Is the Education Ministry’s directive to private colleges and institutions to cancel joint venture twinning programmes with British institutions covered by the Cabinet boycott against Britain?

by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Tuesday, March 1, 1994:

Is the Education Ministry’s directive to private colleges and institutions to cancel joint venture twinning programmes with British institutions covered by the Cabinet boycott against Britain?

The Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Rafidah Aziz, said yesterday that Malaysia has not imposed trade sanctions on Britain. She said the decision is to bar British companies from future government contracts only, but the private sector can still continue their dealings in the open market.

If this is the case, why has the Deputy Education Minister, Dr. Fong Chan Onn, said in Malacca yesterday that all private colleges should look for non-British partners for future academic co-operation.

He said the Government expected private colleges to cancel all proposed programmes to set up joint ventures on twin¬ning arrangements with British institutions.

Is the Deputy Education Minister’s directive to private colleges and institutions to cancel all new joint venture programmes on twinning arrangements with British institutions covered by the Cabinet boycott against Britain?

Yesterday, the MARA Chairman, Datuk Nazri Aziz, said that MARA would look for alternative places for its sponsored students who are to have furthered their studies in Britain.

Last November, when Malaysia and Australia relations soured because of the offensive remark by the Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating against the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, Nazri also announced that MARA would stop sending its sponsored students to Australia.

Is this going to be the trend of things to come, with MARA pulling out its students from one country after another?

Isn’t it’ more advisable to ensure that all MARA spon¬sored students pursue their studies locally, instead of sending them overseas – which would should reduce MARA expenditures as well as effect savings for the country’s foreign exchange.