YOURSAY | ‘Minister Maszlee Malik has to come clean on what's happening.’

Have we gone wrong on matriculation intake?

Lodestar: Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy asks whether the BN-era ethnic quota for matriculation is still in place or whether the Pakatan Harapan government has put in a new system.

Education Minister Maszlee Malik has to come clean on what's happening. It has always been race-based, but under BN there were at least crumbs given to non-Malays. Now it seems that even these crumbs have been withdrawn.

What was there previously was bad enough, but non-Malays did not turn out in droves and vote for Harapan only to find their situation worsen.

To add insult to injury, students with excellent SPM results are told to appeal. There's no point appealing if the exclusion was deliberate and systematic rather than an error. It sounds like a sick joke.

Why is it left to Ramasamy to raise this while Harapan leaders of higher stature, such as DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and all those non-Malay ministers, remain silent? And how can MCA and MIC form a good opposition if they too remain silent?

Gotcha: Harapan, if you are going to ignore non-Malay students’ applications for matriculation, then you can be sure of being a one-term government.

It will be very disappointing and disheartening if the entry of non-Malay students into matriculation is at the same level or beneath that of BN-era intake allocations.

Just remember, we voted Harapan in for all Malaysians, and not for one community. Maszlee must change his mindset, and start thinking about all citizens.

Anonymous 770241447347646: Whether the government changes or not, civil servants remain in their posts. They are the ones that decide.

Don't waste your time depending on the education minister. He still cannot decide whether to choose between white or black shoes. It is time for us to stop relying on politicians, whether from Harapan or BN.

It is time we work as a team within our own communities, get together and focus on the future of poor students who bring in excellent grades. These poor students should have access to scholarships or other forms of monetary help. Depending on the government should be the last resort.

If the government wants to be fair, then it is time to build more colleges or universities to cater for students rejected by the Education Ministry – assuming that Harapan is indeed sincere in catering to the needs of all Malaysians.

Kahlil Gibran: @Anonymous 770241447347646 So you are telling the non-Malays not to study?

Adolf Hitler said the easiest way to destroy a society is to destroy the education system. Hitler built a national car, built highways, hated Jews, condemned the West, jailed his deputies, and was a racist. Sound familiar?

Patriot 1: @Kahlil Gibran This has nothing to do with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Rather, this is because the government is still run by the same group of racists who spilled over from the former regime.

If the government tries to make any meaningful changes, the Umno goons will start shouting that either race or religion, or both, are being threatened.

But much as I hate to say it, I don't think Mazlee can make the cut to introduce meaningful changes to the education system. It takes someone with conviction and raw gall to do the job.

It’s a real pity Mahathir is already 93. To change the system, I think we have to change from ground zero, because the existing generation is already too much into the deep end of racist thinking.

We have to start with a new generation of teachers with a different mindset to institute changes. I don't blame the present crop of teachers, because they have been fed the same diet of political rubbish for decades.

It’s difficult to expect them to perform outside the box that they've been confined in for so long.

Labis Guy: Where is the country heading? Good students are not being given places in our institutions of higher learning. The next step is to go to the nearest country, i.e., Singapore, to be grasped by the government there.

This is a very sad situation. I hope the education minister can wake up in time to rectify the situation before it gets worse. Just forget about the colour of shoes for a minute.

The Wakandan: As far as Indian students are concerned, who is kinder to them - Mahathir or his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak?

It was the latter who gave something like eight percent of matriculation places to Indian students. It was unprecedented, we were used to seeing matriculation places reserved for bumiputera students.

ABC123: What’s new? Matriculation is purely to help Malays. This has been an open secret for years. Chinese and Indian students can only hope for private colleges if they can afford them.

Those that can’t are basically abandoned by the education system and they go out and work.

Ramasamy, you are a DAP leader, and probably on a first-name basis with many ministers, especially those from your party. And your way of instituting reform is writing a letter to Malaysiakini?

We common people do that because we are powerless, and outlets like Malaysiakini are our only choice. But you as Penang deputy chief minister II also has to resort to this?

This speaks volumes about the so-called ‘reform’ agenda by Harapan. Where is the willpower to reform when even a senior leader has to write a letter?

Vijay47: Ramasamy, perhaps some statistics would assist us in better understanding this continued injustice.

Tc. 1548277790986: @Vijay47 The onus to provide statistics is not on him, but the Education Ministry. He is just as helpless (apparently) as the rest of us who are wondering whether anything has changed.

Ex-WFW: In life, we have to be realistic. If you take short cuts, you will consequently feel that you are short-changed.

Today, many are asking if the present form of education can really prepare the youth for the future. Those who are fed all the way, even PhD students, will not be able to compete in this new world, least of all if such achievements are presented on a plate.

In spite of the great achievements of prestigious universities abroad, many are still starved of PhDs to further research. This is because most of those universities are designed to do little else besides submerging students into piles of debt like millstones around their necks.

For those who can't really compete, it would be better to pick up a more practical career, like that advocated in Germany.

Getting into a third-rate university for a piece of paper, in today's scenario, serves no purpose – all you become is frustrated when you start looking for a job. I sometimes wish that someone had taught me to fry char koay teow than to work in an office.

To ‘force' universities to improve, I would suggest that the top 30 percent be admitted based on blind results only, while the rest could be based on the political needs of the moment. In this manner, the country will retain the above average brains, while fulfilling its political agenda.

Caripasal: While some rejected recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) based on their Bahasa Malaysia apparently being substandard - which is obviously wrong - how about the non-Malays who score good marks for BM, higher than the marks of those who get into matriculation?

This is clear-cut evidence of marginalisation.

Harapan has no intention to accept these talents but is more interested in continuing the racist policies of old to ensure their victory in the coming election.

They have no problem if the country is led by a group of substandard leaders, as long as the colour of those holding office remains the same.

Harapan should have the courage to implement meritocracy now. Those racists will never vote for the coalition anyway.

The robbery of the rights of non-Malays in education continues with the new government, particularly with the existence and ascendancy of a race-based party within.

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.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.