PETALING JAYA: The needs of the nation must come first in the deliberation to open Universiti Teknologi Mara's (UiTM) cardiothoracic surgery programme to non-bumiputras, said Zaid Ibrahim.
In a post on X, the former law minister said there was no tangible reason not to allow non-bumiputra students into UiTM.
"There are no outstanding issues except for the perennial fear of opening UITM to non-bumiputras.
"The nation must come first.
"We are short of all kinds of medical specialists in public health. We are short of nurses," he wrote on Friday (May 3).
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He added that given the shortage of skilled medical professionals, educational institutions need to open up.
"Our doctors and nurses are going overseas in droves (and) the private sector is mopping up the rest.
"The welfare of our public health system is in danger and must take priority.
"Our educational institutions need to open up and take all qualified Malaysians to fill up the places," he added.
Zaid went on to explain that providing education opportunities to non-Malays would also benefit the country as a whole.
"UiTM was started to help bumiputras, this should continue.
"But today, we have to recognise that (letting) non-Malays into UITM is also assisting the bumiputras by solving the nation's problems," he said.
"The fear of having more non-Malays as doctors, nurses or lecturers (belongs in) the 1970s.
"We are now one country with more significant problems but have enough resources to serve every group.
"Do not continue to govern this country with the fear of the past," he said.
Zaid’s remarks were in response to Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir who had said various undisclosed underlying issues must be resolved before considering the proposal to admit non-bumiputra students into UiTM.
Without specifying the issues, Zambry said there had been no discussions or official communication on the matter yet.
