Well, in the light of the neverending controversy over the award of government scholarships by Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) of the Prime Minister's Department, DAP will be holding a forum/dialogue session to obtain feedback from:
- aggrieved students
- current and former local and overseas scholars
- academics
- the general public
JPA Scholarships – Seeking A Fair & Equitable PolicyThe panelists will include:
Venue: KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Date: 19th May 2009 (Tuesday)
Time: 8.00 pm
- Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor,
- Anthony Loke Siew Fook, MP for Rasah and DAPSY Chief,
- Tony Pua, MP for Petaling Jaya Utara,
- Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad, PAS Research Centre Director and MP for Kuala Selangor
- Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Selangor ADUN for Seri Setia
In addition, for students and scholars who are not able to make it for the forum (e.g., if you are overseas or if you live outstation, you are welcome to submit written submissions to the panel. Please write to: dapscholarship (at) rocketmail (dot) com.
Please forward details of the above forum to all parties concerned, especially those who have failed to secure scholarships despite outstanding results. We will be making a compilation of the complaints, appeals and suggestions made during the evening.
21 comments:
http://drchua9.blogspot.com/2009/05/jpa-scholarship-we-never-learn.html
this is chua choi lek comment..
Every top scorer deserves the scholarship. However, those who are from humble families should be given top priority.
Some people score 13 A's, but they are from well-to-do families. Others score only 10 A's but they come from poor families.
So, interviews alone are not sufficient. Visit those scholarship applicants. See where their study rooms are and what facilities they have at their houses.
Parents may claim that their children are talented. They can play piano and good at swimming. But, we do not know that those parents can hire good coaches and tutors to coach their children in swimming and studies.
Don't talk about races and ethnicity. Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Iban, etc. can be poor.
Furthermore, some top scorers are aspired to study medicine. Since they are offered the course in local universities, why their parents still complain when their children are rejected to further their studies overseas?
Just imagine how much do the taxpayers pay for a student studying abroad? Imagine if most of the top scorers were to go abroad, how much is the amount to cover all the expenditures?
Then, when they really become established doctors, they open their own clinics and they charge expensively for services they provide to their clients. For instance, why do all dental clinics charge expensively for fixing crooked teeth? Even students need to pay the same price as adults for their services.
Meritocracy is not always fair and just. But meritocracy + family background is fair and just.
Since most of us are not needed....! But the world is still big enough to wait for us ....!
Justice is always late...it'll come
sooner or later....!
YB
Why UMNO wants less performing students to go to UNis? Why UMNO do not build more vocation schools to train malaysians in agriculture, cooking, baking, shipbuilding. I have seen Engineers doing estimating job that a form 5 students are doing.Of course, if the students score high, then they deserve the rewards and not trying to push those up when their results are not good
The truth is finally out. I failed. Yes, F-A-I-L-E-D. In my JPA scholarship.
I got 11A1s and I didn't get JPA. Here's my feelings:
I typed in my IC and there...smack...a cold, heartless, cruel TIDAK BERJAYA that could mince the strongest of hearts. A word that drags the most lifting spirits like a 1 tonne brick into the harrowing trenches of sorrow, sadness, grieve, pain, disappointment and bitterness. Believe me, I feel your pain.
Yes, bitterness, this was a bitter pill to swallow. How I wish I could smack the doctor who prescribed this right in the head. How I wish I could run straight up to the pharmacist and give him a piece of my mind. How I wish I could hurl my exploding anger even to the helpless nurse. But I didn't. I know I am not that kind of person. In my heart, I know this was certainly not the right thing to do.
You feel the world has collapsed upon your shoulders. You feel all your back-breaking and brain-numbing efforts are being flushed down the drain. You feel utterly unsatisfied to be labelled "the person who failed to get JPA" which would be the scorching topic of chatterbox uncles and aunties for years to come. You feel you want to scream out when you are being shoved into the group of people who are deemed "ordinary, who goes to local universities", especially when you got a sackful of As. You feel extremely sad thinking about your friends and teachers who supported you wholeheartedly. But the most painful part is, we feel we have let our parents down. Parents who said "never mine boy, life's like that" in front of you but secretly behind, I know, they are as, if not, more disappointed than me.
This scar is a deep wound that is hard to heal. In fact, it may never heal at all. But when an entrepreneur fails, he wears the failure like a badge of honour. When Mahatma Gandhi was prisoned, he never gave up fighting for independence. World leaders and figures like Nelson Mandela, Mao Ze Dong and Barack Obama have failed before. Look where they are now. If we mope and cry, we will never achieve things in life. When a ball falls down hard, it bounces even higher. When we fail more painfully, rest assured we will rise even higher. Believe me. But most importantly, believe yourself.
"Foolish people never forgive and never forget. Naive people both forgive and forget. But wise people forgive but never forget"
I forgive Malaysia for not awarding me a scholarship. I cannot possibly hate Malaysia(the nation, not the government) because I love Malaysia as a citizen too much. I will not hate Malaysia even when I am dragged into a prison for nothing. I was hurt terribly but humbly and sincerely forgive my beloved country today. But rest assured, till my bones turn to ashes, till my soul departs my body, I will never ever forget this day.
"I fail, fail and fail many times in my life. And that is why I succeed" - Michael Jordan
I only want one way for all to enter the university...the stpm way....
Hopefully this will not be 'all talk, no action'. I personally did not apply for the scholarship and I currently have another scholarship at college. But judging by the complaints of students and parents alike, I don't think I will get the scholarship even with 11A1.
Anyway, I am a resident of SS25. Remember the old squatters area beside the TNB station near Kampung Chempaka? Pls do something about it. Foreingers are seen hanging around the area. There are some sort of activity happening in the old squatters area. Illegal or not, I don't know. At least twice a week, they do open burning. The area is a huge mosquitoe breeding ground. The residents here are suffering. Pls take immediate action as there are many young children living here. I can be contacted via
jericlzx91@hotmail.com
I would like to strongly suggest that PSD scholarship only award to top scorers of STPM exam (at least 4As), AND have been accepted into prestigious universities (world top 20).
I can't understand why should PSD scholarship for SPM exam scorer. SPM exam is not a good indicator of the students' analytical ability but more of rote learning/memorise ability. Those who go through STPM also shows better maturity.
On another note, I also afraid that the local public university's academic standard is deterioting since most of those accepted into critical courses are by way of Matrikulasi rote which is not rigourous enough to prepare the students to truly excel in universtity which STPM system is capable to do a better job.
i agree spm is not a good indicator. any dick and harry can score full As. whether you get 70% or 100% it is still an A1.
Anyway, I want to congratulate DAP for taking up this cause.
Next thing, I hope you guys can concentrate on postgraduate scholarships. There are awarded by JPA, public Unis, GLCs etc
First let me declare that I am not a racist.
The JPA scholarship is completely not transparent. I got first class in UTM along with 5 other chinese classmates. We never got offers to further scholarships, even after some finished masters. However two of my classmates one Sabah Bumi and one Malay Bumi got second class upper, did their masters in UTM and UPM, and got offered to Imperial college, and University Western Australia. To rub salt to tht wound, these Unis don't exactly admit based on merit, unlike the Ivy leagues! All they consider is money to pay for your studies. I don't see why they are more deserving of a scholarship than me. I also cannot afford postgrad studies!
I don't think there is any consideration of merit. Ask the government to publish the names of recipients of postgraduate scholarships and see for yourselves what the ratio is like.
Please do it, Tony, Kian Ming. It is important for all the students out there like me who worked like mad and didn't get anything in the end.
Thanks
Victor
If we are going to improve our local uni ranking.why we send this brilliant students to oversea?
http://2hard2lie.blogspot.com/2009/05/jpa-scholarships-with-little-bit.html
because the best universities are overseas. how can you improve local unis by having bright students without having good professors/research/faculties??
Would you be blogging about the key summaries of the forum?
What was the outcome of the cabinet meeting as mentioned at the Tuesday 19/5 nite forum you hosted with the rest of PKR reps?
In my opinion, the pool of funds can be divided broadly into two categories
1) for the needy (50%)
2) for high achievers based solely on merit (50%)
Scholarships can be partial so that there are more Malaysians who can benefit. Reduce the fat allowances that are given in addition to tuition fees.
Link scholarships for recipients to amount their parents have paid in taxes, as this is evidenced in J forms. The evidence is provided by third party and cannot be tampered with, a good source too.
My 2 sen worth :
Suggestions to move forward rather than focusing on the past.
Key is to make these available to a larger pool of Malaysians irrespective of race.
The funds of RM700m allocated to JPA scholarships can be awarded based on categories.
There must be 2 categories of scholarships :
1) Needy (50%)
2) High achievers base on merit (50%)
Scholarships can be partial or full depending on circumstances. Bonding period can be adjusted accordingly.
Link amount of scholarship to recipients to amounts paid by parents who have paid income taxes. The source of evidence is from LHDN.
JPA policy makers should seek advice from counterparts of other countries who have had successfully implemented scholarship schemes.
Just wondering why the annual begging for scholarships by the excellent students when the 20% or 400 places have already been allocated based purely on results and approved in the cabinet ?JPA should just grant the scholarships to them based strictly on results irregardless of race,income level,etc.
As for students who scored 9 or 10 A1 ( maximum subjects permitted as claimed by JPA for certain boarding schools ),JPA may just allocate ( say,5% ) from the other categories to them.
I am sure with the above arrangement, everybody will be happy and JPA can just publish the scholarships list showing their names, results, schools,etc.
This simple task will save everybody the troubles to appeal,avoid accusation of unfairness,etc for the betterment of a multi-racial Malaysia.
Our People's PM please act accordingly for 1Malaysia !
YB Tony, please take note of my comment.
I'm from Sitiawan, Perak. I found out that a MCA branch chairman who is also a teacher in SMK Nan Hwa has a son who got JPA scholarship after appealing through the Putrajaya MOE, though his result is not very good. I believe some money have been involve in this so-called "successful" JPA scholar. I'm also sadden when some students who got better result than him was rejected of the scholarship. I hope YB can do something about this. Thanks.
Continue to fight for Malaysians.
I met a guy who is sponsored by government to do his PHD in a UK university. He is the only Chinese receiving sponsorship among his batch. He would have lots of opportunities if he stays in UK after his course, being a tutor for the uni, research partner of Professors etc. We told him that, "oh well you should just stay here then and forget about going back to Msia!" I would never forget what he replied us. "I can of course stay here to continue working with prominent professors, however if I do not return to Msia, it will leave a very bad impression, not of me, but of my other juniors who aspire to come to UK! I am lucky enough to get a bursary and I do not want to rob off their chances of getting sponsored just because I run away from my duty to serve the govt after they sponsor me!"
This guy did not have the opportunities to study overseas, not until the PHD level, unlike the relatively huge bunch of ungrateful sponsored students especially those doing medicine who had already planned not to return to Msia when they first stepped their feet onto the foreign lands.
People with less impressive academic records but with a big heart like the guy, deserve govt sponsorship more than anyone else, including the so-called top-scorers who should really learn to appreciate the advantage they have.
YB, you had a tour in UK a few months back and visited some uni. Perhaps next time you would like to consider touring a bit up north of UK (if you hadn't in the past) and find out what happened to the sponsored medical students there, that resulted such an ungrateful mindset within themselves!
I apologise if my comment seems to be attacking medical sponsored students, but this is my thoughts after hearing so many comments from themselves.
YB Tony, The disclosure by ling138 is very serious. Please help to check whether there is another big can of worms in the scholarships allocation ! Thanks
why only pushing for JPA scholarships
this country doesnt made up of only the goverment
it includes the private sector as well.
they enjoy incredible wealth and profit from doing trade in this country.
pressure them to award scholarships so they as well can serve the country just as much as the country that have given them wealth.
the private sectors too give out scholarships but believe me they practised favourism too (hint:etnicity) just look at the statistics. if 100 scholarships are given i think 90 from a certain group,so go practice justice there.dont be a hyprocrite
To anonymous who questioned why only pushing for JPA scholarships, it is because the fund is contributed by the taxpayers and therefore, we have all the rights to know where the fund go to whom, whether fairly given out and not creating the chaos as it is now !As for the private sectors, it is their rights to give to the best irregardless of race because their wealth belong to them !Most of them already have the scholarships funds ! Understand ????????
Since MCA is not in the position to obtain the list of successful scholarships applicants from JPA, can you discuss with the opposition leader or YB Kit to pressure them to be transparent ?
Otherwise, this scholarships issue will be an annual affair without any solution !
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