(From right) Muhammad Irfan, Nurul and Allistair fielding questions from reporters.
KUCHING: Allistair Lambert Ginam had been inspired by his elder sister who is presently pursuing studies in France.
The 17-year-old lad from Miri had applied for both the Public Service Department and Petronas scholarships but the latter responded to his application first. His father advised him to accept Petronas’ offer to study abroad.
Allistair who scored 4A+, 4A and 1A- said he accepted the scholarship from Petronas to fulfill his father’s dreams of being a Petronas employee.
“My father had dreamt to be part of Petronas’ family but never had the opportunity. When I told him of the Petronas offer, he encouraged me to take it. Since my father never got the opportunity to join Petronas, I, as his son, want to fulfill his dream,” he said before receiving the scholarship from Petronas at Pullman Hotel here yesterday.
The former student of SMS Sarawak was offered a scholarship to do a Mechanical Engineering degree in the United States upon finishing a pre-U programme at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus.
He described the opportunity as a dream come true as he had always wanted to study in the US.
Another recipient of a Petronas scholarship, Nurul Ain Abd Razak from Betong, was elated.
“My goal is to give back to my parents as well as to Petronas which enables me to pursue my studies,” said the former student of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara, Betong.
Nurul was offered a scholarship to pursue a Chemical Engineering degree in any university in Malaysia upon completing her pre-U programme at Universiti Teknology Petronas.
Though armed with 5A+, 3A and 1A-, Nurul had not expected to be given the scholarship as there were many high achievers applying for it.
Muhammad Irfan Zakaria, a former student of SMS Utara Kuching, said the opportunity to pursue his studies in the United Kingdom was a dream come true.
“It has always been my dream to study overseas, especially in the UK, which has many highly rated universities.
“Aside from that, I was interested in the programme offered,” said Muhammad Irfan who obtained 5A+ and 4A in the SPM examination last year.
The Kuching lad was offered a scholarship to study Chemical Engineering at a university in the UK upon completing a pre-U programme at Kolej Yayasan UEM, Lembah Beringin.
These three are among 46 outstanding SPM school leavers from Sarawak who received Petronas scholarships under the Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme (PESP).