700 more matriculation placements for Indian students — Najib
KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has approved an additional 700 placements for Indian students attending matriculation programmes at public universities this year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said the number was an increase to 1,500 placements approved by the government previously to give more opportunities to students from the Indian community to pursue their education to a higher level.
“The effort is also to achieve seven per cent of Indian students pursuing their students at public universities. This is my hope and it is not merely an empty promise but a promise to be fulfilled,” he said when launching the Indian Community Special Investment Scheme (SPKMI) in the Bottom 40 (B40) yesterday.
He said that due to the meritocracy system introduced by a previous leader, the entry of Indian students dropped from seven per cent to four per cent.
“So I have to find a way to ensure all races get equal opportunities and not miss out on education because meritocracy in education caused the Indian community to be the biggest loser,” he said.
Najib said what his government had done was not merely due to the general election but it had been long implemented and more could be done if the Barisan Nasional (BN) continued to be entrusted with governance.
In addition, he said the leadership of his government encompassed all aspects and not only in the field of education but also for the Indian community to invest for a better future.
Hence, he hoped the Indian community would use the opportunity to invest through SPKMI B40 being provided by the government.
“I urge and hope the B40 Indian community to take the opportunity because it will increase their assets,” he added.
On Jan 19, the Prime Minister announced an additional 1.5 billion units of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M) under SPKMI B40, up to a maximum limit of 30,000 units per investor.
Each head of household will also be offered a special financing of RM5,000 for the purpose of investing in AS1M. It targets 100,000 B40 Indian households for a period of five years with an allocation of RM500 million. - Bernama