Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia said Thursday (29 May) that it will double the number of government scholarships it gives non-Malays to study abroad, an apparent move to mollify disgruntled ethnic minorities.
Parliamentary affairs minister Nazri Abdul Aziz said 900 of the 2,000 government scholarships awarded this year to study at foreign universities will go to ethnic Chinese, ethnic Indians and other minorities.
Previously, only about 20% of all scholarships went to minorities while the rest went to Malays, who make up 60% of the country‘s 27 million people.
Now, minorities will get more than 40% of the scholarships, Nazri said.
"I thought it was embarrassing and not fair," Nazri told The Associated Press. "Eighty-twenty (percent) is not a fair balance. So we have decided that it is 60-40."
Nazri said he brought up the issue in the Cabinet last year when he was the law minister.
Chinese account for 25% of Malaysia‘s population, while Indians make up about 8%. Lately, anger among ethnic minorities, especially Indians, has soared over allegations of discrimination in finding jobs, opening businesses and accessing education opportunities.
Malaysia‘s 37-year-old New Economic Policy, or NEP, gives privileges in contracts, jobs, business and education to ethnic Malays.
Amid the growing discontent, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi‘s National Front governing coalition suffered its worst losses ever in general elections in March. Although the coalition retained control of the government, it lost 82 of 222 parliamentary seats and five of 13 states.
S. Jayathas, a spokesman for the Hindu Rights Action Force, said he hoped many ethnic Indians would get scholarships.
"It is a good move," he said. "But we need to see that what they say, they do. Most of the time, they say one thing and another thing happens."
Source: www.mysinchew.com (30 Mei 2008)
