23/09/2026 by Daniel Tait
The Petronas Powering Knowledge Education Sponsorship (PPKES) programme has welcomed over 600 high-achieving Malaysian school leavers.
The PPKES is Petronas’ flagship initiative for building the next generation of talent by providing access to the educational opportunities that help start a career. It has supported over 40,000 students since it was introduced in 1975. The latest cohort of recipients were selected from a variety of backgrounds based on leadership ability, academic performance and engagement in co-curricular activities.
Petronas has expanded the pathways to help meet its changing talent needs across the group. In addition to disciplines like electrical engineering, civil engineering and petroleum engineering, sponsorships also cover areas like law, architecture, real estate management and economics. The scholars will go on to undergraduate studies at selected institutions. In addition to local universities, these also include overseas institutions in places like the United Kingdom, China, Canada, South Korea, Australia and Japan.
Ruslan Islahudin, a senior vice president at Petronas, said at the award ceremony in Kuala Lumpur that the environment they will:
“…graduate into five years from now will not be the world we know today. Every generation that has faced great uncertainty has also had the opportunity to shape what comes next. So, over the next five years, build more than a good transcript. Build sound judgement, resilience, curiosity and humility.”
He added that the company believed in all the scholars, saying that they should treat the sponsorship as something to honour and contribute to the nation.