SINGAPORE – When Liew Zhi Yong’s father died of cancer in May, the 21-year-old became “the man of the house”, having to deal with bills and take on part-time work.

As an only child, he worked part-time to supplement his 41-year-old mother’s income as a preschool cleaner in Yishun.

That same month, he took on a job at the warehouse of mother and baby care brand Pureen. But he will stop work before his psychology course at the National University of Singapore begins in August.

Much to his relief, his fees will be covered by the Lim Kim San Memorial Scholarship.

Liew is one of 16 students who received the scholarship at the SPH Media Auditorium on July 29. They were selected from a pool of 100 applicants.

“One word I used to describe myself in the scholarship interview was stubborn,” Liew said. “You have to be stubborn in the good things that you believe in, be open to try out new things and...to feedback and criticism.”  

“If you are not persistent enough to get to where you (want to be), then you’re gonna miss out on a lot of things,” he added.

Recipients have their tuition fees fully covered and receive $3,000 in allowance per year. They may also take up internship opportunities at SPH Media if they are keen.

Aspiring to be a clinical psychologist, Liew hopes to apply for a concurrent degree programme that will allow him to attain a masters degree in five years, instead of the usual seven. This will cost around another $60,000. 

Another awardee this year is Muhammad Ibrahim, a 22-year-old who will study history at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

He lives in a two-room rental flat in Lavender with his mother, who migrated from the Philippines in 2000, and his 20-year-old brother. In 2017, his parents divorced, making it difficult to use his Singaporean father’s Central Provision Fund for his tertiary education.