KUALA LUMPUR – Chinese New Year is a lot happier for impoverished students and the recipients of the “Asal Cek Mau Pi Sekolah” (ACMPS) or “As Long as I Want to Go to School” campaign.
Former national badminton hero Datuk Lee Chong Wei has donated 50 Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 tablets for the campaign by Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim.
One of ACMPS’ five initiatives includes providing tablets or laptops for the deprived.
“Our hero came to save us! Yesterday Chong Wei called me after he found out about the Asal Cek Mau Pi Sekolah programme.
“Good news from our beloved hero: Chong Wei will sponsor 50 Samsung Tab A8 tablets for the Asal Cek Mau Pi Sekolah programme!
“Thank you very much. You are a hero in and out of the badminton court. Kam Siah (thank you)!
“It’s sad that I can’t celebrate with Chong Wei this year. Anything, take care bro,” Sim wrote in his Facebook post.
He later told The Vibes that he has raised enough for 168 laptops and 70 tablets, including the ones donated by the retired athlete.
The former deputy sports minister also said he was touched by Lee’s gesture, estimating that the total cost for the tablets would be around RM29,950.
“The retail price of the tablets he is sponsoring should be RM599. The goods will arrive after Chinese New Year, according to him. I am very grateful.
“Some of the campaign’s funds were donated, while some came from my small Covid-19 allocations from the Penang state govt (RM30,000),” he said.
Sim said that he would keep updated reports on the programme’s expenditures.
On the programme’s duration and if it has a threshold for recipients numbers, the opposition lawmaker said that he did not set any closing dates because he wanted as many people as possible to apply.
He acknowledged that his funds and resources were limited, especially since no federal funds were allocated to him.
However, he promised to work hard to get as many devices as possible.
Sim’s programme has to date received 970 requests for free laptops.
Yesterday afternoon, the MP posted on his Facebook page that he has received 10 laptops, which he started distributing last night.
The first of the four initiatives under his programme is a free service for printing homework and school notes, which has seen more than 2,000 pages printed.
Printing times are Monday to Friday from 10am to 2pm, with documents to be sent via WhatsApp to 017-5680348 and 017-5680324.
The second thrust of his initiative is a free online tuition class, which has a 1:10 teacher-to-student ratio, with more than 100 students signing up.
The programme also provides free top-ups for a month’s worth of unlimited internet data, with more than 120 people having signed up and received the top-ups.
Sim also has the “YB’s Adopted Child” programme, which sees selected B40 students given RM100 a month for a year.
Those interested can register here. Those interested in donating can do so at Sim’s parliamentary service centre’s Maybank account at 5570 9052 7361. – The Vibes, February 5, 2021
