It is a fantastic feat of the Ministry of Education to implement the merit system of university intake in a such a short span of time. While nobody really knows about this fabulous system, thanks to the efficiency and transparency of the government of the day, the recent intake of students saw for the first time in the nation's history the operation of a merit system.
Thus, as result of the implementation of this system, literally produced overnight, the intake of bumiputra students has risen to about 69 percent whereas those of Chinese and Indians have dipped to 26 and 4.7 percent respectively. The ministry is of the opinion that Malaysians should have no quarrel with the government because the merit system is in place.
Last year, bumiputra students were castigated for not doing well in their studies. They were warned that if they meddle to much in politics and neglect their studies, some of their privileges would be withdrawn.
Apparently, the introduction of the present merit system was in response to the lack of initiative on the part of bumiputra students. The ministry is of the opinion that the introduction of the merit system and the advice given by the prime minister could have possible influenced students to take up their studies very seriously.
With the system of merit in place, bumiputra students took advantage of it and therefore performed well, even to the point of outperforming their rivals, Chinese and Indians.
No details
Much earlier, nobody really knew that the government was serious about the introduction of the merit system for the intake of students. Of course, it was mentioned here and there, but beyond this, there was no evidence that the government would embark on it.
Only with the recent announcement, the public came to know that the merit system has been introduced. Other than the sheer mention of the merit system, nobody really knows about the details of this system such as, how students are selected, what are the criteria involved, how are the results of various examinations standardised and others.
While the introduction of this system should be lauded, it is still not very clear whether the system in place can be appropriately described in merit. For instance, the intake of bumiputra students in universities are based on their performance in matriculation and STPM examinations, whereas the intake of Chinese and Indian students are based almost entirely on the performance in the STPM examinations.
However, since the matriculation programme in existence caters solely for bumiputras, it would be difficult for the ministry to make a comparison with those who sit for the STPM examinations. So it would be difficult to call the present intake system as based on merit because the advantages for bumiputras clearly out weigh those of Chinese and Indians.
Beyond this, it is also not clear whether how the students are distributed in the various areas of studies in universities concerned. And since public universities have their own quota systems for the selection and allocation of students in their respective fields of studies, the objective of the present merit system is derailed.
New stage
It can be argued that with the existence of the new system of university entrance, bumiputra students have reached new stage in their education performance. While there is no doubt that some sections of bumiputra community could have done well, it does not mean that non-Malays are lagging behind.
On the basis of statements made by the ministry, there are good reasons why the public might doubt the sincerity of the government. First, it is rather apparent that the government cannot implement the merit system of university entrance without removing other pro-bumiputra privileges at the school level. Since the entire school system in the country tends to benefit one particular ethnic group by way of preferential policies and financial endowments, it would be impossible to introduce a merit-based system without removing these obstacles.
Second, there are grounds to believe that the so-called merit system has been worked out to the benefit of bumiputra students before its implementation. In this respect, the public would like to know how the matriculation system has been brought on par with the STPM system and on what basis could we compare and contrast performance of students enrolled in these two systems.
Third, since the ministry only provided general data on intake of students from different ethnic groups, there is need to know the manner of intake of students into different disciplines, science, arts, humanities, and other fields. It is generally predicted that the allocation of students to study in various disciplines were not determined by merit alone, but on the basis of their ethnic affiliation.
It is obvious that the so-called merit system that the government so happily introduced is fraught with problems. It is going to create political and social problems, those that might stand in the way of effective national integration.
It is not that the quota system was that terrible — all what was needed was an imaginative consideration as how to bring about a fruitful accommodation between the positive features of the quota and merit systems. But the government in a typical manner failed to do this, but rather sought to introduce a system that nobody knows with label of merit on it.
A system of merit cannot be introduced in an ad hoc manner, there is need overhaul the entire system before it could be successfully implemented. This means, among other things, dismantling the privileges accorded to one race. Unless and until these privileges are eliminated, the word merit will have no meaning to Malaysia.
P RAMASAMY is a professor of political economy at the Political Science Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and has academic interests in Malaysian politics and labour. He has written quite extensively and is currently focusing on conflict management in Sri Lanka.
