KUALA LUMPUR – Opening Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) enrollment to non-Bumiputera students does not violate Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, says Lawyers for Liberty.
Its director, Zaid Malek, said that while Article 153 means to safeguard the special position of the Bumiputera, Article 153(1) highlights the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s responsibility to safeguard the interests of other communities as well.
Zaid explained that if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong decides it is necessary to allocate a specific number of non-Malays to enrol in UiTM programmes, then it would be entirely in compliance with Article 153 of the constitution because “reasonable proportion” allows for such allocation.
“It is also important to note that the determination of the reasonable proportion of quota for educational purposes under Article 153(2) is subject to the provisions of Article 40, which means that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is bound by the advice of the cabinet on the matter.
“The power, ultimately, lies with the government to decide. I say this clearly because of the recent trend of government leaders attempting to shift responsibility for their acts to the constitutional monarch,” he said in a statement today.
He further said that the proposal to expand UiTM’s cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme does not contravene Article 153, as there is a pressing need for an adequate number of cardiothoracic surgeons to serve the people of Malaysia.
In fact, he said that suggesting otherwise is an affront to the constitution.
“We thus urge the government not to buckle and simply accede to calls by overzealous nationalists who ignore the dire state of our healthcare system.
“UiTM is ultimately a public university funded by Malaysian taxpayers and should be utilised to ensure that the healthcare system of our country does not deteriorate any further.
“The availability of surgeons could mean the difference between life and death to the public, whether they are non-Bumiputera or Bumiputera.
“This political system makes differences between Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera, but disease does not,” he said.
The issue involving opening the UiTM cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programmeme arose after UiTM’s Prof Dr Raja Amin Raja Mokhtar’s statement, in which he said he did not believe the legislative amendments were needed to admit non-Bumiputera students into UiTM’s postgraduate programme.
Raja Amin, who is also on the board of studies for the UiTM-IJN cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme, was reported saying so by health news portal Code Blue.
Subsequently, the Malaysian Medical Association appealed for UiTM to put public health interests first by temporarily opening the programme to non-Bumiputera, amid a shortage of specialists and surgeons in the field.
This then triggered a wave of reactions from political leaders and the UiTM student body, who launched the “wear black” protest on May 16.
In a statement, UiTM MPP said all its 214 members firmly defended UiTM’s founding objectives as an institution for Malays, Orang Asli, and the Bumiputera of Sabah and Sarawak.
On May 15, the Higher Education Ministry said that there were no discussions on opening UiTM to non-Bumiputera. – May 18, 2024