SHAH ALAM - A memorandum relating to a study on the rising cost of living of students under scholarship of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) in the United Kingdom was handed over to the Minister of Rural Development Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.
The memorandum was prepared by Umno clubs in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland and was submitted by its Chairman Muhammad Iman Irfan Yahya in London yesterday.
In a statement, Mahdzir, who was on a working visit to the UK said the memorandum would be taken to the top management level of the ministry and Mara to be studied.
"They have submitted a proposal paper on increasing the living allowance for students sponsored by Mara and the Public Service Department (PSD).
"I have listened to the briefings given by the chairman of the UK and Ireland Umno Club on the rising cost of living in London, Manchester, Edinburg and even in Ireland,"
Mahdzir explained that the memorandum was prepared through a special study carried out by the Umno Club of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The study involved 400 respondents sponsored by Mara and other agencies.
Mahdzir held a talk session with the student leaders from London, Manchester, Wales, Cardiff, Edinburg and Glasgow in London yesterday.
Meanwhile, Iman said it took him two months to complete the study of the memorandum.
"We have projected some proposals and ideas to be brought to the ministry level.
"So, I hope with the submission of the proposal paper, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid can refine it with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri to help the students here. "
He added that the cost of living for Malaysian students abroad was burdensome and affected the focus of the students who were mostly from the B40 group.
The rising cost of living forced most students to do part-time jobs to cover the expenses.
He said that the living allowance for Mara students abroad should be increased immediately as the payment of the allowance had remained the same for the past 12 years.
"Majority have to work, the time which is supposed to be allocated to study was spent working especially in London as the allowance is not enough,” he said.
Iman claimed that due to several other factors, the students sponsored by Mara and PSD were really affected, there is a huge gap compared to their allowances and other sponsored students’ allowances.
Apart from Mahdzir, the same memorandum was also handed over to the Rural Development Secretary-General Datuk Ramlan Harun and the Mara Director-General Datuk Azhar Abdul Manaf.
In the meantime, Azhar explained that Mara took the memorandum seriously and looked after the sponsored students not only abroad but also within the country.
"Mara will use the memorandum as part of our data to review the existing allowance rate and we will also use it for us to prepare an application paper to reconsider the allowance rate that we should be asking the government to consider for us to give to students,” he said.