A Personal Update from Ida

Dear Mentors,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to share an important update: after nearly six fulfilling years with the Foundation, and 9 years since co-founding Closing The Gap, I will be stepping down from my role as CEO of the Foundation by the end of May 2025.

This has been one of the most bittersweet decisions I have had to mull over in the last few months. Throughout my time here, I have had the privilege of watching CTG and, subsequently, the Foundation grow into something truly special. With your support and belief, we have transformed YTAR into an energetic organisation advocating for higher education opportunities, social mobility, and youth development for young Malaysians, especially those from underrepresented communities.

Here are just a few highlights of what we have achieved together:

• Transforming YTAR’s mandate from an exclusive scholarship body to a broader advocate for youth development and social mobility, creating pathways for underrepresented communities to succeed in higher education and leadership roles.

• Expanding our impact sixfold, growing from 26 students in 2019 to 221 today, and reaching close to 1800 students in the past six years. We achieved this through the expansion of the Foundation’s offerings, from financial aid and scholarships to development programmes targeting underrepresented youth. Beyond scale, we ensured our programmes remained dynamic and continually refined to maximise the positive impact on our students.

• Forging RM22 million in scholarships and programme MOU collaborations to impact over 700 students between 2020 and 2030, with RM8 million already allocated to support students.

• Increasing our visibility, rapidly growing our social media following from a minimal base to over 20,000 followers, and fostering a strong community of staff, scholars, mentors, and volunteers to amplify our mission and reach more people than ever before.

• Improving internal processes and governance, strengthening our position as a publicly accountable body, while building a dedicated, mission-driven team focused on the students we serve.

  
  

Mentors, your generosity in offering your time, resources, and guidance has played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectories of our students. As you know, CTG has always operated with a lean team, and we rely on you to provide personalized support to our CTG Scholars. Some of you have also been with us since the very beginning, when CTG was just starting out. Your belief in us, trust, and willingness to help navigate uncharted paths while continuously refining our programme were what kept my co-founders and I moving forward.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. CTG will remain, always, a special chapter in my life. My only hope is that you were able to gain from the experience as much as you gave and that you continued to champion equal opportunities for more students like CTG Scholars wherever you may be. Alone, we could do so much. But together, we could aspire for a society that gives our students a fighting chance.

What’s next:

We will be opening the search for my successor in the coming weeks. In our search, the Board is committed to ensuring that alignment with YTAR’s equitable approach and ambition to impact more students remains a key criterion for the next leader. At the same time, the team is fully dedicated to carrying forward the work we have started, and I will continue to support and mentor them through the full transition.

I will remain reachable at ida.thien@yayasantar.org.my until June 2025. After that, I remain deeply committed to causes focused on combating inequality and making a lasting impact, and you can connect with me on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

Thank you and Godspeed.

Sincerely,

Ida Thien