KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 30:
Sarawak’s outspoken Land Development Minister, Tan Sri Dr James Masing
condemned Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) officers for asking non-Muslim
candidates to answer Islamic-based questions as part of their
scholarship interview.
“They should not have asked
Muslim-based questions. The asking of questions on Islamic matters to
non-Muslims is plain wrong. What relevance are these questions when
applying for a higher learning scholarship? They cannot assume that the
candidates know the answer.
“The Mara officers must
understand that there are many natives in Sarawak and that Muslims are a
minority here. What if the candidate can’t answer the questions? Will
he be disqualified,” Masing told The Borneo Post yesterday.
The minister was commenting on
an incident that happened last Saturday, where Straight As student,
Nigel Unchat Jeremaiah, claimed that he had participated in an ‘open
question-and-answer session’ which touched on Islamic religious
subjects.
According to Nigel, candidates
were asked on Islamic matters such as their understanding and opinion
on the Hudud law, ‘rukun Solat’ and ‘adat menziarah jenazah’ among
others, reported The Borneo Post.
Candidates were also asked to name some of the Muslim prophets.
The interview, where
candidates were divided in groups of 10, was conducted at Maktab Rendah
Sains Mara in Semariang near here. It was conducted in three sessions
involving group discussion, question-and-answer, and group activity.
The former SMK Batu Lintang
student was applying for the Indigenous People’s Trust Council (Mara)
scholarship to pursue a Mechanical Engineering programme at Kolej Mara
Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.
Masing suggested that the
interviewing officer could have asked about the candidates’ opinion or
general idea of the government, the concept of 1Malaysia and other
subjects which are more appropriate.
He added that the said officers should be qualified enough to ask relevant and appropriate questions.
He said such questions somehow suggested that it could have been raised to disqualify non-Muslim candidates.
“The questions were irrelevant
to begin with as if the officers were religious bigots. Just because
Malaysia is a Muslim country, doesn’t mean the whole nation knows about
Islamic teachings. I do not want this incident to happen again,
especially in Sarawak,” Masing said.
Nigel meanwhile alleged that
one of the interviewers approached him after realising he did not answer
any of the questions posed. After being told that he was a Christian,
the officer then asked him on his opinion of the Hudud law.
“In our group, there was
another non-Muslim female candidate. We were both facing the same
predicament. She was then asked on her opinion about collapsed marriage
and family institution.
“It’s not that we do not want
to participate in the question-and-answer session but we do not know
what to answer. I am worried that our silence during the session could
cost us our application.”
He added that in the group
discussion and activity sessions, candidates were tested on their
problem solving skills and IQ. Based on the Mara website, successful
candidates will be notified from May 8.
Nigel is third of five
siblings. His elder siblings are currently studying at Universiti
Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Unimas. He achieved 9As in his Sijil Pelajaran
Malaysia (SPM) examination last year.
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