KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) has proposed that the current quota system for students in public universities is shifted to a selection system that is based on needs and merit.
Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said through this system, the factors that will be taken into account are socioeconomic status, region, parents, co-curricular and academics.
"This system will not sideline those who come from poor families as it does not consider religion and race.
"We understand that to raise the standards, the starting line must be fair. We are not looking for equality in results but equality in opportunities," he said in a press conference that was uploaded on their Facebook page.
He said this following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's statement saying that the quota system for Bumiputera students should be retained to maintain the racial balance in local public institutions of higher learning.
Syed Saddiq highlighted that 4.00 and straight-A students who couldn't secure a spot in matriculation programmes have been offered a chance to pursue their studies in well-known universities abroad which could lead to brain drain.
This, he said, will result in Malaysians bearing the consequences of losing out on quality human resources as there are currently more than 1.7 million Malaysians working abroad.
He also suggested that the issue be brought up to a Special Select Committee in Parliament to be debated in a bipartisan manner.
"This matter cuts across political parties. It must be driven by clear facts and data.
"For decades, the same policy has been used but why are there still elites given aid but the poor are being left behind?" he said.