your say 'The reason why there's no violent upheaval is simply because Malaysians have grown up and because there's Internet to spread other points of view.'

It's Anwar who's untouchable, claims Ibrahim

Anonymous_40a7: Anwar Ibrahim is untouchable? Hmm, let's see...

a) He was falsely framed for corruption by his then boss Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998.

b) He was accused of sodomy - twice.

c) He had to fend off accusations that he was an American and Jewish spy.

d) He was savaged repeatedly by the government's mouthpieces - again and again.

e) And let's not forget the Apco incident, shall we?

When it comes to Ibrahim Ali though, the cops feigned ignorance, Utusan Malaysia defended him to the last drop of ink, the ministers jumped to his defence, and the ISA wasn't used over his vile comments.

Who's untouchable again, Ibrahim?

Quigonbond: If Anwar Ibrahim is untouchable, he wouldn't be prosecuted and thrown into jail. And for Ibrahim to take credit for non-violence - what a laugh.

The reason why there's no violent upheaval is simply because Malaysians have grown up and because there's Internet to spread other points of view. If we were to solely rely on the mainstream media, tempers would have flared.

Realistic: Ibrahim Ali will say anything to defend himself. He knows full well that he has made a mistake by opening his mouth before he thinks. He can't backtrack on what he has said because he will be seen as being dumb, what more, he being the leader of Perkasa.

Now he is saying DSAI is untouchable. If DSAI is untouchable, then why is he having to go through a trial for sodomy? It's dumb and dumber all over again.

Mc Farland: Ibrahim Ali is one of the most irritating person Malaysia has produced in the century.

PSD scholarships: Perkasa wants 67% for bumis

Pemerhati: The present system of awarding government scholarships needs to be reviewed. It is wasteful to send students overseas for courses that are offered locally as it is extremely expensive and quite a number of the scholars do not come back to serve the country.

Ideally, all SPM students who wish to enter tertiary institutions should sit for a common entrance examination and only the best students should be selected. In this way, a lot of substandard students can be eliminated and the quality of the local graduates and professionals improved.

Scholarships for undergraduate study overseas should only be given to students who gain admission to first-class institutions like Cambridge, Harvard and MIT for courses that are considered important for the country.

The present racist system of selection has resulted in a huge loss of valuable talent and the production of a large number of low-quality graduates.

David Dass: It is not true that 100 percent of the top students come from one race. The argument for quota comes from the premise that without the quota, the bumiputera would be disadvantaged. Then the underlying problem is academic under-achievement. That is a problem which must be addressed.

There are other ways of gauging human potential - not just 9As. So more sophisticated tools should be used to detect 'late bloomers'. In Australia, the UK and the US, such tools are used and the result has proved quite good. Those admitted into demanding courses like engineering, medicine and law with less impressive results have nevertheless held their own academically.

But the answer to ethnic under-achievement should not be the lowering of standards. That would introduce a downward spiral to mediocrity. All races can do as well academically. That should be the starting assumption.

TehTarik: Ibrahim Ali is talking rubbish again. Heamanthaa Padmanaban applied for medicine and not English. And she was given a scholarship to study English in a glorified teacher training institute.

To add insult to injury, it was for a diploma, not a degree course. Of course, non-bumis are furious with such blatant discrimination when overseas scholarships are offered to those with 8As and less, at the expense of 10A+ students.

BN is only shooting itself in the foot with such blatant double standards. A major reason for the continuing brain drain is the glaring social injustice in the award of scholarships. Unfortunately, this is an annual affair.

Hamisu: Generally, I would only agree to the bumi-non-bumi quota with the condition that unfilled allocations based on merit are opened up to qualified candidates, regardless whether they are bumi or not.

There's been so many abuses of the quota system as highlighted in my letter 'Education quota abused' to Malaysiakini three years ago. The practice has always been to fill up the bumi quota even though the candidates are not qualified.

Imagine ‘pangkat' 3 candidates in engineering, arts stream student in chemical engineering, and my own personal experience with the Renong scholarship where one candidate with far worse grades was granted an overseas scholarship and came back home without completing his course.

Avatar1: It's about time that the government do away with giving scholarships at the SPM level. To do well in a degree programme, one must have good STPM scores, which is equivalent to A levels.

Secondly, have the government ever published the passing rate of students granted scholarships at SPM level? I have never heard of it. How many Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sabahans and Sarawakians who have been granted these scholarships had actually excelled in their studies?

Sulaiman: Ibrahim Ali, that's good idea. In the same token, can the government also open up Mara, TNB, Petronas and other GLC scholarships for all?

Observor: I'm surprised that the PSD (Public Service Department) entertained Perkasa. Will they do the same for other non-Malay NGOs? Perkasa said that the scholarships provided should reflect the racial breakdown of the country.

In the same breadth, the racial quota in the civil service should be determined by this same criterion. Perkasa, please don't move the goal posts whenever it fits you.

Wfworker: I would certainly accept the 67 percent ratio. Just offer the 33 percent to the non-bumis and base it purely on academic exellence by publishing all names based on percentage results. This will stop all the squabbling. I suppose this is for the overseas scholarship.

For those who just missed out albeit with good results should be provided with loans. Also please use the STPM as the yardstick. Based on so many instances, I don't really have much respect for the SPM results.

KJ Lim: According to his logic, that is fair proposal. Then how about non-Malays propose paying 33 percent of their income tax?

 

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