MP wants Najib to intervene in ‘unfair, illogical’ scholarship issue

FMT Reporters | May 4, 2017
DAP's Teresa Kok says Prime Minister Najib Razak must direct the Public Service Department director-general to explain the matter to the Cabinet.

PETALING JAYA: Seputeh MP Teresa Kok has called on Prime Minister Najib Razak to direct the Public Service Department (PSD) to explain why the overseas scholarship programme requires only 7As while its domestic counterpart demands 9 A+.

This follows her initial statement two days ago, in which she asked Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department S K Devamany, who had confirmed the requirements in the Dewan Rakyat on April 5, to explain the difference in the conditions.

Devamany had reportedly said that a total of 461 students would be given local scholarships under the P9A+ Special Programme.

He was also reported as saying that under the Japan, South Korea, France and Germany (JKPJ) Special Programme, students who scored 7As would be given the opportunity to pursue engineering studies in the four countries.

Today, Kok said she had yet to receive a reply on the matter from either Devamany or PSD director-general Zainal Rahim Seman.

Calling the policy “strange, illogical and unfair”, the DAP lawmaker said silence was not an option.
“Malaysian taxpayers are entitled to know how PSD could practise such an illogical policy in awarding scholarships,” she said in a statement today.

“I, therefore, call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib to direct the PSD director-general to explain to the Cabinet why overseas scholarship JKPJ Special Programme only requires 7A when local scholarship (P9A+ Special Programme) requires 9A+.”

Kok also renewed her call for an explanation for Teh Xin Yi’s failure to obtain a scholarship under the JKPJ Special Programme despite scoring 11A+ in all her subjects.
Teh was one of 102 students who had scored all A+ in the 2016 SPM examination. Kok had asked why Teh’s application was rejected when the JKPJ Special Programme allocated 200 places for outstanding students.

“The Cabinet should call for her file and find out why she had failed to obtain the scholarship under JKPJ Special Programme,” she said.