Meritocracy with affirmative action

universiti

From Kua Kia Soong

It is heartening to hear that Sarawak has decided to remove race-based quotas for university entrance and to bring back meritocracy as the basis for entry into tertiary educational institutions.

This is indeed a game changer when we continue to witness the abuse of the so-called “quota system” in place ever since Article 153 was amended in 1971.

However, before we go overboard with total meritocracy, let us not forget that affirmative action was intended for a noble purpose and is based on some critically important principles.

1. Aiding the less privileged marginalised groups in our society.

The Orang Asal – Iban, Bidayuh, Kenyah, Kayan, Kelabit, Penan and others – are the poorest and most exploited indigenous people in Sarawak and they should receive adequate affirmative action.

In contrast, affirmative action in Peninsular Malaysia is driven by the politically dominant and majority Malay elite and is directed at the Malay community, as the beneficiary group, regardless of wealth and position.

Clearly, affirmative action cannot be justified across the board for communities that are thoroughly class differentiated, such as the Malays, Chinese and Indians in Malaysia.

The Orang Asli are a community that has not undergone class differentiation on a scale similar to the other ethnic communities in Malaysia but they enjoy no such affirmative action privilege.

2: Any preferential treatment for any group should be followed by specific goals, quotas and sunset clauses.

In contrast, the goals of the “Never Ending Policy” – the NEP, remain obscure. Though it was supposedly designed to end in 1990, the NEP continues its populist run in Malaysia, periodically renewed under some other Orwellian terminology.

The “Bumiputera policy” is interpreted as “special rights of the Malays” to be defended ad nauseum against any challenge to this privilege.

Furthermore, the definition of the main target group in Malaysia, namely, “the Malays” is imprecise and allows confusion when any Muslim who is not ethnically Malay can claim to be a beneficiary.

Conclusion: Our experience at New Era College

Allow me to illustrate the above with our experience at New Era College when I was principal from 2000 to 2008.

Since our tertiary institution was set up by the Chinese community mainly but not solely for the graduates from the Chinese independent secondary schools whose Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) is not recognised by the government, naturally the enrolment was mostly Chinese.

There was never a doubt that the educational standards at the college would be based on meritocracy.

Nevertheless, we implemented affirmative action practices in the campus because we wanted to attract non-Chinese students to enrol to ensure a more ethnically mixed campus.

Thus, we had special scholarships and loans for non-Chinese student applicants. We never compromised on educational standards, but we did ensure that some students needed special assistance and ample opportunities for resits to attain their required academic standards and credits.

Thus, if we are serious about eradicating poverty in Sarawak, Sabah, as well as in the peninsula, affirmative action must be considered for the Orang Asal and other marginalised communities while maintaining meritocracy as the rule in all educational institutions.

Furthermore, students from marginalised communities whose learning styles may vary, must be given special assistance to acclimatise to a campus culture.

By doing so, Malaysia can become a beacon of inclusive educational attainment and thus leave no child behind because of their disadvantaged start in life.

Kua Kia Soong is an academic and former MP.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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