KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Wanita MCA sets up an education loan fund for underprivileged and financially disadvantaged Sabah youths.
Its chairman, Datuk Dr Pamela Yong, said the TARC – MCA Sabah Wanita Student Loan Fund is an interest-free revolving fund for Sabah students.
“It is our commitment and our aim for Sabahan students to benefit from the fund as education plays an important role in helping people out of poverty and building a nation,” she said during the Sabah Wanita MCA annual general meeting on Saturday (Sept 21).
She said that Sabah Wanita MCA would raise the funds annually to ensure more Sabah children could benefit.
Dr Yong said that MCA has always been committed to educating Malaysians.
"In Sabah, we have seen the Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR-UMT) branch being set up with a campus offering tertiary education for 3,000 students.
"The fees are also 40% cheaper than institutes of higher learning," she added.
“MCA believes affordable quality education should be accessible to all Malaysians, including Sabahans. We set up a native student bursary to ensure they have access to education,” Dr Yong said.
She said the TAR-UMT Student Loan Fund was established in 1979 to help needy and deserving students to pursue and complete tertiary education.
The revolving loan fund is raised through donations from alums, corporations, foundations, philanthropists, and well-meaning Malaysians.
Over 100 donor loan funds have been established, and over 15,000 loans worth more than RM65mil have been awarded. All student loans are interest-free.
Graduates were urged to repay their loans promptly, ensuring the student loan fund can continue providing loans to current and incoming students.
She said the TAR UMT Student Loan Fund, totalling RM346,000, was offered to 25 students for the academic years 2023 and 2024. At the same time, bursary scholarships for needy and Indigenous Sabahan, totalling RM380,000, were awarded to 13 students.
"Since 2016, the bursary scholarship totalling RM860,000 has benefited 37 Sabahan students," she said.
