private candidates can expect to receive their results by mail.
• Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) examinations candidates will also receive their results on the same day as of previous years.

SPM 2009 trivia:

• 165,853 students took the SPM written examination at 3,569 centres in Malaysia (18 Nov – 16 Dec 2009)
• 6,920 candidates took the STAM examination at 98 centres in Malaysia (19 Oct – 27 Oct 2009)
• It took only less than three months since the end of the exams to the public announcement of the results.

(Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/4/nation/20100304183241&sec=nation)

Be sure to collect your results on the day and inform your friends about it. All the best to SPM 2009 students. Do drop Berry Berry Easy a line on how you fare for your SPM.

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SPM Biology Form 4 Notes – Terminology and Concepts: Cell Structure and Cell Organisation (Part III)

March 4, 2010

This is the penultimate post from Berry Berry Easy (3rd of 4) in the series of notes in Cell Structure and Cell Organisation. Before you all forget what is from the previous two posts, let us do a recap on part 2 which involvedorganelles, mitochondria for animals, chloroplast for plants and the uniqueness of cells. Do check out also the first post that contained Mitochondrion, Nucleus, Neucleolus, Neucleoplasm, Chromosomes, Ribosomes, Endoplasmic reticulum and Plasma membrane. So, do distinguish the difference between animal and plant cells.

SPM Form 4 – Terminology and Concepts: Cell Structure and Cell Organisation (Part III)

Organelles – (little organ) tiny structures inside a cell that perform specific functions for a cell. Example: mitochondria, lysosome and chloroplast.

Mitochondria

• Animal: High density at sperm cells (at middle piece to provide sufficient energy for motive power), flight muscle cells (bird / avian), liver cells, meristematic / meristemic cells (involve with cell division), kidney cells, heart muscle cells, brain cells.

Chloroplasts

• Plant: High density at palisade mesophyll (leaf: below upper epidermis). It functions to trap sunlight to synthesise sugar during photosynthesis.

The Uniqueness of The Cell

A cell is unique:

1. Specialisation
2. Division of labour
3. Coordination and integration

Example of specialisation of cells :

• Animal – smooth muscle cell, neuron (nerve cell), white blood cell, red blood cell (erythrocyte), cheek cell (lining epithelial cell), sperm, ovum cell (the biggest cell in human)
• Plant – palisade mesophyll cell, xylem, phloem, guard cell.

Do check out the final post in the series for SPM Form 4 Biology notes on Cell Structure and Cell Organisation.

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Co-curriculum Marks for STPM/Form 6 leaver

March 3, 2010

Attention to all STPM leavers. This is an important post regarding your co-curriculum marks, which are especially important if you are applying for public universities in Malaysia. Since many students of the Berry Berry Teacher is asking this question, it is better for Berry Berry Easy to clarify this matter.

Attention: Clarification on Form 6/STPM Leaver Co-curriculum Marks

Regarding to young berries co-curriculum marks:

• You need to find your school counselor or senior assistant co-curriculum or class teacher (depends on your school administration)
• He/she will be holding all the co-curriculum book (the green colour book).
• Remember to bring paper and pen to copy all the marks or photocopy the page that you need to key in the UPU online form and return back to the counselor / senior assistant co-curriculum / class teacher.
• You cannot bring the book back! In case you lost it, school cannot trace back your marks and you only get minimum mark. (2 marks for every co-curriculum activity! Scary!)

So make sure you know what to do before you submit your UPU forms.

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SPM Chemistry Form 4 Notes – Terminology and Concepts: Chemical Formulae and Equations (Part 2)

March 2, 2010

This is the second part of the notes on Chemical Formulae and Equations that was posted on Berry Berry Easy some few days back. The first part focused on relative atomic mass, relative formula mass, relative molecular mass and the various scales from different atom types. So here we are, moving on to some tougher concepts. Let’s us get acquaintant with Mr Avogadro and see what we can further learn on this topic.

SPM Form 4 – Terminology and Concepts: Chemical Formulae and Equations (Part 2)

Berry Berry Scientist

Italian physicist Amedeo Avogadro (Name at birth: Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro)

• Born: 9 August 1776
• Birthplace: Turin, Piedmont, Italy
• Died: 9 July 1856
• Best Known As: The guy they named Avogadro’s number after

1. Avogadro constant / Avogadro’s number is 6.02 x 10²³

2. Atomic substances

• Elements – all the particles are atoms.
• Example: zinc (Zn), sodium (Na), aluminium (Al) and all noble gases, argon (Ar), helium (He) and neon (Ne).
• RAM (Relative Atomic Mass) of  Na = 23

3. Molecular substances

• Covalent compounds – the particles are molecules.
• Example: carbon dioxide (CO₂), water (H₂O) and non-metal elements, iodine (I₂), nitrogen (N₂) and oxygen (O₂).
• RMM (Relative Molecular Mass) of I₂ = 127 + 127 = 254

4. Ionic substances

• Ionic compounds – the particles are ions.
• Example: sodium chloride (NaCl), hydrochloric acid (HCl) and potassium iodide (KI).
• RFM (Relative Formula Mass) of HCl = 1 + 35.5 = 36.5

5. Avogadro’s Law / Gas Law states that equal volumes of all gases contain the same number of molecules under the same temperature and pressure.

• Example: equal volumes of molecular hydrogen and nitrogen would contain the same number of molecules under the same temperature and pressure.

6. Volume of gas (dm³) = Number of moles of gas x Molar volume

7. Room temperature and pressure (r.t.p.) = 24 dm³ mol^-1 (25°C and 1 atm)

• Example: What is the volume of 5.0 mol helium gas at s.t.p.?
• Volume of gas = Number of moles x Molar gas volume
  = 5.0 mol x 24 dm³ mol^-1
  = 120 dm³

8. Standard temperature and pressure (s.t.p.) = 22.4 dm³ mol^-1 (0°C and 1 atm)

• Example: What is the volume of 5.0 mol helium gas at s.t.p.?
• Volume of gas = Number of moles x Molar gas volume
  = 5.0 mol x 22.4 dm³ mol^-1
  = 112 dm³

9. Mass (g) = Number of moles x Molar mass

10. Number of particles = Number of moles x Avogadro constant

11. Volume (dm³) = Number of moles x Molar volume

Be sure to copy down all these formulae a few times on paper so that you will have a better chance recalling it in the future. Copying them onto a card to bring around will be very helpful.

Posted in: Berry Reference (Notes) | 2 Comments »

SPM 2009 Results Out – Prediction

March 1, 2010

It has come to the Berry Berry Easy team that the e-mails that we are receiving daily (adding to a couple of questions on the Berry Bising box and comments) are all about the release of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) dates.  So Berry Berry Jenius would like to make a calculated prediction on the date which the SPM results that will be released. It is purely speculative, no reliable sources were obtained. So the prediction are done to calm all your nerves.

Past year SPM results announcement:

• SPM 2006 – 12 March 2007 (Announced in The Star on the 28th February 2007)
• SPM 2007 – 12 March 2008 (Announced in The Star on the 03rd March 2008)
• SPM 2008 – 12 March 2009 (Announced in The Star on the 06th March 2009)

Prediction assumptions:

• Announcement of release date on newspapers will be at least 6 days before the real release of the results.
• Since, STPM 2009 results are out, SPM results should not be later than last year by much (if any).
• The gap between announcement and actual release are getting shorter every year. (From 12 days for SPM 2006, 9 days in SPM 2007 to 6 days in SPM 2008)
• However, don’t think it will be 3 days for SPM 2009. It should not follow arithmetic progression.
• In recent traditions, results are available towards the middle of the month.

So taking into consideration of assumption no.1 and no.2, and that weekends for the middle of the month in 2010 is on the 13/14th March 2010, the predicted dates are:

SPM 2009 Predicted Release Date – 15th March 2010.

15th March 2010 – Predicted date!!!

(or possibly also 12th March 2010, again!!!)

So until the real announcement are made, let us stop the speculation and start early application of colleges before the announcement of the results. Don’t waste time asking when the results will be announced. Berry Berry Easy will post the actual date once we get the news. (So all of you can stop typing “Keputusan SPM”, “When will SPM results come out?” or the likes on search engines)

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STPM Results 2009 on 25th February 2010 – The Summary (2)

February 28, 2010

This is the part two of the STPM 2009 Results summary as compiled from various newspapers online. As most newspapers had similar news articles, the set of news are sources from The Star between the announcement of the results until now.  Here goes the summary part 2 as compiled by Berry Berry Easy.

Summary of STPM Results 2009 – 25th February 2010 – The Summary Part 2 (Last update 4:43pm, 28th February 2010)

[Summarised from : The Star website ~ 4pm 28/02/2010]

Nationwide:

• Chairman of the Malaysian Examinations Council (MEC), Tan Sri Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak mentioned that there was an increase in the number of students who obtained a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 and above also increased to 35.9% for STPM 2009 when compared with 31.5% in 2008.
• 331 students scored a perfect CGPA of 4.0, which represents less than 1% of all Form 6 students who took the exams.
• There was an increase in the percentage of candidates who passed all their subjects to 47.7% in the 2009 STPM from 44.1% in 2008.
• The gap between urban and rural areas were large but not as large as in the science stream, where 15.6% of urban students scored three to five As as compared to 4.5% of the rural students counterparts.
• Overall pass rate improved for ten subjects, which are the : General Paper, Arabic Language, Literature in English, Malay Literature, History, Geography, Economics, Accounting, Mathematics T and Biology (varies between 2% to 6.5%).
• An overwhelming majority of Form 6 students answered in English for Science and Mathematics papers in the 2009 STPM, with 97.5% of candidates answering fully in English versus 92.7% in 2008.
• This is especially so in the Mathematics papers such as Mathematics S, Mathematics T and Further Mathematics T where more than 98% of candidates answered fully in English.
• Ten subjects showed non significant changes in their pass rate, with changes under 2%.
• Among biggest drop in pass rate include, Computing and Sports Science. The drop in pass rate are 5.7% and 5.6% respectively.
• In, Further Mathematics T, only 16 candidates took the subject, with only two candidates obtaining full passes.

Top scorers:

• Masmin Mensih emerged as the country’s top scorer in the special candidate (visually impaired) category. He intends to study in the University Malaysia Sabah in education.
• Yap Jun Fai, formerly of SMJK Katholik in Petaling Jaya emerged as one of the top two science stream scorer in Malaysia with 5A’s. He’s hard work was mixed with extra activities such as jogs, badminton and marathons.
• Muhammad Najmuddin Firdaus Abdullah of SMK Ayer Lanas in Jeli, Kelantan emerged as one of the top three national top scorer in Malaysia for Arts stream with 5A’s. He is also active in sports and represented his school at the district level in both football and running.
• Over in Kedah, Nor Liana Abdul Munim of SMK Agama Kedah and Cheah Yt Chun of SMJK Keat Hwa scored 5As.
• Muhammad Raizan Abdul Rahman emerged as top scorer for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) in the Special Candidates (Spastic) category. He scored two As, an A- and a C+. He attributed his success to consistent studying.
• Nurul Imani Zakaria, with 5A’s emerged as the top student in the Rural Category. The arts stream student is from SMK Seri Aman in Pasir Puteh.
• Loh Wei Siong emerged as the top student in the Special Candidates (Blind) category.
• Among national top scorers include  Ayu Faridah Nor Azman, Hoo Xiao Mei and Muhammad Najmuddin Firdaus Abdullah.
• The two best scorers in the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) were Png Ning and M. S. Prarthini.
• John Soo of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Kluang in Johor scored 5A’s in his STPM. His achievement was unique as his was achieved with Further Mathematics T being one of his options. (Only 16 students took it nationwide, and only person in Johor). He aspire to be a doctor.
• Hadawiyah Moham­mad emerged as Terengganu’s top STPM scorer with 5As. Incidentally, her brother was Tereng­ganu’s best student in 2005. She considered herself as an average student as she only obtained 6As for her SPM. (Great improvement, we must say)

Miscellaneous state results:

• 3,122 students from Penang sat for 2009’s STPM examinations. From it, 16 schools achieved 100% pass rate.
• In Penang, Chung Ling High School has the highest number of straight As student with 11, followed by SMK Jit Sin with 10 and SMK St Xavier Institution with four.
• 18 students scored straight As in STPM 2009 in Kedah, of which two students scored 5As.
• 14 schools in Kedah achieved 100% passes. They include SMK Jitra, SMK Labu Besar in Kulim, SMK Megat Dewa in Kodiang, SMK Bedong, SMK Sin Min Sungai Petani and SMK Sultan Badlishah.

So how did you all fared in the exams? Do drop the Berry Berry Teacher a line if there are any mistakes or addition to the top scorer list.

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