.png)
BNM Kijang Scholarship Advice
The Bank Negara Kijang Scholarship application normally only opens after the announcement of the SPM results. You should definitely be on the lookout once results are out as most scholarship applications would also be open within the same time frame. Although my interview was almost 4 years ago, I believe the essence of the assessment would not have differed by much since then. The assessment process can typically be broken down into 3 main parts: online assessment, group assessment and individual assessment.
Online Assessment:
You would need to provide some personal information and a transcript of your SPM result. The main challenge here is to write an essay in a few hundred words that demonstrate your passion for the subject you are interested in and also your motivation to work for the Bank. It would be helpful for you to really dig deeper into a specific area in your subject that you are interested in and express that motivation in your essay. With that being said, the essay topic can be different each year. It could even be on something personal and not academic in nature. You should take your long and well-deserved post-SPM break to learn more about yourself and your interest.
Group Assessment:
Group assessment can take various forms, ranging from fun and creative group activities to business case studies. They are mainly used to assess how well you work in a group setting. If they are purely looking for your individual competency, it would be more efficient to just assess you individually. Hence, under no circumstances should you dominate the discussion, but you should demonstrate inclusiveness by encouraging those who are shy and quiet to also contribute. In order to make it a level-playing field for everyone, the questions for the business case studies are normally designed in such a way that not much pre-existing knowledge on business or economics is required. There’s no need to worry too much if you are applying from a science background. Always remember the main objective of a particular task and the boundaries in place, especially the time constraint!
Individual Assessment:
The 1st assessment was to prepare a presentation on a mahjong paper. There are multiple topics to choose from and they tend to be general in nature with a few exceptions. You would most likely be given about 15 to 20 minutes to prepare and 5 to 10 minutes to present. The key here is to be concise and vocalise your thoughts in a clear and well-reasoned manner. The 2nd assessment was the much dreaded interview. It can take up to half an hour to an hour long! The interviewers are curious to find out whether you would be a good fit here at the Bank. Be sure to learn more about the function of the Bank and its working culture. I don’t think there is a single surefire way to ace an interview, but it is important to take it one step at a time and not be too anxious.
All the best for your application! But if you are still hesitating to apply, please shoot your shot because you miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.
Aaron Goh Zhong Fu’, a Bank Negara Malaysia Kijang Scholar, is reading an Economics degree at University of Cambridge. Besides playing a ton of futsal, there is nothing he enjoys more than binge watching a good anime series.