[Watch] “That’s Why I Can’t Sit With B40 People”, UiTM Professor’s Statement Angers Citizens

The professor asked her student to sell off any family jewelleries and use the money to buy a computer.

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Recently, a 1 minute 45 second video showed a professor from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) berating a student for not having a laptop.

The professor, who was teaching in an online class, posed some questions to the student.

When the student was unable to give the correct answer, she asked the student on what he is using for the class.

The student replied that he did not have a laptop, which drew a barrage of rude criticisms from the professor.

The professor questioned the financial well-being of the student and his family, including his parents and siblings.

The student, who is from Seremban, answered the questions one by one.

He stated that his mother had passed away, while his father is not working and he has other siblings that need to be looked after.

Rubbing Salt In The Wound

The professor continued to make the situation even worse for the student.

She asked the student to find out if his sister has any jewelleries, and sell it to get a computer instead as it is a very important tool for study.

After this, I will teach you to excel, because of that you will be a drop-out student. It’s semester five and you don’t have a computer. I rather not have clothes, I only have five pieces of clothes. The most important the computer is very-very important.
The UiTM professor berating her student for not having a computer.

She continue to lambast the student for not getting a computer, adding that it only costs as little as RM800 to get one.

That’s why I can’t sit with a B40. They think more about other stuff rather than education.
The UiTM professor shaming the B40 before instructing her students to switch off there camera.

Online Firestorm

The video clip invited an avalanche of angry reactions from netizens.

They are indignant at the professor for disparaging the B40 group.

The backlash was so great that the posting was deleted, but netizens would not let it go.

kot kot op delete tweet, awai tak kalut pic.twitter.com/TypEqZpeJz
— Pedoq, what is this behavior?! (@pedoqpop) March 29, 2022

The fiasco had also drawn the attention of politicians who weighed in on the matter.

Kajian kementerian pendidikan menunjukkan 1/3 pelajar di Malaysia tiada Laptop atau tablet.

Kadar keciciran pelajar sangat menakutkan

Mereka tidak pilih untuk terus miskin sampai tidak mampu untuk beli laptop.

Dari menghina, lebih baik bantu mereka dapatkan laptop. https://t.co/eST0S4Qz55
— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) March 29, 2022

Bukit Mertajam member of parliament Steven Sim Chee Keong even offered to help the student.

Minta tolong siapa2 dapat hubungi pelajar tersebut, saya nak berikan sebuah laptop baru kepada beliau.

Saya setuju dengan prof, latarbelakang keluarga tak patut halang pendidikan.

Tapi saya tak setuju cara prof menghina pelajar semata-mata kerana latarbelakang keluarganya. https://t.co/QHCARAcdMC
— Steven Sim 🇲🇾 #Bangsa (@scheekeong) March 30, 2022

PKR information chief Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin also took a swipe at the professor.

UiTM ditubuhkan dengan membawa semangat membantu bumiputera miskin & tak berkemampuan, supaya tidak keciciran & mampu melanjutkan pendidikan tinggi. Prof.DR.TS. Roshana Takim, jika tak mampu menghayati tujuan tersebut, anda tak layak mengajar walau di taska sekalipun!
— Shamsul Iskandar (@shamsuliskandar) March 30, 2022

Meanwhile, the Higher Education Ministry had also promised to look into the matter.

Saya ambil maklum mengenai isu dan video yang tular ini.

Saya telah berhubung dengan pihak @uitmofficial untuk meminta penjelasan mereka. https://t.co/kty8bc762V
— Dato Dr Noraini Ahmad (@DrNorainiAhmad) March 30, 2022

While the ministry are still mulling on what to do, netizens demanded that the professor be sacked.