SPM 2024: SMK Meradong top scorers honour with incentives
MERADONG (July 1): A total of 29 outstanding students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Meradong who excelled in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2024 examination were honoured with education incentive awards during a special ceremony held at the school hall yesterday.
Meradong assemblyman Datuk Ding Kuong Hiing officiated at the event and commended the students for bringing pride to their school through their academic excellence.
'These incentives are not only a form of recognition but also serve as motivation for Form 3, 4, and 5 students to strive for excellenc in their upcoming examinations,' he said in a statement issued by the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas).
Ding also encouraged more students to pursue the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) stream, in line with current development needs and Sarawak's human capital goals.
He went on to announce that starting in 2026, the Sarawak government will implement a free higher education policy for Sarawakian students pursuing core fields such as medicine, finance, accounting, and law.
Additionally, students from families with a household income of RM1,500 and below will receive an annual living allowance of RM15,000 to support their studies.
As part of his continued commitment to education development in Meradong, Ding also announced a RM150,000 allocation under the 2026 Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) to upgrade the SMK Meradong hall facilities, including the installation of new air-conditioning units.
He further disclosed that the incentive amounts for outstanding SPM and STPM students will be increased next year to further encourage academic excellence.
Also present were SMK Meradong principal Poh Chie Teck and the school's Parent-Teacher Association chairman Cherida Igu. education lead outstanding students Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia SMK Meradong
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sinar Daily
2 days ago
- Sinar Daily
Malaysia's young Stem talents win in Australia, headed to World Robotics Finals in China
The duo will now represent Malaysia at the WRC Grand Finals in January 2026. The competition, held from July 31 to Aug 2, saw Malaysian representatives Muhammad Daiyan Mohd Shahril and Muhammad Asyraf Iman Aziz from Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, Putrajaya, demonstrate exceptional skill in drone technology and robotics against top international competitors. SHAH ALAM - Malaysia's student robotics team has secured a spot in the World Robotic Competition (WRC) Grand Finals in Shenzhen, China, after a strong performance at the WRC 2025 in Perth, Australia. Their participation was made possible through the support of the Education Ministry's Sports, Co-Curricular and Arts Division (BSKK) and Yayasan Pendidikan Malaysia (YPM). The competition, held from July 31 to Aug 2, saw Malaysian representatives Muhammad Daiyan Mohd Shahril and Muhammad Asyraf Iman Aziz from Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, Putrajaya, demonstrate exceptional skill in drone technology and robotics against top international competitors. Both students are part of the Stem Nexus program, which focuses on developing future-ready talents in science, technology and innovation. The duo will now represent Malaysia at the WRC Grand Finals in January 2026, competing against top teams from more than 20 countries. The duo will now represent Malaysia at the WRC Grand Finals in January 2026, competing against top teams from more than 20 countries. This marks another significant milestone for Malaysia's Stem education progress. With their victory in Perth, the duo will advance to the WRC Grand Finals in January 2026, where they will compete against the best young drone pilots from more than 20 countries. "Their achievement marks another important milestone for Malaysia's Stem education and showcases the nation's growing capabilities in innovation. "In preparation for the finals, the team is seeking national support to strengthen their training, upgrade equipment and cover travel expenses," Stem said in a statement. Mentorship from industry experts will also play a key role in ensuring they are ready for the global stage. Since its inception in 2016, the Stem Nexus programme has benefited over 1,000 students, including those from B40 and asnaf communities, by creating equal opportunities in technology education. YPM has called on potential partners from industry and academia to collaborate in supporting this mission. Such partnerships will not only help Malaysia shine on the world stage but also contribute to the nation's long-term investment in Stem development, offering supporters international brand exposure and recognition for advancing youth education. More Like This
The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
HK universities see success in drive to attract more top talent from abroad
HONG KONG: Professor Gao Yang, a prominent scholar in the fields of robotics and aerospace, left King's College London to join the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in May after being approached to take up new roles there. While her move back to Asia was primarily driven by her family's needs, she said Hong Kong's current focus on developing its scientific fields at a world-class level as a strategic driver for long-term growth was a major pull factor for her. At the same time, the geopolitical and economic climates elsewhere in the world – in particular, Western countries – have become increasingly challenging for academics to navigate. Said Prof Gao: 'Compared with the greater uncertainties in the UK and Europe, the situation in Hong Kong in terms of the volume and scale of support poured into research, innovation and commercialisation looks a lot more positive, stable and sustainable. The investment in (my field of) aerospace programming definitely seems more determined and committed.' The mainland China-born academic, who has spent 20 years teaching in the United Kingdom after a decade of studying in Singapore, now heads HKUST's Centre for AI Robotics in Space Sustainability as well as its Space Science and Technology Institute, and teaches at its department of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Professor Gao Yang said she was drawn by Hong Kong's current focus on developing its scientific fields at a world-class level. Prof Gao is one of the successes that Hong Kong is seeing in its drive to attract more international talent to teach at the city's top universities. It comes as the Asian financial hub ramps up efforts to develop its artificial intelligence and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) industries as engines to power future growth in the city. The city has also been increasingly aligning its economic development with China's objectives, which include ramping up technological innovation and scientific research in competition with the United States. Statistics from some Hong Kong universities have shown a notable rise in new faculty appointments from abroad. But that many of these scholars are of mainland Chinese origin has raised some concerns about talent diversity. HKUST, one of the city's eight publicly funded universities, said it had 'welcomed more than 100 top scholars and scientists from mainland China, the United States, Germany, France, South Korea, Singapore and other countries' since it started a global recruitment campaign in October 2022. It 'aims to hire another 100 faculty members', the university told The Straits Times. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), also publicly funded, told ST it had 'recruited over 150 leading international and promising young scholars from 15 regions including mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America' since 2023. Its programmes have been 'attracting top non-local research talents to Hong Kong to participate in innovation and technology development', it added. Hong Kong's education chief Christine Choi also revealed in April that 'world-renowned professors from US institutions are relocating to Hong Kong', driven by tighter visa policies and geopolitical tensions affecting traditional Western study destinations. She declined, however, to provide more details, citing a 'need for discretion to ensure smooth transitions'. Among prominent international scholars who have relocated to Hong Kong over the past year are meteorologist Chen Fei, who worked at the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research for 26 years, and Harvard University-trained economist Jin Keyu, who was a tenured professor at the London School of Economics for 15 years. Both academics joined HKUST. HKUST has been among the most proactive of the city's tertiary institutions in taking advantage of global developments to attract international talent, academics and students alike, to Hong Kong. In May, it promised unconditional offers to Harvard University students immediately after the US government moved to halt foreign enrolment at the college. In Britain, the flagging economy has affected research funding for many academics, as grants are based on a proportion of the country's gross domestic product, noted Prof Gao. 'As this situation carries on, it is likely to affect more domains and bring more academics to Asia,' she told ST. Of her experience in Hong Kong so far, Prof Gao said she was 'completely surprised and amazed by the proactive engagement from sectors including the decision-making think-tanks, businesses, the government and industry to build dialogue' in her field. 'Such seamless collaboration between the scientific community and think-tanks will help make a more profound impact on society beyond just academia,' she added. Over at CUHK, global Stem scholar and prominent mathematics professor Wei Juncheng moved back to Hong Kong in late 2024 after 11 years of teaching at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada. Professor Wei Juncheng said tensions between the US and China have spilt over into Canada, affecting academia as well. Prior to his stint at UBC, Wuhan-born Professor Wei, 57, had taught for 18 years at CUHK after obtaining his doctorate from the University of Minnesota in the US. 'In the last few years, tensions between the US and China have somehow also spilled over into Canada, affecting the environment in academia as well,' Prof Wei told ST. 'Applying for research grants has become more difficult and political for some academics (in Canada),' he said, adding that many mainland-born scholars applying for funding were now required to fill up more forms delving into their backgrounds and specify that they were not researching in areas of strategic sensitivity or those that would help China. Tighter visa restrictions have also impeded global exchanges as the once-frequent Chinese government-sponsored academic visitors can no longer obtain visas to visit Canadian universities for learning and collaboration, he added. There have also been reports of the Chinese authorities restricting educators from leaving the country or visiting universities overseas. Prof Wei said he has observed a large and growing number of mainland-origin academics leaving the West in recent years. 'Despite having been educated in the US, many of my mainland-born academia friends there have moved back to China, with the influx accelerating especially in 2025,' he said. 'I chose to return to Hong Kong as I'm already familiar with CUHK's environment and I still prefer the internet and academic freedom we enjoy here.' The recent inflow of internationally trained scholars into Hong Kong comes after the city's public universities reported a record number of academic staff departures two years ago. Some 7.6 per cent of staff, or 380 out of about 5,000 in the eight institutes, quit in the 2022/2023 academic year, while 7.4 per cent left the year before. The departures coincided with a mass exodus of both local and foreign talent following the Covid-19 pandemic and the imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020. Some analysts have raised concerns, however, that those hired to fill the vacancies are tilted heavily towards mainland-born scholars, potentially affecting academic diversity. Mainland-origin academics have outnumbered their local counterparts at nearly all of the eight publicly funded universities since 2023. Some 41 per cent of all of the institutes' academic staff are now from mainland China, according to official data. Student numbers in Hong Kong's universities have also increasingly veered towards mainlanders, accounting for 74 per cent of the city's pool of non-local first-year students in the 2024/2025 academic year. Hong Kong's growing number of mainland-born academics is due to both push and pull factors, according to Associate Professor Alfred Wu from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. 'The push factor is the increasing difficulty for these scholars to continue operating in the West, while the pull factor is that – with Hong Kong now paying a lot more attention to research that integrates well into the Greater Bay Area's (GBA) development plans – it makes academic collaboration much smoother for these scholars, as they understand mainland Chinese culture much better,' Prof Wu told ST. The GBA refers to the region comprising Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in mainland China's Guangdong province. But the consequent drop in diversity within academia could hinder the city's ability to innovate, adapt to global changes and maintain its competitiveness as an international hub, Prof Wu suggested. 'People need to think long term – having diversity means that we try to reduce our risks by not putting all our eggs into one basket,' he said. 'Decreasing diversity in Hong Kong universities may not be a problem now, but the situation may be different a decade or two down the road if Hong Kong's focus for growth has to shift away from its alignment with mainland China.' - The Straits Times/ANN
Barnama
7 days ago
- Barnama
Science Castle Malaysia Expands STEM Access For Sarawakian Students
KUCHING, July 31 (Bernama) -- The Science Castle Malaysia 2025 programme in Kuching today aims to expand STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education access for students in Sarawak, particularly those with strong potential in research and innovation. Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad executive director and chief production officer Yong Kum Cheng said that based on the experience of organising the previous instalment of Science Castle Malaysia, there were major challenges for students in Sabah and Sarawak to participate in the programme due to cost and logistical constraints. Speaking at a press conference after the programme's launch today, Yong said Ajinomoto believes technology is key to nation-building, and Science Castle serves as a platform to support that goal. 'That's why we ensure the programme is inclusive - whether students are from Kuching, Sibu or rural areas, all are welcome to participate and learn through hands-on experience, not just theory,' he said. He added that factory visits and industry expert sessions help students visualise their future paths and understand how they can contribute using their knowledge. 'Students studying biology, chemistry or physics can see how their knowledge applies in fields like automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and natural resource management,' said Yong. Meanwhile, Science Castle Malaysia project chief, Muhammad Basril Muhammad Asri, said the programme is open to secondary school students, without specific themes or criteria, as long as projects relate to science and technology. 'We want to spark interest early without burdening students with complex assessments. It's about applied, hands-on learning,' he said. Muhammad Basril added that nearly 500 students joined this year, reflecting Sarawakian students' strong enthusiasm and confidence in sharing ideas.
