SOCIAL activist Siti Kasim has received mixed responses from her non-Malay fans in a social experiment whereby she ‘invites’ them to apply for a place in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) given the Federal Constitution does not bar them from enrolling at the perceived-to-be ‘for Bumiputera only’ tertiary institution.
As an inducement, the human rights lawyer has offered free-of-charge (FOC) legal support in the event the non-Malay applicants get rejected on racial grounds.
“This is a case for strategic litigation. Non-Ms (Malays) should try and apply to enter this so-called higher learning institution … if they’re rejected, we can find a lawyer and challenge it,” she penned on her Facebook page.
“We will assist you and it will be pro bono. Of course, nobody can guarantee the outcome but at least we must try. No point in complaining and talking about it on socmed (social media) but you do nothing to make the change.”
Siti Kasim’s offer came on the back of the insistence by Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) director Zaid Malek that Article 153 in the Federal Constitution had been repeatedly and wrongly cited to defend the racial exclusivity of UiTM and that any argument stating that enrolling non-Bumiputera students in UiTM is unconstitutional is false.
The darndest response must have come from Charn Li who reckoned that non-Malays “would never be interested with sub-par UiTM”, prompting Siti Kasim to interject that by just giving up without even trying to apply for a place, then non-Malays “should stop complaining” and “just accept whatever they throw at you”.
However, not all Chinese think like Charn Li with Pak Kacak claiming that “I’ll fight for equality without your help and those with the same mentality like you” while paying tribute to Siti Kasim who has fought for the non-Malays “against the tyranny of UMNO and PAS”.
Moreover, AnPen Lim enlightened Charn Li that a lot of money has been poured into UiTM to make it a leading educational institute whereby today “they have high achievers studying there” while “their students have to use English in exams but the rest of Malaysians (in public universities) have to study in BM (Bahasa Malaysia)”.
Another netizen TeckGhee Lee suggested that non-Malays can also challenge the intake rule and regulation from a “taxpayers’ point of view” which Siti Kasim agreed yet still opined that “it’s better to cut to the chase and go right into the interpretation of our FC (Federal Constitution)”.
Sadly, despite Siti Kasim’s noble cause by even offering pro bono litigation for applicants who get rejected, some non-Malays simply cannot imagine themselves being a UiTM inhabitant. – May 28, 2024
