Pelangi Publishing, RM32.95, ISBN 978-629-498-076-1
Education, 2025

The English language subject for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or Higher Malaysian Certificate, SPM for short, always has a lower standard of difficulty than Bahasa Melayu. For the Bahasa Melayu SPM paper, you have to write compositions about national policies and social landscapes, while for the English paper, you write about… your favorite vacation spot.

That’s okay. After all, Bahasa Melayu is the national language of Malaysia, while English is actually considered a second language. So, it is understandable, even expected, for the English paper to feel simple compared to the other language paper. There is an additional benefit to this, as candidates with middle to high proficiency in English will find this paper an easy pass or even A.

So, does anyone need to buy the reference book Focus SPM: English, then? Let’s find out.

Authors

Hmm, for some reason, Pelangi Publishing is coy about touting the credentials of the six authors involved in this book.

A quick search suggests that Zeti Aqmar Alpikiri is a full-time researcher in Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2024, however.

Design

Pretty standard design, but there is some white space as well as nice use of colors.

I wish there is more white space, as things still feel cluttered somewhat, but for a Pelangi Publishing book, this current design can be considered pretty good. It can be better, but it will do.

Content

This book, like its Bahasa Melayu counterpart, is actually pretty good for candidates with weaker proficiency in English (see caveat in the next section).

For these students, composition is always the toughest part (up there with the oral exam), and this book offers not just the standard advice and model essay operation procedure. It also offers practice exercises to help candidates master more basic steps first, such as identifying the right context for a particular instruction, picking the right words to use for a particular context, constructing sentences, and more. Candidates that are weak in writing could very well pick up useful advice and even build their confidence in the process.

This same detailed step-by-step approach is also applied to other sections of the book, which is good.

Furthermore, the grammar section offers just enough explanation to let these weaker candidates get the right amount of background info before they can test themselves with the practice exercises.

In this aspect, the book goes the extra mile to guide weaker candidates in every step of the way in getting something right. That’s the biggest strength and appeal of this book.

But… and It’s a Big But

Oh, my goodness, the practice exercises. The candidates doing them often find themselves trying to second-guess the authors’ intention instead of giving the right answers based on sound English mastery and common sense.

Here’s an example. This is an ad. I’ve adapted it for this page, but the words are exactly the same as the original ad that appears on page 10.

BERJAYA THEME PARK
Celebrating All Mothers

To celebrate Mother’s Day, Berjaya Theme Park will be giving half-price entrance tickets to those who come with their mothers. You can spend a wonderful time with your mother at the theme park.

The entrance tickets are available online or at the ticket office.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

• Half-price tickets are for 1 customer and his/her mother only (additional family members will have to pay full price)
• Proof of relations must be made clear
• Valid only on Mother’s Day, 9th May (Sunday)

Ready? This is the question:

Which of the following statements is true?

1. All family members who bring their mothers on Mother’s Day will get half-price tickets.
2. Only two family members will get half-price tickets on Mother’s Day.
3. Families can celebrate with their mothers at the theme park.

A is definitely false, and the official answer is B. But… why is C false? Isn’t the whole point of visiting the theme park on Mother’s Day is to celebrate with Mom? Also, one can argue that B is imprecise, as it should be more specific—only Mom and another family member are eligible for the 50% discount, and “two family members” in this case suggests that any combination is fine (dad and son, dad and daughter, etc).

Here’s another one, on page 60. This is the paragraph in a given text that is pertinent to the question:

His musical expressions mimic his life. After the demise of his first wife, Nasir married actress Marlia Musa, and has since, undergone noticeable transformations. For example, his role as the Principal in the local reality series, Akademi Fantasia 3, where Marlia assumed the role of the drama teacher. It seemed unlikely that the wistful artiste would do it, but he did. ‘What I drew from the experience was great. I learnt that I can be expressive, articulate and affectionate,’ said Nasir openly.

Note that I have not changed a single word or punctuation mark. Now, the question:

M. Nasir’s comments on his role in Principal in Akademi Fantasia 3 :

1. He had a great experience.
2. What he drew from the experience was rewarding.
3. He learnt he was expressive, articulate and affectionate.
4. He underwent noticeable transformations in his outlook and attitude.

Okay, first: holy moly, did the authors just forget what they themselves taught their readers in the grammar section? Shouldn’t it be “his role as Principal”?

Second: the official answer is A. However, what is wrong with each of the other options—B, C, and D? In fact, I’d argue that A is not the correct answer, because M Nasir’s quote stated that what he drew from the experience was great. What he drew, which in this context means that the lesson that he’d learnt was the great thing he was talking about. Therefore, one can argue that C is a better answer, although B and D aren’t actually false either.

Let’s do one more, this one being a complete howler. This one is from page 54. This is the relevant part of the given text that the question is based on:

Sometimes one bad hack leads to another. If someone has access to your email and all the messages in it, they might have what they need to conduct further attacks. Look at your other accounts across social media, and other services you use and keep an eye out for any unusual activity. And if these accounts offer two-factor authentication, use it on them as well.

Again, I haven’t changed anything. Here’s the question:

In paragraph 7, which of the following saying applies most appropriate?

1. Out of the blur
2. It never rains but it pours
3. One good turn deserves another
4. Pay an arm and leg for something

Firstly, the question could have been phrased in a less awkward manner. “Which of the following saying can be most appropriately applied to paragraph 7?”, perhaps.

Secondly, “out of the blur”, really? I’m going to be charitable and assume that “blur” is a typographical error and the authors actually meant “blue”.

Even then, this brings me to the biggest WTF: the official answer is A.

Unless there really is a saying called “out of the blur”—my online search yielded nothing and my query about it to ChatGPT only confused the poor fellow—I really don’t know. The first sentence of that paragraph makes it apparent, to me, that the correct answer is B. There is nothing in that paragraph to suggest that the bad hack happens unexpectedly, so I don’t know how the authors can say that A is the correct answer!

Wait, maybe there is another typo, and the stated answer should really be B?

Whatever the answer to this mystery may be, it is not a good thing that this confusing mess is there in the first place.

Imagine that a candidate that has weak proficiency in English, believing that they are now ready to tackle the practice questions to reinforce their lessons, having to stumble through all these messy questions. The poor person will be reeling in confusion or, worse, learn the wrong things instead!

Conclusion

• Presentation and design – average, but pretty good for this publisher.
• There are some very useful advice, instructions, and tips for SPM candidates with weak to middling proficiency.
• However, the practice exercises can be a hot mess. I’m reminded of something an instructor once said to me: making multiple-choice questions is actually very challenging, because you need to take time to come up with more than one choice, but at the same time, you also need to take time to really make sure that the supposedly non-correct choices are really not correct. Clearly, the authors had not spent enough time on this, as there are numerous multiple-choice practice questions that are either confusing or opaque or even outright wrong.
• Hence, if you really want to get this book, my suggestion is to read the guidelines and advice and then get a different book with better practice questions to reinforce your learning. If something in this book confuses you, check and double-check with a teacher or someone that is proficient with English—there is a high chance that your confusion stems from the book being messy instead of any failing on your part.
• Students with better proficiency in English just should skip this book. It’s not worth getting confused or, worse, learning the wrong things just because the people behind this book had been careless.