5 Penan students receive scholarship

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TO PROMOTE EDUCATION: The award recipients with staff of Interhill Group after the ceremony. Agnes is at second right (front row) and on her right is Hu.

MIRI: Five selected Penan students received the Interhill-Petipun Scholarship/Grant yesterday.

They are Selawa Jilang from Long Lapok in Baram, Haswind Pediment Andrew (Long Merigam), Nehemiah Panai (Long Kepang), Usang (Long Muboi) and Catherine Peter, also from Long Lapok.

Haswind could not attend the presentation ceremony so he was represented by his father.

Interhill Group director Anny Hu and Tipun Penan Development Association (Petipun) representative gave the awards to the recipients at the presentation ceremony at the main Interhill corporate office, Miri Waterfront Commercial Centre here.

“As part of the community, we launch the initiative to take up the responsibility of supporting education in any way we can to give a better future to the younger generation.

“And of course, this is made possible with strong encouragement from families, friends, relatives and even companies,” Interhill Group Corporate Communications manager Agnes Nyelang said in her welcoming speech.

Agnes said the scholarship initiative was an annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme mooted by Interhill in 2009, in collaboration with Petipun.

Among the aims are to safeguard the future of the Penan communities in Baram through continuing education and learning.

The initiative is open not only for those seeking assistance to enter institutes of higher learning, but also for those interested in part-time or vocational courses.

“This scheme was a huge success last year whereby the educational awards were subsequently granted to 19 Penan students, currently studying in Kolej Yayasan Sabah, SEGI College Kuching and Mara Kuching,” Agnes acknowledged.

On a similar note, a special full scholarship was also given to Damaris Panai, a Penan girl from Baram in recognition of her excellent results in last year’s SPM.

This is to enable her to pursue and complete a course in Diploma in Accounting. Interhill flew her to Kuching, thereafter enrolled her at SEGI College.

Damaris is still pursuing her studies there.