Monday, May 18, 2009

Memo to PM on PSD scholarships


18 Mei 2009

YAB Datuk Seri Najib bin Tun Razak
Perdana Menteri Malaysia
PUTRAJAYA.

YAB Datuk Seri,

PEMBERIAN BIASISWA JABATAN PERKHIDMATAN AWAM KEPADA PELAJAR CEMERLANG

Dengan segala hormatnya saya merujuk kepada perkara yang tersebut di atas.

2. Seperti yang YAB sedia maklum, terdapat ramai pelajar cemerlang SPM 2008 yang gagal mendapat tawaran biasiswa JPA untuk melanjutkan pelajaran ke luar negara mahupun dalam negara pada tahun ini. Masalah ini yang telah menjadi satu isu tahunan di negara kita amatlah mendukacitakan kepada pelajar-pelajar cemerlang ini yang secara keseluruhannya mendapat 10A ke atas.

3. Isu ini sekiranya tidak diselesaikan dengan cepat dan berkesan akan memberikan impak negatif kepada falsafah “SATU MALAYSIA” yang dilaungkan oleh YAB dan menampakkan bahawa kerajaan seolah-olah tidak menghargai modal insan yang cemerlang dalam negara kita.

4. Justeru itu, saya selaku Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda Sosialis DAP (DAPSY) dan seorang Ahli Parlimen yang mewakili suara rakyat Malaysia ingin menyeru kepada pihak YAB untuk mengambil beberapa langkah untuk menyelesaikan isu ini seperti:

a) Kabinet pada Rabu ini perlu membuat satu ketetapan untuk menubuhkan satu jawatankuasa khas yang diwakili oleh beberapa Menteri Kabinet untuk mengkaji semula dan mempertimbangkan setiap kes rayuan yang telah dikemukakan oleh pelajar cemerlang SPM 2008.

b) Kabinet perlu memastikan pelajar yang mendapat 10A1 ke atas mendapat pertimbangan yang sewajarnya dan sekiranya perlu kerajaan perlu menambahkan bilangan biasiswa luar negara JPA untuk tahun ini.

c) Kerajaan perlu membuat satu keputusan dasar untuk mengkaji semula keseluruhan sistem pemilihan penerima biasiswa JPA termasuk menubuhkan satu badan bebas untuk mengendalikan program biasiswa ini, kriteria-kriteria yang diambil kira, sistem temuduga dan setiap pemohon diberikan satu laporan yang lengkap samada mereka berjaya atau sebaliknya untuk memastikan ketelusan dalam keseluruhan proses pemilihan dan intergriti badan yang melaksanakan program ini berada pada tahap yang paling tinggi.

d) Kerajaan melalui Kementerian Pelajaran perlu membuat keputusan yang tegas dengan menghadkan setiap pelajar yang menduduki peperiksaan SPM untuk mengambil hanya 10 matapelajaran supaya semua pelajar dinilai dengan keputusan yang samarata dan tidak timbul masalah penilaian seperti mengapa yang mendapat 13A gagal berbanding dengan 9A dan sebagainya.

5. Kami amat mengharapkan pihak YAB akan menimbangkan beberapa cadangan ini untuk mengembalikan keyakinan rakyat Malaysia terhadap intergriti dan keadilan dasar-dasar kerajaan. Kami juga berharap YAB akan memberikan perhatian peribadi ke atas perkara ini kerana ia melibatkan soal masa depan anak-anak muda kita bersama.

Sekian. Terima kasih.


Berkhidmat untuk rakyat,



LOKE SIEW FOOK
KETUA PEMUDA SOSIALIS DAP
Merangkap AHLI PARLIMEN RASAH
.

20 comments:

Lee Wee Tak said...

the other way of looking at it is

WHY MUST MALAYSIANS GO OVERSEAS AND GET A TERTIARY EDUCATION?

do you see Australians and United Kingdom students crying their eyeballs out because they cannot get into the oh-so-good UM, USM, UITM?

if we have enough seat in local universities and their quality is of international class, then Malaysian Ringgit would not have such a massive outflow.

1) is there any undeserving students taking the place of deserving students?

2) why with the sprouting up of private and public universities in the past few years, there is still insufficient supply?

3) can our local universities provide equal quality education so that our young ones and ringgit aren't floating overseas?

Lee Wee Tak said...

the other way of looking at it is

WHY MUST MALAYSIANS GO OVERSEAS AND GET A TERTIARY EDUCATION?

do you see Australians and United Kingdom students crying their eyeballs out because they cannot get into the oh-so-good UM, USM, UITM?

if we have enough seat in local universities and their quality is of international class, then Malaysian Ringgit would not have such a massive outflow.

1) is there any undeserving students taking the place of deserving students?

2) why with the sprouting up of private and public universities in the past few years, there is still insufficient supply?

3) can our local universities provide equal quality education so that our young ones and ringgit aren't floating overseas?

P130 voter said...

Dear YB Loke,

I cut & pasted a section from Sdr LKS's blog:

"On both questions, Ismail (Tan Sri Ismail Adam, DG of PS) said he needed clearance from his political superiors."

My question is why does a DG need to get a yes nod from his political master. Isn't he a public servant as in a servant to the rakyat or taxpayers. He should be answerable to us the taxpayer, not his political masters.

Kindly convey this message to him.

Thank you,
P130 voter

kanashibari said...

hi, i'm from 2008 SPM batch and below here are my point of view which i posted on recom.org. i'm not ranting below, don't worry but i'm just voicing my opinion. it's purely just my opinion so i would appreciate it if you'd take the time to read it.

the actual link of this post is http://www.recom.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8581 if you'd like to comment on what i've said.

Does the number of A's really count to secure the very much coveted JPA scholarship?
In my opinion and as we can see now, it's clearly a no.

(if you're kind enough and have the patience and time, please answer the question only after you've kindly read my post.)

students tend to take extra subjects nowadays because they thought that scholarships would all come easily to them if they managed to get all A's in their SPM. they think that the only important criteria in the awarding of scholarships is based alone on their results. the more A's the better.

let's say 2 students applied for Law. student A had a result of 9A1's and 1B3 (assume it's addmaths) and in g-ceo, she got A1 . student B got all 10A1's and a B4 for g-ceo. so student A isn't as intelligent as student B in maths but does that matter much if you're about to venture into law? let's say there's only one slot left for Law. who do you think is the most deserving to get the scholarhsip? in this sense, we are looking into another criteria besides academic wise which is the linguistic skills of a student. how would a lawyer be a lawyer if he can't even write or speak in fluent english?

if you have 15a1's and you're about to venture into medicine. will that 5 extra subject matter that much in your career field? won't you actually stand on the same ground as someone who just had 10A1's?

and i wondered if anyone had ever thought of this. years back, there wasn't as many subjects offered in SPM as there is right now. most students took 8 to 10 subjects only, with very few daring to take more than 10 subjects. they scored less A's than those who get 15, 16, 17A's today but does that mean they intellectually more challenged than the future students now? yes? no? if you've answered no, you've just agreed that a student who got 10A's are as good as those who got 15A's in the world we live in today.

have you ever thought of what that 7A1-and-3A2-student had who managed to secure the actuarial science scholarship that you lose out to with 10A1's in your hands that you had not?

perhaps she had a co-cu background as good as yours but she didn't have parents as rich as yours. financial background wise, do you think you still deserve the scholarship when your parents are earning 5-6k a month while hers only earn 2-3k? and her 3A2's are subjects considered not related to the field of actuarial science; examples, biology, chemistry, bm. so did it matter? it didn;t matter right? you got 10A1's and she got just 7A1's the only difference is that she's just isn't as skilled as you are in biology chemistry and bm but that's not important anymore when you venture into actuarial science.

lastly, the online test. have you ever wondered what's the use of it? i'll make an assumption about the test since i'm not sure what's the objective of it myself. i think it's to filter those candidates who didn't have the intention to return to malaysia and those who didn't really have the interest in the field they're applying. ok, some may not know what they want to do in their future and just applied for a certain course but if that person applied for medicine just because he didn't know where else to bring his excellent results... *takes a deep breath*. just think of it. 6 years is not a short time and medicine is not an easy field.

*it's too long. can't post all here. will appreciate it if you'd take the time to read it at recom.org*

P130 voter said...

Kanashibari,

Do you agree that STPM or PreU equivalent is a better measuring tool to gauge a candidate's suitability for Undergraduate scholarship?

The above statement was mention by MP PJ Utara (YB Tony Pua).

P130 voter

kanashibari said...

P130 voter

yes i do agree. scholarships should not given based on SPM because, well, i'm sure you know why but i'll just say it anyway. the standard of it is quite if not very low.

BUT then, if you say it should be awarded based on STPM and other equivalent pre-u's there will be an un-uniformity. the standards of STPM, Alevels, Makaysian Matriculation and other pre-u's are of course different.

besides that, most bumi's would be in matriculation while most non-bumi's will be in STPM. since our malaysian matrics isn't recognised by many overseas universities, most of the bumi's in matrics would be stuck in malaysia.

if malaysia comes up with just ONE type of pre-u programme maybe either STPM or Alevels, then the awarding of scholarships based on pre-u equilavent could be carried out.

when all the students go thru the same pre-u, only then it would be logic to give out the schlarships based on pre-u. this can't be carried out now since we have 2 major type of pre-u in malaysia. AND the difference between these 2 (STPM and MATRICS) is as different as night and day.

but till that day comes, scholarship will be awarded based on SPM because it's the highest examination that ALL students in malaysia will have to go thru. yes, again, the standard is much lower but there is still some standard in SPM examination and these could at least give the JPA's an overview if the students are good enough to secure the scholarhsip.

P130 voter said...

I don't quite understand this JPA thingy. If you are an SPM graduate and you obtain JPA scholarship, what do you do next?

Are you automatically sent to a Uni or you still have to go through Pre-U first?

Still confused because I never try the JPA thingy.

P130 voter

Bangsa Cina Malaysia said...

there is not a part of this country that is clean neat and in orderly fashion...NS is no exception.....

i have been telling all DAP state assemblymen to organize more gotong royong and win the hearts of the rakyat but it has fallen on deaf ears.

come next general election DAP will lose like shit...

we voted for changes but where are the changes..

except charles santiago the king of gotong royong..he knows how to win over new customers/voters...

Anonymous said...

Another stupid excuse given by JPA as to why excellent students not given scholarships....because certain boarding schools do not permit their students to sit for more than 9 subjects and therefore,are as qualify as students who have much better results ! Therefore, JPA is considering to limit the subjects which a student can take.This obviously cannot be the solution for the unfair treatment or discrimination by JPA !

Come next year, what excuses are JPA going to give again ?? You mean after more than 50 years, this scholarship issue still cannot be settled ?? Are we fool to believe !!

Why JPA is not following the cabinet's directive to grant 20% or 400 places to the excellent students irregardless of race, income level , etc ?? If this has been followed, everybody will be happy and we can see unity among the races .As for students who cannot take more than 9 subjects, JPA can just allocate ( maybe, 5 % ) from the other categories to their straight As students.

Everybody will be happy and we do not need to waste so much time, energy, etc on this issue again!

Anonymous said...

Another stupid excuse given by JPA as to why excellent students not given scholarships....because certain boarding schools do not permit their students to sit for more than 9 subjects and therefore,are as qualify as students who have much better results ! Therefore, JPA is considering to limit the subjects which a student can take.This obviously cannot be the solution for the unfair treatment or discrimination by JPA !

Come next year, what excuses are JPA going to give again ?? You mean after more than 50 years, this scholarship issue still cannot be settled ?? Are we fool to believe !!

Why JPA is not following the cabinet's directive to grant 20% or 400 places to the excellent students irregardless of race, income level , etc ?? If this has been followed, everybody will be happy and we can see unity among the races .As for students who cannot take more than 9 subjects, JPA can just allocate ( maybe, 5 % ) from the other categories to their straight As students.

Everybody will be happy and we do not need to waste so much time, energy, etc on this issue again!

Anonymous said...

YB Loke, what is the outcome from the special meeting on 25th May,2009 our PM had with the JPA and cabinet ministers ?? Are we still waiting for the final decision from the cabinet meeting tomorrow ?

Loke Siew Fook said...

I heard a decision has been made though no official announcement yet...there will be an increase of only 100 extra overseas scholarships...those who scored 13A1 and failed in the first round will definitely get their scholarships..others will be considered for local scholarships..it is going to solve the problem and expect many will be dissapointed

Loke Siew Fook said...

sorry...typo..i meant "it is not going to solve the problem"

Lee Wee Tak said...

YB, thanks for playing the part in pressuring to get the extra 100 seats

anyway, Malaysians must realise that not getting scholarship is not end of the road.

Since every year, people cry, bitch and wallow in not having scholarship to take medicine while at the same time, we read about local doctors being the patients' worst enemies, I wish once we change federal government, we can channel the funds frm buying jet-fighters, submarines and RM1,500 screw-drivers into free education for doctors, superb support facilities for government doctors and good remuneration for all health care people.

I really really hope so.

Anonymous said...

YB Loke,squeezing 100 places for overseas scholarships from where ?
I thought the 20% or 400 places for excellent students fully given away ?

Just cannot understand why the excellent students with 12A1 and above cannot get the overseas scholarships if you see the nationwide analysis for SPM 2008 results as follows :

16 A1 - 3 students
15 A1 - 2 students
14 A1 - 6 students
13 A1 - 41 students
12 A1 - 229 students
..............
281 students
::::::::::::::
Since the cabinet has approved 20%
or 400 places for them, all these students should automatically be given the scholarships, right ?
Something must be very wrong and unless JPA disclose the list of recipients, the feeling of unfairness among the top students, family members, friends and the public at large will be detrimental to BN ! Why is JPA not willing to release the list for the sake of transparency ??? Is there another big can of worms ?, maybe leeches, this time !!

YB Loke, please help to get the answers. Thanks

OneMalaysia said...

YB Loke, JPA scholarships appeal results out on 1-6-2009 ! Another havoc in MCA headquarter now from parents of top students who again are not successful eventhough SPM results 12A1 ! Why ???

The newspapers already reported that 13A1 &above will definitely be selected and majority of 12 A1 will also be in as quoted from the MCA president. It looks like JPA has again disregard what was announced or is it lies again ?

YB Loke, please press for answers for the above and list of successful appeal students. You mentioned that 100 extra places will be given, please check whether it is true ? Thanks

OneMalaysia said...

YB Loke, May I know what was the decision on the JPA scholarships appeal cases by the cabinet on 26-5-2009 ? Why the JPA still disregard the cabinet decision that most of the 12A1 students will be successful in the appeal??The results on 1-6-2009 clearly shows that JPA did not give a damn on what the cabinet has decided, right ?

The Sun newspaper today reported that the Chief Secretary said that the scholarchips selection is very fair. If that is the case, why are they not releasing the list for the sake of transparency ??

YB Loke , please raise the above issues in the next cabinet meeting. Thanks

OneMalaysia said...

YB Loke, I have not seen any reply from you regarding the issues raised the last few days. Are you also fed up with the scholarships issues? Please do not give up for the sake of our future generation of this country, o.k ?

Loke Siew Fook said...

To OneMalaysia,

Sorry for my late reply... No, i wont give up on this issue. In fact, just went to PSD hq this morning to submit another letter to the Director General.

Pls check my latest posting for details.

Thanks...was running around a bit and went to Miri the previous weekend so did not update my blog regularly. Be assured that i will continue to raise up the scholarship issue. Thanks

OneMalaysia said...

YB Loke, It looks like our hard works in organizing the public forum and raising the unfair selection of JPA scholarships in the parliament is fruitless ! Excellent students with 12A1, like the Bentong Madam Yap's son are still not given the overseas scholarships eventhough they should automatically be given based on the nationwide analysis of SPM results 2008!

My heartfelt thanks to YB Kit and you guys for raising the scholarships issues. What are we suppose to do if nobody give a damn ? Why is JPA not reprimanded for not following the directive of the cabinet ? Is the list forthcoming as the Chief Secretary has said that the selection is fair ? It is indeed very sad to note that we have to go through the 'annual begging' for the last 50 years without any likely solution !!