Scrap meritocracy if Malays are lagging
Published: Jul 22, 2005 7:42 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
Can a Malay student living in a remote area, which 'lacks everything', compete with a non-Malay student living in urban areas?
Can a Malay student living in a remote area, which 'lacks everything', compete with a non-Malay student living in urban areas?
This is the question posed by Johor Umno delegate Dr Mohd Puad Zarkhasi in calling for the meritocracy system for intake into public universities to be abolished.
Speaking at Umno's 56th annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur today, he said the system should be scrapped if it causes a decline in the number of Malay students in critical courses.
According to a Bernama report, Puad said four years after the meritocracy system was implemented, the entry of bumiputera students in critical courses like medicine had dwindled.
Expressing his dissatisfaction over the system which is based on universal competition, he asked: "Can Malay students who live in remote areas which lack everything like Ulu Tembeling compete with non-Malay students living in Subang Jaya?"
He said the competition practised in the meritocracy system was like telling a person on a wheelchair to race against an able-bodied runner in a 100m dash.
"The meritocracy system is clearly based on the concept of survival of the fittest and with the disclosure by the education minister that thousands of national schools in the rural and remote areas lack electricity and water supply, is the competition fair?" he said when debating the motion on the president's policy speech.
Educational jihad
He urged Higher Education Minister Dr Shafie Salleh to disclose the number of Malay students accepted to undergo critical courses at public universities especially Universiti Malaya.
He said if the system had clearly affected the chances of Malay students to get places in public universities, Umno should be brave in pressing for the system to be withdrawn.
Puad said the call by the party president on the Malays to learn and be skillful in all fields was welcomed but the crucial question was on the financing perspective.
He urged all 3.2 million Umno members to launch an "educational jihad" by contributing RM10 each annually to an Umno Malay Education Fund which could be used to help finance Malay students from poor families in rural and remote areas get proper education.
This is the question posed by Johor Umno delegate Dr Mohd Puad Zarkhasi in calling for the meritocracy system for intake into public universities to be abolished.
Speaking at Umno's 56th annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur today, he said the system should be scrapped if it causes a decline in the number of Malay students in critical courses.
According to a Bernama report, Puad said four years after the meritocracy system was implemented, the entry of bumiputera students in critical courses like medicine had dwindled.
Expressing his dissatisfaction over the system which is based on universal competition, he asked: "Can Malay students who live in remote areas which lack everything like Ulu Tembeling compete with non-Malay students living in Subang Jaya?"
He said the competition practised in the meritocracy system was like telling a person on a wheelchair to race against an able-bodied runner in a 100m dash.
"The meritocracy system is clearly based on the concept of survival of the fittest and with the disclosure by the education minister that thousands of national schools in the rural and remote areas lack electricity and water supply, is the competition fair?" he said when debating the motion on the president's policy speech.
Educational jihad
He urged Higher Education Minister Dr Shafie Salleh to disclose the number of Malay students accepted to undergo critical courses at public universities especially Universiti Malaya. He said if the system had clearly affected the chances of Malay students to get places in public universities, Umno should be brave in pressing for the system to be withdrawn.
Puad said the call by the party president on the Malays to learn and be skillful in all fields was welcomed but the crucial question was on the financing perspective.
He urged all 3.2 million Umno members to launch an "educational jihad" by contributing RM10 each annually to an Umno Malay Education Fund which could be used to help finance Malay students from poor families in rural and remote areas get proper education.
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