Behaving as the righteous high priest of diversity, he said Malaysia affirms that higher education must enable people from diverse backgrounds to learn with and from each other and that Malaysia remains committed to the principles that give education its purpose and reach.

“Malaysia will continue to support inclusive education and stand with institutions and communities affected by measures that limit access and weaken diversity. We also affirm the belief that higher education must enable people from different backgrounds to learn with and from one another.

“Our universities reflect this commitment through policies and partnerships prioritising access, collaboration, and respect. These choices express our values and shape the future we seek to build,” he declared.

It is quite a mouthful to refer to the US President Donald Trump’s administration’s decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students.

But has Zambry looked in his backyard? The maxim “people living in glass houses should not throw stones” appropriately describes his “lecture” on education and the related systems.

Far too many cases have involved deserving students being denied entry or not given the choice of their degree in public universities. These “rejected” students went elsewhere, found fame and glory in their respective field for their “new” country and provided it with expertise and skills.

Readers may recall M Nahvin’s acceptance speech when he received the Royal Education Award from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) with a bachelor’s degree in computer science (artificial intelligence).

He recalled how he was accepted into a matriculation course while his equally qualified friend was not.

“He felt defeated as if it was the end of his life. He became lonely and depressed because he thought he was not good enough.

“When I entered matriculation, I felt surprised because there were students who had grades that were similar (as my friend) but even lower than his,” he recalled.

“Meritocracy is the only way to see a united and fair future for Malaysia. I have worked so hard to be here (and) to represent the voice of minorities that are often silenced,” he said.

Is UiTM diverse?

But did anyone pay attention to his plea? It was summarily dismissed, and there was hardly a squeak from the powers-that-be. Similar issues are raised periodically and given the same treatment. Just last week, the issue of places in matriculation courses made headlines.

Understandably, the affirmative policy requires sacrificing meritocracy, but depriving a deserving student is not commensurate with Zambry’s claim of “giving education its purpose and reach.”

I am not calling for the current system to be abolished, but it must be fine-tuned to accommodate all deserving students.

Mr Minister, how do students from diverse backgrounds learn with and from each other when public universities, funded by Malaysians of all races, are restricted to one race?

Last year, a proposal by Professor Raja Amin Raja Mokhtar – who is on the Board of Studies of the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM)-IJN (National Heart Centre) cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme – to “temporarily” open up the programme to non-bumiputera as a solution to the Malaysian Medical Council’s (MMC) non-recognition of Malaysia’s cardiothoracic surgery parallel pathway with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) was met with protests.

Even after Raja Amin explained that opening up the cardiothoracic surgery programme to non-bumiputera was only for a limited period, the UiTM student union launched a campaign to protest the proposed move, which only involves the cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme.

“The objective of the formation of UiTM was to protect the special position of the Malays, Orang Asli, and natives of Sabah and Sarawak to ensure that lower-income bumiputera students have access to higher education under the constitution,” the union said in a statement.

Constitution allows for diversity

However, in an immediate response, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said that citing the Federal Constitution as the reason to exclude non-bumiputera students is wrong.

LFL director Zaid Malek said that Article 153 in the Federal Constitution had been repeatedly and wrongly cited to defend the racial exclusivity of UiTM, and any argument that states that enrolling non-bumiputera students into UiTM is unconstitutional is false.

“There is absolutely nothing in Article 153 of the Constitution that prevents or prohibits the admission of non-bumiputera to any public institution, including UiTM,’ he said.

Such an arrangement for the doctors would have addressed the nation’s ongoing shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons.

But all these well-argued presentations of facts were ignored. In June last year, Zambry told Parliament that UiTM will remain a higher learning institution for Malays, bumiputera, and the Orang Asli.

He said such a policy is still needed to realise the government’s aspiration to bridge the gap between races, especially in socio-economic aspects.

He reiterated the same mantra at the Umno General Assembly last June, saying that Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had also reiterated this matter.

“One of our significant struggles as ministers from Umno is to defend the Mara institution, which is linked to UiTM.”

So, what was Zambry’s latest statement all about? Perhaps a footnote in some obscure document could denote Malaysia’s views on the Harvard issue or tell the uninformed about Malaysia’s bravado of “standing up to Trump and the US”?

It is an incongruity and a misnomer to claim that Malaysia supports “institutions and communities affected by measures that limit access.” What about such institutions under his purview?

For political expediency and survival, even talking about “equal opportunities” to the masses is suicide. The large vote banks nationwide will ensure that he and his party will not get their votes.