Quit harping on scholarships for Palestinians

Updated 7 years ago · Published on 24 May 2019 2:41PM · 5 Comments

A BANNER circulated widely on chat groups complain that Palestinian youth are given scholarships, while local students, especially non-Malays, get crumbs.

I have been observing a certain trend, where one issue after another is played up to create public dissatisfaction against the ruling coalition.

While I have expressed disgust with Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik over his recent insensitive remarks, and have urged for him to either resign or get the sack over his incompetence, we have to be fair to him.

Giving scholarships to foreigners is a good initiative if we believe that the world is indeed a global village. It is better for Palestinian youth to be given a good education rather than be recruited by terrorists to carry out their agenda.

Before this, private universities have awarded Asean scholarships to deserving students in other countries in the bloc. The argument that our children should be given priority over foreigners is, therefore, an all-too-self-centred world view.

In the past, missionaries collected donations to build schools in Malaysia. If the Brits had complained that young people in the Far East were being treated much better than their own children, most of us would still be living in the treetops.

Many Malaysians have also benefited from Rhodes and Asean scholarships offered by the Singaporean government. Even universities in the UK, Australia and the US offer scholarships to Malaysian students. One of my nephews studied medicine on a scholarship from John Liverpool University based on his results.

Just as the nation progresses, we should be called upon to help youth in war-torn countries like Myanmar. And, Palestine is no different!

The scholarships are, in fact, given by private universities. Does the argument that local students have to pay for scholarships given to Palestinian youth hold water? Truth has to be told that a lot of the scholarships given by private universities are, in fact, not out of their bursaries, but merely student numbers. The students only get a small stipend to spend.

All private higher education institutions operate on fixed operating costs. After the fixed costs are met, whatever they earn, minus the variable costs of each enrolled student, is their profit margin.

Therefore, to run a Business lecture for 100 students is the same as running one for 90 students. The only difference is, the lecturers have to mark the additional 10 examination papers. Without going in depth, this may sound like a simplistic answer, but it is meant for ordinary people without wealthy backgrounds.

Therefore, when universities claim that they have given away millions of ringgit in scholarships, this is nothing more than just some variable costs and their investors’ lower returns.

Most private universities do this as a gimmick to attract good students, which will ultimately boost their ranking. Without denying it, most entrepreneurs do it out of a sense of corporate social responsibility to help the marginalised.

Hence, when I read the explanation that these scholarships were whipped up from private universities themselves, I cannot but agree with Maszlee that it is a good foreign policy to give away scholarships to Palestinian youth. – May 24, 2019.

* Stephen Ng reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.

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Comments

  • Can't agree less. Stupid govt of the day. No choice only we voted for them. Begin tak sama cakap. Save your inhouse mates first, charity only with your extra. Now we don't even have enough for our own. Dr M loves fames and reputation more than his own country men and women.

    Posted 7 years ago by James Wong · Reply

  • Tun likes to massage his big ego. Remember .......

    ...... spent big to send a Malaysian "tourist" into space to do "teh tarik" experiments (LOL)
    ...... parachuted a Proton onto the North Pole (a laughing stock of the world)
    ...... the Commonwealth Games, the accounts of which no one had the faintest clue (MACC ???)
    ...... etc

    ....and the Malaysian government NEVER did charitable acts to non-Muslim populations in foreign countries

    Posted 7 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • When a country is well off and can satisfy all their country populations needs , yes then go ahead and be charitable. No body will care what the wish list is in the offer to help foreigners, be it in education, social needs medical, marriage counseling, erectile dysfuntioning, providing bed mate or what ever f$#@s the country wants to do. Do it when you do not have trillion debts , no racial disharmony due to lop sided quotas in vasity entrance , no PTPTN debts , no worries about about oil and gas pricing , no 1MDB debts repayment, no bailing of TH, FELDA ,KWAP or whatevr f%$#s that is depleting the nation coffers and creating racial tension among the races. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO REQUEST ??????????????????????????????????????. With such a big concerns Mr PM and PH Members of Parliament what about also the damning discrepancies and the destructive prejudicial allocation for non Malay students for tertiary eduction when the taxtion milking is highest from the non Muslim parents. Why all the charade and pretentious ignorance in resloving this contentious issues. Now with the claim that it is the university in the country itself that is offering the scholarship and no fundings from the Federal do not absolve the silly act of the government to gain internation notoriety of kindness and charitable. Back home the rakyat are crying shame about the ridiculous political act. We are not in the league as our neighbour that offers Asean or rhodes scholarship or even western countries who are filthy rich where it is unheard of anyone deny of education. Again are we in that league ??????????????????????

    Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

    • The writer Stephen Ng is being irritating coy in his portryal of magnanimous overture but simply a nut !!! Too idealistic in pursuit of international recognition where at this juncture the countries are cying in despair.

      Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • Why Palestinians. Why not Yemen? Why not the rest of the world?

    Posted 7 years ago by Yoon Kok · Reply