Diamonds in the Rough
To build a nation, you start by empowering the youth—and that’s what Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman, a foundation named after Malaysia’s first prime minister, was created to do
Empowering the youth through education
Prior to the pandemic itself, the struggles of highneed communities weren’t unheard of: classism, financial straits, the lack of access to basic amenities and the yawning digital divide—all of which are factors that threaten to stunt the development of a community, especially its youths.
For them, the prospect of higher education is often a daunting one and often more than not, most turn their ambitions aside to either take care of their families or join the workforce immediately after graduating from secondary school.
Though many scholarships are present in Malaysia to help these individuals, Ida Thien, deputy CEO of Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman (YTAR) and co-founder of Closing The Gap, observes that there was a shortage of scholarship providers that helped “diamonds in the rough”, wherein high potential students that possess strong leadership capabilities as well as instances of outstanding conviction are often overlooked due to certain scholarship restrictions or requirements.
“Let’s take two instances for example: some have limitations like if a student applies for a scholarship of RM4,000, they’re only eligible for diplomas,” says Thien. “Then, you have the super elite scholarships where its applicants have to excel in every aspect possible, but have criteria set in a way that puts B40 students at a significant disadvantage due to their challenging backgrounds, which has been made worse still due to the extended lockdown.”
Wanting to introduce a more holistic, developmentfocused scholarship model, Closing The Gap went from being an independent initiative to becoming one of YTAR’S development programmes in 2019, which aimed to empower their Biasiswa Tunku Abdul Rahman (BTAR) applicants—known as the ‘Tunku Scholars’—in their pursuit for higher education via a two-year leadership programme that includes workshops, mentorships, conferences and even hands-on opportunities which allow the scholars to lead their own community projects.
“While the programme is still a work in progress since we’ve only just started it two years ago, we’ve been working on expanding YTAR’S resources so that we aren’t just providing them financial aid, but giving them the tools to either help secondary school students to transition to their tertiary studies or university graduates who are just entering the workforce,” explains Thien. “And because we want to extend the relevancy of this programme, we’ve been collaborating with various partners, and in the pipeline, we’d like to reach out to industry leaders to provide our scholars the opportunity to gain exposure while building a network. This is especially important if they come from lower income backgrounds as they require the social and cultural capital we often take for granted to rise up.”
With an emphasis on inclusivity, the foundation makes it a point to take into account the backgrounds of their applicants, recognising the positive impact that diversity could bring for industries and communities alike. “One of the biggest success stories we’ve had recently is Razman Durhan, who’s an economics and mathematics major in University Malaysia Sabah,” recounts Raenuga Indran, YTAR’S marketing and partnerships executive. “When we first took him in, his CGPA was 2.8, which was below the supposed academic requirement set by many scholarships. He was initially doing assignments all on his own, with no real access to tools like laptops or internet. But, after undergoing our programme he was able to raise his CGPA to a 3.4 in just one semester—and that just cements our point where quality doesn’t equate to elitism. The crux of what we do at YTAR is to empower these young talents, that just because they’re not what society considers as ‘conventional elites’, that doesn’t necessarily equate to a lack of quality.
“In fact, by giving them the right resources and the right opportunities, we believe that these youths, especially those who’ve had to go through the hardships of being in the underprivileged community, have proven that those instances of grit and conviction to see things through can reflect upon one’s ability to succeed, both in life as well as their academic journeys.”
“Those instances of grit and conviction to see things through can reflect upon one’s ability to succeed, both in life as well as their academic journeys”
The final two years of schooling, the Sixth Form, are more than just a bridge between school and university—they are the pinnacle of the school experience and the gateway to some of the world’s top universities. No other school understands this better than Malaysia’s British-style international boarding school Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar (KTJ).
At the helm of KTJ’S A-level programme is the new head of Sixth Form, Emma Davidson. She is also the current president of the Oxford & Cambridge Society of Malaysia, which coordinates debates, seminars and workshops.
She tells Tatler what motivates her, what holistic education means to her and the school, and her vision for the Sixth Form.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m from Bradford, England and I went to a pretty grim school for my GCSES. My parents funded me to do my A-levels at an excellent private boys grammar school which had just started accepting girls. After studying philosophy, politics and economics at Corpus Christi, Oxford, I worked in insurance broking. I married a Malaysian and came here in 1997, worked in loss adjusting before moving into teaching, starting first with the British Council.
In 2011, my daughter started boarding at KTJ, followed by her brothers, and they all absolutely loved it. I joined in 2013 as head of operations when we opened the Primary School. I missed the classroom so I moved back into teaching IELTS and EAL a couple of years later and got more and more involved in the Oxbridge support and enrichment in the Sixth Form.
As someone who has been with KTJ for many years, what keeps you motivated?
The students, for sure. Because we’re boarding and because of all the activities we do, we get to know them really well. The idea of being in loco parentis runs deep in our pastoral and academic DNA. Our students are enthusiastic, bright, and engaging—such a joy to work with. When you know students so well, you can’t help but champion them in the same way you do with your own children. There’s an energy in KTJ, from students and teachers, that’s infectious and inspiring.
What is holistic education and why is it important to you?
For us, it means engaging in challenging conversations and academic investigation. Students explore the complexities and diversity of the world and begin to navigate their understanding of it by developing their own thinking and interests, especially in areas that are related, even tangentially,
to their subject disciplines whether it be law or medicine or engineering or economics. This is crucial not just for university but also beyond. Our approach to enrichment and the super curriculum goes beyond the A-level syllabus and means students discover as much about themselves as the world around them.
Which elements do you think are most important to the growth of KTJ’S Sixth Form?
We’re looking for continued growth in the quality, not quantity, of our Sixth Form experience. KTJ is a Trust with charitable status, so numbers are not our priority. We measure success by the powerful changes our students make in their new communities. A good example is the number of Ktjers who go on to lead the Malaysian societies in their universities such as CUMAS (Cambridge), OUMC (Oxford), and SUMC (LSE). That’s also why our Inspiring Futures campaign is so important to us. It demonstrates that our goals are more than just top academic exam results.
How have you dealt with challenges resulting from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic?
KTJ invested a lot in software packages, databases, and training; and we swap best practices in our digital Teachers’ Toolkit. We moved everything online very quickly to minimise disruption, which is especially important for students in their exam years.
KTJ Sixth Formers were invited to over 40 evening talks during the lockdown—hosted either by our own teachers or in conjunction with the Oxbridge Society. They engaged with fantastic webathons on the 2020 US election and BREXIT as well as attending lectures on politics, history, physics, economics, biomedicine, and theatre to name but a few. KTJ students were also able to pose direct ‘real-time’ questions to international experts like Prof William James, the Oxfordbased Covid researcher, along with local luminaries like Khairy, Prof Jomo, Ambiga, and Anwar.
Of course, this exposure is great, but face-to-face engagement is still more impactful. Online does have one big advantage, though—it’s much easier to get speakers if they don’t have to drive out to Mantin!
How would you best describe your vision for KTJ’S Sixth Form?
Happy and healthy students who are achieving their highest goals in a safe, open, but structured environment. We’re there every step of the way to encourage, support, and sometimes console them, but always to champion them. That’s at the core of our extensive twoyear programme of university application support. For me, the best part of my role is seeing how students grow personally and academically whilst they are in our care. My vision is for a legacy of KTJ students who positively impact communities and who add value to all that they do once they leave us.
How do you build a positive school culture or climate?
I think modelling and leading by example are both fundamental. That curiosity in people and ideas is deeply entrenched in our Sixth Form team. That passion for exploring permeates our Sixth Form and is one of the reasons why KTJ has just been featured in The Telegraph’s Top 20 List of global schools that send students to Oxbridge. We at KTJ have a real enthusiasm and joy in what we do here. Our charitable status and the support of the trustees makes KTJ a very special place to live and learn.
We’ve a stunningly beautiful campus and recent renovations give it a resort feel. Work on the Sixth Form Centre was postponed in May 2020 because of the pandemic, so ensuring that our Sixth Form Centre becomes as fresh and fun as the rest of the school will be a major goal of mine. Having a diversity of people and interests, especially through engaging with our incredible alumni, parents, and external guests, is a large part of my 2021-2022 plan. I really want our students to be set up for success in life.
Book a visit to meet a member of their senior leadership team and take a tour of KTJ’S sprawling 80-acre campus. Learn more at www.ktj.edu.my.