JPA scholarship cuts a sign of BN losing more votes

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration is fast losing the support of the people. Within the past 24 hours, two news reports have given strong hints that Najib will surely lose more votes in the next general election, should he decide to call for snap polls.

If he continues to “walk in his sleep” - proverbially-speaking - more people, especially the younger generation of Malaysians, will be losing confidence in his ‘People First’ government.

The first is about the revolt against Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir, where Mukhriz was able to claim that 95 percent of Kedahans still support him. Although there were 14 Umno excos who were involved in the coup, most of us who have nothing to do with Umno would still sympathise with Mukhriz.

They may think otherwise, but many of us feel that Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob or even Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir should be the ones axed.

Instead, Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was unwilling to take the 14 Umno warlords to task, unlike what happened to others who had called for Najib’s resignation over the RM2.6 billion “donation”. This clearly shows the double standards practised by Tengku Adnan.

'Appointed' cabinet ministers ineffective

Meanwhile, what is more damaging to the present BN government is Najib’s decision to withdraw the Public Services Department (JPA) scholarships from students, whose studies will be now adversely affected.

It clearly shows that MCA ministers and other “appointed” ministers are ineffective by being in the cabinet. They might as well leave the cabinet and join the remaining Malaysian public in urging Najib and the cabinet to step down, for the sake of the nation.

Too many decisions have been made that are not only unpopular, but will surely impact the lives of ordinary Malaysians.

Education is very close to the hearts of the people. It is not only the students who are affected emotionally and financially, but I believe most ordinary Malaysians like me would be riled up by the BN government. I can understand the anxiety of the young people and their parents, although my own children are too young to benefit from the JPA scholarships.

If Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar could feel the heartbeat of the nation, why is elitist Najib - born with a silver spoon - oblivious to the people’s sentiments? In the past when his father was prime minister, Najib would have gone for further education on the national coffers despite the country still being poor by comparison.

Rumours had it that Najib did not even graduate and when the late Abdul Razak Hussein died of leukaemia, Najib had to cut short his education in the UK in order to stand for the by-election in Pekan as the country’s youngest MP. He won, probably because of the people’s support towards Abdul Razak.

Instead of proudly showing his university degree, as a personal achievement, there are just pictures of him with different women going viral on Facebook and other social media. Is that all we can say about our prime minister and his pursuit of tertiary education?

I also wonder if his late father were still alive today, how would he have handled the issue of the JPA scholarships?

Whatever it is, Najib should understand that students are the younger generation of Malaysians who will someday take over the country’s leadership. As pointed out by Nurul Izzah, we need more thinkers and intellectuals if we want to see Malaysia becoming an advanced country.

They will return to Malaysia to contribute to the future growth and development of the nation. While more money has been sought to develop human resources, it is shocking that the federal government should now slash the budget for JPA scholarships.

By withdrawing the JPA scholarships, many students who are currently studying overseas will have to return to the country. Their pursuit for a better future for themselves and their loved ones will now be dashed against the rocks. It will also be a big disappointment to their parents who have served the government for years.

Some of them - for example, those who are serving in the police force and military - have sacrificed their entire lives to serve the nation. Why must their children’s future be placed on the altar again to be sacrificed, because the country no longer has the money to keep them?

Najib has a lot to answer to this. If he himself has not placed too much of attention to his own education, he should not meddle with the future of our younger generations.

Why not use some of the RM2.6b for scholarships?

It is also time to ask the Singapore government what happened to the money that was frozen, after it was discovered that a big chunk of the money from Najib’s private account had been transferred to Singapore.

This money was supposedly donated by an Arab personality. If it is not meant for Najib’s personal gain, and it is not for Umno’s coffers, we should ask the Singapore government to release the money so that more Malaysian scholars could be produced.

We do not want Najib to have access to the money so as to keep his reputation “clean”. The Singapore government, with blessings from Najib, can disburse the money to the JPA scholars on a periodic basis in order to see them through their education.

Perhaps, that is one way for Najib to possibly shore up his popularity, since he would be willing to share the "donation" with the people who need it most.

If not, the Singapore government should tell us their findings based on the investigation, and why the money had been frozen; otherwise, we would have to ask if Singapore, too, has become another ‘haven’ for illegal money laundering by having laws that protect the interests of their depositors instead of responding to questions about the money, the issue of which is of the public's interest.

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. -Mkini