Pic – NST
KOTA KINABALU: Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) has appealed to the Sabah government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor to offer a scholarship to the unfortunate student of SMK Tun Fuad Stephens, Arnie Jaliusih who obtained Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) 4.0 in last year’s STPM exam.
Expressing sympathy for the plight of Arnie’s family who had to borrow money from the villagers for their daughter to attend the STPM outstanding student appreciation ceremony here, KDM vice president Henry Saimpon said Arnie’s outstanding achievements despite being from a poor family should be given special consideration to get a scholarship.
The rubber tapper’s daughter’s desire of becoming a teacher is something Henry, who also serves as Tuaran KDM chief, hopes will come true.
“I am very sympathetic and shocked when I read on the NST news portal (Thursday) the plight of Arnie’s family so much so that they had to borrow RM120 from the villagers to attend the appreciation ceremony.
“I believe that assistance should be given to the gifted student from kg Sinasag Kiulu. There may be many more students out there who are in the same circumstance and need attention,” he said in a statement in response to the NST news report.
In this regard, Henry called on the state government to further intensify the eradication program in Sabah, especially in Kiulu.
“This kind of sad story should not happen if there is a continuous engagement with the villagers especially in remote area,” he added.
In light of the new development, Henry opined that it is high time KDM stepped up its “Reaching Out The People Programme”, particularly the young ones, to delve deeper into the grievances and demands of the people, including in Kiulu and Tamparuli state constituencies, respectively.
“In line with democratic principles, we are considering expanding our presence in Kiulu and Tamparuli as part of our preparations for the upcoming state elections,” he said.
