KUALA LUMPUR: The agenda to provide empowerment for Bumiputera students continues in the 2019 Budget with the provision of scholarships and education loans through various agencies.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said a total of RM3.8 billion has been allocated for scholarships to Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), the Public Service Department (PSD) and the Ministry of Health.
He said of that amount, RM2 billion is allocated specifically to MARA-sponsored Bumiputera students.
However, scholarships for MARA-sponsored Bumiputera students have been reduced by RM0.5 billion, compared to RM2.5 billion in scholarships allocated for higher education and training under MARA in the 2018 Budget.
At the same time, the government has also allocated RM17.5 million to the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC) to produce 600 accredited Bumiputera accountants in the next five years.
Lim said the initiative was aimed at achieving the target of having 3,000 Bumiputera accountants registered under the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) as opposed to 1,554 at present.
In addition, the government is also providing an allocation of RM210 million as part of the empowerment agenda to empower education and human capital development among Bumiputera students.
The effort will be carried out through programmes such as Program Peneraju Tunas, Program Peneraju Skil dan Program Peneraju Profesional by Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera.