Of Scholarships and Morality

Aliran is shocked at the unabashed attempts  by a few Barisan Nasional MPs to justify  the immoral practice of awarding scholarships to the children of cabinet ministers and of ruling coalition MPs.

It is embarrassing because these MPs behave as if they’ve lost their moral moorings and don’t seem to understand what it means to be the people’s representatives.

The obvious must be pointed out here: for every scholarship given to the children from well-to-do families, including those of MPs, a scholarship is denied to a needy child.

Education is the passport to a better life. It enables the poor to escape from the clutches of poverty and oppression. To deny scholarships to academically qualified poor students is to obstruct their social and economic advancement.

It is vulgar to award scholarships to children from rich and privileged families - especially when many students have been told that they should opt for loans instead of scholarships during the current economic crisis.

Awarding scholarships to privileged students only heightens social injustice and worse, triggers resentment, suspicion and deep dissatisfaction among the poor.

We urge the government to tackle this injustice and call upon the Barisan MPs to return the scholarships their children have received for the sake of the larger good.

To care for the poor and the needy is not only an Asian value but also a universal value; Malaysians must try to live by this important value.

Dr Mustafa K Anuar
Exco member
27 April 1998