Ibrahim Ali the one making us ANGRY with the govt - students group slam 'racist' time-warped' Perkasa chief

Mahasiswa GANYANG refutes Perkasa Chief Ibrahim Ali's claims that Bumiputera students could be angry with PTPTN and upset with the Malaysian government.

Who is Ibrahim Ali to speak on behalf of us students? It is utter rubbish that this issue could potentially create anger among Bumiputera students towards non-Bumiputera students.

Ibrahim Ali does what he does best, by categorising each and every single Malaysian according to their race and religion. It is no secret that Ibrahim Ali is trapped in the mindset of a foregone era, and the name of the recent "National Unity Convention" itself is a sham, because Perkasa cannot fathom the meaning of 'National Unity'.

National Unity through his lenses is a Malaysia exclusive to Perkasa and their like-minded extremists. They have overlooked that nearly 40% of Malaysians come from other ethnic backgrounds. We have the Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dusuns, Dayaks, Ibans, Orang Asli and so forth. So, what is a National Unity Convention that passes a resolution without representatives from nearly 40% of the other various segments in society?

I second that the Bumiputera students are angry at PTPTN and the government. The last General Elections saw a huge percentage of young voters voting against the ruling coalition. This anger has not subsided, and the recent PTPTN reduction ranging from 5% to 15% has further fuelled such anger.

According to statistics from PTPTN and the Education Minister in November 2013, 328,550 (about 80%) of the 412,245 defaulters comprise of Bumiputera borrowers. On the other hand, 2,347 out of 17387 first class graduates are exempted from PTPTN debts. This shows that the current ratio of Bumiputera first class recipients receiving exemption to Bumiputera defaulters is 0.7 to 100.

What Ibrahim Ali saw was only the 0.7% cream of the crop, and left out the other overwhelming majority of the Bumiputera defaulters who failed to secure a first-class-graduate status.

Students demand free education. Countries like Sweden, Venezuela, Norway and Denmark have successfully implemented free education. In Malaysia, Petronas has been channeling nearly RM700billion of its profits to Putrajaya since its inception in 1974 through the Petroleum Development Act. This amount reflects only 5% of its annual royalty to the Federal government.

An accountable and transparent administration in Putrajaya would be able to fork out less than RM8billion annually to ensure all Malaysians enjoy free tertiary education. As reported in Petronas financial accounts, RM241.2billion was paid to Putrajaya and various state governments in 2011 alone. So what is RM8billion from the RM241.2billion received?

We are approaching 2020 in less than 6 years. In this context, a developed nation status does not only mean first class infrastructure, but developed in terms of human capital- skills and knowledge. And what's a developed nation with thousands of debts hanging over the heads of millions of fresh graduates?

Instead of being rhetorical along the racial and religious lines, Ibrahim Ali should mobilise his followers to study such suggestions. Rather than waging the sword between the multiracial demography Malaysia is proud to boast, Ibrahim Ali should equip his people to ensure less leakages in government dealings.

Mahasiswa GANYANG is a coalition of 20 student bodies across 10 public and private institutions. We are currently formulating a policy on PTPTN. So Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa, come, let’s sit down and talk.

Adrian Lim Chee En is founder of Mahasiswa GANYANG