Minister of Rural Development, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid has currently come under fire for visiting students pursuing their undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom (UK) yesterday.
The visit seemed rather harmless at first glance, as it must have been nice for the student leaders of the UMNO Clubs in the UK and Ireland to receive invitations for an event with a high-ranking government official.
Led by the clubs’ chairman Muhammad Iman Irfan Yahya and attended by 9 student leaders of the clubs, the casual chit chat session was held in London.
Mahdzir shared that some of the students had to take a 9-hour bus ride from Glasgow, while others came from Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester and London.
“What concerns?”
Nonetheless, what threw netizens off was the fact that Mahdzir claimed that the visit was to hear out the students’ concerns.
“I was able to delve into and understand the living conditions of those pursuing their studies overseas in hopes of a better future.”
The number one question asked by Malaysians was, “What concerns?”, referring to the fact that these students are in fact scholarship recipients who should not have any major concerns that would require Mahdzir to meet with them in person all the way in London.
“Are the students there dying of hunger? Sleeping under the London Bridge? Taking boats to class?… Talking about difficulties as if the college is in the Amazon forest,” said a netizen.
What about students in Malaysia?
Netizens also grilled the Minister on whether he has even listened to the concerns of students in rural areas of Malaysia who are facing a much more difficult time getting to school as those areas are usually severely underdeveloped.
“Have you heard out the concerns of the children of Sabah and Sarawak who go to school by boats, collapsed bridges and slippery red dirt roads,” said a user.
“Who’s going to listen to the concerns of the students in Malaysia then?”
Meanwhile, a handful of netizens used sarcasm to express their frustration and anger at the situation.
“Wow, the coverage is so wide that even the UK, which is overseas, is under the responsibility of YB? Amazing. Have you had time to visit Primark?”
It is indeed quite disheartening to see that there seems to be less done by the government to help ease the misfortunes of students within Malaysia compared to those that are privileged enough to study overseas.
What do you think of the casual chit chat session? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: “Have to be rich first” – Higher Education Minister Slammed For Meeting M’sian Students in UK
