CYBERJAYA: QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd and KFC Malaysia recently announced the first-ever award of KFC Scholarship, aimed at increasing access to quality education, to 40 local university students.
The KFC Scholarship, amounting to RM2.1 million, will provide comprehensive financial support, including full tuition fees at public universities, monthly allowances and KFC vouchers to all scholarship recipients who are from the B40 income group.
The scholarship award ceremony was officiated by Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and was attended by QSR Brands managing director Nehchal Khanna and KFC Malaysia chief executive officer Loi Liang Tok.
In his speech, Nik Nazmi said access to education is sometimes hindered by financial constraints and the KFC Scholarship initiative is highly commendable as it helps to change lives.
“I would like to commend KFC Malaysia and QSR Brands for their leadership in creating opportunities for young talents. This initiative reflects the company’s commitment in supporting education and nurturing the next generation leaders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nehchal said the scholarship reflects the company’s commitment to the nation’s development through its young talents and indirectly prepares them to become future leaders.
“The recipients of the inaugural KFC Malaysia Scholarship programme represent a diverse group of impressive young individuals, spanning all 13 states. This geographical inclusivity ensures that we are bridging the urban-rural education gap and contributing towards a more equitable and united Malaysia,” he said.
Scholarship recipient Haajaratul Nabila Rosman, 21, who majors in Information Technology at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) said the scholarship would ease her family’s financial burden in supporting her studies in data analytics.
The sixth of eight siblings, she said the scholarship would also allow her to participate in external programmes related to data analytics, which would otherwise incur additional costs.
Wong Wei Lik, 19, a dental student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), expressed his gratitude for being selected as a KFC Scholarship recipient, given that his parents are separated and his family relies solely on his mother’s RM900 monthly income as a rubber tapper.
“I have applied for various scholarships, but only KFC Malaysia responded. The cost of pursuing dentistry is quite high and not many companies offer scholarships for this course. I was quite surprised when I was chosen and I am happy because I don’t have to burden my family members any longer,” he said.
Another recipient, Narmadha Devi Balamurugan, 19, from Klang, said besides financial aid, the KFC Scholarship also provides a platform for recipients to be trained as leaders to advance their careers in the future.
“My ambition is to become a data scientist, which requires me to study until I earn a PhD, and this scholarship will help with my current studies,” said the Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) student at UKM.
