"Racist" group questions quota implementation

A Facebook group named Malaysian Chinese Forward (MCF) consistently posted statements regarding Malaysia’s education quota system and content that some might consider racist.

“In recent years, due to the “quota” system, many outstanding Chinese students who excelled in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia have not been accepted into public universities.

“Therefore, leaders and relevant organisations in Malaysia needed to reassess this situation to address the significant loss of talent,” said Malaysian Chinese Forward, two days ago on Facebook.

MCF also said that over the past decade, the number of non-Chinese students attending Chinese primary schools had steadily increased.

The group added that the non- Chinese students were expected to fill the void left by Chinese students in the future.

“This clearly demonstrated that Chinese education could not only be implemented in Malaysia but also had the potential to become a model for national education,” the group added.

The group previously posted a poster asking, “When will Malaysian Chinese receive equal rights?”

“Did Malaysian Chinese value nationality or ethnicity more in public? The general public had differing opinions on this matter because the Chinese did not receive the same rights as other ethnic groups,” the group explained the intent behind the poster.

MCF called upon all ethnic groups to communicate rationally, respect each other’s cultures, and strive to create equal treatment.

“We hoped the Chinese community in Malaysia could progress towards better, more inclusive, and civilizational goals,” MCF said.

On 9 June, local media reported that the trend of non-Chinese parents sending their children to Chinese schools was increasing despite the challenges the students faced.

Lee Hwok Aun, of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said that a comprehensive quota system was established under the New Economic Policy in the 1970s, after the May 13 racial riots in 1969.

Lee said that the quota system aimed to enhance Bumiputera representation in sectors historically underrepresented, such as higher education and business ownership, reported Free Malaysia Today.

In 2002, the government ended race-based admissions to public universities.

However, the system persisted in matriculation colleges, with a 90% allocation for Bumiputeras, and certain foundation courses were exclusively reserved for them.