MERCU Learning Point and friends establish first scholarship for Malay Singaporean undergraduates at SMU
[Singapore, 12 November 2015 (Thursday)] – MERCU Learning Point, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), together with a senior Singaporean investment professional and a senior Singaporean banker, have come together to contribute $600,000 to establish the MERCU-SMU Excellence Scholarship (Scholarship) for full-time Malay Singaporean undergraduates who are in year two to year four and enrolled in any of the six schools at Singapore Management University (SMU).
The Scholarship aims to inspire needy SMU Malay students with outstanding academic results as well as commendable record of co-curricular activity and/or community service involvement to scale greater heights of excellence.
Guest-of-Honour Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, Minister-In-Charge of Cyber Security & Minister-In-Charge of Muslim Affairs, launched the Scholarship with SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer and the three donors at a ceremony in SMU today.
Minister Yaacob Ibrahim presented the inaugural recipients with the Scholarship at the ceremony. They are Ms Nur Amalina Binte Saparin (final-year student, School of Law), Mr Khairul Ashraf Bin Khairul Anwar (third-year student, School of Law), and Mr Hafiz Kasman (third-year student, Lee Kong Chian School of Business).
Speaking on behalf of the donors, Mr Azmi Muslimin, Chairman of MERCU Learning Point, said “SMU’s broad-based and rigorous curriculum delivers both depth and breadth, and equips students with a total skill-set consisting of hard knowledge skills, soft people skills and the 'heart' skills. Its emphasis on giving back to society where all students have to complete 80 hours of community service and take a class in Ethics and Social Responsibility, together with the global exposure and internship opportunities that it offers its students, resonate with our beliefs of the qualities an excellent university should possess.”
SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer said, “We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the three donors for establishing this first-of-its-kind scholarship at SMU. The MERCU-SMU Excellence Scholarship will help us ensure that no deserving Malay student misses out on the opportunity of an SMU education because of financial need. I hope this gift will inspire other community and industry leaders to similarly contribute to building a richer and more vibrant educational environment for all SMU students.”
With 1-to-1 government matching, the total sum of $1.2 million will fund three annual scholarships of $12,000 each, commencing this academic year. The Scholarship will offer financial support for the recipients’ school fees and other study-related expenses. Special consideration will be given to candidates with evidence of financial need.
[Photo: (L-R) Chairman of MERCU Learning Point Mr Mohd Azmi Muslimin, scholarship recipient Mr Hafiz Kasman, SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer, Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, scholarship recipients Ms Nur Amalina Binte Saparin and Mr Khairul Ashraf Bin Khairul Anwar, and Chairman of Association of Muslim Professionals Mr Azmoon Ahmad.]
