Labuan urged to set up fund to help students

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LABUAN: Labuan PKR chief Simsudin Hj Sidek yesterday urged the government to urgently set up a special fund to help local students pursue their studies at tertiary institutions.

He said that some of the local students who intended to further their studies at local and foreign universities were unable to do so due to the unavailability of special fund to support their education expenses.

“What we want now is the special fund from Yayasan Labuan for the purpose.

“So far, we have the Federal Territory Fund or Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan which covers the education expenses for the students in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

“We want this island to have its own fund to enable the parents and students to deal with the institutions conveniently and without bureaucracy,” he said.

Simsudin recalled how a local student who gained admission to a public university in Jordan for an Islamic finance course in 2010 without any supporting financial means or scholarship before Yayasan Sabah agreed to help her.

“Fortunately, the student’s mother is a Sabahan and this made her daughter qualified to gain the Yayasan Sabah’s scholarship to further her studies and she is now in her sophomore year.

“Higher education for the local students here is an investment which isbeneficial not only for this island, but for this country as a whole.

“I wonder why Yayasan Sabah can give her scholarship, but not any fund from the federal territory government,” said Simsudin.

The student’s father who is a local, when contacted, said that he was disappointed then when their scholarship application was turned down in 2010 by the federal territory scholarship institutions.

He felt blessed when finally Yayasan Sabah was the only institution that could help them to realise their daughter’s wish to further her studies.

“Some of my friends from Peninsular Malaysia told me that in peninsular, the students there can get the scholarships conveniently to further their studies abroad if they are proven qualified.

“It is because the existence of the Yayasan Negeri in each state and also other funds in peninsular to fund their students’ studies expenses.

“Some of my friends also told me that even the ‘Yang Berhormat’ (YB)’s children can obtain the scholarships easily,” said the father who is working as a technician.

His wife is working as a janitor at a school here.

The father did not deny that the Baitulmal Labuan had given her daughter the flight ticket to Jordan.

But all the initial expenses was borne by him from his saving and some financial help from people who sympathised with them.

“It is lucky that we have a little saving to cover my daughter’s studies expenses before she was finally fully funded by Yayasan Sabah.

“Actually, I am still wondering why Yayasan Sabah can provide the scholarship for my daughter, but not Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan,” he said.