RANAU:
Poor students in the district who face problems in continuing their education for one reason or other, will receive financial aid from the Government. A sum of RM6,704,850 under the Poor Students Education Fund will be distributed to 8,167 poor students identified from 79 schools in the district. Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun when launching the first phase of distribution of the fund at the Ranau community hall, said no other governments in the world would give free funds to poor students except in Malaysia under the BN government. He said the aid is given as a form of subsidy to poor students to cushion the effects of rising costs of living due to increase in oil price. Secondary school students will receive RM900 each while students from primary schools will receive RM700 each. Masidi said the monetary aid would help them to buy books and writing materials and pay the school fees. Fifty students from five schools (SK Pekan, SK Pekan 2, SK St Benedict, SJK (C) Pai Wen and SMK Datu Paduka Mat Salleh) received the fund.