Visually-impaired Nur Dayini Iwani Ahmad Khairul, who excelled in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, is not disheartened despite having to let go of her ambition to become a psychiatrist.
Such is her passion that the teenager, who scored 7As in the SPM, insists on wanting to continue her studies in psychology.
“Actually, I aimed to become a psychiatrist, so I took Foundation in Science. After finding out that there are not many opportunities for people with disabilities in the medical field, my mother suggested that I become a psychologist instead.
“… there were also doctors who did not recommend me to become a doctor,” she told reporters at the Visually-Impaired Student Excellence Award ceremony organised by the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB), here, today.
The 18-year-old student admitted to crying and feeling disappointed when she found out about it and some doctors recommended that she undergo eye surgery when she reaches 20 if she wants to continue pursuing her ambition of becoming a psychiatrist.
Sharing the challenges she faced due to her visual impairment, Nur Dayini, who has been blind in the right eye since birth, said that she would often cry after being teased by other students when she went to Form One at Sekolah Menengah Sains Rembau.
“When I think of the difficulties and determination of my parents, who have spent so much on my education, I resolved to keep trying,” she said.
In relating her achievement of scoring 1A, 6A- and 2B+ in the SPM, Nur Dayini described it as a blessing in maintaining a close relationship with Allah, in addition to asking teachers to explain to her whenever she does not understand something during lessons.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old albino Arif Zulkarnain Azriman, who also has vision problems, said that besides studying hard, the support of teachers and assistance of friends when carrying out group revisions were crucial to him achieving 9As.
“I love subjects related to religion and science. The most unexpected result was getting A- in History because I failed that subject during the trial examination,” said the former student of Sekolah Menengah Pendidikan Khas Wilayah Persekutuan.
Arif Zulkarnain hopes to further his studies in Computer Science at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin in Terengganu as he is passionate about it.
A total of 28 visually-impaired students received the 2022 SPM Excellence Award by MAB, with those obtaining 6As to 8As taking home RM1,000 in cash while those who obtained 9As and above received RM2,000.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
