RM100 MADANI Book Voucher Eases Students' Financial Burden, Promotes Reading Culture

KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- The RM100 MADANI Book Voucher Programme 2026, available for redemption from today, has been well-received by secondary school students, who said it eases their families' financial burden in acquiring reading materials, especially exam reference books, and promotes a reading culture.

A Bernama survey found the vouchers will be utilised to purchase items based on individual needs, ranging from academic reference books to novels, motivational books, and religious materials.

For Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Seri Gombak Form Five student Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nizam, 17, the voucher brought relief as she had to delay buying reference books due to financial constraints.

"Reference books can be expensive, so I usually borrow them from the school library or photocopy my friends' books. With this voucher, I can buy my own reference books for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and save my parents' allowance," she told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Hillcrest Form One student, R. Thivagar, 13, said he only found out about the MADANI Book Voucher today and plans to use it soon.

"I will ask my parents to help me buy books for my studies using the voucher before it expires," he said.

Thivagar said although digital reading materials are more accessible, the experience of reading physical books still has its own unique appeal.

For Form Four student Mohamad Annaim Anuar, 16, of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sungai Kertas, the MADANI Book Voucher is an initiative he looks forward to each year because it helps him access reading materials.

"I have been waiting for this book voucher because every year I use it to buy textbooks, motivational books, religious books, and novels," said the school library prefect, who learned about the voucher redemption from a friend.

He previously used the voucher online via the BookCapital platform when the initiative was introduced in 2024, describing the redemption process as straightforward, though it required some planning to fully use the RM100 value.

"The purchasing process on BookCapital is easy, but sometimes the books we want are sold by different vendors. We have to plan purchases carefully to maximise the full voucher value," he said.

The MADANI Book Voucher is an initiative by the MADANI Government, through the Ministry of Education (MOE), offering an RM100 e-voucher to eligible secondary school students under the ministry for the purchase of reading materials via the DELIMa BookCapital portal.

Every recipient is required to purchase at least one book from the ‘Judul Khas Baucar Buku MADANI 2026’  category before the remaining balance of the e-voucher can be used to buy other reading materials.

The voucher can be redeemed until Oct 31 via the BookCapital platform, which offers a wide selection of reading materials from local publishers.

-- BERNAMA