VISUALLY impaired Anis Nabilah Wahab is glad that she can pursue her studies at Universiti Malaya, thanks to the Yayasan Sime Darby Bursary Programme. The 20-year-old from SMK Tunku Abdul Malik, Alor Setar, Kedah, who will pursue a degree in Malay Studies, was awarded the scholarship at a ceremony held here recently.
It also saw Yayasan Sime Darby awarding almost RM14mil worth of scholarships to 150 students.
The foundation has been providing scholarships for the last 30 years and its allocation for this year has more than doubled.
Foundation council member Tan Sri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin said: “Through education, these students will have the opportunity to improve their skills and capabilities while grooming them to be future leaders.
“The bursaries will also bring the underprivileged one step closer to educational opportunities and motivate them to pursue higher education at various levels while helping them to break the vicious cycle of poverty.”
The programme is for academically strong but financially deserving and or physically challenged students like Anis Nabilah.
The foundation also awards scholarships in two other categories.
Under its Skills Enrichment Programme, 15 students were awarded scholarships to pursue their diplomas in Nursing, Medical Laboratory Technology and Physiotherapy at the Sime Darby Nursing and Health Sciences College.
The Yayasan Sime Darby Excellence scholarship, for academic high-flyers and well-rounded individuals, was awarded to 18 students, 12 of whom will pursue their undergraduate studies locally and six overseas.
Among them are Foong Lily and Tan Tee Jin. They completed their A-Levels at KDU University College and will pursue Law and Philosophy and Economics respectively at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom.
Lily said that as a scholar she enjoyed being involved in the foundation’s corporate and social responsibilities.
“We have leadership camps and also have occasions where we take part in community service,” she said.
Excited
Tee Jin from Penang said he was fortunate to be a scholarship recipient, adding that he was “excited to be in a foreign country for the first time.”
This year also marks the newly introduced Yayasan Sime Darby Excellence Scholarship student exchange programme to China.
A total of 10 pioneer students will undergo a one-year undergraduate foundation course at the Beijing Language and Culture University followed by a four-year degree programme at top universities in China.
Ayesha Ellya Fadzli Iftikhar Ahmad and Lim Pei Yee said that had decided to study Economics.
“I had three scholarship offers, but I chose China because I know the language.
“The country is also the world’s economic powerhouse,” said Ayesha, a former SMK Seksyen 5 Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur student.
“I believe China has many untapped opportunities and I’m eager to be there,” added Pei Yee, from SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4).
The award ceremony also saw the presentation of the Yayasan Sime Darby Star Scholarship Award to Khor Er Yang, a budding tennis talent whose A-Levels at Taylor’s College Subang Jaya and subsequent undergraduate degree in Economics and Finance at a UK university will be fully sponsored by the foundation.
The foundation’s Star Scholarship Award, now in its third year, is part of the foundation’s efforts to develop potential “stars” in the fields of arts, music, sport, environment and sciences in Malaysia.
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