The Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) student representative council has urged students to dress in black tomorrow in protest of a proposal to allow non-bumiputera students to enrol in its cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme.
The council also encouraged students to upload photos of their attire with the #MahasiswaUiTMBantah hashtag on social media, to support the online campaign launched yesterday.
“The objective of UiTM’s establishment is to ensure less privileged bumiputera students get access to higher education.
“We unanimously support for UiTM to stay with its original objective to protect and advance bumiputera students as a bastion of national privilege and progress,” the council said in an Instagram story.
On April 25, health website Codeblue reported Raja Amin Raja Mokhtar, who is on the board of studies of the UiTM-IJN (National Heart Institute) cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme, as saying that the varsity is agreeable to opening up the course of study to non-bumiputera parallel pathway trainees and graduates.
He said the decision was made after speaking to UiTM’s vice-chancellor and the chairperson of the UiTM board, and they agreed to the idea for a limited period.
This comes after four graduates who earned a Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons Edinburgh (FRSC Ed) qualification for cardiothoracic surgery were told they could not register as specialists and practise the specialism here because the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) does not recognise the qualification.
UiTM is the only varsity that offers a parallel pathway programme in collaboration with IJN in the cardiothoracic field, which comprises surgery and care for heart and lung diseases.
The Malaysian Medical Association previously said that UiTM should allow non-bumiputera Malaysians seeking specialised training in the cardiothoracic field, given that international students can enrol in the university.
Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said there had been no discussion on opening the UiTM postgraduate programme to non-bumiputera students.
Several pertinent issues needed to be scrutinised before such an idea could be considered, he added.
UiTM vice-chancellor Shahrin Sahib said the varsity is committed to upholding the UiTM Act 1976 (Act 173) and Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which only allows the enrolment of bumiputera students.
However, UiTM will accept whatever the government decides with the blessing of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong if the matter arises due to national need, he added.
‘A gimmick’
PKR’s student wing called the UiTM student council statement a “gimmick” to spook the bumiputera.
Its spokesperson Afi Asif said the council should instead explain the root of the issue, before issuing statements that can cause confusion among students and the public, especially the bumiputera.
“Claims that UiTM will be opening to non-bumiputera students is absolutely not true.
“The government and the Higher Education Ministry have never issued any statements on the matter,” he added. - Mkini
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