Aid a welcome relief for students
SOME people believe a student’s duty is to study and that the last thing on their mind should be concerns about financial difficulties.
However, this isn’t the case for Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) accounting student Nur Syahirah Haja Mohideen, 23, who was raised by a single parent.
Nur Syahirah – the second of three children to a housewife – and her siblings share the role of breadwinner in their household.
The student, who took a full loan from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) for her studies, said her elder sister works in a company’s Human Resource department, while her younger brother started working as a verification analyst at a local firm upon completing the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) to help bring in some income for the family.
“I work as a promoter in retail stores, or telemarketer during semester breaks to bring in some form of income too,” shared Nur Syahirah.
The final year student was a lucky recipient of the Chinese Embassy’s financial aid programme for UTAR students.
On Monday, the Chinese Embassy handed RM72,000 in financial aid to 24 UTAR students in need at a financial aid presentation ceremony held at UTAR’s Sungai Long campus. Each student received RM3,000.
The Chinese Embassy, which also donated RM10,000 to three performance clubs in UTAR this year, provided its first financial aid to UTAR students in 2016 where RM60,000 was given to 20 Malay students.
Nur Syahirah, currently interning at an audit firm in Mont Kiara, said she was “privileged” to receive the financial aid and appreciated the embassy’s generosity.
“A sponsorship helps students to focus on their studies rather than worrying about their financial difficulties,” said the student who has maintained her 3.0 CGPA since she enrolled in UTAR.
She will be using the money for her next semester.
PTPTN borrowers Law Shi Tian, 21, and Naomi Selvamalar Ravendran, 23, were also recipients of the embassy’s financial aid.
Law, a Journalism in Chinese Media final year student who is currently interning at Sin Chew Daily, said she would be able to lift “a little financial burden” off her parents’ shoulders.
Now I can tell my mum she doesn’t have to send me money for a couple of months – that she can keep her money for herself,” said the eldest of three children who works as an event promoter during her spare time.
Law’s father works in a restaurant in Singapore while her mother is under the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) .
Naomi, an English Language student in her final year and semester, said she was elated to be a recipient.
“It came as a surprise. I didn’t know UTAR had such an agreement with the Chinese Embassy,” said the Taiping native who plans to keep the RM3,000 as a “cash cushion” for emergencies.
China’s ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian said the financial aid was a gesture of goodwill and one of the embassy’s initiatives in promoting youth friendship between both countries.
“We believe the endearing friendship between China and Malaysia lies in our youths,” he said, adding that the embassy would continue the financial aid programme with UTAR in the coming years.
Bai noted that as of 2017, there were more than 14,000 Chinese students studying in Malaysia, while over 8,000 Malaysian students were in China.
“With various scholarships provided by the Chinese government and universities, we wish to see more Malaysian students furthering their studies in China, knowing more about China and becoming friends of China,” said Bai.
UTAR president Prof Datuk Dr Chuah Hean Teik shared Bai’s sentiments and said UTAR has been collaborating with international universities and industry partners to provide a complete holistic education for students over the years.
“To date, UTAR has agreements with more than 280 foreign and local universities and industry partners from 25 economies. Among these, UTAR has signed Memorandum of Understandings with over 50 universities and institutions in China.
“The partnerships include collaborative agreements with the Pudong China Executive Leadership Academy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Xiamen University and many other reputable universities in China,” said Prof Chuah after thanking the embassy for its support and generosity.
He added that UTAR is strongly supportive of student exchange programmes which allows students form different economies to visit and learn about each other.
More opportunities for student exchanges will be created, said Prof Chuah.