PSD grants: Students here also need help

NSTP

I WRITE in support of A.F.Z.A.'s letter "Increase our grants" (NST, Dec 21).

I, too, am a medical student on a Public Service Department scholarship in a local private university and I am struggling to make ends meet.

Hopes of a long-awaited grant increase were fuelled by news reports during the recent salary revision, which mentioned an increase in allowance for government scholars.

But we have been waiting in vain.

I currently have accommodation within walking distance from my campus and do not incur further transportation costs.
However, my monthly rental of RM300 swallows up approximately three-quarters of the monthly allowance given.

The rest cannot be stretched to maintain expenses, even on a shoestring budget.

Over the years, we have heard of how the PSD increased the grant for scholars studying overseas.

But why is it that those of us under twinning programmes in the country are left out?

It is not just those studying overseas who have to bear high costs of living. Living expenses in Malaysia are escalating as well.

It is our fervent hope that the authorities will look into our plight.