About Pinehurst
Teaching Adults to Read Their Own Documents
We run small-group courses in Petaling Jaya — practical, unhurried, and built around the documents Malaysian households actually receive.
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How Pinehurst Started
Pinehurst began in Petaling Jaya after its founder noticed something that came up repeatedly in conversations with friends and colleagues: very few adults felt comfortable reading the documents that arrived from their bank, their EPF account, or their unit trust provider. The figures were there. The pages were real. But the meaning behind them stayed opaque.
The question wasn't whether people were capable. It was whether anyone had ever sat down with them and walked through what the words and numbers actually meant. For most, the answer was no.
The first Pinehurst session ran in early 2022, with eight participants, a rented meeting room in Damansara Utama, and a stack of anonymised bank statements. The format — small group, printed materials, no advice, just explanation — worked well enough that a second session was scheduled before the first one ended.
Since then, Pinehurst has run courses for office workers, retirees, new graduates, and small business owners. The common thread is that participants leave with a clearer sense of what their documents say — and that the numbers, once explained, are less intimidating than they looked.
Our Approach
What We Do and Don't Do
Pinehurst teaches document literacy. That means explaining what a statement is structured to show, what the terminology refers to, and how figures relate to each other within a document. It does not mean telling participants what to do with their money or how to make decisions about their accounts.
We are not a licensed financial adviser, a bank, or an investment platform. Nothing shared in any Pinehurst session constitutes financial, investment, or legal advice. Participants are encouraged to take any specific questions to their bank, their EPF branch, or a licensed financial planner.
Our role is narrower than that — and we think that narrowness is actually useful. When you come to Pinehurst, you learn to read. What you do with that reading is up to you.
"The aim is that when a statement arrives in the post, it stops being something you put aside for later."
The Team
Who Runs the Courses
Pinehurst sessions are led by facilitators with backgrounds in financial administration and adult education — not sales or advice.
Siti Khadijah
Lead Facilitator
Over a decade in bank operations before moving into financial literacy education. Leads the one-day and four-session courses.
Rajiv Nair
Course Facilitator
Background in adult continuing education. Facilitates the eight-week cohort programme and manages the weekly reading discussions.
Lim Chee Wei
Materials & Administration
Develops the printed reference materials and coordinates session logistics. Handles all registration enquiries from the Damansara Utama office.
Standards
How We Run Our Courses
A few commitments that shape how every Pinehurst session is prepared and delivered.
Anonymised Materials Only
All sample documents used in class are anonymised before use. No real personal or account data is ever shown to participants.
Participant Privacy
Participant information is held only for administrative purposes and is not shared with third parties. See our privacy policy for full details.
Maximum 12 Per Session
We cap every session at 12 participants so that questions get real answers and the facilitator can check that the group is following along.
No Advice, Ever
Facilitators are trained to explain documents, not to recommend actions. This boundary is consistent across all sessions, regardless of participant questions.
Updated Reference Materials
Printed glossaries and reference cards are reviewed regularly to reflect current statement formats used by major Malaysian banks and EPF.
Post-Course Follow-Up
Cohort participants have access to a private discussion channel for six weeks after the programme ends, for questions about materials covered in class.
Values
What Matters to Us
Pinehurst exists because document literacy is unevenly distributed. The people who know how to read a statement well are often those who encountered one at work or had someone in their family who could explain it. That knowledge, once passed on, changes how a person relates to their own financial life.
We think that kind of clarity should be more widely available — not through apps or automated tools, but through the experience of sitting in a room and going through a document page by page with someone who can answer your specific question.
The documents we cover — bank statements, EPF member statements, unit trust summaries — are not complicated once the terminology is explained and the structure is mapped out. The barrier for most people is not intelligence. It is exposure. Pinehurst provides that exposure in a setting that is calm, non-judgmental, and focused on the materials rather than on selling anything.
We measure success simply: participants who leave a Pinehurst course able to open their next statement and make sense of it themselves. That is the outcome we work toward.
Interested in a Course?
Send us a message through the contact form or call the Petaling Jaya office. We will let you know about upcoming dates and which course might suit you.
Get in Touch