PUTRAJAYA should consider raising the ratio of Indian students in the Malaysian Matriculation Programme, Sivaraj Chandran said today.

The senator said he was informed that the current intake policy for the pre-university preparatory course is subject to a 90% Bumiputera quota and the remaining 10% is for non-Bumiputera students.

“The 10% quota for the intake of non-Bumiputera students is set at a ratio of 5.43% for Chinese, 3.72% for Indians and 0.85% for others.

“Taking into account the number of low placements offered for Indians, I urge the government to increase the ratio of Indian students from 3.72% to at least 6% starting this year,” he said in a statement today.

Sivaraj said from 2018 until 2023, a total of 30,000 placements were offered under the Matriculation Programme, of which he claimed only around 1,116 placements were offered to Indian students.

The former Cameron Highlands lawmaker said the figure is significantly lower compared to the placement opportunities that were offered to Indian students before 2018.

With Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim admitting that the Indians are among the poorest in the country, Sivaraj said this could be a step to lift the Indian community.

“I believe this is in line with the commitment of the prime minister to help strengthen the socioeconomic level of Indians in the long term, considering that the Matriculation Programme plays a role as one of the main ‘feeders’ for students to get on a fast track to a bachelor’s degree.

“I believe that the government’s actions to increase the intake rate of Indian students to the Matriculation Programme will directly contribute to the socioeconomic development of the Indian society as a whole,” he said. – June 21, 2023.