Thursday, September 24, 2009

UiTM student on the BBC

I'm not asking this question rhetorically. Is it possible for a university that restricts its student to intake to members of one community be compatible with the ideals and even a definition of a university? Can such a university aspire to be a 'world-class' university? Will opening 10% of places in such a university to students of other races change the underlying structure and founding philosophy of such a university? In many ways, I don't blame this UiTM student leader featured in this BBC video for speaking his views. My sense is that he is a produce of the environment in which he is studying in (perhaps aided by his VC who is a regular BTN speaker). But it is a sad indictment on what some students in Malaysia think universities are for - an instrument of social policy rather than a place for expanding one's mind and learning new ideas.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

the idiot doesn't even realise how stupid he is - that's the sad bit, i think... come to think of it, isn't that the recurring theme of our leaders today? mind you, this applies to all races. latest muppet being a certain female tourism minister.

Anonymous said...

And remember also, 97% of the students sent overseas by the Malaysian government to pursue PhDs and masters are all Malays. REMEMBER PhDs and Masters! Not undergraduate studies! So wake up ok. Each cost RM 1 million and given a container to ship back their things at the end of their studies, not forgetting all the kids they brought over to the uk, australia or US and their husbands or wives who are also funded by the government to be overseas when only one parent is studying. Our money that is. Such a sad thing especially with such policies.

Shawn Tan said...

Sad indictment indeed. The problem goes much deeper than that and let us not just lay the blame on a single institution. Both Malays and non-Malays suffer from the same problem due to decades of misguided and misrepresented social policies. Sad indeed.

Character Education said...

well only 10% opening for overseas students also cost a lot, and there are to many national students who also wanted to get into the university. so i think these type of policies should not give pain to students. rather it is.

Wei Jiet said...

I'm neither convinced with his caveman philosophy nor his proficiency in English for a student leader....

Marc Ng said...

First class facilities, third world mentality ~

Get Shock said...

He is right, if you are not a Malay, you can never be a Malay-sian. You may talk like a Malay (of the mouth), may believe the same religion (of the heart), you can never be a Malay-sian, if you are not of the soil (of the gene).

Anonymous said...

Better they don't open up for "non-Bumis", hell know what will happen to them if they are in there. Anyway like Kian Ming said, it's no fault of this young chap. He has been brainwashed from the beginning.

Anonymous said...

If I'm his parent, I would be extremely ashamed of for having such a stupid son with a 3rd world mentality! UiTM? The rot continues....

Anonymous said...

The sad thing is, it is people like this who one day end up as MP, Minister or even PM of Malaysia

Kenny said...

That's the sad thing about Malaysia which aspires to be one, but overseeing these matters. However the long term goal is still divide and rule, not different than the British..

Anonymous said...

This guy speaks very well, has committement in his statements and beliefs. He deserves a scholarship to the very best colleges producing the same type of students as him.

The USA Liberal Arts Colleges.

Anonymous said...

that fellow tries to speak english wi malay language style...hehe

Bigot club said...

Seriously, he's the best candidate for us. He speaks real well, he has the bigotry, the naiveness, the stupidity, and and icing of the cake, HIS VERY VERY POOR ENGLISH!

Welcome to the group, and 4-5 yrs later, I am sure that you'll be another Adolf Hitler (or Mahathir)

SITI KAY SUAAIDI said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

stop downsizing UiTM. i wonder why people are so jealous of UiTM. UiTM is the only IPTA that doesn't take any non-bumi students. why you people want to rise up this issue? we got other IPTA that take the non-bumi students and as for your information, most of the non-bumi students are the best students in that IPTA compared to the bumis.

still wonder why this blog always look up on the private universities? this blog basically downsizing the local universities.

let me point some issue here, UiTM does take non-bumi students. UiTM International which located in Shah Alam do take the non-bumi students. The students which graduate from UiTM International later will be send to further their studies at the oversea. don't talk crap & keep on downsizing UiTM. look up for real facts before criticize UiTM.

if we think again about this issue, it's all about politics.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11.56 must be a product of UiTM. No wonder his english sucks

Coltz said...

Anon 11.56: I won't go as far as criticizing language, "understandable" is good enough for me. The problem with an all-bumiputra university, though, is that its existence slaps racism in everyone's face. Imagine a university that only takes Caucasians, a la American South before the Civil Rights movement. Imagine a university that caters exclusively to children of "Datuks" and "Tan Sris". Imagine a university that rejects kids if their parents worked in a farm. That is how the rest of the world judged UiTM, a university that systematically excludes people based on race.

And seriously, establishing a "special-campus" that serves to whitewash the racist legacy won't do much; you either have a discriminatory system or you don't.

P.S. Do you understand the definition of "downsizing"? Really?

Left Foot Grinning said...

The issue is not with bumi or non-bumi.

The issue is the responsibility and governance of the usage of taxpayers money and public funds.

An institution whose funding comes from taxpayers, public funds, must be first and foremost be responsible to the taxpayers in general. Not a select group of taxpayers (who may not be paying tax anyway) perceived to be "lousier". The logic of fairness for the custodians of public funds, is now unclear.

The other logic under duress, is that if you provide more than enough for the "lousier" group, you take care of them and they will improve.

We have seen in ALL cases of such treatment, Australian aborgines, American Indians that this scheme does NOT work. In fact, having easy access to special assistance becomes counter productive and keeps the income/capability gap growing ever wider. Such special privileges as studies have proven, ensures that the "lousier" group, stays "lousy" forever.

The other unfortunate success comes from the South. Where "meritocracy" and limited time and scope privileges improved the "lousier" stock to make them now on par with the other races.

Character Education said...

your words are really great but I think its not the specific matter of bumi or non bumi

Anonymous said...

hahaha

downsizing? go check english dictionaries (yes, dictionaries,to do double check,triple check etc) before posting a comment here. what a shame!!!

Anonymous said...

it is sad but true.. most graduates from UiTM is not that good.. i'm not actually sad by this statistics as i'm currently doing my degree in this 'beloved' IPTA.. all i could say is that uitm doesn't have the quality to even challenge other IPTAs in this country let alone the private colleges.. UiTM is just lucky because it has the backing of the government.. from what i've experienced for the past 3 1/2 years, the courses are ridiculous.. there's like no integration among the courses offered.. take for an instance, in the TESL program where this lecturer told how to do this but the other lecturer told us the other way around..

that's not all, recently the 'man" of UiTM wanted to abolish final exams. 100% of the students' grade will be based from on-going marks which is ridiculous.. meaning that there will be a lot of assignments to be done(imagine if you are taking 9 subjects in a semester) plus presentations, quizes... bla3.. i'm not saying that it is bad or anything but if all of the assignments are to be submitted on the same day or even a week.. i'm totally speechless.. that's why i think so many dropouts are from UiTM even if the tuition fees are the lowest in the country..

Anonymous said...

i am an uitm student. actually i am also sad about this fact of uitm regulation. honestly most of the uitm student had very bad english, even myself after studying here down-prove my English skill. sadly not just english is bad but also the management is sucks. what the hell for a student which his father only earn rm+-500 a month been charge rm300 for just not attending a program made by the faculty. they said this university is to help the target(malay & bumiputra) but what is this unsound thing happening here.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anon 10/05/2010,

Are you sure studying in UiTM aids to the 'down-prove' of your English? Don't blame others just because you put a little effort in improving your own English. This is tertiary education we're dealing with, not a high school. You can't possibly expect the lecturers to teach you every single thing, my friend. Especially if English is not their thing.

And quit degrading our own university. Quit being ungrateful...

Everyone, if UiTM is really that bad, why bother talking about it? It's just a waste of time.

And, even if UiTM really opens up for non-bumi, do you think they would even wanna enter UiTM? Most would say no, people. And perhaps all would say no. Why? Because they said UiTM can never offer a high quality education.

Don't simply underestimate UiTM graduates because not all of us take things for granted. Stereotyping us is definitely unfair. Other universities could also have these kind of incompetent graduates, but why aren't they mentioned? Because they're not UiTM graduates?

The university has tried its best to help improve Malay's standard. And for that, I realize I can never take this chance for granted. If there is ever anyone to blame, it's not the university... All of you are smart and wise people, and I bet you know who exactly should take the blame.

Ultra Racist said...

The issue is not about the taxpayer money not used for them.But the Bumi has the right to rule and gained help .The non bumi are the lower class and always will be servant.Not the ruler.That is what the malay want .But use the Bumi for the majority support to rule .The non bumi should just accept they will never be ruler .Only if the Bumi let the non bumi rule

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, UiTM is a reputable university in terms of its academic. They do have a lot of experienced lecturers and professors in the campus. The syllabus is much more easier compare to other universities, which other IPTA have much more subject in a semester. While in UiTM, the maximum subject is only 6-8 per semester. In terms of fees, they are the lowest among other university. It could be less than RM900 per semester for an undergraduate program! Imagined in other IPTA, the fees would be at least RM1250 (business course) per semester and it even expensive for medic or science courses. What u can see is Government do fully support with their own bumis *university*. Malaysia, which going on a concept of 1 Malaysia. But in fact, the government still 'differentiate' the bumis and non bumis. The same IPTA, but the matter of 'differentiate' in races still exist even in education field. If the government itself doesn't show a good example, what should the citizen think of? Could 1 Malaysia concept exist among the citizen? Only we the Malaysian knows the answer. UiTM student should be relieve as they have the experienced lecturers, good facility in campus and enjoyable environment of study. Share, is what they should learn. Given only 10% for the intake for non bumis doesn't really harm them. In fact, they can learn and compete with other races which makes the bumis to be more competitive and therefore produce a real quality UNIVERSITY STUDENT.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I studied in UiTM (Perak campus) in late 2004 but left halfway before I completed my studies. Not due to change of interest but due to several reasons: third world mentality, narrow-mindedness, too far from KL, too many religious bigots and restricted social life.

Let me start with the last one - restricted social interaction. You see, I am a wild child and partying runs freely within my veins. So, I tend to bring my partying habit along anywhere I go but I never serve liquor nor beers at my party. Yet, those jungle-minded people were quite shocked when they saw me throwing parties in the dorm and quickly slapped me with verbal warning, saying that this and that is frowned by Malay culture and religion. WTF!!!

On the other hand, the classes were boring and although all subjects were taught in English, those "quasi-jungle dwellers" could not understand what the hell the lecturer was babbling in English, thus prompting the lecturer to do inmpromptu translation in the middle of the lesson. Sucks!!! Double sucks!!!

And the ultimate reason that got me leaving the educational hell is their narrow-mindedness. If you speak your mind, the possibilities of being walloped is certainly high, although I never experience that. If you know too much about other culture or religion, or if openly admit on something that may sound harmless to you but harmful in their point of view, then be prepared to listen a lengthy sermon from them.

Now, it's been five years since I left that hell and although I didn't earn any diploma, I've been doing pretty well in life right now - working in the PR line with a renowned property developer in Klang Valley; became an editor-in-chief for a now defunct fashion/lifestyle magazine and a semi-permanent fixture at social events.

As for those who had ridiculed me, they are still bounded by their third-world mentality, working typical jobs with menial income to support themselves. But, that's what karma is after all - what goes around, comes around; what goes up must come down. :D

Anonymous said...

bammm!

downsizing.