Congratulations to all the recent recipients of the prestigious JPA overseas scholarships! Based on the various recent press reports, many successful recipients are from families earning less than RM1,500 per month. They were supposedly given priority over and above those with a higher income and even with better academic credentials.

It is a very kind gesture to take extra care of these poor and truly deserving applicants. However, it is not right and not acceptable if it is done at someone else's expense.

It is an indisputable fact that not all parents earning more than RM1,500 can afford to send their children overseas to pursue critical courses like dentistry or medicine.It is the aspiration of all parents to see that their outstanding children with excellent academic results be recognised and be duly rewarded under a fair and transparent assessment system of selection.

These children should be accorded an impartial and objective assessment to identify their true potential. They are ultimately the ones to contribute and serve the country in the near future and not the parents per se irrespective of their financial capabilities.

If there are insufficient number of scholarships available then efforts must be made to have additional allocations or make the selection process more stringent. The basis of rejection based on income disqualification is not a very wise one. It is indeed an injustice done to the unsuccessful applicants if the selection process has been further tampered with. This is tantamount to robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The selection process should rightly be made as transparent and as objective as possible. This is to avoid it being manipulated to serve the interest of certain parties claiming credit for championing the success of helping a particular race. At the same time they are getting good, cheap publicity.

The government has since recognised the urgency to increase human capital investment under the Ninth Malaysian Plan. It is aimed at boosting skills, productivity and the competitiveness of our workforce in the borderless world. In this connection, the implementation of the planned policies must not only be fair but seen to be fair to all irrespective of their social economic standing to prevent a brain drain. Prevention is certainly better than cure.

Today we are talking about the spirit of meritocracy and the true meaning of a scholarship. Let these scholarships be awarded to all who are equally deserving. Any form of 'discrimination' in the award of these much sought-after scholarships should be stopped immediately.

It is this writer's wish that no one should be unfairly overlooked or marginalised due to unacceptable conditions like parents earning an income of more than RM1,500 per month. Fairness and justice should prevail at all times.