malaysiangKUALA LUMPUR, Sixteen-year-old Auni Batrisyia Mohd Azmani, of Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan (SMAP) Labu, Seremban, in Negeri Sembilan, was named one of the winners in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2023 recently.
She was awarded the Golden Award for her essay, entitled ‘The Valorous Age’ in the Senior Category (14-18 years old) of the competition which involved participation from other Commonwealth countries.
According to her mother, Prof Dr Norsham Juliana Nordin, it was her daughter’s first international competition.
She said Auni Batrisyia found out about the competition from the school and spent the Aidil Adha holidays last June completing the essay.
“I was informed about the results of the competition by the organiser through email yesterday (Thursday). It was unexpected and the family is very happy for her.
“I called my daughter, who was at her hostel, and she cried with joy,” said Norsham Juliana, who is a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, in Nilai.
She said Auni Batrisyia, who is the second of four siblings, loved to write and had written several short stories.
She is keen to work with a publisher to publish her works, she added.
According to her, Auni Batrisyia took two days to complete the essay for the competition.
“She wrote the essay herself, but came to me for help to check on the grammar and facts,” she said.
The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), which is based in London, England, is the oldest in the world and has been held every year since 1883 for school students.
With the Commonwealth Heads of Government declaring 2023 a year dedicated to youth, the competition this year featured a number of titles or themes that explored the role, benefits and impact of young people on the global community.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
