Madani Govt’s reliance on report of Bumiputera Economic Congress to justify UiTM’s bumiputera only policy is absurd, unreasonable & unconstitutional
We refer to statement by Higher Education Minister Zambry Abd Kadir in parliament yesterday where he stated UiTM remains closed to non-bumiputera students, citing a report from the Bumiputera Economic Congress in 2024 on the “socioeconomic gap” as justification
It is unreasonable and absurd that the government is basing this decision on a supposed “report” issued by the so-called Bumiputera Economic Congress. The race-based congress cannot be said to be objective or impartial. The methodology, if any, employed in arriving to its findings are tainted by the lack of racial inclusivity, intersectionality and the very obvious self-interest of those involved. It is well-known that it’s purposes were political in nature.
The problems of using the said “report” as a determinant of educational policy is highlighted in the recent debacle on opening the cardiothoracic surgery programme in UiTM. Despite an urgent need to address the shortage to bolster the national healthcare system, this was ignored by the government, which insisted that the “special interest of bumiputeras” trumps all concerns.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as recent as August in an interview with CNBC has declared that he would extend affirmative action from being race-based to need-based, but this is yet another in a series of political grandstanding not backed by any meaningful action by his administration, as shown with Zambry’s statement in parliament yesterday.
The larger issue of the constitutionality of UiTM being exclusively for the bumiputera remains unresolved. This is no small matter. It is a national shame that Malaysia still maintains racially-exclusive public institutions, 67 years after independence.
Let us be clear that nothing in Article 153 permits the establishment of a racially exclusive university in Malaysia. Article 153 only provides for a reasonable proportion of educational privileges to be reserved for Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.
Hence, excluding non-bumiputeras from enrolling in UITM is unconstitutional, as it breaches the stipulations of the said provision itself, that the legitimate interest of other communities to be considered and that any reservations made for bumiputeras to be reasonably proportionate with that interest.
It cannot be denied any longer that UiTM’s policy of exclusivity is akin to the apartheid system.
The refusal to consider the legitimate interests of other communities, the resort to empty racial rhetoric, and references to “reports” made by groups with obvious vested interested only serve to aggravate the racial nature of UiTM’s admission policy.
There is no justification available for the government to maintain UiTM as exclusively for bumiputeras; it is a breach of the Federal Constitution and the continued refusal to acknowledge this is a catastrophic failure of the government to uphold our Constitution.
We thus urge the government to immediately address the unconstitutionality of UiTM’s bumiputera exclusive policy and take immediate steps to ensure that it complies with article 153 of the Federal Constitution. The opportunities that non-bumiputeras are deprived of due to UiTM’s unconstitutional bumiputera exclusive policy must not continue to blight our country and it’s future any further.
Issued by:
Zaid Malek
Director
Lawyers for Liberty