ITM - UiTM

Last month i touched on ITM before it was upgraded into UiTM. And with the upgrade the current students lost their benefit of free meals four times a day, instead it was replaced by a meal coupon for RM4 per day. Everybody was so engrossed with the name change - championed by the so called fighters for the Malay rights, UMNO - that they did not realised that we had to forego the Bumiputeras' benefit we had enjoyed since the sixties when ITM or RIDA was first established, and at the same time we had to allow KTAR to be upgraded into UTAR.

Few years back we had also opened our doors at MARA junior college to non-Bumiputera, also championed by UMNO. We, Malays are very tolerance and able to let go of our special privileges. We had already given up the universities admission quota system for meritocracy system.

Now, there are proposals to open our only Bumiputera higher education institute to non-Bumiputera! To me this is too much. There are already 20 public universities open to all (some open to international students) and there are quite a number of private institutions and universities, where the students have to struggle with meritocracy.

First they ask for 10%-20% quota, afterward 30%, later on based on meritocracy, then what is left for Bumiputera?

As an ex-student of ITM, I don't agree with the latest proposals. All ex-student of ITM had benefitted from ITM; corporate leaders, politicians, top government servants, businessmen. During my time it was very competitive with only four public universities, UM, USM, UPM and UKM and we had to compete for scholarship funds. The only alternative for us was ITM - the saviour for the hardcore poor and up to lower middle class family.

Keep your hands off UiTM, the last Bumiputera's bastion...