Will these little Einsteins get what they deserve?

A child’s talents need nurturing and support so let us do precisely that for these four brilliant girls.

COMMENT

Imagine four 12-year-old Malaysian students participating in an international competition.

Imagine them winning not one or two, but SIX international awards and a gold medal.

Pretty impressive, right?

Now imagine them all being Indian.

Do you still think their achievement deserves proper recognition?

HELL YES!

Usha Chandrika Vijendran, Caelyn Evelyn Thomas, Vaishanavi Chandrasegaran and Shalini Privyanka Kannan are the Year 6 students from SJK(T) Ramakrishna in George Town, Penang who emerged top winners at the 3rd Hong Kong International Student Innovation Invention Contest 2015-2016 recently.

Just like the long list of Malaysians who have made our nation proud, so did these four beautiful, talented girls.

Every year, millions of ringgit is budgeted to encourage young talents such as these. But just how many well-deserving kids like Usha and her friends get to enjoy these provisions?

Just like child prodigies Adi Putra Abdul Ghani – the math genius; Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal – the young footballer; and Tengku Ahmad Irfan Tengku Ahmad Shahrizaln – the music maestro, who were supported until they have successfully embarked on their chosen paths, I believe these young George Town inventors should not be swept aside.

They may not be child prodigies but they are raw diamonds waiting to shine.

A child’s talents need nurturing and support so let us do precisely that for these girls.

We have many successful Malaysian businessmen who could step up to the plate as well as many big corporations who have CSR programmes that the four can be made a part of.

However, it is my biggest hope that instead of an Indian tycoon like Ananda Krishnan or an Indian political party like MIC, it is the Ministry of Education that would be the first to offer these little Einsteins the recognition they so richly deserve and a scholarship to complete their tertiary education.

Come on Malaysia, it is now our turn to chant Malaysia Boleh!