Am real proud of you, girl !

The government scholarship, not easy to get, unless you pass all the conditions.

My lovely sister, Jennifer, had made our family proud again. At first, she made us proud by getting real good results during her STPM and with that good sets of results, she managed to enter the most profound university we have in Malaysia, the University Malaya. She is currently in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, studying East Asian Studies and majoring in Japanese language (perhaps very much influenced by his brother who’s here in Japan). Anyway, being a nice good girl and considering the financial situation we have in our family, she decided to apply for the Malaysian Government’s Public Service Department Scholarship for local universities and guess what, she successfully got it and that is the pride our family take in after that very success of hers entering the prestigious university.

My dad called me to inform me and to consult me regarding this matter, on whether she should accept the offer or not. I went through the details of this particular scholarship once again and did all the math and considerations for her. I, myself, managed to receive the JPA scholarship to continue my studies overseas here in Japan for both my diploma and degree. Without the scholarship, there is no way for me to survive the high living cost of expenses here so I decided to take it because it was a golden opportunity for me to see the world. Anyway, as for my sister’s case, she has only one and half year to go before she graduate. She will receive about RM11,000 per year to cover up her living expenses and also tuition fees (which is about RM5000 per year) if she decides to take it. That means by the time she graduate she will get roughly RM16,500 from the government.

Well, of course, the government will not give the money for free. There are the conditions which comes along with this contract and as of my sister’s case, she will have to serve the government for 4 to 5 years after she had graduated from her studies. If she had received the scholarship and decides not to serve the government, she has to pay up RM110,000 to RM130,000 as to say “sorry”. Anyway, this story is fine for people who really decides to have a career as a government servant but after giving much thought, I don’t think it is right to decide a single path only for my sister right now already. I mean with her qualifications I believe that she will get many offers in the private sector as well and I don’t want her not to be able to choose from all those choices by being tied up by this bond.

So, it is clear and vivid that Jennifer will not take this scholarship. Yes, it would help us financially to support her studies but then, Mom and Dad said that they will be fine to support her for another one and half years. Plus, I will be working already from next year on so I believe I can support her well too. So, in order to give my sister the liberty of choices in the future, we have to say goodbye to this tempting offer. Of course, there are many Malaysians who are dying for the offer as it is a golden opportunity if you seek a career in the governmental sector plus you get all the worries of your shoulders about the expenses you need to make during the school years.

Nevertheless, our family is real proud of my sister. Her STPM results and her university results won her this scholarship and now, I believe that she understands that when you always try to excel, more chances will come to you. So, my message to her is to just keep focusing on her studies and look out for that chance to come to Japan. For your information, my fellow readers, she has a chance to come to Japan because in her course, for excellent students, they are offered to come to Japan for a year to study. Will she get it or not, we’ll see from now. But, for now, am happy that she has shown us that she cared for our family so much that she actually took those actions by herself. My little sister is no longer little and she’s thinking for herself. Am proud to know that very fact. Love you, sis.