Explain how merit system for student admission works, Anwar told
Published on: Tuesday, August 22, 2023
By: FMT
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says PH and BN will lose all future elections if the unity government were to abolish Bumiputera quotas in higher learning institutions.
PETALING JAYA: A senior fellow with a Singapore-based think tank has called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to clarify the merit-based selection system used to admit students into public higher learning institutions.
Lee Hwok Aun of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute also called for socioeconomic elements to be considered when it comes to such admissions involving underprivileged students.
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“The matriculation college system affords financial aid for low-income households, but does not incorporate socioeconomic disadvantage into the admissions process, unlike community colleges and polytechnics offering technical and vocational courses, which implement a points system for low-income students to boost their entry prospects,” Lee said in an article published by The Fulcrum.
He suggested extending “need-based” selection to all communities, with an emphasis on students from the bottom 20% of household income based on each state’s per capita income.
He was referring to an exchange between Anwar and a student on the quota system for Bumiputera students.
Anwar had earlier this month said Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional would lose all future elections if the unity government were to abolish Bumiputera quotas in higher learning institutions.
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He also said the country could be thrown into turmoil if Putrajaya did away with the quota system, and conceded that the race-based quota system cannot be changed.
Lee said both parties raised valid but biased points.
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“The student legitimately complained that quotas detract from merit-based admission; Anwar legitimately argued that meritocracy is flawed for disproportionately benefitting the privileged ones who are better poised to ace national exams,” he said.
However, while the student highlighted the plight of high-scoring non-Malays being left out, she failed to consider the Malay students who obtained good grades.
At the same time, he said, Anwar talked about the difficulties faced by poor Bumiputera students but omitted the non-Bumiputera students who were also economically disadvantaged.
Lee said the government’s reluctance to advocate for group-targeted policies had allowed Perikatan Nasional to distinguish itself among Malay voters and possibly chip away at the unity government’s non-Malay supporters.
For example, he said, it was reported that Selangor PN pitched pledges specifically for the Indian community in its election manifesto, while the unity government in Selangor opted to omit any group-targeted programmes.
He said Anwar’s non-committal stance towards pro-Malay policies had raised non-Malay expectations for “meritocracy” to replace ethnic preferences, and made his administration vulnerable to attacks from PN.
“The unity government simultaneously disappoints non-Malays who nonetheless vote for them because PN is viewed as the worse alternative,” he said.
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