Going to university and getting a degree is becoming more and more common these days. However, pursuing an undergraduate degree in a university overseas is still a luxury to most Malaysians. As a result, many young Malaysians who’ve secured a spot at foreign universities are unable to attend as they cannot afford it.
Recently, Choong Li Xian, an International and Strategic Studies student at the University of Malaya (UM) received 3 offers from some of the world’s top universities – University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh and UCL (University College London).
She’s the fourth Malaysian ever to be accepted into Cambridge’s Human, Social and Political Sciences Program!
Choong at the Melaka Appreciation Ceremony for STPM top scorers
Coming from a B40 household and having gone through the public school system up until the completion of her STPM (in which she scored a 4.0 CGPA and became the top scholar at her school!), this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Choong to turn her and her family’s life around.
However, there’s no way she’ll be able to afford going to any one of these universities on her own, hence a tweet asking for help with funding that has gone viral.
“I’ve applied for scholarships already and asked for JPA’s help but so far no luck. Please help this anak Malaysia make Malaysia proud!” she stated in her tweet.
Not a smooth-sailing journey
Choong at the school where she did her STPM
In an exclusive interview with WORLD OF BUZZ, Choong talked about the many challenges she faced throughout her schooling years.
At home, Choong had to deal with the effects of Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW) that caused her to miss large amounts of school, turbulence in her household and financial difficulties during the pandemic. Like many of her peers, the Covid-19 pandemic also delayed exams, causing them to be set back a couple of years.
Choong with her friends in UM
Nonetheless, Choong was not one to let her circumstances hold her back. She was extremely active in and outside of school, becoming captain for her secondary school’s debate team when they represented Malaysia at the Asian Schools Debating Championships 2018 and involving herself in political activism through various NGOs like MISI: Solidariti and the Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD).
Still, Choong never received any support or aid from the government, even after applying multiple times as her family was not considered “poor enough”. They were classified in the highest B40 tier.
Beyond anything she’s ever dreamed of
“I’m not a first generation university student as my dad did pursue a degree part-time. However, I am the oldest and the first amongst my immediate family to pursue higher education full-time,” Choong admitted.
She also added that “in (her) family, there has been a tradition of people going to UM, so there was some expectation that (she) would at least continue, or do even better,” which was part of the reason why she applied to the UK universities.
“I am pretty content being at UM because it was my dream, but very honestly, there was quite a bit of pressure on me to at least try to apply overseas after I got the 4 flat.”
“With further education in the UK, I would be able to improve my situation, and through that I believe I stand a better chance of achieving my aspirations, for the betterment of all across the world.”
If you would like to help Choong in any way possible, she can be contacted via email at choonglixian@gmail.com.
Also read: 17yo Sarawakian Student Receives RM50k Scholarship For His Inspiring Academic & Career Growth
