The 2008 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results announced Thursday saw 6,277 students scoring straight As in all subjects compared with 5,060 in 2007.

The Health Ministry’s independent inquiry into A. Kugan’s two post-mortem reports has started and is expected to be completed by next month.
Kugan, 22, was a suspected car thief who died while in police custody on Jan 20. The first post-mortem report had attributed his cause of death to “fluid in the lungs” while the second stated that he died from repeated beating.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai gave the assurance that the six-member independent committee would conduct their task in a professional manner and would not be one-sided.
“We are very concerned about Kugan’s case. The independent committee comprises excellent individuals with high credibility.
“They will look at the post-mortem reports from the pathologists in Serdang Hospital and Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).
“They will conduct their jobs as professionals and will not be ‘berat sebelah’ (one-sided) or ‘pilih kasih’ (choose sides),” he told reporters Thursday after launching the World Kidney Day event at Serdang Hospital here.
He was responding to concerns by Kugan’s family who stated on Wednesday that they had no confidence in the Health Ministry’s independent committee and wanted the Malaysia Medical Council to conduct the probe.
The committee, which would be headed by an expert from the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, met for the first time Thursday.
Liow said the report would be made public and he had given the committee a specific timeframe to complete it.
“I want them to work very fast. We want it to be completed as soon as possible, hopefully by next month.”
Kugan was arrested on Jan 14 for suspected involvement in a car theft syndicate. He was held at the USJ police station. He died during interrogation on Jan 20.
Prof Dr Abdul Karim Tajuddin of Serdang Hospital, who conducted the first post-mortem, attributed the cause of death to “fluid in the lungs.”
Dissatisified with the findings, Kugan’s family and their supporters went to the Serdang Hospital mortuary that day itself and took photographs that allegedly showed many bruises on the body.
At their request, a second post-mortem was conducted, by pathologist Dr Prashant N. Samberkar from the University Malaya Medical Centre. His report stated that Kugan had died from being repeatedly beaten.
Health Ministry Director-General Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican recently said in a press statement that the Serdang Hospital forensic pathologist had “performed his duty ethically and professionally,” and that there was no indication that he was hiding facts.
Kugan’s family have however lodged a report against the Serdang Hospital and Dr Abdul Karim for allegedly covering up the cause of death.