In a follow up to Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers’ Union objection to the government’s move to increase Public Service Department scholarship for non-Bumiputeras from 10 to 45 per cent starting this year, William Ghani Bina, the president of Sarawak Teachers Union instead support the government's decision.
Kudos to William Ghani for standing up and pointed out that Malaysian leaders had been talking about creating a united ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ for years now and what better way to achieve that than through fairer allotment of government scholarships.
In addition, he said "They can be proud to be Ibans, Chinese, Malays, Indian, KadazanDusun, Lun Bawang etc but they should be prouder to be Malaysians". He also stressed that it is also a wake-up call for Bumiputeras to make them realise that if they don’t appreciate the opportunities, the government can give them to other Malaysians who will use them fully for the good of the country.
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=36398
Realising ‘Bangsa M’sia’ aspiration
Decision to increase government scholarships for non-Bumis timely: S’wak Teachers Union
KUCHING: Sarawak Teachers Union president William Ghani Bina sees the government’s decision to increase Public Service Department (JPA) scholarships for non-Bumiputera as a move to better realise the ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ aspiration.
He said Malaysian leaders had been talking about creating a united ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ for years now and what better way to achieve that than through fairer allotment of government scholarships.
“Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras must use their scholarships for the good of Malaysia, not just for themselves or community,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz recently announced that the government had increased Public Service Department (JPA) scholarships for non-Bumiputeras from 10 to 45 per cent starting this year
However, in a press statement on Tuesday, Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers’ Union objected to the move as it feared that Bumiputeras in Sarawak might be deprived of the scholarships.
Ghani said the move was also timely in educating the 5.2 million students in 10,000 schools throughout the country to be proud Malaysians.
“They can be proud to be Ibans, Chinese, Malays, Lun Bawang etc but they should be prouder to be Malaysians,” he said.
He said the destiny and future success of the country depended much on all Malaysians and their sense of pride as citizens of this country.
Ghani said the government normally carried out a thorough study before implementing a new policy and therefore disagreed that a bigger ratio given to non-Bumiputeras would cause Bumiputeras to lag behind.
He said Bumiputeras always had more opportunities in this country and they should question themselves whether they had made good use of them.
Citing an example, he said many Bumiputera graduates failed to pay their study loans and other education aid, while some refused to return to Malaysia after they graduated overseas.
“It is also a wake-up call for Bumiputeras to make them realise that if they don’t appreciate the opportunities, the government can give them to other Malaysians who will use them fully for the good of the country,” he said.
Besides, he said not all non-Bumiputera community were rich and could afford to send their children to tertiary education.
The president of the Federation of Kuching and Samarahan Divisions Chinese Associations, Dr Chou Chii Ming, welcomed the move as for nearly 20 years the Chinese had been requesting for a bigger share of JPA scholarships.
“It’s very good. The federation has been fighting very hard for this, which was one of the resolutions during our annual general meeting,” he said.
Bigger distribution of JPA scholarships to non-Bumiputeras would also help to solve the country’s brain drain particularly in professional fields, he said.
“We can train more people and have them return to serve the country, instead of losing them to other countries,” he said.
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