By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, May 21: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing says placing quotas on matriculation intakes will restrict the exhange of ideas between students.
He said Malaysia is a multiracial country and it should be viewed as a strength, instead of a weakness.
“If you have Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras studying together side by side, there will be an exchange of ideas and sharing of views, skills and knowledge. Our young students will spur one another on and new ideas will come about,” said Masing, who is also Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation.
Masing opined that with a quota in place, the exchange of ideas and the sharing of each other’s cultures and views among the students would be restricted.
For the good of Malaysia, he reckoned there should be an education system where students from different backgrounds had a good chance to spur each other on.
Masing said this in response to Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik’s recent statement, where he said the government would only consider removing the quota for university matriculation intakes if the private sector started to employ non-Bumiputeras who could not speak Mandarin.
Maszlee’s statement had not only resulted in him been lambasted by the national opposition coalition but also by his own coalition colleagues in the Democratic Action Party (DAP), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and political observers.
There are even calls for him to step down or be dropped as Education Minister. — DayakDaily
