RACE-BASED quota as a form of affirmative action is not the way forward, especially after 61 years of independence, said Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah.

The quota system might be necessary now but it must only be a temporary measure to offset those who are unable to access education, she said.

“In the long run, we must not leave anyone behind as a result of quota in education,” she said in a statement today.

Maria was commenting on the recent issue on matriculation intake for pre-university students, which reserves 90% of the placements for Bumiputeras.

The issue, she said, shows that it is time Malaysia started to move towards meritocracy in education, a universal human rights.

“After 61 years, it is high time we think about our obligation as a nation to provide equitable access to higher education for all Malaysians.

“Although affirmative action in the admission process is important to ensure that marginalised communities are not being overlooked, it is unacceptable to have race-based affirmative action as the way forward. It reeks of discrimination.”

The current quota system means there is a lower benchmark for matriculation colleges when it comes to grading, compared to other pre-university entrance qualifications like STPM (Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia), which are taken by Form Six pupils, she said.

This, in turn, means that Bumiputera matriculation students will suffer when they enter university and the job market later, she said.

“This is because they will likely be outperformed in university by those who have been subjected to higher standards of grading and therefore, obtained a place at university because of much higher academic success.

“When it comes to getting a job, matriculation students will ultimately be pushed aside compared with the better performing STPM students.”

The way forward is for the Education Ministry to work towards “free universal education at public universities” like in Germany, where meritocracy is valued and no one too poor to attend university.

“We should not be creating inequalities in education, which disproportionately limits the opportunities available for students who have perfect scores or fulfil the requirement to enter into local universities.

“This not only undermines the fundamental human rights to education, but has real and dire consequences for our development, and entire generations of children.”

In a recent statement, DAP Youth’s university affairs committee head Leong Yu Sheng criticised the race-based quota system for the pre-university matriculation programme, saying that it is against the federal constitution’s guarantee of no discrimination against citizens.

Education Minister Maszlee Malik recently said the policy of reserving 90% of placements in the programme for Bumiputeras remains but the cabinet will discuss increasing the non-Bumiputera quota.

 Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government will “study the problem”.

 The Malaysian Academic Movement (Gerak) also criticised the quota system for public university entry yesterday, calling it redundant because there are many places available for deserving students. – April 23, 2019.