Maybank donates 175 laptops to 3 schools in Perlis

KANGAR, July 24 -- Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) Kangar through the Maybank Foundation has donated 175 Dell laptops to 175 B40 category students from three schools in Perlis to facilitate their home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) sessions.

Kangar Maybank manager Zulkifli Md Isa said a total of 3,200 laptops (excluding the 175 in Perlis) had also been distributed by Maybank to 34 schools throughout Malaysia.

"We hope more students, especially those who are less fortunate and from the rural community will be able to participate in online sessions in this way," he told reporters at the drive-through laptop donation handover ceremony at Sekolah Kebangsaan Beseri here, today.

Also present at the event was Perlis State Secretary Azman Mohd Yusof.

Zulkifli also said the contribution was channelled through the State Education Department (JPN) to the three schools, with 58 units to Sekolah Kebangsaan Beseri, 54 to Sekolah Kebangsaan Titi Tinggi and 63 units to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Guar Nangka.

Perlis JPN director Naharudeen Othman said the contribution would indirectly help improve the quality of information received by students.

"Today's students are very exposed to the concept of IT (information technology) and with the availability of these laptops that includes data (internet) according to the locality, it is the starting point to the latest learning concepts," he said.

Meanwhile, one of the recipients, Zafuan Wahid, 39 from Kampung Dato Sheikh Ahmad here, said he was relieved when his son Mohd Ammar Zafran Zafuan, 10, who often borrowed his (Zafuan) handphone in order to follow the PdPR sessions, received a laptop complete with internet access.

"I'm just a farmer and my income is just enough to cover my daily expenses. I can't afford to buy my son a laptop...so today he is happy to receive a laptop and he can't wait to use it," he added.

-- BERNAMA