Kuching: DAP Sarawak Chairman Chong Chieng Jen has urged Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to review what he described as discriminatory treatment of Sarawakian undergraduates from low-income families (B40) under the Sarawak Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES).
Speaking in response to the Premier’s announcement at the Sarawak Premier’s Special Award ceremony on 17 November 2025, Chong said the scheme creates an unfair disparity between students in state-owned universities and those studying in federal public institutions.
Under the FTES, the state government will not only cover full tuition fees for Sarawakian students enrolled in the four state-owned universities – Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Curtin University Malaysia, University of Technology Sarawak (UTS), and i-CATS University College – but will also provide B40 students with a RM15,000 annual stipend.
In contrast, Sarawakian students from B40 families studying at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Sarawak will receive only RM1,200 per year.
Abang Johari had justified the difference by stating that UNIMAS and UiTM are federal institutions and therefore the state government cannot interfere in their management.
Chong, who is also a Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman, rejected this reasoning, arguing that providing financial aid for living expenses does not constitute interference.
“Such an excuse is no justification for the discriminatory treatment of our fellow Sarawakian students from B40 families,” he said in a statement.
He added that B40 students face the same daily needs and financial burdens regardless of whether they attend state-owned or federal universities.
While acknowledging that the federal government subsidises up to 90% of tuition fees in public universities, Chong stressed that accommodation and living costs still weigh heavily on students from low-income households.
“I call upon Abang Jo to treat all Sarawakian university undergraduate students from B40 families equally,” Chong said.
“Whether they are studying in state-owned universities, UNIMAS, UiTM, public universities in other states, or even private universities, they should all receive the RM15,000 annual stipend.”
