Two Close Friends Fulfil Their Dreams to Enroll at UMPSA

PAYA BESAR, August 13, 2023 - Two close friends from Kampung Cherong and Pos Sinderut shared their joy and excitement as they received offers to pursue their studies in the Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health programme at Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), which began registering today.

Alet a/l Yok Pandir, 18, and Musa a/l Yok Gek, 18, who have been close friends since their school days at Kuala Lanar Secondary School in Lipis, are still in disbelief and pleasantly surprised by the joyful news they had long dreamed of, which has now become a reality.

Alet, while sharing this moment of happiness, said he was truly surprised when he received the offer letter personally delivered by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), Professor Ir. Ts. Dr. Ahmad Ziad Sulaiman, who was accompanied by the Director of the Centre for Marketing and Academic Intake, Zainal Bahari, and UMPSA staff.

"Every day, I prayed to set foot in a university because it has been my dream since I was a child," he said.

According to the fourth of seven siblings, at that moment, he realized that not only he was excited, but the faces of both his parents also radiated joy when they were informed that their child had received an offer to enter the university, to the extent that they wanted to organize a feast.

"However, due to the tight schedule for registration, perhaps the feast cannot be held at this time.

"I also want to express my gratitude to UMPSA for giving me and other indigenous children the opportunity to continue our education at the university.

"I was deeply moved when UMPSA also provided logistical support to bring me to register in Kuantan," he said.

He prayed for success in university and the ability to change his family's destiny for the better.
Meanwhile, his friend Musa a/l Yok said that he had succeeded in proving that living in the hinterlands was not a barrier to pursuing higher education.

"Our place of residence is indeed deep in the hinterlands, it takes about four hours just to reach my village, so from a young age, we have been living in hostels.

"Therefore, I am not uncomfortable living in a hostel and leaving my family to pursue knowledge," he said, a top student of the 2022 Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) with 8A's.

In the meantime, Professor Ir. Ts. Dr. Ahmad Ziad said that the visit to the students' homes in the Ziarah Kasih Programme is one of the initiatives as a sign of UMPSA's concern in providing information and educational consulting services for students who have achieved excellent SPM results, especially for those in rural areas.

In addition to delivering offer letters, the UMP Foundation also donated kitchen necessities to the students' families.

By: Nor Salwana Mohammad Idris, Centre for Corporate Communications, Chancellery Department

Translation by: Aminatul Nor Mohamed Said, UMP Career Centre (UMPCC)