Named after Malaysia's first prime minister, the Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship (BTAR) has evolved to the challenges of the pandemic and looks beyond good grades to discover leadership potential in applicants
Years ago, a young student named Sathish Rao grew up helping his father on the palm oil estate where his family lived. Despite struggling with his education, Sathish was motivated, driven and a born leader. Opportunities for higher education looked increasingly out of reach for this young man, until he was awarded a loan from a certain foundation that noticed his strong leadership qualities and concern for the local community.
This same organisation, Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman (YTAR), awarded Sathish the BTAR (Biasiswa Tunku Abdul Rahman) or Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship, giving him much-needed support to finish his tertiary studies, carry out the community initiatives he was so passionate about and mentor other young leaders. The fruits of that scholarship programme are evident today—now a lecturer at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Sathish also sits on the board of a youth volunteering organisation called Yayasan Sukarelawan Siswa under the Ministry of Education.
Today, students like Sathish who would have previously struggled with access to financial aid and leadership opportunities in Malaysia have a fighting chance to better their lives through education thanks to YTAR initiatives like the BTAR scholarship.
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BTAR is an undergraduate degree scholarship that takes a holistic approach in selecting candidates. While academic excellence is a strong requirement in applicants, the programme's far-sighted criteria look beyond mere grades to leadership potential, community involvement and values that are central to nation-building. In the spirit of its namesake, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the scholarship looks for deserving Malaysian students who display "a strong ambition to contribute to the development of Malaysia" regardless of background, race or religion.
The scholarship covers tuition fees for a Bachelor's degree in any public or private university in Malaysia that has been accredited by the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA). With this endowment comes a monthly living allowance, a personal development allowance and other sums that cover travel expenses, laptops and thesis projects.
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