Make sure sixty-nine non-Bumiputera students enter matriculation

ANDREW ONG

MCA Youth Chief Ling Tian Soon is determined to secure placements in the matriculation program for 69 non-Bumiputera students who achieved 10 ‘A’s in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) but were rejected to enter the program.

They were rejected before the government relaxed ethnic quotas for excellent students. 

The Education Ministry is expected to announce the matriculation appeal results tomorrow.

“We hope for a clear response from the Education Ministry regarding whether all 69 students can be accepted into matriculation,” Ling said, reported Malaysiakini.

He said this at a press conference at the MCA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The outstanding SPM students highlighted by MCA Youth are among the 173 students who have received assistance from the MCA wing to appeal for entry into the matriculation program.

Matriculation is a one to two-year pre-university program offered by the Education Ministry. 

There are concerns regarding the announcement, particularly regarding how it will be implemented while maintaining the 90 per cent quota for Bumiputera intake.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the MCA Youth Education Consultative Committee Chairman Ong Chee Siang criticized Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh for allegedly not actively supporting appeals from non-Bumiputera students seeking entry into the matriculation program.

In a brief response, Wong urged MCA Youth not to politicize the issue, explaining that the ministry has assisted students with their appeals, which were resolved through the Ministry of Education’s system on June 30th.

Ong also said that the government’s announcement regarding the requirement of 10’A’ for guaranteed access to the matriculation program is unfair.

“How about students who scored 9A, 8A, or took 7 subjects?” Ong asked.

He said that students who originally planned to take 8 or 9 subjects may now opt to take 10 or more subjects in the future.

Ong further argued that the new policy appeared to overlook the “merit points” awarded to students for participating in extracurricular activities, which are used to evaluate their eligibility for matriculation college placements.