Morshidi (third left) presenting a scholarship award to one of the recipients, while, from left, Abu Bakar, Chok, Rakayah and Jonathan look on.
KUCHING: Fifteen Sarawakian students have been selected for Shell Malaysia Scholarship Awards.
Seven awards were for students going to local universities, while eight were for students heading to universities overseas.
State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani commended Shell for its contributions in helping the government to build local talent.
“We are happy that Shell Malaysia is helping to nurture our youths through the provision of scholarship awards. It complements the government’s economic transformation agenda.
“Public-private partnerships are vital to the success of the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) as indicated by measures announced under the Budget 2015 to encourage the development of smart partnerships. These partnerships must be strengthened by increasing engagement between the Education Ministry and the private sector.
“I urge other corporations and the private sector to invest in talent building in response to the country’s ever changing manpower requirements,” he said prior to giving out the scholarships at a ceremony held in a leading hotel here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Shell Sarawak Berhad general manager Chok Chee Tsong said the scholarship awards were Shell’s biggest social investment as part of the company’s commitment to develop Malaysian talent.
“Our scholarship programme has been running for more than 40 years, where we invested more than RM400 million in helping over 1,500 young Malaysians realise their full academic potential. We are spending over RM12 million this year.
“In choosing our scholars, we look for qualities in addition to academic ability such as leadership skill. The selection process is stringent, being one of Malaysia’s premium scholarships,” he said.
Besides the scholarships, Shell also invests in other human capacity development initiatives, including its welders training programme.
Collaborative programmes include memorandum of understanding with Yayasan Sarawak and Unimas, in which Shell provides internship and employment opportunities to eligible scholars and graduates. Shell also collaborates with Talent Corporation Malaysia to attract highly qualified and expert professionals who are currently working overseas to return home and help elevate the oil and gas industry in the country.
The ceremony was also attended by Shell senior manager for Government Relations Jonathan Jolly, State Education director Rakayah Madon and Yayasan Sarawak director Datu Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki.