ALOR SETAR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced that the quota system at public universities in Malaysia will be retained. However, he emphasized that students of all races who excel academically will still be able to secure places in institutes of higher learning. The Prime Minister believes that the quota system is necessary to achieve balance and provide opportunities for Malay and bumiputra students, while also acknowledging the need to ensure that non-Malay, non-bumiputra children with exceptional academic performance are not left out.
During the “Program Temu Anwar Kedah” held at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) on Saturday (July 8), Anwar mentioned the historical disparity at Universiti Malaya in the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, there were no Malays in the engineering faculty and only 12% in the medical faculty. This led to efforts by the late Ungku Abdul Aziz and the ministry to support the Malays and promote their competitiveness.
Anwar emphasized the importance of retaining the quota program, but also advocated for finding alternative ways to provide opportunities to smart non-Malay, non-bumiputra children with good academic results. He made these remarks in response to a question from a student during the programme, who asked about the feasibility of replacing the quota system with a meritocracy-based approach for university entrance.
The “Program Temu Anwar Kedah” was attended by approximately 5,000 students from universities, polytechnics, and secondary schools in Kedah and Perlis. The event featured a dialogue session with students, which was expertly moderated by celebrity and actor Fikry Ibrahim.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
