Image credit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/hundreds-march-in-anti-ptptn-protest/
Picture by Jack Ooi
Close to five hundred university students marched across the city center this afternoon, calling for free tertiary education and an end to BN rule. Students chanted “Fight UMNO-BN! Rosmah is rich, the people are poor!” – referring to the prime minister’s wife who is popularly believed to be living it up. Her ostentatious lifestyle is already envied by many.
If we can lavish money on building white elephants (e.g. Putrajaya) and giving money away to win votes (Think RM200 book vouchers; BRIM or 1Malaysia People’s Aid, etc), then why won’t we spend money on our university students? I agree that the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) which has saddled thousands of students with debts should be abolished and their slates wiped clean. I agree with the students’ demand that there should be free tertiary education. Haven’t our ministers been always harping on the importance of human capital development? Prove it by annulling PTPTN and students everywhere will really appreciate this gesture!
PR has claimed that it would only cost RM25 billion to remove this albatross under PTPTN. The Najib administration disputed this calculation, saying that PR’s plan to end the federal loan scheme will cost RM43.6 billion and bankrupt the nation. [PR had countered, insisting that the figure quoted by the government represented all approved loans and not the real amount disbursed].
Whatever the figure, it would be great if we can release students from the said encumbrance. Life today is already challenging enough as it is – they don’t need to go out into the big, bad world with IOUs in their pockets. The bottom line is that education from primary to university level should be free.
If we can lavish money on building white elephants (e.g. Putrajaya) and giving money away to win votes (Think RM200 book vouchers; BRIM or 1Malaysia People’s Aid, etc), then why won’t we spend money on our university students? I agree that the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) which has saddled thousands of students with debts should be abolished and their slates wiped clean. I agree with the students’ demand that there should be free tertiary education. Haven’t our ministers been always harping on the importance of human capital development? Prove it by annulling PTPTN and students everywhere will really appreciate this gesture!
PR has claimed that it would only cost RM25 billion to remove this albatross under PTPTN. The Najib administration disputed this calculation, saying that PR’s plan to end the federal loan scheme will cost RM43.6 billion and bankrupt the nation. [PR had countered, insisting that the figure quoted by the government represented all approved loans and not the real amount disbursed].
Whatever the figure, it would be great if we can release students from the said encumbrance. Life today is already challenging enough as it is – they don’t need to go out into the big, bad world with IOUs in their pockets. The bottom line is that education from primary to university level should be free.
The Reds secured the FA Cup final spot when they beat Everton 2-1, thanks to a Luis Suarez strike (62) and an Andy Carroll header (87). The Toffees actually opened the scoring when Nikica Jelavic slotted the ball past Brad Jones in the 24th minute but Liverpool prevailed and in the end, they triumphed.
And last evening, I went to Petaling Utama to attend the IME Toastmasters meeting and where I was instantly persuaded to take on the Grammarian role. Although the meeting started a wee bit late, members made up for the lost time and did actually finish according to schedule. Even though this is an in-house club, members did try hard to make the meeting fun and I certainly believe that they had succeeded. Besides the speeches and evaluations were more than decent and I am glad this club continues to flourish. A score of a 7 out of a 10.
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