The contents of this post have been reproduced from: http://singaporeanskeptic.blogspot.com/2009/07/translated-letter-to-berita-harian.html
This is a translated letter written (and translated) by Farhan Ali which he sent to the Berita Harian. (Thank you Farhan.) It is to highlight the issue of bond free scholarships to the Malay community. According to him, the issue of bond-free scholarship is largely unknown in the Malay community.
Choose bond-free scholarships
I refer to the report “First ‘environmentally friendly’ Malay recipient” (BH, 7 Jul 2009). Congratulations to Mr Mohamed Arif Mohamed in receiving the Housing Development Board (HDB) scholarship. Mr Arif also stated how he would like to pursue environmental engineering up to PhD level. It is an ambition that should be encouraged in the Malay community. But I hope Mr Arif has seriously considered the scholarship bond. I have a few friends who when young felt proud to have gotten a government agency scholarship. But they have since regretted the decision because it has hampered their plans to immediately pursue a PhD due to the bond that has to be served after obtaining the Bachelor’s degree. Some have also expressed dissatisfaction with the jobs that have been given to them upon graduation. Not many in the Malay/Muslim community may be aware that many universities all over the world, including in Singapore, award bond-free scholarships.
For example, five years back when I was an undergraduate student, I received a National University of Singapore Undergraduate Scholarship that funded my tuition costs for four years along with a monthly allowance. In the United States, universities are more generous with scholarships and funding for undergraduate and graduate students. This is especially so for the big private universities, such as those in the Ivy League. For instance, Harvard University pays all tuition costs of undergraduate students from families earning less than US$60,000 (S$87,000) without regard to nationality. Graduate students are also funded generously in most PhD programs without considering family income. As a PhD candidate, my university is funding my education, including a decent monthly salary. Not once was, or will I be, bonded in NUS or in the United States after graduation.
It is hard to believe, but it is true! A lot more of my PhD friends in America, including a few students few from the Malay/Muslim community’s, are recipients of such scholarships that offer freedom not bondage. We are ever grateful for the munificence from such institutions. Previously, opportunities to further one’s studies, especially overseas, were very much limited, thus government scholarships were highly sought after.
Times have changed. Institutions of higher learning value talent and diversity in their student body and are able to provide generous scholarships and funding. I encourage young people and parents of the Malay/Muslim community to visit the websites of various universities, research institutes, and web portals such as http://igfas.wiki.zoho.com/HomePage.html or http://www.iefa.org/ to obtain further information. We should pursue knowledge and chase our dreams without being shackled by a bond that was signed when young and regretted later.
Farhan Ali
Cambridge, United States
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