From: mhmann@nyx.cs.du.edu (Me Mann)
Subject: Re: scholarship: a joke ? ( was: UM )
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Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 23:37:51 GMT

In article <28777@life.ai.mit.edu> wslee@almond-frost.ai.mit.edu (Whay Sing Lee) writes:

>        People seem to have missed my point. What I am saying is
>merely "it is possible to get scholarships, if one puts in enough
>effort. period".  Nothing more, nothing less.  

IMHO, I don't think people missed your point but you did not
put your point across clearly enough. My first impression after
reading your first post in this thread was that there are lots
of scholarship for non-bumis and most if not all your buddies
got one. If you have address  the point carefully by saying that
it is hard to get one but if you try hard enough you may get
one then perhaps the story might have been different. The impression
you gave was it is easy to get a scholarship even a government 
scholarship by providing some examples and fueling the already
misleading notions that Othman Ahmad put forth.


>I am also not defending the NEP.  Neither am I saying that there are lots
>of scholarships available out there.   I am merely saying that there are some
>available. period.

Addressed above.

>the 4th attempt ... (that's 4 years of time).  As Mee Teng pointed out, it 
>is very very hard.  I don't expect everyone else to do the same as I did,
>but merely pointing that it is possible.

True, this you made clear only after several exchanges.


>BTW, I don't intend to accuse anybody of anything.  The fact that I am here on 
>scholarship, while some others are not, logically points to one of these 
>conclusions: 

[ .... preposterous reasons munched away by the cookie monster ..]
>
>It all depends on how you want look at things.
>

Put it this way, are you sure all those who responded to your
post are not on scholarship or financial aid? What others think
of you is what you have projected your self to be. Hence with a 
little caution in choosing your words you may be better perceived.

>For example, Kuok foundation (an agency supported by a chinese family)
>gave me a loan, and gave a friend (chinese) of mine a grant.  Using
>the criterium used so very often in s.c.a, ie. paper qualification,
>that friend was definitely "less deserving" than I was ... so what's
>the point, you may ask.  I think the following are the possibilities:
>

I hate to nitpick here but probably that grant is a much smaller sum
that your loan 8) so the comparison is futile.

>
>|> 4. Shall we just look at the above scholarships at the most a couple
>|> of thousands (try to be optimistics again !). ?
>|> 5. Have you ever asked yourself why are there so many bumis on
>|> scholarships in the local Unis ? Not to even mention the overseas ???
>|> Are they all outstanding & needy students ? Why are we arguing about
>|> the relatively small number of non-government scholarships and
>|> shut our mouths on the big ONE ? Worst still admit that we were
>|> sleeping and know not there are so many scholarships around to 
>|> grap ? Why should only non-bumis be made to fight for the limited
>|> number of places ?
>|> 6. How many scholarships (call it loans if you like. The fact is
>|> they are scholarships. ) are given out to the bumis ? Most of them
>|> without them even do anything !! And are offered even to the PHD
>|> level ? En.Othman can fool some people some time, but not all 
>|> the people all the time. 
>
>	What you are asking here is "Is it justifiable for the government
>to provide a disproportionately large amount of financial assistance to
>the Bumiputras ?" ...  that is not the original point of my post, which I
>like emphasize above. 

Nope I don't think that's the main point. Read the above another time 
and put it in the context of Othman Ahmad's post.


>	since this "scholarship: a joke" thread is beginning to degenerate 
>into a name-calling war, following the great tradition of s.c.a,  I am out 
>of here.  Perhaps we shall discuss the above question in a new thread.

I rest my case here too.  By the way, jumping the gun, your new thread
have too many questions and points to be addressed.... I lost my 
concentration by the time I finish reading your post 8).

-Mann 
(whose great-grandfather sojurned to the Nanyang in search
of better life)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean