Scholarship to fund 50 students from ASEAN nations for the 2020/2021 Academic Year

KUALA LUMPUR, 6 July 2020 – ECM Libra Foundation today launched its ASEAN Scholarships with an allocation of RM 15 million for 2020/2021 to support 50 students across ASEAN nations. The scholarship is targeted towards academically and culturally gifted students in ASEAN countries to live up to their academic potential.

20 full and 30 partial scholarships will be awarded to these students from Year 7 or equivalent onwards to attend Epsom College in Malaysia (ECiM), the only international campus of the prestigious Epsom College in the United Kingdom. The scholarship will cover school and boarding fees, as well as 6 return flights a year to and from Kuala Lumpur.

The foundation will provide financial assistance in the form of scholarships to low and middle-income communities that are currently feeling the financial pressures from the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative will be the first ASEAN wide scholarship by ECM Libra Foundation aimed at closing the educational gap for the underprivileged in the region.

With a population of more than 649 million and a GDP of USD 9.34 trillion, ASEAN holds the third largest economy in Asia and the seventh largest in the world. With huge economic opportunities to explore, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) envisions to unify ASEAN economic strength as a single market to accelerate the economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region. ECM Libra Foundation’s scholarship programme is initiated sharing the same goal with the AEC.

“In the spirit of ASEAN, we believe that diversity is a strength, and providing opportunities to brightest young minds of ASEAN means uplifting social progress not just for our own country, but for our neighbours too in the spirit of Prosper Thy Neighbour espoused by ASEAN,” said Dato’ Kalimullah Hassan, the co-founder of ECM Libra Foundation.

Established in August 2004, ECM Libra Foundation has been actively supporting education for underprivileged Malaysians. The foundation has produced significant results over the years, with scholars being accepted to top universities including Stanford University, Imperial College, UCL, Durham, Kings College and many more. The foundation has provided over RM 50 million towards student aid, grants, scholarships, and donations to educational projects since its establishment.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has brought upon tremendous health and financial impact across the world, leading to many sacrifices. We believe this should not be at the expense of our future generation’s education – which has led to us expanding our fund to support ASEAN. Our efforts are to ensure no one is left behind, and we do hope this will open doors to deserving ASEAN students in the region,” said Dato’ Lim Kian Onn, the co-founder of ECM Libra Foundation.

With the extension of the ongoing effort to ASEAN nations, ECM Libra Foundation hopes that it will be a stepping stone for ASEAN scholars and foundation to support more students in the region.

Full List of ECM Libra Foundation ASEAN Scholarships

For more information on the ECM Libra Foundation ASEAN Scholarship Fund, please visit: https://www.ecmlibrafoundation.com/scholarships2020-21/

Edelman for ECM Libra Foundation:

Anna Shahrudin
Edelman Malaysia
Anna.Shahrudin@edelman.com

Paul Tay
Edelman Malaysia
Paul.Tay@edelman.com