Sarawakian students welcome RM200 monthly SRAS assistance
KUCHING (June 18): The Sarawak Rental Assistance Scheme (SRAS), which provides RM200 per month to eligible students, has been well received by Sarawakian students enrolled in higher learning institutions across the state.
According to Chief Political Secretary to the Premier Dato Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman, many students have applied for the scheme, which is implemented by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), following its introduction during outreach programmes at local public and private universities.
'We are pleased to learn from HDC that after our first outreach session, they received a significant number of applications, many of which already been approved,' he said during a press conference at the Sarawak Education Initiative Programme held at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Hall (DeTar Putra), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), yesterday.
The programme is part of a wider state-led effort to raise awareness about various government assistance schemes and improve public access to them.
'For this series, we are focusing on education-related initiatives,' said Fazzrudin, adding that more sessions will be held at other campuses across Sarawak, following previous engagements at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
'This scheme isn't new, but many students may have been unaware of it previously. Our role now is to bridge that gap and ensure these benefits reach them directly.'
When asked whether the scheme would be extended to Sarawakian students studying outside the state, Fazzrudin said such suggestion would be compiled as feedback for the relevant agencies and the Premier.
Meanwhile, Unimas deputy vice-chancellor (Student and Alumni Affairs) Prof Dr Al-Khalid Othman expressed appreciation for the SRAS initiative, noting that more than half of the university's students are Sarawakians, with around 6,000 coming from B40 (low-income) households.
'Students generally pay between RM450 and RM500 per semester for accommodation, depending on room type. This assistance goes a long way in reducing their financial burden,' he said.
He also welcomed a separate contribution of RM40,000 from the state government to support the campus food bank programme, aimed at helping students from low-income households.
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