UPSI Crash Survivor Receives Mara Loan After Two-year Wait

JERTIH, July 2 (Bernama) -- A Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) student who survived last month’s fatal bus crash in Gerik has finally received a long-awaited education loan from Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), ending a two-year wait.

Nur Ain Najwa Mohd Ilias, 23, said she was overwhelmed with gratitude when MARA chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki personally handed over the offer letter duting a visit to her family home in Kampung Gong Kemuntong recently.

“I applied for the loan twice since enrolling at UPSI, but both attempts failed due to technical errors in the form submission,” she told Bernama during a visit today by the Girl Guides Malaysia (Terengganu branch), led by its president Tengku Puteri Daulath Raja Tengku Fatimatuz Zahra Sultan Mizan.

“Amid this tragedy, there was unexpected relief. Not only was I offered the loan I had long hoped for, but my younger twin brothers, who had postponed their own university education so I could pursue mine first, were also promised MARA assistance if accepted into higher learning institutions,” she said.

The second of six siblings, Nur Ain Najwa said the loan, which takes effect in October, includes a RM800 monthly living allowance to ease her family’s financial burden, as she had relied on her brothers’ and part-time work, while receiving aid from the Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIDAM) to pay tuition.

“I didn’t apply for a National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan because I had already received one during my diploma studies at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA),” said the Arabic Language and Education student.

Her twin brothers, Muhammad Hassan and Muhammad Hussin, 22, now plan to further their studies, with the former applying to Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM) and the latter awaiting results from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), expected this Friday.

Nur Ain Najwa, who sustained a fractured left shoulder and a sprained right wrist in the crash, had earlier gone viral after sharing her family’s struggles with Asyraf Wajdi during his visit to Gerik Hospital.

The June 9 incident involved a chartered bus carrying 45 UPSI students from Jertih back to the main campus in Tanjung Malim and a Perodua Alza, resulting in 15 deaths and 33 others injured, including the drivers and passengers of both vehicles.

-- BERNAMA