KUALA LUMPUR – The KL Madani Digital Library in Bandar Sri Permaisuri aims to be a catalyst for change for its surrounding community with its resources and as the venue for free tuition classes for underprivileged students in the area.
The library began operations two weeks ago, and is the fourth venue for Persatuan Tuisyen Anak Malaysia (PTAM), an organisation that holds free tuition classes.
PTAM chairman Mohd Zaid Zulkafli said the group was always on the lookout for suitable venues to hold its classes, and is now glad to have the use of the KL Madani Digital Library with the support of Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
“This is our fourth location in addition to other classes at other libraries in Medan Idaman in Wangsa Maju, in Lembah Pantai and in Batu,” he said, referring to other constituencies in the Kuala Lumpur federal territory.
Zaid was speaking at the launch of the KL Digital Madani Library at Bandar Sri Permaisuri by Bandar Tun Razak MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Zaid said the free tuition classes are open to all, and are currently focused on Form 4 and 5 core subjects like mathematics and English.
“We are using the school syllabus, since our volunteers are schoolteachers. This helps ensure that our tuition syllabus and what students learn in school are in line with each other.
In the Bandar Sri Permaisuri area, Zaid said there are around 80 underprivileged students eligible for the free tuition classes.
“We will keep it to 30 students per tuition class. We will add more classes and teachers if needed,” he said.
Wan Azizah, meanwhile, urged Bandar Sri Permaisuri residents to make full use of the digital library.
She said Malaysia needed knowledgeable citizens and not just infrastructure projects.
“I hope the people will appreciate this digital library. Don’t abuse it but optimise your usage of it. Take care of it, don’t vandalise it, because it belongs to all of us,” she said in her speech when officiating the digital library today.
The KL Madani Digital Library is a corporate social responsibility endeavour by Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) and is the fruition of an agreement signed in 2013. MRCB has also established two other libraries, namely Pustaka KL @Lembah Pantai and Pustaka KL @Medan Idaman.
Among the highlights of the KL Madani Digital Library at Bandar Sri Permaisuri is a children’s area furnished with SMART digital interactive tables, interactive floor projections, and for teens, a multimedia area with virtual reality TV and a Playstation 5.
There are also workstations with 28 desktops, four iMacs, and 10 iPads and notebooks.
The library stocks books, magazines and newspapers in electronic form, and also makes the MyGuru app available as a resource for educators by providing lesson notes and a bank of examination questions. – October 31, 2023