‘Super Shine’ lives up to his name by scoring 10 A+

GEORGE TOWN: He drew stares because of his rapid hair loss through the years.

But yesterday, “Super Shine” Kyle Chan Wei Ren got congratulatory cheers when he scored 10A+ in all the 10 subjects he sat for in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations last year.

Chan suffers from alopecia universalis – a medical condition involving rapid loss of all hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes – but has never let his condition to be a setback in his life.

The 18-year-old Penang Free School (PFS) student said his condition instead gave him the additional courage to strive harder.

Diagnosed with the auto-immune disorder since he was 12, Chan said his friends and classmates affectionately call him ‘Super Shine’ (referring to his bald head).

“I am okay with it. I have no hard feelings,” he said, adding that it was kind of fun to have the nickname.

Chan scored straight A+ in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics, Moral Studies, History, Additional Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Principles of Accounts.

The older of two children attributed his achievement to his parents, teachers and his best friend Kharthik Chakravarthy, 18, who also scored straight As.

Chan is currently pursuing his Alevels in the Inti International College Penang.

He was previously a member of the school’s debating team, a vicecaptain of his sports house, managing director of the school’s Young Enterprise programme and also a school chess player.

He also represented the country in the Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Programme in the United States last year.