SHAH ALAM, May 2 — The Kita Selangor book voucher initiative for university and Form Six students continues this year with a RM2 million allocation set to benefit 10,000 recipients.
Yayasan Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporation), or MBI, head Ahmad Azri Zainal Nor said digital vouchers have been distributed since 2023 to ensure students buy only books, and to prevent misuse of the aid.
“When vouchers are given in physical form, they are subject to misuse. People could sell them at cheaper rates for those who want to buy them.
“I contacted Perbadanan Kota Buku to discuss (this), and as it turns out, it has a digital market for books. From there, we started with RM200,000 (for Kita Selangor book vouchers) in 2023 for university students,” he told Media Selangor.
Azri added that the initiative has helped the local book industry grow.
“This initiative has grown and been exemplified at the federal level via digital book vouchers with Perbadan Kota Buku.
“In Selangor, it was expanded to Form Six students when we saw there are actually many of them, and thought the initiative would surely benefit them greatly,” he said.
The Kita Selangor book voucher initiative aims to encourage reading habits and foster a love for knowledge among youth. It has been expanded to 10,000 recipients this year compared with 4,000 last year.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said this programme is a form of human capital investment to produce a knowledgeable generation that is key to the state’s progress.
He added that the habit of reading physical books would help students improve their focus and boost their interest in gaining knowledge.
Free internet for two years
A thousand Form Six and university students in Selangor are set to receive free internet data for two years under the Selangor Internet Data programme, with an allocation of RM500,000.
Azri said 500 Form Six students and 500 freshmen at two state government-owned higher learning institutions — Universiti Selangor (UNISEL) and Universiti Islam Selangor (UIS) — would receive the aid.
He added that Form Six students would receive mobile WiFi devices that can support connecting up to 14 devices, while UNISEL and UIS students would receive dongles or mobile modems.
“The Selangor Internet Data programme (was launched) after we found this group is among the most active users of internet facilities previously provided,” Azri said.
