SEVEN students enrolled in construction-related courses were all smiles when they received their scholarships from the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) recently.

At its Education Fund Scholarship Award Presentation 2023, held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 14, the recipients – Muhammad Nazhan Mohd Ja’afar, Nur Idzni Abdul Ghafur, Tan Jian Xun, Pang Jun Wen, Siti Aishah Yusuf, Nurfarah Hanim Mohammad Fadzil and Yap Jei Shin – went home with scholarships worth RM155,000 collectively.

MBAM, in its press release, said it is committed to providing assistance to deserving students in pursuing their tertiary education even in the face of challenging economic times.

“We have focused a large portion of our efforts on funding the education of students in fields such as quantity surveying, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electronic engineering and science construction technology.

“We are thrilled to continue our contributions to the academic and upward progress of the Malaysian youth, who are the future leaders that will lead the construction industry,” it said, adding that since 2004, it has awarded scholarships amounting to about RM3.5mil to a total of 178 recipients.

The day also saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the association and YTL Foundation to launch the MBAM-Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Yeoh Tiong Lay Memorial Scholarship Programme.

The collaboration will award one YTL Scholarship a year through the MBAM Education Fund to a successful candidate pursuing an undergraduate degree in a local public university, with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) mechanical engineering student Jian Xun being the inaugural scholar.

The scholarship is set to continue the legacy of the late Yeoh, who was the association’s former honorary life president.

MBAM president Oliver HC Wee and YTL Foundation trustee Tan Sri Abu Hassan Othman signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations.

Since 2016, the MBAM Education Fund board of management (BOM) has offered a yearly scholarship of RM10,000 without any bond to deserving students to pursue their studies at selected local universities, leading to a Malaysian Qualifications Agency-accredited bachelor’s degree or professional qualification for a course related to the construction industry.

Muhammad Nazhan and Nur Idzni are enrolled in quantity surveying at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM); Jun Wen civil engineering at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM); Siti Aishah electronic engineering at UTHM; Nurfarah Hanim science construction technology at UiTM; and Jei Shin civil engineering at Universiti Malaya (UM).

In conjunction with the award ceremony, MBAM also presented the First Class Honours Award worth RM5,000 each to four of its scholars for the year 2019. They were UM students Moo Han Li and Choon Yue Hua, who studied civil engineering, and Caryn Tan Khye Lyn, who studied quantity surveying, as well as Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) quantity surveying student Low Ming Chi.

All four recipients graduated from their honours programmes with distinction.