It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – studying at top universities around the world.

But scores of Public Service Department (JPA) bursary students now find themselves in limbo after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced that bursaries will only be provided for students to study locally.

Determined to see themselves studying at these renowned top universities, nine JPA bursary students have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise RM750,000 for their tuition fee, albeit for the first year only.

Spokesperson Ung Lik Teng said he and his friends had passed over other scholarships in favour of JPA bursaries, after it was reinstated in June 2014.

But when the scholarship programme was terminated in January this year, it was too late for them to apply for other scholarships.

Ung said the nine of them had received unconditional offers from top universities such as University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley as well as University of California, Los Angeles to study medicine, engineering and economics, among others.

“It is to us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study in these universities, which makes us versatile and resourceful assets to the country,” said Ung.

“Our parents are from the working class with decent pay but can never save enough for high quality overseas education."

He added that he and his friends were willing to complete their courses in the United States within three years instead of four to save up on tuition fees, while others were willing to pay for their own living expenses by working part time.

Ung, who was offered to study political science at UCLA, was optimistic that they could raise a similar amount of money in the next two years if the group managed to raise RM750,000 within two months.

The deadline is set at the end of August because the students need to apply for their visas two weeks before classes begin in mid-September.

Asked why they insist on studying abroad, Ung said they were eager to experience different cultures and academics.

“The academic community and chances in Malaysia are different from the chances in the US. It would be a pleasure and the utmost fortune to be able to study in the US," said Ung.

Ung explained that the group decided to launch the fundraising campaign after fruitless efforts engaging with government officials.

“We had a lot of meetings with JPA officials and representatives from the Prime Minister’s Department but we couldn't get a solid reply from them."

Urging the public to support their efforts, Ung said interested sponsors may read more about their backgrounds at their blog and donate to them at this website.