Image via Dr. Palani Muthusamy
There are many young people out there who sometimes struggle to keep up with their studies not because they’re lazy or unintelligent... but because of their living situation. Life isn’t always fair to everyone and this is when some people fall behind their peers.
This time around, we’re telling the story of an unsung hero from the DIGIyin Saathanai Hero-kkal campaign, who is dedicated to helping students, school leavers, and former drug addicts make their mark in life.
Dr. Palani Muthusamy is the founder and president of Persatuan Siswazah India Negeri Sembilan (PSINS). In 1999, he founded the association, which has been instrumental in helping students among the Indian community succeed in their STPM exams in order to qualify for placement in local universities.
The coaching starts when the students prepare for the UPSR exams, which has since been abolished. The team would conduct tuition classes at different locations around the state. They also made sure to keep the tuition fees at a bare minimum so that less privileged students would not be left out.
Image via Dr. Palani Muthusamy
Dr. Palani has over 20 years of experience managing tuition centers with a proven track record of providing successful education to underprivileged Indian students. His charitable nature has also motivated him to sponsor many young people who couldn’t afford to pay for their studies.
Under his leadership, scholarships are awarded to well-deserving candidates who are facing financial difficulties. Besides that, the association also helps them identify job placements in various companies, including the MyHotel Group, Warisan Wira Securities, and more.
Born in Negeri Sembilan, Dr. Palani didn’t come from a well-to-do family. However, he didn’t let his circumstances stop him from achieving his life goals.
In 1991, he was only one out of 20 students in his university to receive a placement to further his studies in Japan. This experience was life-changing for him because he learned a lot about Japanese customs and work culture, which he embraced and applied in his life to this day.
Today, he speaks English, Malay, Tamil, Malayalam, Indonesian, Nepali, and also Japanese!
Image via Dr. Palani Muthusamy
After graduating with a Masters in Business Administration from University of Malaya and a PhD in business management from the University of Victoria in Switzerland, he worked in human resources in various companies to help develop and train the internal staff.
He went on to set up a graduate cooperative in 2009 to cultivate the habit of saving and investing among graduates. In later years, he also continued to establish several entities to help the community, such as Varnem.com, which is an online business portal to provide job opportunities for young people. Unfortunately, this platform is no longer active.
In 2019, Dr. Palani started Nith Consultancy under the MyHotel Group. The company is one of the leading training and consultancy agencies focused on providing training in upscaling, leadership, team building, counselling, and more for employees, as well as school leavers and former drug addicts.
Image via Dr. Palani Muthusamy
The fruits of his labour are reflected well as more than 100 students successfully enter local universities every year because of him. His love, care, and guidance have also produced many lawyers, teachers, police officers, and government officials today.
This is what true dedication, motivation, and encouragement can do to individuals who may seem less fortunate or privileged than you. Be a good support and help someone achieve their dreams today.
This is part of the DIGIyin Saathanai Hero-kkal campaign as we constantly look to share stories of Malaysian ‘superheroes’ that live amongst us.