YOURSAY 'A royal status for Universiti Teknologi Mara implies what, exactly? The monarch is royalty to all Malaysians.'

Education Ministry mulls royal status for UiTM

Fair Play: The justification for giving a royal status to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) is to prevent others from questioning the status of the university as an institution of higher learning only for the bumiputera, according to Irmorhizan Ibrahim (BN-Kuala Selangor).

Two questions to ask: Is this how the long journey to national reconciliation and unity would commence? And what about the university's global ranking in the future? Would it improve?

Onyourtoes: It is so easy - if the government or the Education Ministry is not able to explain its policy or to account for the performance of one of its institutions, just change the charter or its name to one with royal status, and voila, the institution is now beyond reproach.

How Third World can we get? Can't we see this is beyond blatant defiance of reason and rationality? This is intransigence, arrogance and blind jingoism put together.

For goodness sake, we owe ourselves the need to properly rationalise our national policies and to properly account for effective and efficient use of our resources.

Cantabrigian: No amount of royal titles would help salvage UiTM's tarnished reputation. Yes, it has produced a number of successful graduates, but it is mediocre in comparison to other public universities, if not inferior.

Please do something about the admission requirements and the quality of lecturers, rather than garnishing the university with the emperor's new clothes.

Every other Malaysian public university, including UiTM, already has a royal patronage via its chancellor, so what's new with this proposal?

ACR: A royal status for UiTM implies what, exactly? The monarch is royalty for to Malaysians.

EvenSteven: Rebranding is the name of the game. Maktab Technology was rebranded to Universiti Teknologi and presto, you turn out engineers instead of technical assistants.

Doc: How sad it is that the royal title is be extended to mediocre institutions like the Royal Customs of Malaysia which specialises in corruption, Royal Malaysian Police which specialises in everything else except keeping the peace and security of the Malaysian people.

The Royal Air Force which cannot fly due to missing engines. Now the Education Ministry wants to extend the royal title to UiTM which does not have any ranking internationally, promotes low intellect education as it only takes in students from one race in the attempt kill of the spirit competition and mass produces graduates that are unemployable except for the government service.

Fair Play: Doc, how about the Royal Malaysian Navy with the submarine that cannot sink?

MockingYou: What is UiTM's ranking? If it isn't the best in Malaysia if not among the best in the world then I wonder which ruler would want to put his royal stamp on its charter.

Anonymous #31061962: Are UiTM's students from other countries bumiputeras, too?

Vijay47: Just two points. One, change the name of our country to 'Malaysia Di-Raja'. That would put paid to all the subversive and anti-national statements and demands from the non-Malays and the mighty progress of ‘Ketuanan' can proceed unchallenged and unimpeded.

Second. More alarming, this one. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim told Parliament that 29.2 percent of the civil servants have at least one degree.

Goodness, what a terrifying thought, what dire straights the country is in, considering the quality of our universities and the calibre of graduates they produce.

Fortunately for the future of our Malaysia, 70.8 percent have no degrees whatsoever. Which of course brings to mind my point one above and UiTM.

Oh, I forgot point three: Good job, Hulu Selangor MP P Kamalanathan.

SpongeBob: This MIC leader wants to expedite the clandestine Umno's agenda after being elected under the MIC ticket. He pretends not to see the problems of Indians students in the secondary schools.

Who do you represent, Umno or MIC? You are acting as though you are given Umno membership. Indeed, this is how MIC leaders behave when they get elected and hold a position in the government.

P Dev Anand Pillai: It is a pity that we have to hear this from Umno-appointed ‘mandores'. We will soon be a nation which the rest of the world would want to study when it comes to racial segregation and ethnic supremacy.

2 Tim 1:7: I bet the authorities will first pay consultants to study the matter. 'Consultancy fees' is a euphemism for the vast amounts of money which Umno and its hangers-on steal from the nation.

A significant percentage of the income/profits of crony contractors, GLCs (government-linked company) and some major firms goes back to key figures of the regime and/or their families by a variety of covert mechanisms like offshore investments, money laundering, foreign bank accounts and by the use of proxies.

That the kampong folk are satisfied with the crumbs thrown to them by Umno warlords is understandable, but the fact that we right-thinking Malaysians can also be made suckers is most regrettable, nay an indictment of our lack of commitment to democracy.

Yap Suet Yin: We can call it a Royal Oxford University and let it be fully funded by bumis only.

Abasir: Make Umno and Perkasa royal too so that detractors will stop "challenging" anything they say or do regardless of how stupid or corrupt they are.

And make the Election Commission (EC) royal so that there will be no election petitions. Heck, make the courts royal to ensure there can be no appeal to its decisions.

Wira: Perhaps the royal status may not be enough. Better call it a divine university, ordained by God.

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