Inter-generational upward mobility
The distribution of higher-education opportunity within the Bumiputera population - specifically, the extent to which disadvantaged households benefit and attain inter-generational upward mobility - has been consistently, albeit rather ambiguously, interwoven with affirmative action in Malaysia. The integration of socio-economic background into the selection of policy beneficiaries has not followed clearly articulated and officially sanctioned policy. Certain programmes (notably, residential schools and micro and small business support) target rural and/or low-income households, but there is no cited official policy document stipulating these criteria. Likewise, empirical inquiry into the income or class profile of affirmative action beneficiaries is quite scant. However, two substantial policy interventions provide reference points for tracing out policy practices across time: MARA Junior Science College (MRSM) enrolment, and university' scholarships and admissions.
MRSMs are highly pertinent because these residential colleges were formally designated to serve poor households, especially rural residents. They have also been recurrently faulted for deviating from this initial mission. In the mid-1970s, children of urban middle class households reportedly constituted 63% of the MRSM student body (Selvaratnam 1988, 191). The perception that middleclass and privileged Malays have taken disproportionately large share of spaces in MRSMs has persisted, albeit more anecdotal accounts than empirical evidence. Mounting attention to the B40 in recent years has come to bear on the award of MRSM places. In the 2010s, admissions decisions gave priority’ to excelling students from low-income families and rural residents, without a specified quota.13 The PH government intensified this B40 emphasis, setting a 65% target for MRSM enrolment in 2018. This was duly met, with the share of B40 students among the 11,000 newly enrolled - 6,600 entering at secondary school form one (year 7) and 4,500 entering at form four (year 10) - rising from 44% in 2018 to 68% in 2019. The share of the M40 and T20 in 2018 were evenly split at 28% apiece.14
This pattern likely ensues from merit-based selection, in which T20 candidates are advantaged and thus over-represented, but it also mirrors another problem of the M40 potentially being squeezed out. On the class-based distribution of government scholarships, research has found that the allocation of university scholarships lacked outreach to the poor. Mehmet and Yip’s (1985) widely cited survey, conducted at the 1982-1983 graduation ceremonies and capturing 45% of the five domestic universities’ graduating cohort, found the distribution of scholarships skewed towards children of high-income families in general, but more markedly among Malays. They found that, while families earning above MYRl,000 per month constituted 10.3% of the national population, 25.5% of scholarships were awarded to students in this category. Within the Malay community, this top income bracket constituted 4.9% of the population, but 22.9% of scholars.
Newer research is scarce, but it is safe to maintain that a substantial share of Bumiputera scholarships has continually accrued to middle- and upper-class households. Ball and Chik’s (2001) survey of Bumiputera scholars in the late 1990s offers some information - specifically of returnees from studies abroad. They characterize the distribution as following a “slightly regressive” pattern, with respect to family socio-economic status, household income and parents’
Affirmative action outcomes Malaysia 155 education. At the same time, a somewhat high 58% of scholars had fathers who only attained primary schooling, reflecting considerable inter-generational mobility. These findings are unsurprising, given the mass provision of secondary education and burgeoning access to tertiary education for lower-income households, although the study’s small sample size calls for circumspection.15 The class profile of government scholarships remains largely undisclosed in official documents and under-researched in more recent times. However, it is plausible that the distribution is not as upwardly skewed as older studies found, due to broadening access to secondary schooling, which has expanded the talent pool applying for scholarships, as well as increased options for other scholarships and self-financing for overseas university education among high-income households of all groups, including Bumiputeras.
Similarly, more recent reports on university' enrolment indicate considerable proportionality in the class profile of university enrolment. In 2010, 60% of public higher education graduates came from households with MYR2,000 or less income per month; 47% of counterparts in private institutions (Russayani et al. 2013). For reference, 33.4% of Malaysia’s households received monthly income below MYR2,000 (Malaysia 2010b). The University of Malaya disclosed that almost half- precisely 46% in May 2019 - of its undergraduate population are from the B40 segment and 12% from a “lowest income” category, with 32% from the M40 and 10% from the T20.16 Providing a rare insight to the interface of class and race, Khalid’s (2018) report of a social mobility study - based on respondents’ recollection of their parents’ socio-economic status - painted portraits of substantial inter-generational education mobility, measured in terms of the subsequent generation attaining a higher tier of education (among the three, primary/secondary/tertiary). This was obtained for all, with Bumiputera on par with Chinese, though Indian households slightly lagged. The study also noted the contribution of public scholarships, in that recipients, relative to nonrecipients, are four times more likely to attain tertiary education.
Tayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (YPPB), which specifically targets youth from challenging backgrounds for financial assistance and mentoring in technical and vocational programmes, merits a brief mention. In the first few years of its operations (2012-2016), YPPB helped 14,000 students get enrolled and disbursed MYR260 million in grants. Its mission and operational strengths warrant consideration for expansion and replication - for Bumiputera empowerment to more effectively facilitate inter-generational upward mobility - and for extension to a broader base, particularly the Indian community.
