Top-scoring Malaysian student, 22, dies from leukaemia: 'Despite illness she was committed to education'

Top student Cindy Wong dreamt of working as a Japanese translator.

After scoring a perfect cumulative grade point average of 4.0 for Malaysia's STPM exam — equivalent to Singapore's A-level — in 2022, she enrolled in the University of Malaya's Japanese programme to do just that.

But her aspirations were cut short by a shocking leukaemia diagnosis, and she died on July 18.

Wong would have celebrated her 23rd birthday on Aug 7, reported Malaysian media outlet Oriental Daily.

In a Facebook post, the university's faculty of Languages and Linguistics said the third-year student had only her internship programme left to complete.

"Despite facing a long illness, frequent hospital stays, and a recent bone marrow transplant at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, she remained deeply committed to her education," the department wrote.

Wong had attended online classes and submitted assignments to the best of her abilities, it said. 

"Her strength and dedication deeply inspired her lecturers and classmates."

Anime and birthday 'celebration' at funeral

According to a 2023 news report, Wong was one of the 13 perfect scorers for the 2022 STPM in the state of Perlis.

Oriental Daily quoted her as saying that she was a fan of anime since primary school and had been studying Japanese online.

For her final journey, her family decided to decorate the funeral hall with various anime characters such as Chiikawa, reported Sin Chew Daily.

She especially liked the character Tadashi Yamaguchi from the manga series Haikyuu!!, older brother Kaiwen told reporters.

He said that his sister had fainted from severe abdominal pain in mid-2025 and was diagnosed with late-stage leukemia that October.

Wong's boyfriend Ray quit his job to look after her, one of her friends said.

Ray decided to "celebrate" his girlfriend's birthday at the funeral wake with a cake and balloons, according to Oriental Daily.

He also asked friends to gather and sing Japanese songs for her.

On Monday (July 20) morning, Wong's family and friends from secondary school and university gathered at her funeral wake to bid their final farewells.

Over 30 of Wong's bandmates from secondary school played four songs in her memory, reported China Press.

The University of Malaya said it is providing financial aid to Wong's family.

"May Cindy rest in eternal peace."

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