KUCHING: A total of 10 Malaysian government-linked companies (GLCs) and foundations have agreed to complement their scholarship programmes via strategic collaborations and shared resources to assist more underprivileged Malaysians.
The initiative is aimed at improving the synergy between scholarship providers, enabling them to offer a good mix of scholarships and convertible loans to cater to different groups within Malaysia, especially those from the B40 group (families with a household income of less than RM4,000 a month).
Representatives from Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), the Public Service Department (JPA), Yayasan Khazanah, Yayasan Peneraju, Yayasan UEM, Yayasan Tenaga Nasional, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Yayasan Daya Diri and Yayasan Universiti Multimedia convened on March 7, 2018 at the 7th GLC & Scholarship Providers Roundtable Session to discuss on ways to improve the disbursement of scholarships. The event was hosted by YSD.
YSD chief executive officer Yatela Zainal Abidin, who took part in the sharing session, said the scholarship providers aim to close the gaps within various scholarship and education programmes offered to Malaysian students in order to meet the nation’s demand for human capital.
“Increased synergy between scholarship providers will help to widen the provision of financial assistance to underprivileged students across various sections of society, thereby promoting inclusivity and equal opportunity for those from low-income families to access quality education,” she said, through YSD press statement yesterday.
“By casting a wider net of support to those who need it, we are complementing the government’s efforts to develop the Malaysian talent pool and addressing the human capital needs of the country.”
During the session, representatives also agreed to organise a development programme for scholars who are assisted by various GLCs and foundations. The move aims to provide a larger impact to scholars in terms of networking opportunities and knowledge-sharing.
The scholarship funders also agreed to provide comprehensive scholarship coverage through its scholarship programmes. They shared their best practices in order to improve the efficiency of scholarship management and governance, which is in line with YSD’s mission statement to practice high ethical values and observe good corporate governance.