By Muhammad Faiz
KADS1M, or commonly known as Kad Diskaun Siswa 1 Malaysia (KADS1M Flash), has been around since 2010 as part of an initiative by the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism.
More than two million cards were made for university students all around Malaysia until October 2016. The month after that, the card was upgraded to KADS1M Flash, and most recently, it has added one new and vital feature within its purview, which is to be a cardholder for book vouchers.
Before this, the book voucher which many refer to as Bantuan Buku 1 Malaysia (BB1M) was in the form of a set of five vouchers of RM50 each. However, the book vouchers have a time span which only makes them usable up to a certain date.
The book vouchers also come with some limitations. Some of the limitations include the fact that it can only be used in certain stores as not all bookstores accept the book vouchers. Not only that, because the book vouchers are distributed late, most students would use them only to buy novels and storybooks. There are also cases where the students don’t even use the vouchers at all.
IIUMToday was given the opportunity to speak with Senior Deputy Finance Director of IIUM, Madam Jamalil-Asiah Bt Ghazali, to get her thoughts on the new collaboration between KADS1M Flash and BB1M.
Madam Jamalil urged and advised students to apply for the card before 31 March 2017. It is extremely important for them to do so because the application will be closed after the end of March 2017.
“The advantages for this new system is that the students can use it for anything. It is best recommended that the students use the money for the sake of their education. Students can also keep the money for future use such as they can buy books for the upcoming semester rather than letting it go to waste just like the vouchers did before,” the Senior Deputy Finance Director told IIUMToday.
When asked about the disadvantages, she said that she is only afraid that students will not use the money wisely. She advises the students to use the money that is given as smart as you possibly can. The purpose of the money is supposed to help students academically.
“Due to the money having no time limit it is best for the students to save it until they really need to use it as the money can easily be spent in a day. If there are no reason for using it just yet, save it for future use,” she added.
Before ending the interview, Madam Jamalil again reminded the students to apply for the card before the end of March 2017. If possible, they do not want to have students coming to the finance office and asking what to do if they are late in applying for the card.
For inquiries, you may refer to Finance Division of IIUM or email them at studentfinance@iium.edu.my . Students also may refer to these links for more info:
http://www2.iium.edu.my/finance/news/implementation-%E2%80%9Cbantuan-pelajar-pendidikan-tinggi-%E2%80%9C-bppt-year-2017
http://www2.iium.edu.my/sites/default/files/users/33/files/SIARAN%20MEDIA.pdf
http://www2.iium.edu.my/sites/default/files/users/33/files/Bantuan%20Pelajar%20Pendidikan%20Tinggi%20Melalui%20KADS1M%20Debit.pdf ***