The annual event is back! Ye folks, the annual begging appeal for PSD (JPA) scholarship and IPTA places session is on again. MCA and MIC have both set up helpline to ensure their relevantness. So, go ahead and contact them if you feel you have a valid reason to appeal.

This is what MCA says:

MCA Youth will collect the data of last year’s excellent SPM students who failed to get the Public Service Department scholarship.

Its chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the list of successful applicants was out last Friday but not all excellent students were selected.

“For those who did not receive the scholarship, it must be understood that the number of scholarships are limited to only 1,500.

“All parties, especially parents must understand that not all of those who scored straight As are eligible for the scholarship,” he told reporters after chairing the Johor Baru MCA division meeting here Sunday.

Dr Wee, who is also Deputy Education Minister, said over 7,000 students scored straight As and of the number, about 200 obtained A+ for all subjects.

He said the youth wing would collect the data and analyse it within a week before discussing the matter with party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and other leaders.

“We will then talk to the department. We urge those who want to appeal for the scholarships to submit their details to the wing at youth@mca.org.my,” he said.

MIC says this:

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk S. K. Devamany has called on the prime minister to intervene in the selection for Public Service Department (PSD) overseas degree scholarship programme.

He said he had received complaints from many students that they were passed over for the scholarship despite achieving excellent results in last year’s SPM examination.

“The Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) must interven and give a solution to the unfair and discriminatory award of PSD selection of foreign degree scholarships,” he said in a statement Sunday.

Devamany also urged PSD to review the selection criteria of its scholarship award.

“The PSD has yet to fully understand the meaning of 1Malaysia which the Prime Minister has adopted as the slogan of his administration,” he said.

Devamany, who is also MIC vice-president, said the scholarship must be offered based on meritocracy and to underprivileged students who had achieved excellent academic results.

“This is the national direction. When excellent students who obtain straight As are denied scholarships despite fulfilling more than the minimum criteria, they become frustrated that their hard work and efforts were in vain,” he added.

He urged students who failed in their applications for the overseas scholarship programme to appeal to the PSD.

We been hearing this for last, what, 5 0r 10 years? Do they think we are dumb? Just publish (on website) all the recipients’ name, complete with the parents name, income range and occupation, SPM results, the marks obtained during interview, and the overalls marks that allowed them to get the scholarship. Is that so difficult? Is it a national security stuff? Every year also talk nonsense and waste our time. And this time, pull in 1Malaysia pulak lagi 🙂 Haiyoo..make me want to cry… Hello, for this thing all, no need slogans, just plain common sense will do.

This time, there’s a video by a student that didn’t get place in IPTA :

This girl says more than 90% of her schoolmates in MRSM got places in matriculation and/or IPTA, but she, being one of the top students in her school, didn’t get anything.

So, what’s going to happen? Someone will come as a knight in shining armor and give this girl a place in IPTA? After that, all of us supposed to “ooh” and “aaah” over such gracious acts? We must offer our thanks profusely and pledge eternal loyalty to some groups?? Go get a life.

Note: i’m kind of tired reading about MIC’s internal problem, so won’t be blogging about it any time soon.