Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has offered two counter solutions to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in a bid to do away with the quota system for bumiputera students in education.
Describing the current quota system for bumiputera students as “broken” and no longer relevant in this day and age, Syed Saddiq (above) put forth a suggestion to change it to a need-based system where students who are in need and are eligible will be given priority access to education.
“A needs-based system will not sideline those who come from poor families. This ensures that the poor, regardless of race and religion, will be defended.
“It’s not fair to say that there are no poor people from the Chinese and Indian communities.
“We’re not looking at the equality of outcomes, but the equality of opportunities. The starting line must be fair.
“That’s why the evaluation system in the process of choosing (students to be accepted into institutions of higher learning) needs to take into consideration all factors - social economy, the area, the territories, the parents’ status, the extracurricular activities and academic,” he said in a press conference at the party's headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.
The Muar MP also proposed that the current quota system be debated at the Parliamentary Select Committee level as it needs to be done in a bipartisanship manner.
He said this measure was necessary to ensure that such improved policy gets to be implemented not just during the tenure of one government, but many more governments to come.
“We still respect the Federal Constitution but the debate needs to be based on facts and data.
“Why are the elites still given assistance but the poor are being sidelined?
“The point I’m trying to make here is that policies are flexible and they can be improved. If the same problem persists even after decades have passed, it takes genuine interest and attention to change and reform the policies and it needs to be done in a bipartisan manner,” he stressed.
This comes after Anwar said the quota system for bumiputera students will remain to balance the number of students from the community in institutions of higher learning.
Cause and imbalance
Responding to a student’s question regarding the quota system and meritocracy in the current national education system during “Temu Anwar Kedah”, Anwar said if the quota system was not retained, it could cause an imbalance in the number of Malays who form the majority of bumiputera.
The prime minister said, however, having the quota system did not mean that meritocracy was dead, and if there were students from non-Malay and non-bumiputera who excel, the government must find ways to give them opportunities as well.
He stressed that if the government took action to set aside the quota policy, it would cause tension and be turned into a political issue by certain parties.
Anwar’s statement in upholding the quota system had drawn brickbats, with MCA Youth chief Nicole Wong Siaw Ting labelling it as a backward move that has left the Chinese community feeling “deceived”.
Wong also claimed that Malaysian universities have been unable to rise in global rankings due to the quota system. - Mkini
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