Chinese B40 students get aid from Johor govt

A total of 3,000 Chinese independent school students in Johor will benefit from the one-off financial aid. — Courtesy photos

A TOTAL of 3,000 underprivileged students in Chinese independent schools in Johor will benefit from a one-off financial assistance.

Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the state government had set aside RM1.5mil for the initiative this year.

The funds are being disbursed to recipients through Sultanah Fatimah Foundation.

“The financial aid will be channelled to students in the B40 category at 10 Chinese independent schools statewide.

“They will each receive RM500 to assist them with their school fees and other expenses.

“We hope this will help to lighten the financial burden faced by the students and their families,” said Ling, who is also the foundation’s board member.

He added that foundation chairman Mejar Cina Datuk David Wong Khong Soon recently presented a cheque for RM150,000 to Kluang’s Chong Hwa High School to benefit 300 students.

Wong (left) presenting a mock cheque to Tay as part of the RM800,000 aid allocation to Foon Yew High School.

Meanwhile, Foon Yew High School received RM800,000 from the foundation.

School board chairman Tay Chin Hien said the school was grateful to the foundation for the aid, which would benefit 1,600 students studying in Foon Yew’s three schools in Johor Baru, Seri Alam and Kulai.

“I hope the students, after benefitting from the aid, will study hard and give back to society in future,” he said.

Tay said Chinese independent schools upheld the nation’s education aspirations as their students also took the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

“Our schools have achieved excellent SPM results especially for Bahasa Malaysia, English and Chinese, where we recorded a 100% passing rate while the passing rate for History was about 95%.

“This showed that independent school students are not only well-versed in Mandarin but also do well in other areas,” he added.

During his visit to Batu Pahat’s Chinese High School and Chong Hwa High School Rengit earlier last month, Wong presented a cheque of RM125,000 and RM50,000 respectively.

“We also thank the Johor government for their support as Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi had allocated RM3mil to the foundation in this year’s state budget to assist the Chinese community.

“Distributing the funds to underprivileged students was among the programmes lined up to help the community,” said Wong.

He said the remaining funds would be distributed accordingly soon.