Opinion piece about Bumiputera students lacking skills draws fire, debate

 

RECENTLY, an opinion piece published by news portal Free Malaysia Today received quite the attention on the cyberspace due to its controversial topic. 

According to the piece, students from lower-income bumiputera students enter the workforce without the skills needed for a modern economy.

Netizen @SyedAkramin, who is a Malay, picked up the post and turned it into a point for an interesting debate. He believes many are not ready to discuss this issue.

“When told to master foreign languages, we are accused of glorifying former colonisers. When told to mix with other communities, we refuse, preferring to remain in our own insular circles. When others succeed, you become resentful,” he said.

To better understand his remark, the opinion piece by Rosli Khan needs to be revisited.

Among other things, Rosli stated that the expansion of Tahfiz and other non-standard religious schooling pathways has created a parallel system.

These often operate outside the national curriculum and with limited emphasis on STEM or technical skills, not to mention using untrained and unqualified teachers.

“Religious education has its place. But allowing these parallel systems to expand without integration into the national framework has been a huge policy failure, resulting in societal deficits,” he said.

Netizens, however, are divided over this topic. Take for example, @AshMood82 who pointed out some companies who advertise, looking for people who can speak Mandarin. 

But @SyedAkramin countered, saying that these advertisements are good as people do not want to work with a racist employer anyway. 

Another netizen admitted that this is their fault as they themselves created a policy which separates them from the other races.

But @Sultan_Sulai80 said every race is subject to the cycle of poverty.

Also, @muzahidno1 pointed out that it is merely an opinion piece and people should not put too much weight in it. 

Returning to Rosli Khan, he said Bumiputeras remain heavily represented in the public sector, which employs around 1.7 mil people.

He believed this model and approach is no longer sustainable as a primary pathway for upward mobility.

The more decent, productive and well-paid jobs are found in the private sector, particularly in high-growth industries that reward skills, networks and exposure. 

“However, these positions are beyond the reach of the current education systems and pathways,” he remarked.

Also, the opinion piece can be found at: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2026/04/12/inequality-in-malaysia-rooted-in-failure-of-education-policy— Focus Malaysia