NICE FOR ANWAR TO PLAY GOOD GUY - AND ORDER UNIVERSITIES TO ACCEPT POOR STUDENTS - BUT WHO WILL PAY? - MCA CALLS FOR "CLARITY" AFTER ANWAR'S "CONFUSING" DIRECTIVE

Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!

KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - The Malaysia Chinese Association (MCA) has raised several  questions after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's confusing directive to public universities not to reject but to admit applications from students who are poor.

'It would be helpful to all quarters if clarity is provided to iron out on how the instruction by Dato’ Seri Anwar will be implemented," the MCA said in  a statement to Politics Now!.

Firstly, how are “poor students” to be identified? asks Cally Ting, the chair of MCA's Ethnic Relations & Religious Affairs Bureau.

What are the terms of references, income thresholds that should be deployed to define a student who genuinely lacks the financial means to pursue tertiary education, she added.

Secondly, if the universities are to accept the applicant’s registration, does this mean the student will be allowed to attend classes physically or online, or is “registration restricted to merely admission on paper?"

WHO WILL PAY

Thirdly, which authority will be responsible to pay the fees for the poor students? Will the fees be derived from an existing welfare fund within the university, or will it allow payment to be postponed?

"If there is a deferral, what is the duration of the postponement before a student is required to repay the university?" asks Ting.

Hence, the premise and reasoning behind Anwar's directive is not only confusing but "may also invite other unnecessary problems."

"The Malaysian MADANI government, in particular, the Ministry of Higher Education should pay closer attention to the current issue of the rising cost of living on campus which is affecting students in higher education institutes," said Ting.

"News reports have cited that some university students are skipping meals, eating only one meal a day, go hungry because they cannot afford the prices of cafeteria food. These are daily situations which the government should quickly resolve to ensure our students will have access to a nutritional, affordable meals and enjoy a balanced diet."  - Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!

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