Press Release

• Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition winners take home Sunway bursaries, cash and Sunway PALS points worth more than RM 230,000

Sunway Group, the Ministry of Education, and the Oxford & Cambridge Society Malaysia today feted the best young essayists in the country at the Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition prize-giving ceremony. 

Ministry of Education’s English Language Teaching Centre Director Yang Berusaha Farah Mardhy Binti Aman, Sunway Education Group Chief Executive Officer Dr Elizabeth Lee, Sunway Group Brand Marketing and Communications Jane Poh and Executive Committee Member and Past President of the Oxford & Cambridge Society Malaysia Margaret Hall, presented prizes comprising Sunway bursaries, cash and Sunway PALS point worth more than RM 230,000 to the winners. 

In her speech, Yang Berusaha Farah Mardhy Binti Aman, Director of the English Language Teaching Centre, Ministry of Education, said, “I am confident that the Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition is making significant contribution to the country’s education. We are one-step closer to ensuring the availability of equitable and inclusive education for all.”

Dr. Elizabeth Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Education Group said, “We are incredibly thrilled to note that this year, a total of 382 schools took part in the preliminary round of online submissions, bringing the total submissions to 2,772 this year. Since the launch of the competition in 2014, the total number of entries over the course of six years has reached 16,512.”

Margaret Hall, Executive Committee Member and Past President of the Oxford & Cambridge Society Malaysia, who is also one of the organisers and judges of the competition said, “This is a really tough competition because all the finalists must write second essays on new topics under exam conditions.”

Winners of Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition 2019 

Winners of the competition were selected from a thorough process by the expert team of Oxford & Cambridge Society Malaysia headed by Margaret Hall. 

This year, the online question for Category A (Form 1 – 3) was “What changes would you like to see in the Malaysian education system and why?” After writing second essays, the first prize winner of this category was Arianna Saiful from Kolej Yayasan Saad, Melaka. She won a cash prize of RM5,000, Sunway bursary valued at RM26,000, and 10,000 Sunway Pals points. The joint winners of the third prize of this category were Harvynna Kaur Kler from Kolej Yayasan Saad, Melaka, and Ariana Carmel Ravi from SMK Methodist, Selangor. Both won a cash prize of RM1,000 cash, Sunway bursary valued at RM10,000, and 10,000 Sunway Pals points

The online question for Category B (Form 4 & 5) was “What do you envisage as the next big innovation in education?” After writing second essays, the joint second prize winners of this category were Avril Yong Zhi Ying from SMK Ken Hwa (CF), Sabah and Asfa Nisha bt Basheer Ali from SMK Seksyen 4 Bandar Kinrara, Selangor. Both will walk away with the second prize of RM3,000 cash, Sunway bursary valued at RM15,000, and 10,000 Sunway Pals points. The third prize winner was Muhammad Luqman bin Mohammad Nawar from Kolej Melayu Kangsar, Perak who walked away with RM1,000 cash, Sunway bursary valued at RM10,000, and 10,000 Sunway Pals points

There were also ten consolation prizes for each category, comprising cash prizes of RM500, Sunway bursaries of RM5,000 each, and 10,000 Sunway Pals points worth RM100. 

The Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition is organised by the Sunway Group, the Oxford & Cambridge Society Malaysia, Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Sunway University and Monash University Malaysia with support from Sunway PALS.