YOURSAY | ‘PSD, be transparent and publish the entire list of scholarship awardees.’

Why hasn’t our tax money gone to help exemplary student?

Poser over 11A+ scorer’s failure to win PSD scholarship

your say1yrsaywhynothelpstudentsSIPeTL: Student Teh Xin Yi, remember obtaining all A+ is indeed something to cheer about. However, you need to ensure you are not just good at your studies. ‘Emotional intelligence’ (EQ) and ‘positive intelligence’ (PQ) are equally important.

I assure you, if you are an all-rounder, the Singaporean government will provide you with either a scholarship or study loan at the minimum. The condition is that you will be bonded for a certain number of years.

Besides that, there are Australian scholarships for engineering. I have many friends who left Universiti Malaya after obtaining an Australian scholarship.

I’m in Singapore and I’m sure of its Ministry of Education’s offer here. Search online for those opportunities.

Being rejected for a Public Service Department (PSD) scholarship is not the end of the world. It might be a turning point for you.

All the best and hope you see my comments here!

Mosquitobrain: Stop the ‘brain drain’ is a salesman talk by the present BN government. They have never been serious about it. Moreover, they assume smart people are a threat to their rice bowl.

They have preferred to keep a bloated civil service with low graders and an influx of cheap foreign labour to take over from locals who shun dirty jobs.

Wira: I am a taxpayer and I demand to know why my tax money is not given to support an exemplary student from a low-income family.

Surely some money from that huge Arab donation could have been used for this purpose.

JesuisAnwar: This is a policy which fails to see that investing in human potential (regardless of tribal prejudice) is the best way to ensure real progress in any nation.

All Malaysians deserve access to knowledge as far as they can go through free education. A wise ruler would cut military spending by 90% and increase spending on education, health, telecommunications and artistic/scientific development by 1,000%.

Behsaikong: PSD, be transparent and publish the entire list of scholarship awardees: name, exam results and where they will pursue their tertiary studies and any other extenuating considerations.

It is public money, so such accountability is compulsory.

Anonymous_3e86: That’s the reason why we hear of self-sponsored Malaysian students excelling in their chosen fields of study overseas.

The media writes about their achievements but the credit does not belong to the Malaysian (read BN) government who has failed to provide them with any form of sponsorship.

Wyble: Just accept that you are a second-class citizen. Be resourceful and go and apply for the Asean scholarship.

There are also many scholarships available from Europe, US and Australia. Some private Malaysians are also happy to sponsor.

Don’t allow yourself to be turned into political capital. It is an old, tired cause for politicians to capitalise on.

Hplooi: MCA will predictably jump in to appeal to the government. But Teh, as most commentators have opined, forget Malaysia even if MCA succeeds in getting you a PSD scholarship.

Why should citizens who aren’t administratively privileged have to beg for their rights and fair share every time? There is no future for you here. The government has just increased funding for sekolah pondok and madrasahs.

As a parent, I can empathise with you and your family and the financial burden felt by each and every Malaysians who are not administratively-privileged and constitutionally-defined.

Anonymous_1424794168: Malaysia has regressed so much. We reject our brightest Malaysians for reasons unknown and believe that Malaysia will strive ahead to be okay.

See how much we have fallen behind. And can we blame them for not returning to the country if they find greener pastures elsewhere?

Then we have TalentCorp to give these same people all sorts of perks to come back to Malaysia. How dumb can we be to keep playing this game?

Wg321: Teh, you are not wanted in this country because you are too intelligent. Besides, you are also Chinese, and thus a threat to ‘ketuanan Melayu’.

You may appeal to PSD but they will give you a loan to do a course in fishery locally in Sarawak instead of a scholarship doing engineering overseas. This is what happened to my son many years back.

Taxpayers fund scholarships, students remind PSD

Anonymous 381541456985626: The cream of our students is sponsored by PSD to get better exposure of knowledge and experience; so that they will share their experience and ideas to build a knowledgeable nation.

I opine it is wrong to restrict them of that, in particular using the scholarship to demand obedience. We have to come out of the culture of not accepting criticism.

Only a mediocre knowledgeable person will use his or her powers to suppress others. A well-knowledgeable person will take criticism positively and respond accordingly.

Nil: Students should also remind PSD that the selection of recipients should be based on merits, not colour nor creed, if scholarships are funded by public money.

Drngsc: Yes, students, defend your rights. Public scholarship is funded by the public.

It is taxpayers’ money and so all taxpayers should enjoy the benefit, if they qualify, and this should not be based on their political affiliation.


The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakinicommunity and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.