SLAI or SLY?

A popular Malaysian blogger, Ong Kian Ming (soon to be Dr. Ong Kian Ming) who writes regularly for Malaysiakini and educationmalaysia.blogspot.com enquired about the SLAB/SLAI programs. This was my reply to him, which i will share with you all.

SLAB/SLAI: A World Of A Difference


Dear Kian Ming,

Sorry for the late reply.

The link that you attached was not accessible.

Nevertheless, the SLAI program is something recent. UM did not have such a program, at least not when I left UM in 2005. In theory, the SLAI and SLAB programs are both equal and identical.

In practice however, there are marked differences between the two.

A reasonable analogy will be like how the Ministry of Higher Education claims to practise meritocracy in theory but puts in place a very devious mechanism to ensure the continued dominance of the bumiputra Malays.

By its name, it may appear that SLAB is a program that caters to all bumiputras – both Muslims and non-Muslims, Malay and non-Malay bumiputras. A close friend of mine, a Kadazan bumiputra once met up with a senior professor of Universiti Malaya to enquire about her eligibility for the SLAB program and how she can go about applying for the scheme. The senior professor of Public Health, who was also the then Deputy Dean of the Medical Faculty gave a very nebulous answer but essentially told this friend of mine that non-Muslim bumiputras are basically not eligible for the trainee lecturers’ program. I was there personally so my eye-witness account is essentially all I can offer you as solid evidence that the SLAB program itself is a mere smokescreen to ensure Malay supremacy among the academic ranks.

The SLAI program is really something else. It stands for Skim Latihan Akademic IPTA (Institut Pengajian Tinggi Awam). There are no ethnic criteria attached to it but in view that the bumiputras already have SLAB to cater to them, you are very correct to assume that SLAI is therefore in existence to cater for the non-bumiputras.

If at all the SLAI and SLAB programs can ever be comparable to each other, I can only say that both does not emphasize on meritocracy. The few non-bumiputras I know who are currently in the SLAI program were not among the top students in their classes. Apart from that, the terms and conditions after one successfully completes one’s studies under the SLAB/SLAI programs are similar.

This is perhaps where their similarity ends. On closer scrutiny , one can see great discriminative practices between the two programs.

I am only covering the medical fraternity as I do not want to make any misleading statements that may not be true for other fields of knowledge.

For starters, the SLAI program for non-bumiputras or rather non-Malays, are open to all specialties in theory but greatly constrictive in practice. Competitive disciplines and specialties in high demand are very much closed to non-Malays. These include opthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, orthopaedics, general surgery, anaesthesiology, radiology, obstetrics and gynaecology. Non-Malays keen to pursue SLAI training will have to contend with non-clinical fields like the basic sciences (physiology, biochemistry, anatomy), public health, or less competitive clinical disciplines like internal medicine. This is in stark contrast to the overwhelming presence of bumiputra Malays in the SLAB programs for the aforementioned hugely popular surgical disciplines.

The number of successful SLAI candidates pale in comparison to the number of SLAB trainees. If you are interested, you can view the individual departments’ academic staff and compare the number of SLAB to SLAI lecturers currently in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. This is the link. Assuming the website is updated (it is not!), there are only three non-bumis currently pursuing an academic program under SLAI. The ratio of SLAI:SLAB candidates is therefore easily 1:10. As such, I can’t see how anyone can portray the SLAI program as equal and equivalent to SLAB.

The process of applying for SLAI is also more rigid and stringent. Conversely, there have been many instances where the bumiputra doctors who never even applied for a SLAB placement were simply given an offer to pursue SLAB. More often than not in fact, the bumiputra Malays are given the luxury to take their pick from a few disciplines. One Malay colleague of mine wsa invited to choose between internal medicine, orthopaedics and obstetrics and gynaecology! Such privileges are of course not accorded to the SLAI candidates, who must decide on what they want to pursue when applying for the training program.

As with most other government schemes in Malaysia, the process of entering these academic programs is littered with political elements. Once again, I’m using Universiti Malaya as an example. There is an uncanny overwhelming presence of royalties among the SLAB lecturers and trainee lecturers. We can see this clearly in the departments of orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology and ophthalmology. The number of academics with preceding Tengku-s is really a cause for suspicion. In addition, there is a great element of family business as well. The daughter and son-in-law of UM’s ex-vice chancellor, Professor Annuar Zaini are both in the SLAB programs of paediatrics and general surgery respectively. As far as the academic records are concerned, they were both merely average students while they were pursuing their basic degrees in UM. A father and daughter team is also currently in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. There is nothing improper about any father-daughter team except for the fact that the Professor himself was also the person who processed his daughter's application papers. It is not unlike the corrupt practices of late Zakaria Mat Deros. Sons and daughters of Datuks and other UMNO cronies are also abundant in the SLAB program. The SLAB program is thus one that is lacking in transparency.

I am not sure if there is any solid method to substantiate these allegations except through my personal daily observations and ground knowledge.

A great number of SLAB graduates are currently holding influential positions within the faculty. Generally, their privileges extend beyond the completion of the SLAB program. Some have been promoted to head of departments and professorships, bypassing more experienced and competent lecturers. Most of these SLAB graduates went on to pursue further training overseas on a university scholarship, at the expense of other non-bumi lecturers that joined the academic ranks by merit. This is also the major factor behind the resignation of many non-Malay academics from the university. It remains to be seen whether the privileges of further training and education will be accorded to the SLAI candidates.

My personal opinion about the SLAI program is that it is in reality a sly move by the Higher Education Ministry to appear meritocratic while resuming their racist means of managing Malaysian tertiary education.

I hope I have shed some light on your enquiries about the SLAB/SLAI programs.

Regards.