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Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Don't internationalise public varsities at cost of local students, says Wee
MCA president Wee Ka Siong told the Dewan Rakyat this week that more students from China are gaining admission into public universities than Malaysians because they can afford it. PETALING JAYA : The 'internationalisation' of public universities must never come at the cost of equal access for local students, MCA president Wee Ka Siong said. This comes after DAP MP Howard Lee urged Wee to apologise for claiming that an influx of students from China was limiting opportunities for local students to enter Malaysian public universities. Lee had accused the Ayer Hitam MP of trying to portray himself as a hero for the Malaysian Chinese community. Responding to Lee's remarks, Wee said the core of the issue was not race, but 'access, equity, fairness and accountability'. 'I have openly expressed my support for internationalisation. It is vital for Malaysia's higher education sector to be globally competitive. 'However, internationalisation must be done with clear policy direction and a principled framework that distinguishes between postgraduate-level international recruitment versus first-degree enrolments. 'Without such clarity, we risk sending mixed signals to our citizens and the international community,' he said. Wee had claimed in the Dewan Rakyat earlier that more students from China were gaining admission into public universities than Malaysians because the Chinese could afford it. He told Lee it was not fair that tax-paying Malaysians whose children aspire to enter public universities now face dwindling opportunities while universities 'expand revenue-generating international intakes through non-transparent mechanisms'. MCA had also recently called for a suspension of Universiti Malaya's MBBS intake for the 2025/2026 session until the higher education ministry reviews its admissions mechanism. A position paper launched by Wee said the apparent selectiveness in UM's student admissions raised questions about meritocracy in the process. The party said the availability of the two parallel channels reinforced inequality as lower-income students could only apply through UPU, while those with funds could afford Saluran Terbuka Universiti Malaya's (Satu) higher open channel fees. 'Is it fair that universities commercialise the open channel intake to fellow Malaysians with extremely high tuition fees – RM400,000 to RM500,000 versus RM15,000 to RM200,000 for a five-year MBBS course? 'When we raise these questions, the right response is not to deny, deflect or demonise, but to reform,' said Wee. Yesterday, higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir denied allegations that an influx of students from China was limiting opportunities for local students to enter public universities. He said the government has never sacrificed local student quotas to make room for international students for the sake of greater profits.
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Local councils owe SWCorp nearly RM500mil for cleaning services, says MP
DAP MP Howard Lee said the debts stem from a 2011 arrangement under which the federal government took over waste services in several states. KUALA LUMPUR : Local councils owe nearly half a billion ringgit to Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) for rubbish collection and street cleaning services, according to Howard Lee (PH-Ipoh Timur). Lee said RM493 million in unpaid waste management fees is owed to SWCorp, a federal agency under the housing and local government ministry that manages domestic rubbish collection and public cleaning in states that have adopted the national waste system. Presently, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Kedah and Perlis have signed on with SWCorp. 'Rubbish has been picked up, the streets cleaned but the money never came,' he told the Dewan Rakyat in debating the 13th Malaysia Plan. Lee, who sits on SWCorp's board, said the debts stem from a 2011 arrangement under which the federal government took over waste services in several states. He said local councils were expected to make yearly contributions into a fund managed by SWCorp, but their failure to pay is now hurting payments to waste contractors. He urged the federal government to instruct local councils to raise their monthly instalments to slowly pay off the arrears. As for those who still couldn't afford it, Lee suggested that their respective state governments step in to help. He also suggested that Putrajaya should allow struggling councils to apply for soft loans, sell physical assets to raise money, and start budgeting repayments in full as part of their 2026 budgets. This year alone, the federal government had stepped in to assist, giving out RM8 million in grants to eight councils to help with repayments. Lee said to ensure full compliance, the ministry should impose penalties on councils that refuse to pay up. Strict licensing rules limiting trained eldercare workers Lee also raised concerns about the country's preparedness to care for its growing elderly population, noting that strict licensing rules have made it difficult for care centres to accept student trainees from the national skills training programme. He added that many centres lack the necessary licences from welfare or health authorities, contributing to a shortage of trained eldercare workers. To address this, Lee proposed that the government allow these centres to accept interns without requiring full licences, provided they meet minimum standards set by a professional care group. 'We have so many elderly people waiting to have their diapers changed, but we're stuck with the issue of licensing. 'It doesn't match the urgency on the ground,' he said.
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Local councils owe SWCorp RM493mil in fees
KUALA LUMPUR: Local councils have yet to pay RM493 million owed to the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) for rubbish collection and street cleaning services already carried out. Ipoh Timur member of parliament Howard Lee said the arrears have built up over the years and are now affecting SWCorp's ability to pay its contractors. He told the Dewan Rakyat that the debts stem from a 2011 agreement, under which the federal government took over domestic waste management in several states. Under the deal, local councils were required to make annual payments into a federal fund managed by SWCorp. "Rubbish has been picked up, the streets cleaned, but the money never came," he said during the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan. States currently under the national waste management system include Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Kedah and Perlis. Lee, who sits on SWCorp's board, urged the federal government to compel councils to raise their monthly repayments and begin clearing their debts. For councils unable to afford repayments, he proposed intervention by their respective state governments. He also suggested options such as soft loans, asset sales, or making full repayment part of their 2026 budgets. Lee said the federal government had already stepped in this year with RM8 million in grants to assist eight local councils with repayments. To ensure accountability, he called on the Housing and Local Government Ministry to impose penalties on councils that continue to default.
