One really cannot understand why the 5,000 UITM students are so sensitive about Tan Sri Kahlid's statetment. It is very claer that Tan Sri Khalid never has any intention to challenge the Malays' rights. He only suggests that hopefully by opening up UITM, it will boost multiethnic interaction and create healthy academic competition.
I believe all of us include Tan Sri Khalid has mixed feelings when seeing our university ranking drops below 200 and the university standard has gone from bad to worst. Hence, the declines in standards must be arrested immediately.
I also believe Tan Sri Khalid is a far sighted politician. He has every reason to come out with this noble proposal. In this globalisation world, Malaysia can only advance if the country is managed by a far sighted politicians who can look beyond racial politics.
Renung renunglah......
The outcry reflects deepening resentment among some Malays over what they regard as attempts to erode decades-old legal rights that provide them with privileges in areas including education, business and government jobs.
An estimated 5,000 students of Mara Technology University staged a protest march Tuesday (12 Aug) after Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the chief minister of central Selangor state, suggested that the campus allow non-Malays and foreigners to fill 10% of its student places.
The institution only enrolls "Bumiputeras," or "sons of the soil," which refers to Malays and indigenous communities from Malaysian parts of Borneo island. Its stated aim is to supply "maximum opportunities for Bumiputeras to pursue professionally recognized programs of study."
Malay Muslims comprise about 60% of Malaysia's 27 million people. Ethnic Chinese constitute a quarter of the population, while Indians make up less than 10%.
Abdul Khalid, a senior Malay official in the opposition People's Justice Party, said the government-funded university should open its doors partly to non-Malays to boost multiethnic interaction and create healthy academic competition.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi shot down the idea Tuesday, saying the matter was "not within (Abdul Khalid's) jurisdiction of power."
Students wearing black shirts marched to Abdul Khalid's office to submit a protest note. They carried banners that read "Do not challenge Bumiputera rights," "Save our university" and "The university will belong to Bumiputeras forever."
University Vice Chancellor Ibrahim Abu Shah also rejected the suggestion, saying the institution was "the last educational bastion for the Malays and other Bumiputeras to help change their lot," the national news agency Bernama reported.
The campus is the only one among Malaysia's universities that is exclusive, but other state-backed institutions generally have high Malay enrollments that cause minorities to frequently resort to private colleges or studying abroad.
Race relations are a highly sensitive subject in Malaysia, where the government promotes an affirmative action program created following 1969 ethnic riots sparked by Malay disquiet over ethnic Chinese financial clout.
Malaysia has been largely free of racial violence since, but minorities increasingly gripe about discrimination. The government says affirmative action remain necessary to help Malays catch up economically, but critics insist that it breed ethnic divisions. (By SEAN YOONG/ AP)
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The protest march by students of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) against a suggestion by Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim that the university should admit non-bumiputeras says a great deal about what’s bothering the nation’s pool of workers.
It is really quite understandable that the protesters should feel uncomfortable about any change in the university’s admission rules. The iconic Malay institution represents the government’s commitment to assisting the economically backward rural folk through education and skills training. Allowing 10% of admissions to be drawn from non-bumiputeras therefore appears to threaten the pristine social agenda that led to the establishment of the Dewan Latehan RIDA, the fore-runner of the current institution, in 1956.
The students’ vocal opposition to Khalid’s idea, however, masks the issue that he sought to address. The menteri besar was moved to propose a solution to the nagging questions of academic quality and competitiveness that mar the employability of many graduates. Yet, Khalid’s proposal is obviously unthinkable for many even after more than 50 years of the institution’s evolution.
Undeniably, much has changed from the time that Datuk Onn Jaafar, Umno’s founder, had mooted the idea of the Rural and Industrial Development Authority, under which the institute was established.
The ranks of skilled workers, professionals and entrepreneurs have swelled beyond recognition compared to that period. This has been achieved in no small measure through the medium of UiTM as well as a growing number of tertiary institutions both in the country and abroad.
Nevertheless, Khalid’s concerns about the quality of the country’s human resource pool remain legitimate and highly relevant.
Perhaps the Selangor menteri besar’s proposal needs to be approached from a different angle. Given that productivity is a highly valued commodity in the job market, it stands to reason that the more resourceful a worker, the greater is his or her demand in the marketplace. With such an efficient economic tool in place, there should be no necessity to coax workers to give their best, or encourage skills enhancement, for that matter.
The incentives for employees to demonstrate excellence are built into the market. If at all, a regulator may want to free up the rules of employment so that businesses can respond quickly to the supply and demand of labour, and switch economic activity according to prevailing conditions in the market.
Let the job market provide career guidance. All that the authorities, such as the Labour Exchange, need to do is provide transparent information about who’s got the jobs, how much they are paying and for what skills. The rest should be left to take care of itself.
Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim should be commended “for having the wisdom to be open-minded and thinking like a Malaysian” with his suggestion to open up 10% of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) intake to non-bumiputera and foreign students.
“Despite our political differences, I am convinced that his multi-racial outlook on higher education will have a positive impact on the future generation of Malaysians. This is the quality that a Malaysian leader must have if the country were to move forward.
“On the contrary, vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah, who hit out at Khalid for his progressive view, is doing a great disservice to his own university,” he said in a statement.
Ng said Prof Ibrahim, as an educator and administrator of an institution of higher learning, should be proud if more Malaysians were keen to enrol in UiTM instead of reserving the university exclusively for bumiputeras.
“Furthermore, UiTM is funded by taxpayers’ money that comes from all Malaysians, regardless of race. If this is the case, why deprive some segments of the society to preserve an outdated practice that would not serve the cause of inter-racial unity?”
Ng said segregation would not only discourage competition but also deter the bumiputeras from understanding the non-bumiputeras and vice-versa.
Less than three weeks from now, we will be celebrating the National Day. It is a special occasion to mark the birth of a nation and its maturity. We will be turning 51 years old. For a nation, we can still be regarded as young but at the same time, not too young either. The events of the past few weeks must worried many of us. Why are we still talking of Malay unity and not Malaysian unity? Why are some of us still unsure of ourselves and so reluctant to mix and mingle with one another, even as we spend millions of ringgit on national service for our young ones. Why are even some of our young so reluctant to share the same lecture halls with fellow Malaysians of other races even when the international ranking of universities today requires the admittance of even foreigners, as a criteria? And why should one react to a proposal so strongly when it's not even an issue, in the first place. Thanks to the democratisation of education, Malaysians have plenty of colleges and universities to pick from. Why are some of us stirring up issues that many of us have little thoughts about? The National Day isn't just about flying the national flags to demonstrate about patriotism. It isn't just about parades and fireworks but also about our commitment to the country. It is no use for anyone to claim to be nationalistic and a protector of one's race but quietly steal the people's money and squander away the nation's wealth.
Politicians who extol the virtues of our education system and yet pack off their children overseas, even at primary school level, are hardly champions of any race. The real Malaysians are the ordinary Malaysians who earn an honest living and will die here. Something is wrong, terribly wrong, when there is little tolerance for difference of views. Mob rule is unacceptable in any civilised country. It is also wrong when leaders, who suddenly find themselves in government, keep an eerie silence when their partners make statements that run against what they preach. Is it still about political expediency?
Malaysian politicians keep forgetting that they are voted in by people of all races - they should represent ALL Malaysians, no matter what parties they come from.
Yes, Malaysia has done well, in many ways. We have come a long way but the National Day is also a time to reflect and review. It is time to correct what we have done wrong and improve on what we have done right. We cannot expect everything to be rosy, especially in a multi-ethnic country, but we have lived together well. We have made Malaysia work but it has to work even better, if we are to progress. We want to see colour-blind politicians who believe in Malaysia and Malaysians - not Malays, Chinese or Indians. But Malaysians. Can we see some common sense?
Wong Chun Wai
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