KUALA LUMPUR – Those urging Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to temporarily admit non-Bumiputera students for its cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme are inciting racial tensions by bringing up a “non-issue” within the community.
Claiming that non-Bumiputera students’ ineligibility to enrol with UiTM has never been a problem, Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said certain quarters with “political interests” are harping on the matter at the expense of racial harmony.
“Prior to this, there was never any request from non-Bumiputera doctors to enter UiTM (as) they are able to continue their specialisations in other universities, so there is no need to touch on UiTM,” the Merlimau assemblyman told Scoop.
“Those talking (about the issue) have political interests. They’re touching on racial sentiments and issuing statements that do not reflect what is desired by Malaysians who can understand (UiTM’s Bumiputera policy).
“We live in a multiracial nation, and statements like these will disrupt our unity,” he added.
Akmal, who is a Russian State Medical University-trained doctor, also said there appears to be a problem-solution mismatch for the issue, asserting that discussions should be held to address the root cause of the nation’s shortage of cardiothoracic surgery experts.
“From a medical landscape perspective, it’s true that we have a shortage of specialists (in the cardiothoracic surgery) field. However, this doesn’t mean that such specialists have to come from UiTM.
“We have to help and empower other institutions besides UiTM so that they too can provide the programme. It’s not like UiTM is the only university in Malaysia, (and) I don’t think non-Bumiputera doctors are pushing to enrol at UiTM anyway,” he said.
Stressing that he does not have an issue with providing more space for non-Bumiputera doctors to continue their specialisations in other institutes, Akmal cautioned against “disturbing” Bumiputera rights when alternative ways to address such shortages can be introduced.
The Malaysian Medical Association’s (MMA) had previously appealed for UiTM to put public health first by temporarily admitting non-Bumiputera students into the programme, claiming that some patients die before they are able to secure a bypass surgery at public hospitals.
In MMA’s proposal, its president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz highlighted remarks by UiTM’s Prof Dr Raja Amin Raja Mokhtar, who reportedly said that he did not believe legislative amendments were needed to admit non-Bumiputera students into UiTM’s postgraduate programme.
Raja Amin, who is also on the board of studies for the UiTM-IJN cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme, highlighted the university’s existing facilities, including a private wing and postgraduate programmes for international students.
In response to the suggestion, UiTM’s student representative council (MPP) staged a protest today against an “agenda” to open UiTM’s gates to non-Bumiputera.
Calling for its peers to use the #MahasiswaUiTMBantah hashtag on social media and wear black as a sign of protest, the student body said all its 214 members firmly stood by UiTM’s founding objectives as an institution for Malays, Orang Asli, and the Bumiputera of Sabah and Sarawak.
Yesterday, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said the issue of UiTM admitting non-Bumiputera students has never been discussed.
He also said that the issue has been “deliberately played up” by certain quarters, attempting to disrupt the policies and initial objective of UiTM’s establishment, while causing confusion and disputes among various parties. – May 16, 2024
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