M. Kulasekaran, MP for Ipoh Barat, calls on the Cabinet to continue to provide Bursary Graduate Programme.

Four days ago, the Public Service Department (PSD) announced that there will be no more Bursary Graduate Programme from next year onward.

It also said that for this year, only 250 SPM leavers with 9A+ from 2015 will be offered funds through the bursary programme to study at local public and private universities.

The announcement that only 250 students will be entitled for this year’s programme has caused much anxiety to the 714 students who have scored 9 A + in the SPM examination as they are not sure if they will be selected.

It is therefore a relief for the 714 students when it was reported yesterday that the Cabinet has decided that that all the 714 students will be given the bursaries.

The Cabinet has made the right decision and I most welcome it.

Nevertheless, two issues have arisen:

Firstly, why did PSD limit the number to 250? When the Cabinet could decide that all 714 students will be given bursaries, it means that the government is still able to afford providing the bursaries and this only means that the PSD‘s main objective is only to save cost rather than to provide the best for the nation’s brightest students.

Secondly, why did not the Cabinet review the PSD’s decision that there will be no more bursaries from next year onwards?

How could the Cabinet ignore the fact that every year, many bright students will have to depend on the Bursary progarmme to do their degree courses at even local public and private universities?

And it cannot be denied that the PSD’s bursary programme is a main source of help for many non- bumiputra students.

The whole awards of scholarship system is flawed. It should be given only to students based on merits, certainly not rich students.

If the government could provide a RM1.5 billion soft loan to Proton to pay vendors for components supplied, there is no reason why it cannot continue with the Bursary Graduate Programme after this year.

The bright students are the nation’s invaluable assets and it will be myopic for the government and the PSD to target them in the ongoing cost saving exercise.

I, therefore, call on the Cabinet to review the PSD’s decision not to offer any more Bursary Graduate Programme from next year onward.