And the cherry on the cake? He has also received the prestigious Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship.

However, the road has not always been smooth.

In a recent interview with FMT Lifestyle, the Muar-born 25-year-old spoke of the many obstacles he has encountered, from losing his father as he was sitting for his SPM examination to having his application rejected by the local university of his choice.

He said “a very difficult” time was when his father, Anbalagan Munusamy, died as he was about to sit for the additional mathematics paper. “But I still had to go through with the examination, and I was really, really fortunate to score straight As for my SPM.”

His excellent academic results and his involvement in extracurricular activities such as swimming, debating and public speaking earned him a spot at the Pahang Matriculation College, where he became a member of the student council and from where he graduated with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average (CGPA).

He subsequently applied to study law at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). “It was my first choice,” he said. “One of the reasons was that my dad was an alumnus of UKM.”

Among the reasons he aspired to become a lawyer, he added, was that he wanted to honour his father, who introduced him to public speaking and played an instrumental role in coaching him. Anbalagan was a teacher.

His application to UKM was not successful. But he wouldn’t give up. His mother, Chen Pui Yong, encouraged him to appeal to the university. The two of them made several trips from Muar to UKM’s campus in Bangi to follow up on the progress of the appeal.

“Every Monday, I’d get up early and we’d drive down together,” Chen, 67, said. “I told him to have faith and never give up.”

Their persistence paid off and Thenesh was admitted to the law programme at UKM. There, he learned about the Tunku Abdul Rahman Foundation’s undergraduate scholarship, a holistic leadership-based scholarship to empower high potential youth, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds.

Thenesh, the third of four siblings, applied for the award to lessen the financial burden on his family. But he was turned down.

“One of the requirements back then, I think, was a CGPA of 3.5. Mine was always below that for the first three semesters.”

So he pushed himself to improve his grades and eventually won the scholarship. After that, his CGPA never went below 3.5.

Besides doing well academically, he also led the UKM team that won three awards at the prestigious Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in 2021.

He also established the Moot Club in UKM, represented the university in swimming competitions and organised TEDxUKM in 2021, which he said was the first time that a TEDx event included speakers that delivered speeches in Malay.

In 2021, he graduated with first-class honours and became a recipient of the Tun Razak Gold Medal, an award by UKM and Yayasan Tun Razak to the best performing student among the faculties in UKM.

Upon graduating, he joined Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership, where he is a legal associate.

“After I was called to the bar,” he said, “I had a very strong instinctive feeling that I think this is the right time for me to do my masters.”

For Thenesh, there was only one place for him. “I applied only to Harvard Law School because I was very, very adamant that I wanted to go to Harvard.”

On March 15, he woke up at 3am, saw an email from Harvard and nervously opened it. “The first word I saw was ‘congratulations’ and I knew I got it,” he said.

There was one more hurdle to clear – obtaining a scholarship to cover the tuition and living allowance, a total he estimated at RM500,000.

So, he began applying for scholarships. For mother and son, it was a nerve-wracking time as they waited for responses.

Finally, on June 15, he was informed that his application for the Yang-Di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship was successful. He immediately called his mother, who cried with joy at hearing the news.

On July 12, Thenesh officially received the scholarship from the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara. He is finally on his way to Harvard.

“I feel extremely happy,” he said. “I believe that the process, the hard work, the sacrifices and the pain have all become worthwhile.”

He added that he planned to specialise in international trade law and was looking forward to coming back to Malaysia to serve his country.