THE backlash over a proposal to open a Universiti Teknologi Mara medical course to all Malaysians reflects a bigger issue of declining academic quality and misguided education policies, say academics.
They said the country's education system is in need of reform.
Sociologist Dr Sharifah Munirah Alatas said the government must speed up the much-needed changes.
She said it is worrying that the university students are fearful and suspicious of their non-Bumiputera counterparts, saying such an attitude must be addressed at once.
"If anything, more of our Malaysian children and youth – and their teachers and parents – must be exposed to more courses on cross-culturalism, discussions on diverse religions, and how various civilisations around the world thrived and the reasons for their demise," said the visiting professor at Indonesian International Islamic University.
She was responding to the UiTM student council's opposition to a suggestion to temporarily allow non-Bumiputera students to enrol in the university's postgraduate cardiothoracic surgery programme. Munirah said that while the students had every right to protest, their fears were misplaced.
"First and foremost, the UiTM students have every right to organise the protest, even though it is grossly misleading. Provided they are peaceful, let them dress in black if they want. If they do not cause uncontrollable chaos or violence, let them protest."
"However, from my perspective, the protest is terribly misplaced, precisely because it is premised on a tangential issue of ethnic rights, destructive communalism, and divisive thinking," said the daughter of renowned scholar Syed Hussein Alatas.
UiTM was established in 1956 as the Rural and Industrial Development Authority Training Centre, a brainchild of the late Datuk Onn Jaafar — a founder of Umno — after a 1951 visit to Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then known, to learn about rural development programmes.
In 1965, it changed its name to Maktab Majlis Amanah Rakyat to aid and train the Bumiputera in business and industry. In 1967, it was renamed Institut Teknologi Mara.
It achieved university status in 1999.
Its students were recently up in arms over the Malaysian Medical Association's advice to UiTM to temporarily open its postgraduate cardiothoracic surgery programme to people of all races to meet an acute shortage of medical specialists, especially cardiothoracic surgeons.
The suggestion was shot down by the university's student body. UiTM later said that it would stay true to its mission to "empower the Bumiputera" and not change its student admissions policy to allow all races to enrol.
Munirah said the nation should be working to resolve the problem of shortages in the medical profession instead of racialising it.
"I agree with Higher Education Minister Zambri Abdul Kadir when he said it is unfortunate that this has quickly become politicised. The UiTM Student Representative Council (MPP) is irrationally worried. They may or may not have forgotten that the suggestion was for only one programme. Nevertheless, their overreaction is silly."
"However, Zambri must reiterate the need to solve the shortage crisis, instead of remarking that 'this matter (of the non-Bumi admission) has not been discussed in any meetings at the ministry or the Cabinet level.'"
Tajuddin Rasdi of UCSI University said UiTM should decide if it wants to coddle its students or if it wants to produce students who are competitive.
He said university students should bravely take on challenges.
"What do we want them to become? Do we want them to be skilful, brave and have a strong attitude, or do we want them to be spoonfed all the time?"
"It is unfortunate to witness such behaviour and mentality from a higher learning institution. This matter has become a racial issue when it is not."
"The failure to understand an issue properly has turned this matter (politicak). It was simple – temporarily allow non-Bumiputera into the programme. That was all. It wasn't abour changing the policy," said Tajudin. – May 20, 2024.
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