Sudden switch to meritocracy in education may cause unrest, says ex-MP

Free Malaysia Today

Dr Micheal Jeyakumar Devaraj says current ethnic quotas should be aligned to population ratios, with students’ socio-economic status taken into account.  Read More:   Laporan Lanjut:   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #Meritocracy #MalaysianEducation #QuotaSystem

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:02 Right now we're not ready for meritocracy.

00:05 That's what former Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jayakumar has to say

00:09 about meritocracy in education.

00:11 The party's socialist Malaysia chairman said

00:13 switching from a quota-based system to a merit-based one

00:17 may stir political and social unrest.

00:19 This is because a merit-based system may result in an overwhelming majority

00:23 of non-Bumiputra students in professional courses.

00:27 Any system must be fair to all.

00:30 And that's not something that's politically feasible or acceptable.

00:33 It's going to cause a lot of unhappiness.

00:36 Jayakumar suggested retaining racial quotas

00:38 but aligning them with population ratios and a student's socio-economic status.

00:43 For example, Bumiputra's become 70% of the population.

00:47 Say, medical seats are going to Bumiputra.

00:50 40% of 50% should go to the B40 within the Bumiputra population.

00:57 Maybe about 35% should go to the M40 in that community.

01:01 And maybe only 15% should go to the T20.

01:04 The same principle, he said, should also apply to other ethnic groups

01:08 such as Indians where fair distribution across various economic levels

01:12 within the community is needed.

01:14 However, Jayakumar said all students must meet a minimum academic standard

01:18 to ensure the quality of graduates.

01:20 This includes taking extra courses for those who do not meet the minimum standard.

01:25 Otherwise, you're going to push in people who are sapa.

01:27 If they really want to do medicine,

01:28 then maybe they take an extra one year of pre-med,

01:31 extra two years of pre-med to bring up their basic sciences,

01:34 bring up the critical thinking, bring up the language skills,

01:37 to the level they can handle the medical course well.

01:40 Sam Uchua, FMT News.

01:42 (upbeat music)

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Transcript

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