Talents uncovered in RHB-sponsored national essay writing competition

Kuala Lumpur, October 08, 2007:Writing a good story certainly comes naturally to Wan Rabiatul Adawiyah Junidin and Shafiqa Nabeera Shahroni. These two girls have been adjudged Malaysia's top teenage writers in an essay writing competition sponsored by the RHB Banking Group.

Wan Rabiatul is the winner under the Tunas Pujangga '07 category while Shafiqa Nabeera has emerged as the top writer in the WordSmith '07 category in the Search for Malaysia's Best Teenage Writers.

The nationwide writing competition, which was launched on 27 June 2007 and concluded today, was organised by EduSmith, publisher of a bi-monthly English language magazine for secondary school children.

The RHB Banking Group sponsored the prize money for the competition.

Wan Rabiatul, of SMK (P) Sultan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru and Shafiqa Nabeera of SMK Seri Puteri, Kuala Lumpur, won RM1,500 each.

Azliyana Azlee of SMK Convent, Muar, was second prize winner in the Tunas Pujangga category while J.K. Ananth Kumar of SMK Dato Bentara Dalam, Segamat, was first runner-up in the WordSmith category. Both won RM1,000 each.

Nor Afifah Nashuda Azmi of SMK Undang Jelebu, Kuala Klawang, came in third in the Tunas Pujangga category and Timothy Kwan Joo Ming of SMK Bukit Mewah, Seremban, was third in the WordSmith category. Both received RM500 each.

A total of 94 others received merit awards and RM50 each. The prize money was given to the winners in the form of RHB Bank or RHB ISLAMIC Bank savings accounts.

Minister of Higher Education Dato' Mustapha Mohamed gave away the prizes to the winners at a prize giving ceremony held here today.

Chairman of RHB Bank Bhd ("RHB Bank") Datuk Azlan Zainol said the RHB Banking Group was happy to be an integral part of the competition. "We will continue to play an important role in developing and nurturing young Malaysians to further enhance communication and writing skills through programmes of this nature," he said.

A total of 828 students, aged 13 to 19, participated in the competition, which was endorsed by the Ministry of Education and organised in collaboration with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and the British Council.

The top 100 schools in Peninsular Malaysia, identified with the assistance of the Ministry of Education, were invited to send their top five students to participate in each category. Those in Forms 1 to 3 participated in the Tunas Pujangga, which required them to write in Bahasa Malaysia, while those in Forms 4 to 6 took part in the WordSmith category, which required writing in English.

Some students, who were not among those from the selected schools, also participated by submitting their entries through the EduSmith website. The students took part in a Power to Succeed seminar which was followed immediately by the essay writing competition that was held at four centres around the country - Seremban, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Baru - from 21 July to 11 August 2007.