PETALING JAYA, 31 May 2011: Another 10 youths will benefit from the RM20 million Dana Belia 1Malaysia (Dana Belia) fund to realise their aspirations for a 1Malaysia.They will collectively receive RM810,000 to fund their respective projects. The sum received vary according to their applications and as determined by the selection panel.
Of the 10 recipients, seven were selected by Yayasan 1MDB’s internal panel. They are Foo Loke Min, Fazilah Saugi, Leow Ze Tong, Zahid Suffian Norizan, Muhammad Amzari Md Husaini, Ahmad Humaizi Udin @ Uzir and Mohd Faridzul Asyraf Mat Arifin. Three others were chosen in a partnership with youth NGO, myHarapan. They are Hasnizam Md. Zaki and Azizul Abdul Latif (team effort), Jazz Tan and John-Son Oei.
Yayasan 1MDB partners with myHarapan, a youth NGO, to expand the pool of Dana Belia applicants. myHarapan identifies from among its mentees potential candidates for Dana Belia and encourages these youths to submit their applications through the Dana Belia website.These candidates are interviewed and shortlisted by Yayasan 1MDB’s internal panel which then makes its recommendations to Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak in his capacity as the Chairman of Yayasan 1MDB’s Board of Trustees.
Yayasan 1MDB introduced Dana Belia to provide youths aged between 15 and 40 with a platform to express their hopes, ideas and creativity through projects that promote unity. All selected projects have been chosen based on the ability of the recipients to execute their projects independently and to create opportunities for a wide segment of youths to channel their energies positively and productively. Leadership and a well-prepared execution plan are also part of the evaluation criteria.
Each application goes through a strict selection process comprising three rounds of evaluation by Yayasan 1MDB’s internal selection panel, which include an interview session with shortlisted recipients. To date, Dana Belia has received more than 700 applications for the fund which are currently in various stages of selection.
The new batch of recipients brings to 20 the number of winners. The first group of six Dana Belia recipients was announced in March 2011 and four chosen by BN Youth Lab earlier this month. Yayasan 1MDB encourages Malaysian youths to keep on sending their creative ideas to Dana Belia as there are still about RM17 million to be given away to those who are willing to rise to the challenge of empowering and developing youths as well as giving back to the community.
For more information on Dana Belia and how to apply, visit www.danabelia.com.my or interact with the Dana Belia community on Facebook and Twitter.
