A helping hand for students
43 from Terengganu score prestigious scholarship from Petronas
KUALA TERENGGANU: Growing up in the sleepy coastal town of Kemaman, Azrul Hakim Ahmad Tarmizi dreamt of travelling the world.
The 18-year-old, who studied at SM Imtiaz Yayasan Terengganu Kemaman, is now a step closer to his goal after scoring himself a scholarship from Petronas.
He was offered to pursue chemical engineering in Canada upon completing his A-Levels locally.
“The Petronas scholarship is a prestigious award.
“SPM school-leavers all over Malaysia vie for this award as well as the chance to work with a great company.
“I’m really happy and proud of myself,” said an elated Azrul Hakim during the Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme 2018 (PESP) prize-giving event.
Also present were Petronas senior vice-president (group human resource management) Datuk Raiha Azni Abd Rahman and Terengganu Mentri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.
A Petronas scholar and a Terengganu native herself, Raiha beamed with pride as she congratulated the 43 scholarship recipients from the state.
The recipients were among the 300 selected from over 8,000 applicants nationwide.
“Despite fluctuating crude oil prices in the global market, we are determined to allocate a sizeable investment in the programme and human capital development.
“We believe that these scholars will replace the professional manpower in this country as well as the company.
“This is one of the many ways Petronas contributes towards nation building,” said Raiha.
Thanking Petronas for the opportunities given to the people of Terengganu, Dr Samsuri commended the company’s collaborative efforts with Yayasan Terengganu and the Terengganu State Education Department in implementing the Transforming English in Terengganu ( Trenglish) programme.
Introduced in 2015, the Trenglish programme, involving 50 schools in the state, aims to increase English language proficiency among students.
As an added boost, Petronas is sponsoring RM150,000’s worth of The Star’s Newspaper- in- Education (NiE) pullout to supplement the programme for the second year.
Written by a team of experienced English language specialists, the NiE pullout is packed with engaging hands-on newspaper activities for the classroom.
Star Media Group chief content officer Esther Ng received the mock cheque at the event.
Petronas, said Dr Samsuri, had played a proactive role in education for many years.
“Petronas recognises how crucial education is in shaping a legacy. Factors such as financial limitations should not hold anyone back if they truly desire to study.
“We’ll never know which bright mind holds the cure to an incurable disease or ideas that will bring this country forward,” he said.
Since its inception in 1975 – just a year after Petronas was set up – the PESP has benefited over 36,000 scholars with a total expenditure of over RM3bil.