Perdana - Maybank Foundation Essay Competition (RM 8,000 top prize | Malaysia)

20 June 2012
Perdana - Maybank Foundation Essay Competition (RM 8,000 top prize | Malaysia)
Deadline: 31 October 2012

The Maybank Foundation-Perdana Leadership Foundation has kicked off! Open to all Malaysians between the ages of 13 and 25, the essay competition was launched today by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Honorary President of Perdana Leadership Foundation and the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

ESSAY:

Category A (13 – 17 years old)

Choose one of the following titles:

1. What being a responsible Malaysian citizen means to me
2. How can Malaysian schools promote responsible citizenship?

Category B (18 – 25 years old)

Choose one of the following titles:

1. How has the Internet changed of affected citizen engagement and empowerment in Malaysia?
2. It has been said that the era of Government-Knows-Best is over. What do you think are the implications of this?

BLOGPOST:

Category A (13 – 17 years old)

Write an open letter addressed to your friends and schoolmates on the role they can play as young citizens and what they can do – now – to shape a better future for Malaysia.

Category B (18 – 25 years old)

If you were given the funding and resources to set up a new youth-based civil society action group to influence public policy on a pressing issue affecting youth, what organisation would you set up and which cause would it champion?

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE
  • The contest is open to all young Malaysians, students and non-students, aged between 13 and 25, as of 31 October 2012.
  • Employees of Perdana Leadership Foundation (“PLF“), MAYBANK FOUNDATION and MPH and their immediate families are not eligible to participate in the competition.
  • Please note: Malaysian students studying abroad may enter the competition but their institutions are not eligible for any of the institution prizes. Non-student participants will also not be eligible for any of the institution prizes.

LENGTH & FORMAT

Our essential requirements are:
  • Your narrative should be in English or Bahasa Malaysia.
  • Competition will be in the following formats and categories:

ESSAY FORMAT

Category A: 13 – 17 years old
  • Open only to Malaysians, regardless of residence.
  • Contestants may enter under their school or as individuals.
  • 850 – 1,000 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography.

Category B: 18 – 25 years old
  • Open only to Malaysians, regardless of residence.
  • Contestants may enter under their school / university / college or as individuals.
  • 1,200 – 1,500 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography.

BLOGSPOT FORMAT

Category A: 13 – 17 years old
  • Open only to Malaysians, regardless of residence.
  • Contestants may enter under their school or as individuals.
  • 500 – 700 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography.

Category B: 18 – 25 years old
  • Open only to Malaysians, regardless of residence.
  • Contestants may enter under their school / university / college or as individuals.
  • 850 – 1,000 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography.

Your narrative should be accompanied by references (footnotes or endnotes; for formatting guidelines, refer to the Harvard Referencing Guide ).

What we would like to see is engaging content. Your audience is your peer group, who may not know much about the topic, or may not be particularly interested. How do you present your ideas and findings to capture the attention of your readers?

Your written piece must answer the topic and substantiate the arguments and conclusions in as compelling a manner as possible. We encourage you to include relevant personal experience and stories as well as graphs, charts or photographs that you feel would help present your arguments (please attribute all information sources that you use!).

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Eligibility
  • This competition is open to Malaysian citizens only.
  • The competition is open to all Malaysians between the ages 13 to 25 as of 31 December 2012.
  • Malaysian students studying abroad may enter but their institutions are not eligible for any of the institution prizes.

Contest Entries
  • Submissions will be accepted until 31 October 2012.
  • Each participant may submit more than one entry, but each winning Participant will be entitled to only one (1) prize. The prize will be awarded to a winning Participant for the Participant’s highest-scoring Competition Entry.
  • Submissions can be made online or via e-mail, in English and Bahasa Malaysia. Each participant must fill in a submission form to accompany each entry on the Essay website.
  • Essays are accepted in the .doc, .docx or .pdf format.
  • All submissions will be blind reviewed. References to specific individuals, firms, or schools, which might reveal the author’s identity, are discouraged. It is not allowed to indicate your name anywhere on your work.
  • Quotes and references must be clearly marked throughout the essay and properly cited.
  • All submissions must be original. No previously published material will be accepted. Any form of plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification. Please note that all essays will be screened with specialised software to verify plagiarism.

Judges
  • PLF or the Judges reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any Participant that it determines is directly or indirectly tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest and/or to be acting in breach or potential breach of these Contest Terms and Conditions.
  • Judges’ decision is final and is not subject to an appeal.
  • The Maybank Foundation, Perdana Leadership Foundation and MPH reserve the right to publish and/or to make available to the public the winning submissions. The Maybank Foundation, Perdana Leadership Foundation and MPH reserve the right to modify the format and content of the submissions for publication purposes.

Liability

PLF will not be responsible or liable for:
  • any problem, loss or damage of whatsoever nature suffered by any party due to any delay and/or failure in receiving and submitting the Competition. Entry as a result of any postal error or any other error. In the event of such error, delay, damage and/or failure, PLF shall not be responsible or liable to any Participant for failure to participate in the Competition at any time.
  • any problem, damage or loss of whatsoever nature to any Participant, or their authorised representatives resulting from their participation in the Contest.
  • any changes made by PLF or organisers or sponsors (if any) of the Contest.

Link: prizes, judging criteria, FAQ

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries: essay2012@perdana.org.my

For submissions: essay2012@perdana.org.my or via the online submission form

Website: http://www.perdana.org.my
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