Group praises PM, criticises student for not following 'etiquette of asking questions'

A group that claims to champion progressive education in Malaysia has criticised the young student whose recent question on meritocracy during a dialogue with Anwar Ibrahim saw the prime minister trying to stop her from explaining further.

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia, or PAGE, which has described itself as an education watchdog "representing the voice of parents", said the student should have kept her question brief, while also defending Anwar's response.

"The etiquette of asking questions should be followed; the question should be concise; there's no need for commentary that takes a long time before reaching its meaning," the group's chairman Noor Azimah Abd Rahim said when contacted for a response on the incident by MalaysiaNow.

She also seems to disagree with criticism thrown at Anwar over the way he handled the question when he was seen interrupting her several times, despite her earlier request that she be given some time to explain why she had touched on a topic that is deemed sensitive.

"It seems that the PM doesn't mean to lose patience and feel sorry for this student," Azimah added.

The female student of Indian background was among the audience members who attended a session with the prime minister at Kolej Matrikulasi Pulau Pinang in Kepala Batas on Aug 5, part of Anwar's series of engagements with young voters ahead of critical state elections this week.

During the question and answer session, the student asked if the government would abolish the quota system favouring the Bumiputeras in favour of one based on meritocracy instead.

The student also asked to be given some time to explain so that she would not be misinterpreted.

"Before I ask my question, I would like to say that I'd like to take one to two minutes to ask my question and also give some explanation for that, so that it won't be misinterpreted."

Anwar nevertheless stopped her several times as she tried to explain her question, stammering at one point.

The incident triggered a wave of sympathy for the student, with many criticising Anwar for not giving her a chance to explain.

Anwar was also panned for giving a political answer to her question by saying that his government would lose all elections if it did away with the quota system favouring Bumiputera students.

At one point, he even suggested that the student did not care about poor Malays, while stopping her attempts to deny his claim.

Azimah, who is a strong advocate of the Dual Language Programme, which allows students the option to use English for Science and Mathematics, however, supported Anwar's stand on not implementing meritocracy.

"We're of the view that the PM has given an honest and fair answer, so that we can reflect and think about the fairness of meritocracy for those below who need more opportunities," she added.

In 2013, Azimah was among those who criticised racial consideration in public university enrolment, following a controversy sparked by the allocation of seats to students that year.

It was revealed then that only 19% of places were awarded to Chinese and 4% to Indian students, while some with the highest exam scores failed to gain a place on their preferred course.

The revelation prompted Barisan Nasional's partner, MIC, to describe the situation as "the most unfair and biased public university intake in the history of Malaysia".

The Indian-based party also said some 3,000 Indians should have been given places at public universities, but only half of them were enrolled.

Azimah had then called for meristocracy.

"What's important is that meritocracy has to take precedence because hard work has to be rewarded. Students with a (CGPA of) 4.0 should be able to get what they want; it is a perfect score.

"Something definitely has to be done about this," she was reported as saying.