Trainee pilots rendered wingless

[Tamizi Hj Tamby 1]

This news was on today's The Borneo Post headline:

 

 

Trainee pilots rendered wingless

 

by Yunus Yussop

January 18, 2010, Monday

 

 

 

Study loans approved earlier by Mara rejected a year or so later

 

 

BINTULU: Twenty-four students of Gulf Golden International Flying Academy (GGIFA) International College of Aviation here seem likely to drop out of their studies and forgo their dreams of becoming pilots.

 

 

UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Izam (centre) and other cadet pilots show the appeal letter they wrote to Mara.

 

Their applications for study loans, which were earlier approved by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), have been rejected.

 

During a press conference at the college yesterday, GGIFA chief executive officer Sairi Naim said in a letter dated Feb 21, 2008, Mara approved the loan applications for the cadets to pursue their Commercial Pilot’s Licence with Instrument Rating (CPL/IR) and frozen Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL) course. He said the loan was RM199,271 per student for one year. After six months, however, there was no other letter issued to the college to say that the loan facility was frozen.

 

“Twenty-four cadet pilots applied for the Mara loan and 16 of them have undergone their Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL) course and some have already gone on to the flying stages. Eight other trainees have not started their course as they are waiting for Mara to approve their loans.

 

“Based on precedents, we assumed that the 16 students would eventually get their loans,” he said.

 

“Unfortunately, it was only recently that Mara wrote to us saying that the 16 students would not be given loans.

 

“This was in response to an appeal letter from the college to the Prime Minister’s Department.”

 

Mara’s letter was dated Nov 4, 2009 while the letter from the college was dated Oct 27, 2009.

 

Sairi described the sudden rejection as insensitive as it prevented the students from furthering their studies.

 

He went on to disclose that besides the appeal to the PM’s Department, there was also a letter of recommen dation from the Ministry of Rural and Regional Develop­ment to Mara. The letter was dated Dec 9, 2009.

 

Sairi felt that it did not make sense for Mara to reject the loan applications after having approved them.

 

“We have been taking care of the students for the last few months. Six of them have decided to leave voluntarily as they were unable to pay their tuition fees.

 

“The cost that we have incurred for the 16 students is RM1.04 million which is about RM65,000 per student,” said Sairi.

 

He pointed out that the college had also asked the students to find alternative funds if they want to continue studying at the college.

 

“We cannot absorb the whole cost of their studies as we are sponsoring six students at a cost of about RM2 million. When they have graduated they will work for the college and be bonded for a few years,” he said.

 

He disclosed that SME Bank has been really supportive by giving facilities to the college to purchase training aircraft, but after what Mara did, they are reluctant to extend any further facilities.

 

“We have 150 trainees since June 2007 and 54 were Mara students. Twenty or so of our students have graduated with PPL or CPL/ATPL. Four are under Mara and one of them was given Kenyalang Award for being our best overall student,” said Sairi.

 

Half of the students are from Peninsular Malaysia.

 

Muhd Izam Naroodin, 20, from Kuching, who spoke on behalf of his course mates, said they did not expect the financial problem to crop up after a year studying at the college.

After all, their loan applications had been approved by Mara, he said.

 

“Until now there is no answer to our appeal to Mara director on July 21, 2009 which was sent along with a recommendation letter from the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development,” said Izam.

 

“The thing which bothers us the most is whether or not we can complete our studies. Without the loan we will not be able to continue. We are now half way through the course.

 

“There seems to be no other agencies that can provide study loans to Bumiputera students like us. Thus we hope Mara can come to our rescue,” he said.

 

He added that the 16 affected students also want to know why their loan applications were rejected even though they have the qualifications and fulfilled all the course requirements. They have also been approved by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

 

Izam said their parents have been informed about their problem and they have tried to discuss the matter with Mara but there has been no positive feedback.

 

Another student, Wan Firdaus Nur Wan Silmy, 24, said he was surprised that the problem crops up part-way through their course.

 

He said having just the PPL is not enough for them to qualify as commercial pilots. The licence is only for recreational flying.

 

They need to sit for the CPL to enable them to fly commercial airlines, but now the possibility of graduating appears to be very remote without Mara’s help.

 

The only woman cadet, Aainaa Muzzafirah Mustapha, 24, said Mara seems to be the only agency that can make or break their future.

 

She said since the cost is too high, her family would not be able to help.

 

Director of flight training, Major (rtd) Ahmad Radzi Hashim, said the rejection should not have happened in the first place especially as the country is going to need more pilots in two or three years to come.

 

He said the disruption of the training would be a great loss to the country’s aviation industry.

 

Thus he hoped the ministry concerned and Mara in particular would get the loans approved as soon as possible.

 

Those poor kids.Let's hope that they would be able to fulfill their dream on becoming a pilot.

[Norman 1]

Don't they have the loan agreement signed?

They can always fall back on the contract...

Wonder just by approval letters without

loan agreements, they can pursue the course for

more than 6 months already...

 

Anyway this things happened not only to this

pilot-to-be.... but to most students pursuing

their college degrees & diplomas in other colleges

as well, ever since the government closed the

Entrepreneur Ministry last year ...

[Ashmil Abd Ghani 0]

Yes, I do agree with Uncle Norman statement above. Since the govt shut down the Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) is most suffer agency now under new ministry with new minister. Since MARA been moved to new ministry, I always heard complaints from MARA's scholar, they seldom get late in their monthly allowance. Quite pitiful to them to cope with daily expense sometime.

 

MARA, from rich go poor...Wonder if MARA budget goes for rural development?