Media Statement by Loke Siew Fook in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 19^th May 2009:

Who is really taking the racial approach in dealing with the scholarshipissue? Isn’t it Khairy himself?

DAPSY is surprised and perplexed by BN Youth and UMNO Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s statement that the racial angle should not be taken in handling the PSD scholarship rejection issue. Khairy has also used a possible case of a Malay top scorer being denied the PSD overseas scholarship as an example to prove a point that the issue affects top scorers of all races.

I wonder, to whom is Khairy’s plea directed? Many wakil rakyat, organizations, and commentators, as well as DAPSY leaders, have made their points regarding the issue of SPM top scorers being denied PSD overseas scholarships. None of us has included race in our arguments.

Those who have spoken up on this issue are doing it on behalf of the bright students in search of justice and proper responses from the authorities. We are basing our arguments on their excellent academic achievements, not on their racial backgrounds.

As of now, the one person that has emphasized race when commenting on this issue is Khairy himself.

The top scorers who are yearning for fair treatment are all bright young Malaysians, and they must not be divided according to race. When Khairy is urging people to discard the racial angle, he himself is using it to make an example to support his statement. This not only shows that he is a hypocrite; it also proves that Khairy is trapped the racial mindset that has plagued efforts of nation building in Malaysia.

* Loke Siew Fook, DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) National Chairman & MP for Rasah