Scholarships for Palestinian students funded privately not by taxpayers, says DAP lawmaker
KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — A DAP lawmaker clarified today that the scholarships offered to Palestinian students will be privately funded by the universities themselves after concerns were raised over the priority given to foreigners instead of deserving local students.
Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen said the scholarship announced yesterday by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad only be generated by the universities themselves, including the local private institutions of higher learning or private universities (IPTS).
“They will not involve any government funding or affect scholarships that are being offered to local Malaysians.
“This was confirmed by Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching upon verification after the announcement yesterday,” he said in a statement on Facebook.
Dr Mahathir yesterday said the government has decided to offer scholarships to Palestinian students to pursue bachelor, masters, and PhD courses in 12 Malaysian universities.
The scholarships worth RM11.48 million and an initiative by Education Minister Maszlee Malik, will be offered through the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM).
Yii said he contacted the Education Ministry to clarify on the policy whether it will involve public funds and also affect places in public universities, especially for the local Malaysian students.
“I believe it is important that priority should be given to the locals not just on scholarships but also entry into public universities or institution of higher learning,” he said.
Among the 12 universities are Albukhary International University, Mahsa University, Kolej Universiti Islam Perlis, Multimedia University, UCSI University, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Sunway University, Universiti Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Utara Malaysia.
He said even though only one university is a government university out of the 12, funds for the scholarship must be raised by the university itself and no government grants will be used for this purpose.
“It is common practice for these private universities to offer scholarships to foreign students on a yearly basis, as it is part of their strategy to attract international students as it helps to improve their ranking as well.
“So for this year, such scholarships for international students will be offered or given priority for Palestinian students instead.
“There have been a certain level of confusion over the matter and I hope this clarification can clear some doubts over the matter,” he added.
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