Story and Pix by Chan Lilian
A HUGE turnout of secondary students at the Penang Pesta site on Oct 18 marked another programme from the state government that benefits the people.
This time, it was the “Minor Scholarship” or “Biasiswa Kecil”, which has seen lower secondary school students receiving RM600 and RM840 for upper secondary.
In 2009, a year after the Pakatan Rakyat took over the state government, the payout was increased from RM240 to RM480 (lower secondary), and RM360 to RM720 (upper).
To alleviate the burden of parents from the lower income group, the state again revised the amount and increased it further from RM480 to RM600 and RM720 to RM840.
Penang gives out the highest amount of minor scholarships at the same level as the federal government.
“This scholarship reflects the commitment of the state government towards the human talent and the contributions of the rakyat as stakeholders of the state. It is important for the state to continue encouraging and help the human talent to improve their skills through education and training,” Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said in his speech..
“This will also attract those abroad to return to Penang/Malaysia,” he added.
In total, the state government approved 2,048 new students to receive the scholarship, totalling RM1.56 million from 125 schools.
The selection is based on the family’s socio-economic background and also the achievements of the students.
Since Pakatan Rakyat took over the state administration in 2008, the state has channelled RM120.36 million till this year to its people through various programmes.