A total of 817 pupils from the 523 Tamil schools nationwide scored all 7A’s but almost all of them have been denied places in the 12,440 places (BH 21/11/2009 at page 7) in all the scores of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MSRM) and fully residential government schools.

Last week K. Banggarama alleged that she was forced to convert to Islam at the Penang Government Welfare Home when she was only one year old.  (The Sun 25/11/2009 at page 4).  Scores of such cases have also been reported at fully residential schools.

On this score why can’t one MSRM Tamil be reserved for these 817 Tamil school pupils to avoid such forced conversions of juveniles to Islam and also so that we could easily keep count and keep track of how many of these high achieving Indian students are actually rewarded in these elite schools by the racist and religious extremist UMNO leadership. 

In any event there is MSRM Felda, MSRM PDRM (Police), MSRM ATM (Army) etc.  So why can’t there be one MRSM Tamil. After all these children got a maximum of 5As whereas the said 817 Tamil schools pupils all scored 7As’. 

This proposed MRSM Tamil would be able to further spur and motivate the 100,000 over poor and working class Tamil school pupils in the 523 Tamil schools to study harder as this MRSM Tamil would be their ultimate target.  But again just because the beneficiaries thereto are to be the Indians UMNO excludes them from these opportunities.  But UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak on the other hand cries One Malay-sia.

On the other hand the government has designated another 60 (almost all malay muslim) schools as cluster schools now totalling 120 ie. 36 primary and 84 secondary schools.  Cluster schools are schools that achieved a minimum 80% mark in the Standard for Quality Education in Malaysia schools.  We have evaluated the schools based on infrastructure, teaching administration examination results, co-curricular activities (NST 22/11/2009 front page).

But for Tamil schools the already existing poor and working class Indian parents have to end up buying their own school’s tables and chairs e.g. Kalaimagal Tamil school in Sg Petani and the latest being the Masai and Pasir Gudang Tamil schools.  They have to buy their own computers, library books, sports equipment, stationery etc.  Most of these 523 Tamil schools have no school fields for pupils to play and their buildings caving in because of white ants attack. 

And yet when 817 Tamil school pupils produced 7As’, almost all of them are denied places in the 12,440 Mara and fully residential schools.

P. Uthayakumar

28/11/2009