At least Dr Wee Ka Siong was being honest when he said: “If this trend continues, many Barisan Nasional parties will have to close shop because such a practice will only scare away young voters”. Main concern is about political survival. Of course there’s other reasons too, as he said :  “Many talented young people will also be driven away and this will make the brain drain problem even worse.”

Dr Wee, besides being the MCA Youth chief, is also the deputy education minister. Makes us wonder what’s happening when “products” of one ministry is treated in such way by another agency.

Anyway, year after year we keep hearing the same stories. JPA says they are being transparent, but as I commented on Eduhelp:

…I just wonder, how difficult it is to post the details of the recipients on the website to ensure MAXIMUM transparency on the selection process. Its not enough to just announce the selection criteria and process, but not announce the outcome of the selection process. It can be manipulated, and is it a wonder if people think there’s manipulation in the selection?

To make it easy for JPA, let me suggest to you the relevant fields: recipient name, detailed result, detailed marks received for the selection process, selected for which award/country/program, family income, school name, district/state, and basis for selection (merit, race, location etc).

Sure, sometimes students have high expectations even though their results are not so excellent. They may have applied for courses with toughest competition, and all of them want to go overseas (presumably greener pasture and possibly not to return?). Or their academic results were good, but not their co-curriculum marks. Or maybe they performed badly at the interview session.

Sure, we have quota system whereby students from certain race/background is given place instead of other Malaysians. JPA already highlighted the category of selection criteria, which for readers’ reference, are two documents by JPA which document the selection process and also the relevant application details for 2011.

http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/esila_new/pdf/2011_piln/Syarat-syarat_permohonan_piln_2011.pdf

http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/esila_new/pdf/2011_piln/Pre_conditioning_piln_2011.pdf

So, if the deputy education minister says the government officers made their own selection criteria, then who is ultimately responsible? Head of JPA is ultimately the Prime Minister as it comes under his purview.

The problem was made worse when PM Najib announced that all 8A+ students will get scholarship. Of course, this could easily be misunderstood by students and parents to mean that these students can get to study medicine or engineering in overseas. But the PM didn’t say that. He just said “will get scholarship”. Where/when/what??? So, when JPA released the results we saw students getting scholarship to enter matriculation or asasi (foundation) at IPTA/IPTS. Of course, not as glamourous as getting PILN to study overseas.

But, still its hard to understand why someone with 4A+ or 5A+ is given place to go overseas while one with 10A+ is sent IPTS. Maybe didn’t get A in BM? Or not active in extra curricular activities?

Now its up to MCA, MIC etc to take up the cases and get the second round of application done. Some appeals  will be made and few extra students will get a place and the political parties have once again saved the people.

I wonder, what if  the many disgruntled parents and students, along with 10 of their relatives will picket in front of PM’s house or JPA office. Just imagine, a thousand unhappy people (read voters), and with no politicians involved, peacefully voicing out their unhappiness. Will the police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse them? I wonder if there’s any Facebook page or event for this.

Government officers who failed to follow Cabinet directives is one of the main reasons why top students failed to get the awards, said MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.

Many students who deserved the scholarships did not get the grants, but those who did not deserve them had successfully obtained the financial assistance, he added.

He described the situation where qualified students were unsuccessful in their scholarship applications was the worst this year in all the years when he handled appeals.

Dr Wee said these government officers set their own selection criteria and did not follow what the Cabinet had decided.

Tale of woe: Dr Wee listening to one of the students during the press conference in Wisma MCA, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

“If this trend continues, many Barisan Nasional parties will have to close shop because such a practice will only scare away young voters.

“Many talented young people will also be driven away and this will make the brain drain problem even worse,” he told a press conference at Wisma MCA yesterday.

Dr Wee said students who scored full A+ in the SPM examination were not given priority during the selection process, and were only offered open scholarships for government matriculation programmes or vacancies at local universities.

An open scholarship for matriculation studies is financial assistance given to students only after they have obtained good results during their first year in the programme.

“However, students who obtained poorer results were awarded scholarships to study at universities overseas,” he said.

Previously, the Government announced that 300 of the 1,500 Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships were given based on merit, regardless of race.

Dr Wee said this figure was sufficient to cater to the 363 full A+ scorers.

One of the students facing this problem is Chan Shu Ren from SMK Chung Ching in Raub, who obtained 11A+ in the SPM examination.

Shu Ren, who was present at the press conference with her father Chan Ah Kau, was offered an open scholarship for the government matriculation programme.

“I have friends from the same school who only obtained 8A+ and 9A+ but received PSD scholarships to study in countries like France and India,” Shu Ren said.

Students Lo Chia Hwee from SMK St Teresa, who obtained 10A+, said it was disheartening when she was only offered an open scholarship.

She had worked hard hoping to get a scholarship to study medicine overseas.

Another student, Chai Sheng Min from SMK St Joseph in Kuching, who also obtained 10A+, said he only got a scholarship to study engineering at Universiti Teknologi Petronas while his friends who got 4A+ and 5A+ were awarded scholarships to do Pure Science in the United States.

Dr Wee said MCA would meet with PSD officials to discuss the problem.

source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/19/nation/8714415&sec=nation