KOTA KINABALU: There should be a prerequisite for subsidies for fees to public universities because those from well-to-do families also enjoy the benefit, claims a Sabah leader.
Kuamat assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah said these subsidies should be for the needy, but it seems that recipients are also from influential and rich families.
Adding that the Higher Education Ministry should seriously look into this matter, he said the phenomenon is very unfair to those who are needy.
“It is very unfair that the children of businessmen, political leaders and high-ranking civil servants get the subsidy,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 3).
"Subsidy or scholarship offers should have a clear framework and a selection process, where deserving groups need to be helped to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor,” said Masiung, who is also Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah vice-president.
He alleged that many of these recipients secured the aid because of their parents’ social and economic backgrounds, while those who genuinely deserve the subsidies are not prioritised, leaving out many deserving students from B40 families.
Hence, it was imperative that the state and federal governments create a new framework for the subsidy to be presented in the Cabinet, said Masiung, adding that this was so that the people would see the government of today as being fair to the poor.
He said the bulk of tuition fee subsidies borne by the government were for bachelor’s and diploma level courses at public universities.
Giving an example, he said the tuition fee for Bachelor of Software Engineering at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia costs RM88,152 for a four-year study period, but through the subsidy, students only have to pay RM7,520.
The subsidy covers all students entering the 2024/2025 academic year, including those from high-income families, he said.
Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Budget 2025 will look at cutting such subsidies for well-off families to ensure that only the truly deserving get aid.
