Making an impact

NUR Raihan Mansor was an introverted teenager who shied away from asking questions during class, struggled with low self esteem and various insecurities.

Then, in 2011, she was selected by her school to be a beneficiary of the Kalsom Movement and today, she is a confident second year Actuarial Science student at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

“I viewed education as just a ticket to enter university and nothing more, but this changed after I joined the camp.

“The modules and activities the facilitators conducted changed my perspective of education,” says the daughter of teachers.

She recounts the time students participated in mock interviews, aimed at equipping them with essential skills, such as the do’s and don’ts.

“The facilitators made it mandatory for all students to maximise our usage of English, even if we were grammatically wrong.

“With time, we gained confidence and improved in our proficiency of the language.

“This not only helped us realise the importance of a good education and the ability to speak English, but how it indirectly leads to our career development.”

More programmes that combat inequality in education should be initiated, she adds.

Nur Raihan Mansor, 23

Growing up in a small village in Kuantan, Hajar Nur Asyiqin Abdul Zubir says despite being a straight A student, she did not know how to dream big.

The idea of studying in prestigious universities seemed “too far fetched”; she didn’t think she could meet the requirements.

“I was not exposed to tertiary education opportunities.

“Kalsom changed my perspective, I realised there is so much more than academics.

“Obtaining good grades became one of the many goals I needed to achieve in order to work towards my bigger ambitions.

“Obtaining a scholarship, a world class education and becoming a more holistic person.”

She is currently pursuing Chemistry in Imperial College, London, through a Kijang Emas scholarship under Bank Negara Malaysia.

“Today, almost everything is written and recorded in English; I wanted to have access to that.

“Our facilitators were strict, but fun and encouraging, always reminding us why we had to excel.

“It provided me with a platform to speak my mind. Knowledge was celebrated.”

Hajar Nur Asyiqin Abdul Zubir, 21