Parents like Marina’s now worry for children’s future; STU calls for immediate solution
KUCHING: Marina Undau is not alone. Apparently, there are many students in Sarawak suffering the same fate as her.Yesterday, several parents contacted The Borneo Post to thank Marina for speaking up for them and of the heartache they now endure after learning that their children are not Bumiputera.
One of them is a teacher here, who wants to be known only as James. Like Marina, James’s daughter, Lymie, was also rejected after applying for matriculation this year.
James is an Iban-Bidayuh from Serian while his wife is a Chinese-Iban from Kuching.
“My daughter from SMK Kuching Town No. 1 also scored 9As and 1B in her SPM but she was rejected when she applied for matriculation. I asked her to appeal to the Education Ministry online. The appeal failed,” he said.
“I contacted the matriculation section of the Education Ministry after that and their explanation was that my daughter is not a Bumiputera. I was puzzled because as far as I know, if the father is Bumiputera, the children are also Bumiputera,” he said.
He said he had recently written another appeal letter to the Education Department with the help of two elected representatives whom he declined to name.
“A few months ago I also went to an education fair. I stopped by a matriculation programme booth opened by the Education Ministry to ask one of the people there on the criteria of enrolling into the programme.
“I explained to them my daughter’s status but they said she is considered a non-Bumiputera and is not qualified to enrol. I asked them why and they replied it is according to Sarawak law. They even explained to me other local higher learning institutions like UiTM also implement this criterion,” said James.
“My daughter is now in Form Six in SMK Kuching Town No. 2. My concern is what would be in store for her after Form Six?”
He urged the state ministers to look into the matter because there could be more parents and students facing the same problem.
“My brother-in-law also faced a similar problem with his daughter who tried to enrol at UiTM. He, a Bidayuh, is married to my wife’s sister who is a Chinese-Iban,” James said.
Another father who wants to be known only as Lambros, a Bidayuh-Iban with a Chinese-Iban wife, said his daughter also had excellent SPM results but failed to enrol at UiTM for the same reason.
“I have to put my daughter into a private college for now. I am concerned over my four other kids who are still schooling. What does the future hold for them?” he said.
Some more parents called in to express their concern as well as support for Marina and all those children in a similar predicament.
They said many Sarawakian native children who are excellent in their studies have been bogged down by this issue which is preventing them from utilising their full potential.
When Marina’s application was rejected, her father Undau Liap had contacted the Education Ministry’s matriculation department in Putrajaya on June 23 and was told that his daughter is not a ‘Bumiputera’.
source: Borneo post online
nampak nya ada lagi yang tak paham istilah *bumiputera kat sarawak*......
