Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) must be preserved as an institution that provides higher education for the Malays, said its Pro-Chancellor Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad.

Rahman said UiTM was set up to provide educational privileges for the Malays and other bumiputeras as contained in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, thus any move to challenge the privileges would be construed as breaching the constitution.

"We have Article 153 in the constitution that states clearly the privileges of the Malays. If the UiTM is opened to everyone, then where is the privilege?" Abdul Rahman ( left )  told reporters in Malacca last night.

Earlier, he received the Malacca Malay Icon Award 2014 from Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron at the 68th Umno anniversary at the Malacca-state level, which was also attended by Puteri Umno head Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.

The issue on the admission of non-Malays to UiTM had again been raised when the DAP candidate for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, proposed the establishment of an institution such as the UiTM for the non-Malays because she said access to a good educational institution should be provided to everyone regardless of race.

Rahman, who declined to comment on the political involvement of Dyana Sofya ( right ), a UiTM law graduate, however, pointed out that the Malays still needed the UiTM now as a pedestal for the development of the race.

He said this was because the Malays still lagged far behind the other races in the country in the economic field and only a good command of knowledge at the higher level could narrow the gap.

Meanwhile, Idris said the Malacca Umno liaison body had succeeded in registering 4,123 new voters out of the total of 4,989 new voters registered in the state in the first quarter of the year.

- Bernama