Monday 26/10/2026

^{Year 6 students from SK Lavender Heights, Negeri Sembilan, discussing a book as they fill in their Book Buddies journal}

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- The Financial Industry Collective Outreach (FINCO) today announced the successful pilot of Book Buddies, a nationwide book club initiative designed to foster a stronger reading culture and enhance critical thinking skills among Year 5 and 6 students in Malaysia. Results from the pilot demonstrated significant positive impact, with student reading enjoyment increasing from 68.7% before the pilot to 93.8% afterwards.
 
Additionally, students reporting confidence in sharing story opinions rose from 45.6% to 78.2%, with the proportion feeling very confident rising from 14.0% to 35.8%. The vast majority of participants (91.9%) expressed strong interest in reading more books and joining future Book Buddies discussions.
 
The Book Buddies programme, which ran from July to October 2026, was developed in response to findings from FINCO’s own Beyond Books: Reading Culture amongst Malaysian Students report which identified a significant need for intervention, with nearly one in three students reporting that they have fewer than 10 books at home. The report also found that structured time and encouragement from teachers and parents play almost as important a role as book availability in motivating students to read.
 
Recent findings from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 assessment highlight significant gaps in reading proficiency, with only 44% of Malaysian 15-year-olds achieving at least Level 2, the baseline proficiency level considered essential for students to participate effectively in society, compared with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 69%.
 
PISA measures reading across six proficiency levels with higher levels requiring increasingly complex critical-thinking skills. Only 0.1% of Malaysian students were able to score at Level 5 or Level 6.
 
Book Buddies addresses these challenges by transforming reading from a solitary activity into a shared, interactive experience which encourages critical thinking. The pilot programme featured two book club sessions where teachers led an in-school session using books and resources provided by FINCO, followed by a virtual session bringing together the 17 participating schools facilitated by FINCO, each centering on a specific story.
 
To support this journey, FINCO provided all participating students with a storybook and a Book Buddies Reading Journal designed to help them reflect and capture their thoughts before discussions. Teachers were also equipped with ready-to-use session plans and decks to conduct engaging in-school sessions.
 
By exploring these stories through structured discussions and activities, children were encouraged to share their ideas, critique the text, and discuss different perspectives. This process is essential for developing critical thinking skills—such as inference-making and textual analysis—while simultaneously encouraging reading for pleasure.
 
“Reading opens the door to new ideas. 'Book Buddies' helps children discover the joy of stories, giving them a safe, fun space to share their thoughts, ask questions, and learn from one another,” said CEO of FINCO, Clare Walker.
 
Since its pilot, the programme has engaged more than 300 students aged 11 to 12 in government schools across 10 states in Malaysia. Feedback from teachers has been overwhelmingly positive, with many requesting additional spots for their students, noting that even those not initially involved expressed a strong desire to join.
 
“There’s a huge difference in the children’s reading habits before and after joining the programme,” said Teacher Devi A/P Jeyaraman from SK Sentul Utama, Kuala Lumpur. “Even their vocabulary has improved significantly. We had a debate in the classroom, and I was so amazed to see them confidently debating in English! We are really glad to be a part of the Book Buddies programme.”
 
FINCO, which is a collaborative outreach effort by the financial industry, has been championing reading proficiency and critical reading skills in primary schools nationwide since its inception in 2017. This initiative builds upon ongoing efforts to support students’ literacy through teacher training, the establishment of Interactive Reading Corners and storytelling sessions under the FINCO Reads programme.
 
Commenting on the success of this programme, Tan Sri Azman Hashim, the chairman of FINCO said, “FINCO believes that the strength of our nation’s future is inextricably linked to the educational opportunities we provide today. We are thankful to the financial industry in Malaysia for their continued support of initiatives such as this, which empower our youth with the foundational skills they need to thrive.”

About the Financial Industry Collective Outreach

The Financial Industry Collective Outreach (FINCO) is a collaborative initiative pioneered by financial institutions in Malaysia with the guidance of Bank Negara Malaysia to provide underprivileged children and youth with the guidance and educational tools they need to achieve their life goals. FINCO seeks to achieve these objectives through inclusive educational initiatives under four strategic pillars - English Proficiency and Life Aspiration, Financial Literacy and Disaster Relief.