Malaysian students receive scholarships worth RM 442,000

Malaysia Australia Colombo Plan Commemoration Scholarships
build on strong education ties between Australia and Malaysia

HE Penny Williams with the
recipients and their parents

 KUALA LUMPUR 31 January 2008 – In a ceremony today, the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ms Penny Williams, presented three Malaysian students with scholarships to pursue their undergraduate degrees in Australian universities. The recipients were Christopher Tay Kong Soon who will study for a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Graphic Design at La Trobe University, Lim Wei Fang who will study Economics at the University of Queensland, and Davinthra Jothy Thillainathan who will study Commerce at the University of Newcastle.

The scholarships were granted under the 2008 Malaysia-Australia Colombo Plan Commemoration (MACC) Scholarships Program. A fourth scholarship at Curtin University of Technology will be awarded shortly. Collectively worth RM 442,000, the MACC Scholarships provide full or partial tuition fee waivers.

Speaking at the ceremony Ms Williams emphasised the importance of education to the relationship between Australia and Malaysia.

“Education is a bedrock of the Australia-Malaysia relationship. Through it, we have come to know each other better and create binding ties between our two communities.

“The Colombo Plan paved the way for an education relationship of extraordinary depth. 4, 000 young Malaysians studied in Australia as Colombo Plan scholars. Many of them went on to become prominent contributors to Malaysian politics, academia and business – people like Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed, the Minister for Higher Education, and the late Datuk Dr Sam Abraham, the renowned pediatrician. All the Colombo Plan scholars, and indeed any Malaysian who has studied in Australia, hold a special place in the Australia-Malaysia relationship.

“This Commemoration Program has been built on the spirit of the Colombo Plan. It encourages a two-way flow of scholars between Malaysia and Australia. It enables us to continue learning about one another. I am sure that this year’s recipients will make their own names in Malaysia’s history as they excel in their respective fields,” said Ms Williams.

Puan Sri Susan Cheah, MAAC
President and HE Penny Williams,
with Wei Fang, Davinthra and Christopher 

Over 80 scholarships have been granted for two-way exchange of Australian and Malaysian students under the MACC Program since its launch in 2001. The Program is spearheaded by the Malaysian Australian Alumni Council, an umbrella organisation for Australian university alumni in Malaysia, and IDP Education Australia, with the support of the Malaysia-Australia Foundation, the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Australian Education International and the Australia Malaysia Cultural Foundation.

Currently there are almost 20,000 Malaysian students studying in Australia.