PETRONAS Invests RM340 Million to Sponsor 600 SPM 2021 High Achievers

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 September 2022 – PETRONAS is sponsoring 600 outstanding Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2021 students to pursue their tertiary education under its signature PETRONAS Education Sponsorship Programme (PESP).

This is the highest number of sponsorships awarded in a year by the company, with an investment value of more than RM340 million.

The sponsorships were presented to the recipients in Kuala Lumpur today by Prime Minister, Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and witnessed by PETRONAS Chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.

In his speech, Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri said, "I call on us to unite and work together to provide quality education for the children of ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ and to develop our nation towards a sustainable future. Education has always been one of the government’s priorities which focuses on curriculum development, innovation, and academic achievement as well as emphasises inclusivity through respect and love towards one another.”

This year, PETRONAS received over 9,000 sponsorship applications across Malaysia. Apart from meeting the standard prerequisite of excellent SPM results and active co-curriculars, the candidates had to undergo a rigorous selection process, focusing on leadership qualities including agility, problem-solving skills, and the ability to work in a team.

Congratulating all recipients, Tan Sri Mohd Bakke said, “PETRONAS remains committed to continuously contribute to nation building and the development of our talent pipeline through various programmes and initiatives for over four decades now. We believe that quality education will empower our communities, which will in turn support the nation’s socio-economic development towards a sustainable future.”

PETRONAS also announced an increase in Book and Study Equipment Allowance as well as Onboarding Allowance for all students.

In addition to financial assistance, PESP also provides tailored development programmes to realise the students’ full potential and nurture them to be future leaders amidst a rapidly changing work environment. This is in line with PETRONAS’ Sustainability Agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which focuses on providing quality education to youths and students.

Recipients of the sponsorship will pursue tertiary studies in chemical engineering, petroleum engineering, mechanical engineering, geoscience, economics, law, and other industry-related courses at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) as well as in other leading local and overseas universities in Australia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Under PESP, PETRONAS will support students from their foundation studies up to first bachelor’s degree.

PETRONAS has also expanded its sponsorship to include disciplines such as computer science, software engineering, and information technology in preparing talents for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) landscape.

Since 1975, more than 37,000 outstanding Malaysian students, including 1,720 who are currently in the programme, have benefitted from sponsorships valued at over RM3.5 billion.