Gaps: Only bumis have right to scholarships

Slamming BN for racial politics, the group said the constitution was clear that rights belonged only to the Malays and bumiputera.
Only Malays and bumiputera have the right to receive government scholarships, said Umno-linked pressure group Gagasan Anti-Penyelewengan Selangor (Gaps) today.

“Is it a fact that all Malaysians have a right to a scholarship? The federal constitution only states that the Malays and bumiputera have the right to receive a scholarship,” said Gaps president Hamidzun Khairuddin (left) in a statement.

“This constitution is made by the Reid Commission, not by the Malay leaders,” he added, shifting the blame from the majority community to the five-member Commonwealth panel that drafted the nation's constitution in 1956.

Hamidzun was responding to MCA president Chua Soi Lek's comments on the PSD scholarship fracas carried by a news portal yesterday, where the latter's report said, “MCA told the prime minister today top SPM students should be given scholarships to study abroad despite Putrajaya's claim that it did not make any such promise.”

Referring to “some members of the ruling party and opposition who are very racist and chauvanistic”, Hamidzun lashed out at Chua in particular ,saying the chief of the second largest BN component party should amend the constitution if he disagreed with the issue.

“If Soi Lek disagrees, he should amend the constitution drawn up by Lord Reid. Soi Lek should be more objective in his leadership,” said the Gaps leader.

All races equal but...

“Soi Lek also needs to learn to be a leader for all Malaysians, and not just the champion of his race,” added Hamidzun.

Criticising BN parties for going in circles over the issue every May to June, year in, year out, he noted that each party fought only for the rights of their own respective communities.

“Gaps believes the issue should be resolved definitively, so that it would not become an annual polemic that does not benefit the rakyat,” he said, ticking off BN parties for the widening income gap and the increasingly racial politics in the country.

“Enough of Do Xiang Zhong (sic), Perkasa and Hindraf respectively being the spokespersons of their respective races. They excel in the field,” said the Gaps leader.

Oblivious to the obvious contradictions, Hamidzun concluded that “political leaders should be broad minded... and defend the rights of all races based on the constitution.”

Yesterday Chua had, according to the news report, announced after meeting with the PM over the prickly JPA scholarship issue that he had told the premier a number of failed scholarship applications by top scoring non-Malays should be reviewed and given overseas scholarships.

In a similar Malaysiakini report, Najib had promised he would “look into the controversy”.