Article 153 of the Federal Constitution does not bar opening UiTM to non-Bumiputera
The multitude of statements that have come up from various quarters on this issue has misunderstood and twisted the meaning of article 153 of the Constitution and its relation to UiTM.
Zaid Malek, Lawyers for Liberty
We refer to the statement by Bersatu Youth that states that opening UiTM to non-bumiputera violates article 153 of the Federal Constitution, as well as protests by UiTM students on this.
This statement from Bersatu Youth was issued in support of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students protesting against a proposal to temporarily allow non-bumiputera to enrol in the cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme. This has also prompted a statement from the Minister of Higher Education, Zambry Abdul Kadir, who states that the matter has not been discussed or approved by his ministry, which stands firm on emphasizing UiTM’s establishment under article 153 of the Federal Constitution.
The multitude of statements that have come up from various quarters on this issue has misunderstood and twisted the meaning of article 153 of the Constitution and its relation to UiTM.
This is hardly surprising as successive governments and political leaders since the early 70s have consistently misinterpreted and abused the application of Art 153 for political gain at the expense of national unity. This has led to disadvantages for non-Bumiputera which is not envisaged by article 153.
Article 153(2) allows the King to determine a reasonable proportion of educational privileges for the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. But article 153(1), states clearly that the legitimate interests of other communities must be safeguarded when utilising said provision.
As such, there is certainly nothing within article 153 that would make it unconstitutional to allow non-bumiputera to enrol in any of UiTM courses. The usage of the term ‘reasonable proportion’ would mean that if the YDPA were to determine that it is necessary to apportion a certain quota of non-Malays to enrol into any of UiTM’s programme, then it would be entirely in compliance with article 153 of the Constitution.
It is also important to note that the determination of the reasonable proportion of quota for educational purposes under article 153(2) is subject to the provisions of article 40, which means that the YDPA is bound by the advice of the Cabinet on the matter. The power ultimately lies with the government to decide. I say this clearly, because of the recent trend of government leaders attempting to shift responsibility for their acts to the constitutional monarch.
The proposal to open up UiTM’s cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme comes from an acute shortage of the requisite number of cardiothoracic surgeons to serve the Malaysian public. This consideration is not in violation of article 153 and it is an affront of the Constitution to suggest otherwise.
We thus urge government not to buckle and simply accede to calls by overzealous ethnonationalists who ignore the dire state of our healthcare system. UiTM is ultimately a public university funded by Malaysian taxpayers and should be utilised to ensure that the healthcare system of our country does not deteriorate any further. The availability of surgeons could mean the difference between life and death to the public, whether they are non-Bumiputera or Bumiputera. The political system makes differences between bumi and non-bumi, but disease does not.
Zaid Malek
Director
Lawyers for Liberty
