JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA: It was a long-drawn battle, but Toh Pei Roo is not one to crack under pressure.

The fourth-former of SMK Tinggi Batu Pahat emerged the state secondary school champion of the RHB-New Straits Times Spell-It-Right challenge.

He was given a good run for the title by Mohd Azri Abd Manaf of SMK Tun Habab and Loo Xiu Ying of SMK (P) Temenggong Ibrahim, who were placed second and third.

The trio were in a three-way tie for the championship after three other finalists were eliminated.

Toh correctly spelt "tempestuous" to win the tie-breaker.
The stoic lad revealed after the competition that he had not been expecting to win and had felt nervous in the final rounds.

"There were some very difficult words but I had expected the words to be much harder."

Throughout the event, which saw 88 students from 22 schools competing, Toh stood out as a composed contender, not giving away his emotions whether he got a word right or wrong.

He took home not only the RM2,000 cash prize but also the distinction of representing his state in the national championship in Kuala Lumpur in August.

Muhammad Khalil Azmi, Sasitharan Balasubramaniam, Ikhwan Aliff Abd Halim and Siti Maizatulnisa Md Abd Malik of SM Sains Kota Tinggi did not make it to the final round but scored the highest aggregate points to bring honour to their school.

For their efforts, their school won the RM2,000 cash prize for the top school.

SMK Tun Habab and SMK Tinggi Batu Pahat came in second and third in the schools category, winning RM1,500 and RM1,000 respectively.

Chief judge and presenter Roopivanti M. Gulabrai said she was impressed by the level of the students' ability.

"Even those who didn't make it to the finals proved themselves to be excellent contenders," she said.

"We had a tough time finding the winners."

She also professed amazement at the number of people who were attracted to the challenge.

"The spectators were well-behaved and interested in the competition," she said.

"Even casual visitors to the mall were drawn to the event."