Pusat KOMAS lauds the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for his bold announcement to dismantle racial barriers in the education sector and guarantees all SPM scorers with 10As and above a spot in matriculation programmes offered by the Education Ministry.
We applaude the announcement as it is the first step towards recognising our top talents by giving them guarantees to pre-university education in Malaysia based on merits rather than race.
In the past, the matriculation programme has selected students based on a quota system that reserves 90% spots for bumiputera and only 10 % for non-bumiputera, leaving some top scorers of non-bumiputera descent vying for limited spots, and feeling inadequate when they were not selected for matriculation despite their grades.
We would like to stress that while affirmative action is guaranteed, it should not disadvantage other Malaysians as per our Federal Constitution. Those that deserve the help should get all the support they need, but we must also not forget those that also deserve it based on merit.
At the same time, we are closely monitoring the implementation following PM Anwar’s announcement. We would like to see a transparent and just mechanism being put in place so that well deserving students do not feel like they’re being discriminated against. We also would like clarification if this announcement applies to only those scoring 10As and above, as many straight A students do not necessarily take 10 or more SPM subjects.
Nevertheless, we believe this is one progressive step from PM Anwar to bring forward more merit-based policies that can benefit all Malaysians. Let us strive for a Malaysian society that provides equal opportunities for all in every sector in the nation.
All youth on this land deserve to feel that the Malaysian sun shines on all of them.