Meritocracy must come to the fore

THE historic change in government last year came at the behest of a majority of Malaysians’ desire for urgent changes in accountability and inclusiveness.

Structural reforms, including key tertiary education reforms, are critical to our nation’s economy and social development. Hence, the relevance of the impassioned plea to “Move away from a culture of mediocrity” (Sunday Star, April 28; online at bit.ly/star_educate).

The long-standing issue of the matriculation programme intake deserves close attention by the new administration, which needs to demonstrate that it is serious about moving towards meritocracy when it comes to tertiary education.

As education has long been regarded a universal human right, it is only fair that access to higher education is open to all Malaysians.

Race-based quotas for matriculation is all about the undesirable diluting of its benchmark and, arguably, has led to a lowering of the standards of local graduates and the ensuing poor employment prospects.

Arguably, continuing an outdated policy that no longer benefits the intended target group and disadvantages other groups does not benefit the nation as a whole.

Inequalities in tertiary education opportunities must be urgently reformed because, ultimately, this issue will impact our future generation and our nation’s pace of development.

Affirmative action quotas should only be a temporary measure, as in the long run, meritocracy must come to the fore if we wish to strengthen our abilities to compete regionally and on the world stage.

SZE LOONG STEVE NGEOW Kajang, Selangor