YOURSAY ‘How does pro-chancellor Dr Abdul Rahman see future of UiTM?’
Chancellor: UiTM must be preserved for Malays
Pemerhati: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) pro-chancellor Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad is just saying things that would please his Umno bosses who will then renew his term of office, which will then ensure that he continues to enjoy all the perks that come with the appointment.
If he was any good he would have advised Umno to raise the standard of the university by bringing in quality students and teachers from all over the world so that everyone will look up to its graduates.
Umno is doing a great disservice to the Malays by continuing to give them crutches and making them study in universities which are considered as third rate.
Thus the Malays come to be viewed as OKU (orang kurang upaya) and the graduates are viewed with great suspicion until they prove themselves like former UiTM student Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.
David Dass: 12. (1) Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth -
(a) in the administration of any educational institution maintained by a public authority, and, in particular, the admission of pupils or students or the payment of fees; or
(b) in providing out of the funds of a public authority financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (whether or not maintained by a public authority and whether within or outside the Federation).
This is Article 12 of the Federal Constitution.
Prudent: Article 153 is to safeguard the special position, not privileges and cannot be used to set up educational institutions to the exclusion of others.
Special 'privileges' is an Umno construct and addition. Article 153 cannot be used to exclude other citizens from access to education paid for by the taxes paid by all citizens.
The areas where the special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak is to be safeguarded is clearly defined and limited in the same article.
ACR: Article 153 mentions about the legitimate interest of the non-native communities - this is something all Perkasa-type people, including the former Education director-general Rahman Arshad (yes, he is a Perkasa man), never acknowledge.
Dyana questioned why can't an institution similar to UiTM (established on public monies) be formed to allow deserving non-Malays to pursue their studies? She was perfectly within the scope of Article 153.
There is an idiom which says 'do not try to pull hair from an egg'. Some idiots are trying to do just that.
Onyourtoes: I accept Malay privileges; I accept the constitution provides that. But in the course of providing the privileges to the Malays and other bumiputera, let’s think and promote competitive spirit, national unity and the sense of fair play for all.
It is not that the non-Malays want to deny or take away from the Malays the places at UiTM. I think university education opportunities, except for some highly demanded courses, are no longer a big issue.
It is participation, competition and allowing different races to study and share experience together. Otherwise we are nurturing and inculcating supremacy and exclusivity on one hand and subservience and marginalisation on the other.
Photographer: How does the pro-chancellor see the future of UiTM? As a centre of higher learning, would UiTM simply exist or would it excel?
To bring out the best in the top students of any university, they have to interact with others to be motivated through camaraderie, encouragement, emulation and competition.
Look at what is happening in the United States. The performance of US school children in international evaluation tests is nothing to shout about. Yet how do the top universities in the US maintain such high standards that ultimately spill into the US economy?
The answer is clearly the infusion of top students from all around the world. Imagine the situation if the US were to announce a policy to reserve all US university places exclusively for its own citizens. Standards in the top US universities as we know today would plunge.
UiTM could certainly continue to exist as a bastion of exclusively Malay scholarship for time to come. But at what price?
Anonymous_1400076912: It is precisely with idiots like this pro-chancellor and his ilk in our public universities that has sent the ratings downwards.
And this is exactly the racist mentality and racist policies set by Umno that keep such idiots in our many public institutions and GLCs (government-linked companies).
These so-called Malay nationalists are actually Umno's sycophants who only kow-tow and say things to please their masters. They refuse to see or face up to the reality that what they are doing is bad for our country - look at what's happening to the exodus of medical specialists?
Change is desperately needed and Malaysia urgently needs more Dyanas who dare to stand up to these old, useless, backward, divisive and racist mentality.
Hmmmmmmmm: When a national football team wants to improve its game, it plays against better teams from other countries. Similarly in education, if you want to raise the standards of your students, you introduce good students to enhance competition.
But I guess that's not the agenda here based on what the learned said.
2 Tim 1:7: While UiTM denies admission to non-bumiputera aspirants, it happily opens it doors to foreign Muslim students. We should not allow this gross injustice to continue as those who pay the most in personal income tax are non-Muslim citizens.
Man On The Street: Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad, what about UiTM's academic staff? Are they all Malay? Why not have all your academic staff Malay and this will go in line with Article 153 of the Federal Constitution too.
What about the opening of UiTM's doors to international students? Isn't the enrollment international students is going against Article 153 of the Federal Constitution?
Ipoh Lan: Good, keep UiTM closed to others. The quality of students will further deteriorate. I have seen their academic results and personally interviewed them. Many of them cannot even speak English in full sentence. Almost all of them showed no self-confidence at all.
This is good news to non-bumiputera graduates. You all have less competition for higher paying job in private sector. Now you know why bumiputera continue to be the lowest income group in Malaysia.
Umno did it to their own race. As a Malaysian, I am sad.
Malaysia888: If a pro-chancellor of an educational institution has such a limited world view, I cry for Malaysia. There is no hope we will ever amount to anything with people like this in charge.
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .
