KUANTAN:Pahang-born student Nur Athirah Mohamad Zaini, 19, made Malaysia proud when she was named second in the world after attaining a high score in the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) examination, held in December last year.

Nur Athirah, from INTEC Education College in Shah Alam, Selangor, won top place at the national level and second in the world for her paper entitled 'Maintaining Financial Records (FA2)' which saw her share a place with Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) student, Putera Aiman Abdul Rashid, 19.

All her efforts and hard work in revising the lessons over the years have been worth it with the excellent results obtained, which undoubtedly made her parents, Mohamad Zaini Ismail, 59, and Noorhaslinda Mat Ali, 49, very proud, said Nur Athirah when contacted by Bernama today.

"My parents are very grateful and proud of my achievement and they keep reminding me to always study hard because this is also for my own future," said Nur Athirah, who aspired to be an accountant since she was a child.

Asked about the secret of her success, Nur Athirah, who obtained 9A in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, said that she did her revision daily without fail.

"I never skip my studies even for a day. At the very least, I would look at what I was studying even for a short while," said Nur Athirah who is expected to complete the CAT course this October, before continuing with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) at INTEC.

Meanwhile, the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC), in a statement, said Nur Athirah's success proves that, with continuous guidance and encouragement, bumiputera students are able to achieve success at the international level.

It also said that the achievement attained by Nur Athirah, former student of the MARA Junior College of Science (MRSM) Kuantan, who is fully sponsored by Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) under the management of MyPAC since last year, means a lot to all involved.

-- BERNAMA