Orang Asli student scores a first with honours degree from UK university

PETALING JAYA: An Orang Asli student from Perak made her community proud when she became the first person from the Semai tribe to receive a Bachelor’s Degree with First Class Honours from the renowned University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom.

The Orang Asli Students Association (PMOA) tweeted that Susherrie Suki had recently graduated from UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning, where she read Science in Urban Planning and Real Estate.

“Susherrie Suki is the first Orang Asli graduate from Peninsular Malaysia to receive a First Class Bachelor’s Degree from UCL, which is a world-class university that is ranked eighth place globally according to the QS World University Rankings 2023.

“Sherrie hails from Perak. Her parents are both Orang Asli from the Semai tribe in Kampung Orang Asli Chinggung in Behrang Ulu, Tanjung Malim, and Kampung Orang Asli Ulu Geruntum in Gopeng, Perak.

“She has now received an offer to further her studies to the Master’s level in Urban Design and City Planning at the same university,” the association said.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz also congratulated Susherrie in a tweet.

“Congratulations to Susherrie Suki who is the first Orang Asli graduate from Peninsular Malaysia to be awarded a first class degree from University College London (UCL),” he wrote.

In 2016, it was reported that Susherrie scored 10 As in her SPM examination, before being accepted to further her education at the Seremban Mara College.

The PMOA said Sherrie was one of the Orang Asli students who received a scholarship from Mara under its Young Talent Programme following her excellent SPM results.

She was also active in other activities inside and outside campus, including being a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, holding the position of publicity bureau chief for the Bartlett Urban Planning Society, and being a leader in the UCL Malaysia Society, among others.

She is also active in volunteering activities.

PMOA ingin mengucapkan TAHNIAH kepada salah seorang ahli PMOA iaitu Saudari Susherrie Suki kerana telah berjaya menamatkan pengajian bagi peringkat Ijazah Sarjana Muda Kelas Pertama dari Bartlett School of Planning di University College London (UCL), United Kingdom (UK) dalam... pic.twitter.com/ZYNtRSX09M — Persatuan Mahasiswa Orang Asli (@MahasiswaOA) September 13, 2022