Kuala Lumpur, 7 July 2010: Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM) has awarded scholarships to five Malaysian students to pursue undergraduate studies under its inaugural Undergraduate Scholarship Programme. The scholarship award is part of PIDM’s ongoing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and aimed at contributing to the potential talent pool in Malaysia.

PIDM Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Haji Taha, who presented the scholarships at a ceremony recently, said in his speech that while a tertiary education is key in enabling young people to create successful futures and open doors to career opportunities, a university degree is often not attainable because of economic considerations.

“With the PIDM Scholarship, our intention is to provide assistance for those who have the ability to achieve academic excellence but cannot do so for lack of financial support,” he said.

The five deserving recipients of the inaugural scholarship are Farah Afiza binti Salmanfarsi, Firdaus Ally bin Zulkifli, Leong Zhi Cong, Phang Jai Juet and Vicneshwaran a/l Bala. They will be pursuing undergraduate studies in various fields relevant to the financial industry at public and private universities in Malaysia.

“I am happy to have been selected as a recipient of the PIDM scholarship,” said Firdaus Ally. “It has always been my ambition to be a software developer and I am grateful to PIDM for helping me realise my dream.”

A key feature of the PIDM Scholarship is a mentoring programme by its senior management. A mentor selected from PIDM’s Executive Management Committee will be assigned to each recipient, enabling him or her to leverage on the mentor’s wide experience as well as obtain advice and support throughout his or her period of study.

“I will be pursuing a Bachelor of Actuarial Science and have a long and difficult task ahead, but I feel confident knowing that as part of PIDM’s mentoring programme I will receive valuable guidance and support from my mentor,” said Leong Zhi Cong.

As part of the scholarship programme, recipients will also have the opportunity to undertake a six-month internship at PIDM to put in to practice all that they have learnt in the context of PIDM’s operations.
The scholarship recipients were selected from over 65 applications received from all over the country and assessed based on their academic track record, co-curricular participation, leadership qualities, communication skills as well as family background.

Each recipient of the PIDM Scholarship will receive up to RM 80,000 over four years, which would cover tuition fees, living expenses as well as allowances for learning aids such as computer, books and stationeries.
 

ABOUT PIDM
PIDM administers the statutory deposit insurance system in Malaysia that provides protection – automatically – on all ringgit and foreign currency deposits with commercial banks, Islamic banks, investment banks, international Islamic banks and deposit-taking development financial institutions regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia.

For further information:

• Call 1-800-88-1266, 8.30am to 5.30pm on Monday – Friday (excluding public holidays)
• Email: info@pidm.gov.my
• Visit: www.pidm.gov.my