Political power enables Malays to have better education

BERA: The power being held by Barisan Nasional, which is spearheaded by Umno, enables Malays and Bumiputra to enjoy a better life including academically.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said the 2017 Bumiputra Education Tour (JPB) Programme was clear proof that the government always viewed seriously the education of Malay and Bumiputra children especially from the low income group.
"Why is the position of Malay and Bumiputra children including in Sabah and Sarawak and Orang Asli much better? ... because of Umno's struggle which brings changes via the JPB programme.
"Don't expect the opposition, headed by the DAP, to implement such a programme. We must understand this. What we witness today cannot be separated from political power because it decides the possibility of everything taking place," he said.
He said this in his speech when launching the 2017 JPB programme which was attended by 15,000 people at the Bera District Council Field here today.
The event was also attended by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, Rural and Regional Development Minister-cum-2017 JPB mentor, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Also present was JPB Main Committee chairman Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar.
Najib said, without the JPB, it would be quite difficult for higher education institutions to open the opportunity to Malay and Bumiputra children from the poor group (B40) to obtain a second chance to change their future via higher education.
"They have a desire to succeed, change their lot, and hoping for a chance, but if they are poor, and no chance is given, they will not have self-confidence.
"Maybe, the fear of being rejected if the higher educational institution imposes excessively high condition," he said.
Najib was also thankful the JPB programme, which was held since last year, had also helped 37,324 Bumiputra and Malay students enter higher education institutions in the country to date.
Of the total, he said 20,370 qualified applications had been identified and accepted, while 16,954 students received direct offer letters from 11 educational institutions involved in the programme.
He said the 2016 JPB programme was held for three months from March to May last year in 55 parliamentary areas of focus nationwide.
In this regard, he hoped the 2017 JPB would enable 50,000 students to further their studies not only at public higher education institutions but also in skill training colleges and at technical and vocational-based study centres.
"Since the National Transformation Policy was introduced, the number of highly-educated Bumiputra participation in the work force has risen from 1.89 million people to 2.64 million, namely, from 27.7 per cent 32.3 per cent from 2011 to 2015.
In addition, he said the government also did not forget to sponsor Bumiputra students in the country, among others, via the Bumiputera Education Leadership Foundation (YPPB) with 5,659 students assisted from 2012 to 2015.
"A total of 39,243 students also received Public Service Department scholarships while Mara helped 353,817 students from 2011 to 2015," he said.
"In addition, the government also targets to have 250,000 students by 2020, whereby, until November last year, we have 165,028 students studying at 32 UiTM campuses nationwide.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister announced another form of aid for poor students who have minimum qualification to further their studies to higher levels as Bank Rakyat would contribute RM3 million to 2,000 students for this purpose.
"Qualified students will receive RM1,500 each. They will receive RM300 each when they receive offers and their applications are approved, RM300 more when registering and the balance of RM900 will be credited into their accounts at Bank Rakyat the subsequent month," he added. — Bernama