YOURSAY | The young should be encouraged to speak up

YOURSAY | ‘Treat them with dignity, they are our future leaders.’

Anwar faces brickbats for ‘bullying’ student

Gerard Lourdesamy: In all fairness, the student asked a direct question and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim gave a direct answer.

A similar question was asked two weeks ago and the prime minister responded.

The prime minister has given an assurance that some mechanism must be found to allow exceptional non-bumiputera students to get places in public universities while preserving the quota system.

The Higher Education Ministry has been asked to look into this.

So long as Article 153 of the Constitution remains, the quota system cannot be abolished.

The student should have started with specific instances of non-bumiputera students being denied entry rather than advocating the abolition of the entire quota system.

Is Perikatan Nasional agreeable to abolishing the quota system? Certainly not.

The political reality is as such. Article 153 is so entrenched that it has become part of the basic structure of the Constitution, like Articles 3, 152 and 181.

It cannot be simply undone without the consent of the Malay Rulers, Sabah and Sarawak and a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament.

This is a politically loaded issue. The prime minister was right to avoid it.

Meritocracy, while good, should not result in social injustice and deprivation for any group or class.

Perhaps the Higher Education Ministry should explain the quota system to clear the air.

Those were the days: This is a student, a possible future leader or voter if not already one. Anwar should have let the student finish asking her question.

Then he should clarify or defend sensibly. The issue was specific to the student.

How do you expect students to have any faith or trust in politicians? Start treating them with dignity. They are our future leaders.

Baba Quay: I saw the video and I thought Anwar was rather condescending to the young student.

Right or wrong, the young student did ask a legitimate question and she deserved a decent answer.

I applaud the young girl for her courage. We should always encourage the young to speak up.

Vijay47: But what does Anwar mean when he said he “already answered the question”?

His impatient, hectoring response to a fully valid question from the young lady reveals the desperate panic he must be suffering over the current support for him and his Madani government, which is plummeting southwards beyond Singapore.

She asked him a civil question, he should just answer it civilly, prime minister or not.

Coming to the matter of university intake, he is following the exact steps set by his former mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad – he made make some inane references to the Constitution.

Nobody denies that bumiputeras must continue to be issued crutches even after 60 years. But has he asked himself why this failure, after all, the government has always been Malay-dominated?

Leaving aside Mara and the hundreds sent overseas on scholarships funded by us, where in the Constitution does it demand that intake into public universities must be overwhelmingly in favour of bumiputras?

To the cruel, unjust exclusion of non-Malays who performed brilliantly? It appears that 9As are often viewed as inferior to 3As and 4Bs.

I am not even talking about appointments in the public service.

With these kinds of policies, when will the bumiputera ascend to their proud, rightful presence in the Malaysian success story?

GreenDeer9593: The question is, how long does the Madani government want the deserving non-Malays to beg for places in public universities and will the little Napoleon even care to look into their begging?

As I have said before, why not give the other side a chance to rule to see if it is going to be worse or better? What choice do we have?

Vgeorgemy: Do former prime ministers Muhyiddin Yassin or Ismail Sabri Yaakob face students in an open platform and receive hostile questions from the students?

Let Anwar feel the grassroots aspirations and frustrations. Let the Malay students hear the aspirations, dreams and challenges faced by non-Malay students.

It is an excellent starter to unite a diverse population.

Focusapp: A chameleon hides by changing its colour to blend with the political environment.

When one provokes a chameleon, it changes back to its original colour. It will bite.

It only shows that he's trying hard to avoid the question and, naturally, when one is irked by such a direct question to which he has no answer, he will try to wriggle his way out of it.

This is a quintessential example of a career politician who has no intentions of reforms or equity for the poor and unfortunate.

Just as long as political power is maintained. Another political dynasty with its own set of cronies.

Selsub: Anwar should have had a better answer. He is a seasoned politician.

It is political suicide to remove the bumiputera quota system. No government will abolish the quota system.

It is a fact that the quota system is here to stay.

What the non-bumiputeras can request is to have better access to the education system and hope to have better economic opportunity, public infrastructure, and freedom to continue the lifestyle under the present government.

Koel: The Prime Minister’s Office should be better prepared to justify a system that is seen as discriminatory.

A non-bumiputera child from a B40 background will be bewildered by accusations of unfairness to rural students from an office that appears to be unfair to someone from her background.

Anwar, speaking only of rural poverty and neglecting the issue of the urban poor of all races indicates an unwillingness to engage with realities on the ground - realities that have been raised by the last United Nations rapporteur's visit to Malaysia.

Using rhetoric from the 60s is a weak approach. Don't wait for students to call you out for this weakness. The person he should be more annoyed with is himself and his advisers for not having sound reasons for old and outdated practices.

DonGetMeWrong: If this is the stand of any government, be it a coalition of multi-racial composition, the question of the quota system in universities and the recruitment of government employees cannot be reversed or questioned.

Even though this system has created disunity and unfairness amongst races of this country.

If the government is bent on correcting the wrong that has been inflicted upon the non-Malays for decades, why does it take such a long time unless the government has not an ounce of intention to right the wrong?

If this is the stand of any government of the day, then the non-Malays should give up and migrate en masse.

Otherwise, what is the point of being patriotic, paying the majority of taxes that feed the majority race but not getting any fair treatment?

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