UiTM student campaign 'misguided', Pusat Komas says

 

Universiti Teknologi Mara’s (UiTM) recent campaign against the potential intake of non-bumiputera students in certain courses is misguided, said rights group Pusat Komas.

While acknowledging UiTM's historical context of uplifting the bumiputera community, the NGO said maintaining bumiputera exclusivity in all programmes is not in line with the nation’s evolving needs.

“Malaysia is facing a critical shortage of specialists, particularly in fields like cardiothoracic surgery. This shortage affects all Malaysians,” it said in a statement today.

Citing the Malaysian Association for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery’s claim that the delay results in one death per week at Health Ministry cardiothoracic centres, Pusat Komas said denying qualified individuals training based on race hinders progress and public well-being.

It argued that the New Economic Policy’s (NEP) “special position” for bumiputera was meant to be temporary to allow them to “catch up”, as stated by policy architect Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.

“Maintaining bumiputera exclusivity in fields with a dire need for skilled professionals perpetuates inequality,” it added.

Nuanced approach

Pusat Komas urged UiTM’s student council to take a nuanced approach, suggesting a targeted expansion where critical shortage courses like cardiothoracic surgery are opened to non-bumiputera while maintaining the bumiputera focus elsewhere.

This would uphold the NEP spirit while addressing pressing national needs, it said, noting that the recent proposal to open UiTM’s cardiothoracic programme was meant to be temporary pending a similar programme at Universiti Malaya.

UiTM vice-chancellor Shahrin Sahib

The group also called for empathy towards affected non-bumiputera doctors and a constructive government dialogue with all stakeholders to balance bumiputera and national interests.

“A heart surgeon’s skill is not determined by race, but the ability to mend hearts,” it said, adding patients’ needs should not consider the attending doctor’s ethnicity.

On May 15, UiTM’s student council called on students to wear black and upload photos with the #MahasiswaUiTMBantah hashtag to oppose plans for admitting non-bumiputera medical officers into the parallel pathway cardiothoracic surgery programme run jointly with the National Heart Institute.

UiTM is the sole university offering this parallel pathway training in the specialised field of heart surgery.

Its vice-chancellor Shahrin Sahib stated that the students’ black shirt campaign was not actually a protest, but an “expression of identity”, saying that it did not qualify as a protest since no decision has been made yet on opening up the programme.

He added that UiTM was established to increase bumiputera participation in the economic sector, stating “if the problems of bumiputera can be dealt with, then the problems of the country will also be solved.”

When questioned about UiTM allowing foreign but not local non-bumiputera students, Shahrin responded that admitting international students aimed to generate income for the university. - Mkini