Goh Sho Anne, 11, from Selangor, and Harrish Varma, 12, from Kuala Lumpur named winners in the Comic Challenge and Financial e-Game Challenge; take home cash prizes up to RM20,000

Kuala Lumpur, 22 November 2019 - In an intense finale, more than 40 students from seven states competed using their financial knowledge in the AEIOU Challenge organised by Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (“Alliance Bank”) to promote financial literacy among schoolchildren from Standard 4 to 6.

The finalists were shortlisted from over 21,000 entries and 11,000 participations in the AEIOU Financial Comic Strip Challenge (“Comic Challenge”) and AEIOU Financial e-Game Challenge (“e-Game Challenge”) respectively. They came from as far as Sabah, Kedah, and Johor to join finalists from Perak, Melaka, Selangor, and Kuala Lumpur.

Goh Sho Anne, 11 from SJKC Chung Hua, Klang walked away as the champion of Comic Challenge, while Harrish Varma, 12, from SK Taman Bukit Maluri emerged as the champion of the e-Game Challenge.

For the Comic Challenge category, the grand winner, Goh Sho Anne took home RM5,000 cash, a trophy, and a certificate of achievement. The first runner-up and second runner-up walked away with RM3,000 cash and RM1,000 cash respectively, as well as trophies, and certificates of achievement. The winner for the e-Game Challenge, Harrish Varma received RM3,000 cash, a trophy and a certificate of achievement. (see Appendix A for the list of the winners).

SJK (C) Damansara from Selangor was awarded a RM3,000 cash contribution to its school development fund for having the highest number of participation, at over 900 for a combination of the Comic Challenge and e-Game Challenge categories.

The prize-giving ceremony was graced by Encik Suhaimi Sun bin Abdullah, Deputy Director of Sports, Co-Curricular and Arts Division, Ministry of Education. It was attended by over 250 students who were competing for the RM20,000 cash prize pool, together with 60 parents and teachers.

Alliance Bank’s Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Joel Kornreich said, “Our aim for this year’s AEIOU Challenge is to have a bigger and better impact on the children’s learning. We did this by taking on a bolder approach to learning. This is why we have improved on the programme by introducing an online game element, and expanded the programme to engage 420 schools directly.”

During the AEIOU Challenge Season 5, Alliance Bank had expanded the Train-the-Trainers sessions to involve teachers from more than 420 schools. The teachers were trained in financial education, and provided financial education materials to enable them to conduct the lessons in their classrooms and champion financial literacy.

Alliance Bank will also retain the e-Game Challenge online, alongside other learning materials related to AEIOU Challenge, even after the programme has ended for this season. “We are making available the education comics and the e-Game Challenge on our corporate website to educators and students alike as we believe in the importance of continuous learning,” said Mr. Kornreich.

Based on the theme “How smart spending habits help my family build our future”, this year’s Comic Challenge & e-Game Challenge received over 32,000 participation, which is more than double last year’s 15,000 submissions.

Established in 2015, the AEIOU programme is the Bank’s corporate responsibility initiative comprising the financial literacy education and Comic Challenge. Staying true to their mission of building alliances to improve lives, the Bank collaborated with various stakeholders including the Ministry of Education, Bank Negara Malaysia, and teachers in the running of the programme.

Alliance Bank’s AEIOU Challenge supports the aspiration of the nation of having financially savvy citizens by enhancing the knowledge of Malaysians on good financial management. Aligned with the recently announced National Strategy for Financial Literacy 2019-2023, the programme champions its strategic priority of instilling right values from young and inculcating positive financial management skills.

Further information on Alliance Bank’s AEIOU Challenge is available at www.alliancebank.com.my/aeiou.

Winners of the Alliance Bank AEIOU Challenge Season 5 financial literacy initiative with Encik Suhaimi Sun bin Abdullah, Deputy Director, Sports, Co-Curricular and Arts Division, Ministry of Education and Mr Joel Kornreich, Group CEO of Alliance Bank. (L-R): Alliance Bank AEIOU Challenge Season 5 - Financial e-Game Challenge (e-Game Challenge) 2nd Runner-up Zafran bin Ahmad Zulhaimi from SK Sri Petaling, Selangor, e-Game Challenge Champion Harrish Varma from SK Taman Bukit Maluri, Kuala Lumpur, Comic Challenge 1st Runner-up Yap Kah Wee from SJKC Chi Man, Kuala Lumpur, Encik Suhaimi Sun bin Abdullah, Deputy Director, Sports, Co-Curricular and Arts Division, Ministry of Education, Comic Challenge Champion Goh Sho Anne from SJKC Chung Hua, Klang, Mr Joel Kornreich, Group CEO of Alliance Bank, Comic Challenge 2nd Runner-up Crystal Voo Siao Jing from SJKC Yick Nam, Sabah and e-Game 1st Runner-up Rizq Syaheed bin Muhammad Reezal from SK Saujana Utama Ijok, Sungai Buloh.

APPENDIX A

Comic Challenge

e-Game Challenge

Category Prize

SCHOOL WITH MOST SUBMISSIONS

SJKC Damansara, Selangor
Prize : RM3,000 cash for its school development fund

THE WINNERS' CHOICE AWARD

Goh Jun Thean, 12, from SJKC Sam Tet, Perak
Prize : Faber Castell hamper, a trophy and a certificate of achievement

About Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad

Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad and its subsidiaries, Alliance Investment Bank Berhad and Alliance Islamic Bank Berhad, is a dynamic, integrated financial services group offering banking and financial solutions through its consumer banking, SME banking, corporate and commercial banking, Islamic banking, investment banking and stockbroking businesses. The Bank provides easy access to its broad base of customers throughout the country via multi-pronged delivery channels which include retail branches, Privilege Banking Centres, Business Centres, and Investment Bank branches located nationwide, as well as mobile and Internet banking.

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