by Mariah Doksil
Borneo Post
December 21, 2013
KOTA KINABALU: Likas assemblyman, Junz Wong has urged Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap to explain why more than 50 per cent of federal scholarships allocated to Sarawak and Sabah students to pursue their education in local universities allegedly had no takers and as such given to students in Peninsular Malaysia.
He said it is impossible for Sabah not to have students who qualified to receive federal scholarships, especially when the government is very proud to have one of the best education systems in the world.
“The ‘loss’ is not the latest story for Sabah and Sarawak, as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Joseph Entulu has revealed that it has been going on since 2008.
“According to Entulu, only 499 out of 1,000 scholarships allocated for both states were successful in their application in 2008, while in 2009 only 402 successful. He also said the situation was the same for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012,” said Junz in a press conference at Bandaran Berjaya Shangri-la Hotel, yesterday.
Also present were DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, DAP Sabah chief Jimmy Wong, Kepayan assemblyman Dr Edwin Bosi and Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto.
Junz made the call after Kit Siang called on the government to set up a Parliament Select Committee for the amazing performance in the recent Penilaian Menangah Rendah (PMR) examinations.
He said the achievement of the 30,988 students out of over 462,940 PMR candidates nationwide who scored Grade A in all subjects were a joy to parents and students but it is a different story when it comes to international standards of education.
Junz believed that Yap will be able to bring the Sabah education issues to parliament, and hoped that she can answer for the level of education in Malaysia, as reported in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and 2012 Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA).
Meanwhile, Kit Siang said his recent visit to Kampung Samparita Laut in Kota Marudu was another shocking experience when the villagers admitted no one from the village had ever entered university.
“After 50 years of independence in Sabah, I cannot believe there is still a kampung without any university graduates. I am also calling Mary Yap as a minister from Sabah to look at this matter seriously. Every Sabahan has the right to a higher level of education,” he said.
Kasthuriraani, who also went to Samparita Laut to join the launching of DAP Impian Sabah’s water gravity inaugural project, said it is not fair for Sabahans and Sarawakians to be rejected in their federal scholarship applications.
“I am not sure if this is Barisan Nasional (BN) plans to ensure Sabahans and Sarawakians are left behind in education, so that they will be more dependent on the government.
“If Sabahans and Sarawakians are dependent on the government, it will give more benefit to BN because both states will be forever BN fixed deposit in terms of votes in the General Election,” she added.
#1 by Noble House on Saturday, 21 December 2013 - 8:42 pm
The latest to be admitted into Harvard University, Eleasha Chew has put an end to the “drought” since a Malaysian was last accepted into Harvard in 2010.
The 19 year-old former student of St. George’s Girls’ School, Penang will be admitted under Harvard College’s Early Action programme for the class of 2018. Dr Goh Cheng Teik, who heads the selection panel that interviews students for undergraduate admission into Harvard, described Eleasha as “extremely intelligent”.
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3073201
Congratulations, Eleasha! Welcome aboard and enjoy your stay in Harvard. Thanks for doing the country proud!
#2 by cemerlang on Sunday, 22 December 2013 - 9:53 am
And she will stay back in US. What’s the point ? Is it under the government scholarship or her father’s one ?
#3 by Rose on Saturday, 21 December 2013 - 11:38 pm
What is so surprising that there is no graduate in a village? There are many Orang Asli villages in Peninsular Malaysia which do not even have a single villager with a SPM certificate! Many Orang Asli villages do not even have a school!
#4 by cemerlang on Sunday, 22 December 2013 - 9:55 am
Power takes over the heart. Power is great. Heart is weak.
#5 by bruno on Sunday, 22 December 2013 - 12:58 am
And the remaining scholarships remaining for the Sabahans and Sarawakians?.Of course they went to the students in the peninsular.And the graduates of our scholarship programs are considered unemployable by prospective employers.
#6 by boh-liao on Sunday, 22 December 2013 - 8:33 am
Mayb d children of INSTANT Sabahans (illegal immigrants made in2 M’sians under Project M blessed by MMK n UmnoB) r better off, gaining scholarships 2 universities
#7 by sheriff singh on Sunday, 22 December 2013 - 11:48 am
‘ … After 50 years of independence in Sabah, I cannot believe there is still a kampung without any university graduates. … ‘
I thought there are already several public and private universities in East Malaysia (Sabah, Labuan, Sarawak) already who are all desperately looking for students. Can’t the government sponsor some deserving East Malaysians to enter these universities using money that has already been budgeted for and available? Why let 500 over scholarships go to waste?
As a former ‘Super Principal’ and educator, Mary Yap should understand this and see how the problem can be addressed. She should stop speaking ‘UMNO / BN language’ once in government like the many ‘converted’ individuals like Wahid Omar, Paul Low, Waythamoorthy etc.
Maybe the DAP can make a profound point by awarding one scholarship for a local kampong boy or girl to study in say, UITM Sabah, and shame the Sabah government. The kampongs are yours for the taking.
#8 by sheriff singh on Sunday, 22 December 2013 - 11:58 am
‘ … “According to Entulu, only 499 out of 1,000 scholarships allocated for both states were successful in their application in 2008, while in 2009 only 402 successful. He also said the situation was the same for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012,” … ‘
So what happened to the remainder of the scholarships (500+ p.a.) that were not awarded? Have these been siphoned off elsewhere to say West Malaysia?
Were those scholarships that wee awarded based on merit that they satisfied the minimum entrance requirements while the unallocated balance did not meet the minimum entry requirements?
Just how much are each of the scholarships worth? How much does it take to support a local student to study at a local IPT p.a.?
A private flight on our government plane costs RM 500,000 per trip at least. This amount can be used to support up to 50 students for a year. Think about it.