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Datuk Willie Mongin
KUCHING (Dec 21): The Sarawak Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES) was never designed as a blanket subsidy for all tertiary education pathways, said Puncak Borneo MP Datuk Willie Mongin.
The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Supreme Council Member said Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s recent statement, calling for free tertiary education for all Sarawakian undergraduates, conflates equity with uniformity.
“Chong’s statement overlooks the constitutional, financial and policy rationale behind the FTES, which is a strategic state policy aimed at strengthening Sarawak’s own higher education ecosystem by investing in state-owned universities, over which the Sarawak government has governance, accountability and long-term development responsibility.
“Supporting Swinburne, Curtin, UTS and i-CATS is not discrimination, it is state capacity building,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
Willie reminded all that public universities such as Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia fall squarely under federal jurisdiction.
He said their tuition fees are already heavily or around 90 per cent subsidised by the federal government, using national funds contributed by all Malaysians.
“To now demand Sarawak to additionally absorb the remaining balance effectively means double funding by the state, which is neither fiscally prudent nor constitutionally intended.
“If Chong believes further assistance is required, the appropriate avenue is to lobby the federal government, not shift responsibility to the state,” he added.
According to Willie, private universities, especially overseas institutions, are market-based choices with highly variable fees.
As such, expecting Sarawak taxpayers to subsidise half or more of private and foreign tuition costs would be financially unsustainable and inequitable to lower-income families whose children remain within public or state institutions, he said.
He further pointed out that no state government anywhere can responsibly underwrite unlimited private education choices.
“The claim that ‘the majority of Sarawakian students are left out’ ignores the reality that Sarawak already provides multiple forms of assistance beyond FTES, including targeted aid, scholarships and B40-specific support schemes,” he said.
He was quick to add that FTES is one pillar, not the entire education support framework.
Calling Chong’s ‘no Sarawakian should be left behind’ a repeated slogan, he said this line must be interpreted within policy logic and fiscal reality, not political rhetoric.
Willie said inclusion does not mean identical treatment regardless of jurisdiction, cost structure or governance responsibility.
In fact, he said the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government should be commended for stepping in voluntarily, despite education being a federal matter, by providing free tertiary education within Sarawak-owned institutions.
“Gratitude is warranted, not politicisation,” he added.
If Chong is sincere about helping Sarawakian students in federal and private universities, he said the DAP leader should press the federal government to expand its funding and subsidies, instead of mischaracterising a state initiative that was never meant to replace federal responsibility.
On Saturday, Chong lauded FTES as a good initiative but urged the state government to ensure that the scheme benefit all Sarawakian undergraduates instead of only those pursuing studies at state-owned universities.
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