Haryz Nadzim: Mensa's Youngest Member at Three, IQ 142

Biography

What happened

Malay Mail reported on 20 January 2020 that a three-year-old Malaysian boy living in Britain with an IQ of 142 had become one of the youngest people to join Mensa. NPR covered the story on 22 January under a headline calling him the youngest person to join Mensa UK, and ABC News told it through his mother's reaction.

The score came from the Stanford-Binet test, one of the standard supervised instruments, and placed him in the top 0.3 per cent of the population. Mensa's own threshold is the 98th percentile.

What the family described

His parents, Nur Anira Asyikin Hashim and Mohd Hilmy Naim Mohd Yakin, both have engineering backgrounds. His mother told Malay Mail that they had no yardstick for comparison: "We didn't have much experience, so we just thought that's how kids were. It was only when he started going to nursery, we were told he is more advanced than other children."

The milestones reported were early. First words at seven months. Reading bedtime stories to himself by two. A preference for conversation with older children and adults, and a particular interest in space and numbers. Alongside that, the same report recorded him painting and jumping in puddles, which is the detail that keeps the story in proportion.

Testing a three-year-old

Assessing a child of that age is difficult in ways that a headline number conceals. Standardised tests depend on attention, language and willingness to cooperate, all of which are volatile in a toddler, and results at three are not stable predictors of results at thirteen.

That is not a reason to doubt the reported figure. It is a reason to read it as what it is: a supervised assessment on one day, conducted by professionals, reported accurately by the press, and unlikely to mean what a lay reader assumes an IQ score means.

Why the story went global

A toddler in Mensa is an irresistible item for a newsroom, which is why a story from a British-Malaysian household reached NPR in Washington and ABC News within forty-eight hours of the Malaysian coverage.

The research record notes that the family lived in the Wakefield area, though the articles read here describe them only as UK-based. It also records the child's age at testing as 28 months in some accounts, against the age of three at admission reported elsewhere, a discrepancy this page flags rather than resolves.

What is documented, and what is not

Firmly established: the Mensa membership at three in January 2020, the Stanford-Binet score of 142, the top 0.3 per cent placement, his parents' names and engineering backgrounds, and the developmental account his mother gave.

Not established: his date of birth, his exact home town, his school, and anything about him since January 2020. He was a toddler when this was published, and this page deliberately carries nothing beyond what his family chose to make public.

Achievement Timeline

Haryz Nadzim — every milestone on this page, in order.

2020

Malay Mail reports on 20 January that Malay Mail reports on 20 January that a three-year-old with an IQ of 142 has joined Mensa

2020

NPR reports on 22 January that he is tNPR reports on 22 January that he is the youngest person to join Mensa UK

2020

ABC News covers the story through his ABC News covers the story through his mother's account

Historical Comparison

Person	Country	Milestone	Age / Stat
Haryz Nadzim	United Kingdom	Joining Mensa at three	Age 3
Lawson Lundberg	United States	Joining Mensa at 3	Age 3
Nishi Uggalle	United Kingdom	Winning Channel 4's Child Genius in 2019	Age 10
David Camacho	Mexico	Selection for a Jr. NASA programme, 2024	—
Sharvin Jeyendran	Australia	A Mensa test put him at 168, and the headlines put him above Stephen Hawki	—

What is documented — and what is not

✓ Documented

He joined Mensa at three in January 2020
He scored 142 on the Stanford-Binet test, in the top 0.3 per cent of the population (Malay Mail)
His parents are Nur Anira Asyikin Hashim and Mohd Hilmy Naim Mohd Yakin, both with engineering backgrounds
His family said he spoke his first words at seven months

? Unverified, disputed or wrong

No source read states his date of birth or exact home town
Accounts differ on whether he was 28 months or three at testing
NPR calls him the youngest Mensa UK member while Malay Mail says one of the youngest
No coverage after January 2020 was found in this record

Questions people ask about Haryz Nadzim

What is Haryz Nadzim's IQ?

He scored 142 on the Stanford-Binet test, placing him in the top 0.3 per cent of the population, as reported in January 2020.

How old was he when he joined Mensa?

Three. Some accounts give his age at testing as 28 months; the discrepancy is noted rather than resolved here.

Where does he live?

The reports describe the family as UK-based. The research record places them in the Wakefield area, which the articles read here do not confirm.

When did he start talking?

His family said he spoke his first words at seven months and was reading bedtime stories to himself by two.

Who are his parents?

Nur Anira Asyikin Hashim and Mohd Hilmy Naim Mohd Yakin, who both have engineering backgrounds.

Is he really the youngest Mensa member?

NPR described him as the youngest to join Mensa UK; Malay Mail said one of the youngest. The society's records are not reproduced in the sources read here.