Children rewarded for $ense

The champion: Candy pointing to the artwork that earned her the top prize in the challenge.

HER drawing appears to have been prophetic. For Candy Voo Siao Tian, her artwork depicting a family holiday and saving the rest of her winnings, won the top prize in the Alliance Bank AEIOU Challenge.

It helped that the 11-year-old’s artistic skills and understanding of financial concepts gave her an edge in the drawing competition, that uses comic strips as a fun and interactive way to educate students on financial literacy.

“I want to take my parents to Universal Studios Singapore with me, put the cash as savings in the bank and donate some to charity,” said Candy, who won RM3,000 cash, three entrance tickets to the theme park, three return air tickets, a one-night stay in Singapore and a stationery hamper.

The second prize went to Tan Yi Ming, a Year Six pupil from SJKC Sentul in Kuala Lumpur who received RM2,000 in cash. Ann Veatcey, Candy’s fellow Year Five classmate at SJKC Yick Nam in Inanam, Sabah, won the third prize of RM1,000 in cash. They also received tickets to Legoland Malaysia and a stationery hamper.

Ann plans to treat her parents to a meal using her prize money, while Yi Ming is saving up to buy a laptop. Consolation prizes of RM200 cash were also given to the challenge’s six finalists.

The AEIOU Challenge, which is supported by the Education Ministry, was designed to help children improve their understanding of financial concepts and to cultivate the habit of living within one’s means.

By possessing these necessary life skills at a young age, the children will be able to successfully plan and manage their finances when they leave school.

“The AEIOU Challenge is one of our financial literacy initiatives to help build a generation of Malaysians who are able to save, spend and invest wisely,” said Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad group chief executive officer Joel Kornreich.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap, who gave away the prizes, said financial literacy is an essential skill needed by everyone.

“Children who are financially literate will be able to manage complex situations at home, at work and in life,” said Yap, who has been appointed Deputy Higher Education Minister following a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday.

Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad Head of Group Corporate Strategy and Development executive vice president Amarjeet Kaur said: “We started with a series of comics produced in English and Bahasa Malaysia, then had financial literacy workshops at Alliance Bank branches before organising the challenge.

“The children really want to learn how to manage money - not only saving, but how to spend wisely,” she said.

Alliance Bank ran roadshows on the AEIOU Challenge over two months, bringing lessons on good financial habits to 50 adopted schools and over 14,000 children aged between nine and 12. Of the 5,000 submissions received, a panel of judges shortlisted 40 for the preliminary challenge. The top three winners were decided based on a combination of their financial literacy quiz scores and votes received for their artworks.

Kornreich added that the winning artworks will be shared on Alliance Bank’s website and displayed at the branches nearest to the winners’ homes. — By JADE CHAN