3,000 students receive scholarships worth RM45 million

Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) broke its record by rewarding scholarships worth RM45 million to more than 3,000 students yesterday.

The amount surpasses last year's total at RM33 million.

Minister of Higher Education Dato' Seri Haji Idris Jusoh who was present applauded the efforts of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) in supporting education in Malaysia. According to him, the financial burden of the ministry can be lifted with help from philanthropists and foundations like the JCF. He thanked the foundation for supporting the ministry's mission to make Malaysia a high-income and regional education hub.

"This Public Private Partnership is beneficial to all and I am glad to note that the foundation's vision is very much aligned with the aims of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 for higher education which was launched in April this year," the minister said.

JCF founding trustee and Sunway University chancellor Dr Cheah was also heartened with the total of diverse recipients this year. He expressed the commitment of the foundation and Sunway Group in nurturing talent through quality education.

In his speech, Dr Cheah announced its partnership with top universities in the world. The foundation is currently concluding its new ties with the University of Oxford, in addition to the setting up of the Asia base for Harvard University Asia Center's affiliate, the Asia Leadership Institute (ALI), at the Sunway campus. This would enable more programmes and exchanges with American ivy league universities for students from both sides.

The JCF Scholarships and Awards Ceremony is now in  its 15th year. The foundation is Malaysia's largest education-focused social enterprise. To date, it has awarded more than RM210mil worth of scholarships to an estimated 23,000 deserving and bright students. Recipients of the scholarships and awards this year include seven graduates and professors for the Jeffrey Cheah Travel Grants for Southeast Asian Studies at Harvard University.