PETALING JAYA, August 6 — The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) today emphasised the importance of a needs-based education system in promoting equal opportunities for underprivileged students as this will level the playing field and bridge the educational gap between students who come from different race and socio-economic backgrounds.
Its president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman stressed that the issue of education is a national one and must be treated as a top priority for the country’s youth.
“This issue is not a new issue, the debate to change the race based to needs based or race based to merit based.
“The prime minister said that a needs-based approach would help the Malays more than race-based policies because race-based policies have been proven to be used by the elites and their cronies to benefit themselves,” he said during a press conference here today, quoting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s response to an interview with news channel Al Jazeera on June 9.
To address this, Muda proposes the introduction of an additional special quota, called the B40 quota, irrespective of race.
“If you belong to a underprivileged group, you must be given priority regardless of your skin colour because the reality is that it is not fair for children who come from poor families. Chinese and Indians are not given places, but rich children are given places, and that is not fair.
“In the short term, what we need to immediately do is add a special quota for B40, and the quota would likely take over the quota for the rich who are still given a place in the 90-10 and 100-20 system,” he said during a press conference here today.
Syed Saddiq added that as part of a transitional plan towards a needs-based education system, Muda advocates a K12 education model, which includes a single-entry point exam after SPM to enter university.
“In the long term, we need to look at international standards, namely a K12 education model, a single-entry point exam after SPM to enter university. This is not my suggestion; this is a suggestion from an education think tank,” he said.
He also expressed concern over the underutilisation of TVET despite its higher marketability rates for graduates.
“As we move to transition long term to the K12 education model, we also need to give emphasis to the TVET system, because while everyone wants to participate in a single lane, everyone wants to enter matriculation, but unfortunately, today the government spends RM8 billion every year on TVET, but the admission rate is still below 50 per cent,” he said.
Syed Saddiq added that a needs-based education system focuses on catering to the specific requirements of students who come from underprivileged families, particularly those in Sabah and Sarawak or rural areas, and such a system ensures that priority is given to children from impoverished backgrounds, regardless of their ethnicity or religious affiliations.
He also acknowledged that change takes time, but he urged those in power to demonstrate progress and commitment to a more equitable education system and called for a bi-partisan spirit and in-depth discussions within a special select committee in Parliament to address these important reforms.
“I am confident that through a bi-partisan spirit of solving this issue harmoniously without turning our backs on the Constitution, we will uphold the rights of those who come from underprivileged families.
“But we need to have the courage to innovate, to think outside the box to find a solution rather than just passing this problem from one government to another,” he said.
On a related note, when asked about the proposal to build a special school for the poor to overcome the problem of dropouts, Syed Saddiq said that Malaysia should return to the original focus of boarding schools, such as Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSM), to help children from poor families and B40 families.
“The problem is that when these schools become very successful, those who come from wealthy family backgrounds get a place easily compared to those who come from disadvantaged and poor families.
“The reality today is, Malaysia is not like 50 years ago. Many children who came from the B40 group have now raised their socioeconomic level to the middle-income group. That’s why the focus is on M40 and B40, and not just because my parents are alumni of this school, so I’m given priority, that’s not fair,” he added.
